myUsearch blog

Today we have a guest post from Lynn O’Shaughnessy. 
O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller, and she also writes a college blog for CBSMoneyWatch and TheCollegeSolutionBlog. Follow her on Twitter.

Ever hear about college taxes?

No this isn’t a joke. If you aren’t careful you could owe college taxes on your 529 plan.

Nobody tells you that you could ultimately owe taxes on a 529 college plan, but plenty of people discover this nightmare during tax season.

(more…)

You don’t have to be the eighth athletic wonder of the world or a clinically proven genius to get a college scholarship. You just have to be resourceful.

There are plenty of ways to get a college scholarship–the trick is just to actively seek them out. If you do the work to find the scholarship, you’ve done the hardest part. Here are some places to start your college scholarship search:

Photo by Alan Cleaver 2000

(more…)

Today we have a guest post from Brennon Garrett, from Campus Book Rentals. Campus Book Rentals, a college text book rental company, is conducting an online petition for this bill. 

The United States Congress is currently considering whether to pass the The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA).  The legislation passed in the Senate last September by a vote of 253 to 171, but it’s unclear whether it will pass successfully in the House.  The legislation includes many different initiatives, but the primary purpose of the bill is to make college more affordable to more Americans.  One of central components of the bill would remove private banks as middle-men in the student lending process.  As it stands today, many student loans are made by private banks with subsidies from the US Government - while those same loans are also being guaranteed by the US Government, thus removing the loan default risk to the private banks, and passing on the extra cost to students.  In April President Obama said “We have a student loan system where we’re giving lenders billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies that could be used to make college more affordable for all Americans.”  SAFRA would put an end to government payments to commercial lenders, and and the government would become a direct student lender.  This would save $40B over 10 years that would be directly re-routed into the Pell Grant system, increasing Pell grant scholarships from $5,550 in 2010 to $6,900 by 2019.  The increase in Pell grants would become linked to the cost of living, rising along with the Consumer Price Index, plus 1%.

Photo by Gadget Dude

(more…)

Your admissions decisions are in and you’ve received your financial aid packages.  It’s at this point that many students realize they should have taken the time to apply for more scholarships. The good news is there’s still  time to get some last minute tuition assistance, but you need to act fast.

 Photo by Borman818

(more…)

More than ever a college education is a necessary component for a successful career. College is expensive and many deserving young people and their families find the rising cost of tuition an overwhelming prospect. Even when considering “affordable” colleges many families experience sacrifice and hardship. Yet the cost of not attending college will often result in even greater financial hardships for those who make that choice.

(more…)

In many cases being a mom means more than being the family nurturer, sometimes it also means being the family’s source of financial support. Putting food on the table may be a combined effort or, in the case of the single mom, a sole responsibility. Having a job with good pay, benefits, and flexibility significantly reduces the struggle to raise a family. In order to find good jobs, one needs the education employers require. Yet, for many mothers, even those who stay at home and raise children on one income, returning to school can be financially challenging. How can these women get the education they need in order to enter the workforce? How can they gain access to careers that will give them the pay and benefits they need? Scholarships for mothers may be a viable option. 

Photo by Octopushat

(more…)

The politics of it all can be awfully muddy, but the question at hand is whether college affordability will come back down to Planet Earth during the Obama years.

 Photo by Steve Rhodes 

(more…)

The cost of a college degree is getting more expensive every year.  According to College Board, the average four-year public college charges a tuition rate of $7,020 and the average tuition cost of a four-year private college is $26,273.  That’s a lot of money.  And while there are resources out there to help families cover their college expenses, who has the time to research these opportunities?  It’s tough.   The purpose of this blog is to simplify your life.  If you follow these quick tips on financial aid, your college financing process will be a lot easier.  Let’s get started…

Photo by Borman 818  

(more…)

I have spent the last few weeks sifting through the scholarship essays submitted for the scholarships for mothers that we are about to award, and I feel it’s my duty to pass on a few tips to you.

Photo by lethaargic

(more…)

Today we have a guest post from Kelsey Murray. Kelsey Murray is a junior at the University of Oklahoma studying advertising. She also writes about news, trends and advice for college students at EDUInReview.com, an educational resource helping students at all stages of the education process find student loans, scholarships, testing advice and more.

Being a student is hard work. You attend classes, spend countless hours studying and prepping for exams, stay involved in extracurricular activities, and you might have a job as well. But the hardest part of college can be actually paying for it.

While financial student aid is a saving grace for so many students, it can be difficult to know which type of aid for college suits your academic and economic needs.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the most common types of financial student aid and what factors play into determining who qualifies for each type.

(more…)

It’s pretty amazing how quickly the college application season comes upon us. Every year it seems as though it just gets a little longer and a little more stressful (although we can’t imagine it ever being more stressful than the year we are currently in). But inevitably, with the applications being filled and filed, the other question will always follow: how does one find out about various sources of aid for college? Where does it come from and what does it all mean?

Photo by Material Boy

(more…)

College. That one word alone is the definition of being broke! As a college senior, I can tell you that no matter how many part-time jobs you take on, you are still going to be lacking when it comes to cash flow. It takes some longer than others to run out of their high school savings, but you’ll be sure to find out the true value of a dollar during your time away. So how can you make the last $5 you have for the week (and it’s only Monday) last until Friday’s pay check? I’ve learned some simple tips on how to find college deals and making that dollar go further.

Photo by Goldberg
 

(more…)