Archive for the Financial Aid Tips Category
While a lot of kids are celebrating the arrival of summer and planning trips to the pool and beach, many students are heading back to school for the summer. If you are one of them, there is some good news for you!
For the first time in the history of the Federal Pell Grant, students who have used all of their Pell Grant eligibility in the fall and spring semesters can receive additional grant funding for summer school. The change, legislated by the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, is
June 7, 2010
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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!
August 5, 2008
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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 they work full-time for 10 years in an eligible public-service field and make 120 mo
July 21, 2008
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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 states, and the feds don't want families to know. Every show will deal with a specific topic and follow his College Funding Timeline.
July 18, 2008
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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 during Friday's board meeting. "I'm very pleased that we were able to keep it at a reasonable level, given the very modest appropriations."
July 15, 2008
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Reported by Amy Rolph - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The University of Washington Board of Regents approved two controversial changes for the state's flagship university Thursday -- one that will have some students reaching deeper into their wallets and another that already has divided faculty in science departments.
The regents voted to raise tuition 7 percent for most students starting this fall -- an increase of more than $400. They also decided to move forward with the creation of a Coll
June 13, 2008
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Reported by Janet Frankston Lorin - Bloomberg
A U.S. program to support college lenders is ensuring that students will get the government-backed financial aid they need for the 2008-2009 academic year, after a seizure in the credit markets threatened the flow of funding.
At Michigan State University in East Lansing, 6,042 students have received $26 million in federally guaranteed loans since early May, said Val Meyers, associate director of financial aid, in an interview on June 6. SLM Cor
June 11, 2008
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Additional aid can be obtained before school starts.
By now, you've received your award letter, and thousands of families are unaware they can be challenged. I’m a 29 year veteran of financial aid trench warfare and have been extremely successful at enhancing what many perceive is a lost cause - an appeal.
Here are a few of my guidelines for an appeal letter:
• 2008 income and/or assets will be substantially less than 2007
• Death, divorce, job loss, or excessive health bi
May 22, 2008
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Two students who I counseled will join the Class of 2012 have been shortchainged in their financial aid packages. Harvard ignored the 10% rule and overcharged one family $750. Per my instructions, the other family appealed and received an additional $6,000 of financial aid! What if they hadn't! If there are any Crimson students out there who would like a free review of their financial aid offer, please contact us ASAP!
May 13, 2008
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Sallie Mae announced that it would no longer offer consolidations under the federally guaranteed loan program. Students typically consolidate their loans after they graduate, combining loans from each of their years in college into a single loan to make it easier to manage when paying back the money, assuming there is a better loan rate.
April 16, 2008
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MIT announced last Friday that students whose families earn less than $75,000 per year will no longer pay tuition and will also have lower self-help expectations than last year: $2,850, down from $5,250. At the same time they announced that tuition for higher earning families will go up 4% and those students will now have an expected self-help contribution of $4,750 - the BIG print giveth while the small print taketh away!
Home equity will no longer be considered in determining financial aid
March 12, 2008
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"Students have a right to ...
1. Pay off college loans early without incurring an early-repayment charge. Yes No
2. Cancel a private loan within three days of signing an agreement with a lender. Yes No
3. Take 30 days after approval for a private loan to think about whether the loan is needed without risking changes to the loan terms. Yes No
4. Take out a loan from the lender of a student's choice, regardless of whether that lender is on a student's colleg
February 29, 2008
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After raising over $832,000,000, Stanford has decided to fall in line with some of the Ivy League and offer a free education to students from families with incomes under $60,000. Students from families with incomes under $100,000 won't have to pay $35,000 per year in tuition. Families whose incomes are close to these figures are advised to review their income and assets so they can maximize on financial aid.
February 21, 2008
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Beginning in 2008-09, Colby will eliminate loans from students’ financial aid packages.
February 6, 2008
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Cornell University will be giving out more grants and free money to undergraduates beginning with next year. No more need-based loans for families whose income is less than $60,000. The new directive will cap loans at $3,000 for families who make $60,000 to $120,000 a year. In the fall of 2009 it will increase to $75,000.
February 1, 2008
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In countless locations in over 40 states, college financial aid officers and state officials are the main sources of information at this new generation of financial aid night called, College Goal Sundays. Traditionally, financial aid nights are held in the fall at thousands of high schools, and it is here that parents and their students learn about the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the CSS Financial Aid Profile, federal loans, and grants for very low income families. However,
January 30, 2008
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) - Legislation that could help thousands of Hoosiers continue their college educations is sailing through the statehouse.
Indiana students who receive state-sponsored financial aid must use it or lose it. A bill that passed the House of Representatives unanimously would do away with a time limit.
Megan Johnson is an IUPUI sophomore who works full time in the University's Financial Aid Office. She knows she will not graduate in four years. If it would take more than te
January 30, 2008
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Reported by Eileen Ambrose - Baltimore Sun
Once in a while, something that sounds too good to be true is, well, true. Count the Central Scholarship Bureau as one of them.
The Pikesville nonprofit offers scholarships and interest-free college loans of up to $10,000 a year for needy Marylanders. Its aim: Cover the shortfall between the cost of attending college and the financial aid package.
Loans are common. Interest-free loans aren't. And if you're a student or parent of a child in col
November 25, 2007
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Connecticut residents have a tax loophole in their 529 Savings Plan. Any taxpayer who sets up a Connecticut Higher Education Trust College Savings Program (CHET), regardless of income, or whether there’s a college or college-bound student in that household, can claim a $5,000 deduction on their state tax return. Here's how it works:
1. If your filing status is married filing jointly and you have a dependent, be they toddler, student, or older adult:
Set up a CHET
Name
September 14, 2007
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For Georgia residents, there's a tax loophole in the 529 Plan. Anyone who sets up a Georgia 529 Plan, regardless of income, or whether there's a college or college-bound student in that household, can claim a $2,000 deduction on their state tax return. Here's how it works:
1. For families with a college or college-bound student, simply set up the plan and make a tax deductible contribution of no more than $2,000 and name a parent as owner, and a student as the beneficiary. If y
September 7, 2007
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