The College Blog

 
2010-2011 FAFSA UPDATE
The 2010-2011 FAFSA will be available just after midnight on New Year’s Day!  However, this doesn’t mean it has to be submitted immediately.  There will still be BILLIONS in need-based aid available for the forseeable future, so don’t act in haste. 
The application has been shortened, and we will post suggestions later in the week.  Every [...]

Congress has passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act спалниand is awaiting passage by the Senate so the feds can be the sole student lender for Stafford and Perkins Loans.  Hopefully by cutting out the banks, the Pell Grant will be able to be increased, and possibly the 3.4% repayment rate on Stafford Loans by 2012 will be [...]

It’s that time of year when students (freshmen) get settled in to a new lifestyle and upperclassmen renew friendships and prepare for another glorious year of the college experience.  Parents on the other hand are wondering how they’re ever going to pay for all this! 
If you’ve read other posts, you know that paying for college is [...]

If you have a student in college or one who’s college-bound and you’re wondering how you’re going to pay that bill, now’s your chance to hear the creator of this blog, Reecy Aresty, live on WDEL 1150AM, Saturday, May 30th from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm.  Join Spencer Graves as he interviews Reecy and call [...]

In these trying economic times, the latest buzz on campuses is about college presidents earning outrageous salaries while students’ financial aid packages are dwindling!  If your president got a big raise, and you had a reduction in financial aid, then band together and PROTEST!  I remember the 60’s when there was campus unrest because of Vietnam.  It’s [...]

Title is a sing-a-long to, Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?
Arizona colleges plan to raise tuition by double digits!  Reported by Anne Ryman in The Arizona Republic
Double-digit tuition increases could be in store for all undergraduate students at the University of Arizona and for new students starting in fall 2009 at Arizona State University and [...]

Vanderbilt announced today that beginning with the 2009-2010 academic year, they will offer grants to all students in lieu of need-based loans.  This applies to all new and returning students.
Way to go Vandy!

The Obama education tax credit will not only target lower income families, but those of middle income families as well. Here’s how the numbers stack up for two families of 4:
Adjusted gross income $66,000
Itemized deductions       20,000
4 exemptions @$3,500   14,000
Taxable Income            $ 32,000
Tax                               $   4,000
Tax credit                          4,000
Tax due                         0

We apologize to all of you who have or would have signed up.  We are re-scheduling for next Thursday, 8-14 and will include a special bonus for your inconvenience. 

Reecy will be the focus of a FREE teleseminar Thrusday, Aug. 7th.  Get the details here.  Learn legal secrets to qualify for maximum financial aid and how families can appeal unappealing financial aid offers!

Reecy Aresty, president of College Assistance, Inc., an admissions/financial aid services company in Boca Raton, FL, announced today that he will be concentrating his efforts and financial aid expertise to assist MA families caught up in this latest loan snafu.  Families are encouraged to send an email to reecy@paylessforcollege.com or call him for a FREE consultation at: 561.353.4000.   

 In a sincere effort to make college more affordable, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965 allocating billions of dollars for low interest student loans. It is fair to say that the Johnson Administration could not have foreseen that their good intentions would actually lead to an escalation of college tuitions [...]

Reported in Marketwatch
Student loan borrowers who commit to a decade of public service may see the remaining balance on their federal student loans forgiven under the government’s new public-service loan forgiveness program.
Borrowers who enter public-service fields such as law enforcement, public education, or certain nonprofit work could have their remaining federal student loan debt forgiven, provided [...]

Pay Less For College, an interactive radio show, will debut Sunday, July 20 at 10:00 AM EDT on WNJC 1360 AM, stream on the Internet at wnjc1360.com, and shows will also be archived at Paylessforcollege.com.  Reecy will answer listeners questions and explain the ins and outs of the college admissions/financial aid process and reveal what the colleges, the [...]

Reported by Adam Clark – The Daily Collegian Online
The Penn State Board of Trustees on Friday approved a 5.9 percent increase in tuition for the 2008-09 school year, the highest increase since 2005.
Still, “our tuition increase is going to be below the average of similar institutions,” Penn State President Graham Spanier said during a presentation [...]

New rate schedule follows:

The Univ. of MI is hard up for cash, so they will raise tuition and fees for the fall term by 5.6%.  Stay tuned for the latest info on your favorite schools.