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Archive for the ‘Aid for College’

4 Ways Obama’s Federal Loan Program Affects Your College Choice

December 09, 2011 By: Ryan O'Leary Category: Aid for College, Financial Student Aid, Loans No Comments →

In his October speech, President Obama outlined a new federal loan program that could mean big savings for students borrowing money to pay for college. Let’s look at how the law could affect your college choice.

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Best Scholarship Sites | Which Sites Are Worth Your Time

November 25, 2011 By: Ryan O'Leary Category: Aid for College, Finding a scholarship, Scholarships No Comments →


Tough economic times and rising tuition costs make affording college a difficult task these days. If you’re like the millions of high school seniors looking for scholarship money on the web, you’re probably searching for the best scholarship sites to visit. The web is full of excellent scholarship sites, like FastWeb, CollegeNet and even the US Government provides extremely helpful insights. By using the best scholarship sites and other important resources, you too can find money for college.


Photo by Alan Cleaver

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How to Get into a Good College with a Low GPA

July 13, 2011 By: Josef Katz Category: Application tips, Get into College 1 Comment →

The world is full of smart people who weren’t high school stars. When the race to get into college starts, they find themselves behind other smart people who had higher GPAs. But the good news is, lots of colleges understand this and are willing to admit smart, motivated people with less-than-stellar grade point averages.

Here are a few ways to put that ho-hum GPA behind you . . .

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5 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College

May 24, 2011 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College, Maximize your savings 1 Comment →

As the price tag for a college education continues to increase, it is no surprise that the thought of how to pay for it weighs heavily on parents and students.  For too many families, this concern may present a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, but like most obstacles, there may be another way around.  Here are five ways to find aid for college:

photo by alan cleaver_2000

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Filing For Financial Aid

March 30, 2011 By: S.B. Bryan Category: Aid for College, Financial Student Aid No Comments →

Filing for financial student aid can be a daunting task. There’s a reason why there’s been a push for simplifying the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) with almost every recent election cycle. Luckily, with online filing and our suggestions below, you can get aid for college faster! Here’s what you’ll need to get your aid for college as fast as possible:

Photo by Steve Wampler

  1. Determine whether you need to file a separate form for state and federal aid. Some states don’t require you to fill out a separate form from the FAFSA, while others do.
  2. Collect your and/or your parents’ tax forms . You’ll just need the forms with the total number of deductions, total taxable income amount, taxes paid, etc, so search for the actual form that you and/or your parents filed. If your parents claim you as a dependent, the amount of aid you are eligible to receive from state and federal funds will be determined by your parents’ income.
  3. Apply for a PIN (Personal Identification Number) for FAFSA processing— Students with PIN numbers registered with the U.S. Department of Education can complete their application online and receive aid for college faster. You’ll need to apply for a PIN to be sent to your home address, but once you have it, you can use it for the rest of your college career.
  4. Remember to cancel any federal or state aid package from a former school when transferring mid-semester. Schools check state and federal databases for duplicate entries before awarding aid for college to prevent a student from receiving two or more aid packages. If you don’t cancel the aid package from your former school, your new school may not be able to offer you a package and will cancel any package they formerly extended.
  5. Be Honest. It’s important to keep in mind that the FAFSA is a federal document. Lying on this form can come with harsh punishment, including a steep fine and possible prison time. You also need to be aware that those convicted of certain crimes, including drug offenses, are not eligible for federal aid for college. If you have any questions, you can contact your school’s financial aid office or the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID.

Good luck!

Searching for International Scholarships

February 22, 2011 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College, Finding a scholarship, Scholarships No Comments →

The United States has long been known as the “land of opportunity”.   That is particularly true when it comes to colleges and universities.  While most of those schools welcome international students with open arms, it can be challenging for non-citizens to find and receive international scholarships to defray the cost.

Photo by Refracted Moments

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Aid for College | The Best Sites to Find College Cash

February 16, 2011 By: Josef Katz Category: Finding a scholarship, Scholarships No Comments →

In today’s world, you can no longer blindly take on a ton of debt with the expectation that you will find a great job after you graduate. But how can you cover your tuition bills without taking on a mound of debt? Well, debt-free aid for college, like scholarships, financial aid and grants, is a great place to start and here are some of the best sites to help you do just that:

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Your College Choice: How Much Should Cost be a Factor?

January 18, 2011 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College, Choosing a College No Comments →

No matter how much you might wish it wasn’t so, if you’re like the vast majority of students heading to college, your college choice is going to cost you – and it could cost you a lot.  The question is, how much is too much?

Saving for college

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Aid for College | How to Snag a Four-Year Degree Without Going Broke

December 28, 2010 By: Josef Katz Category: Aid for College, Student loans 1 Comment →

Would you walk into a car showroom and pay full sticker price for a new car? Of course not.

Yet thousands of American families pay the full cost of college tuition every year. If the University of Massachusetts says its yearly tuition and costs run $32,442 for out-of-state students and Yale costs $49,800 for tuition and fees, then that’s what students pay, right? Of course not. Here are some ways to find aid for college and bring home a big-ticket degree at a bargain-basement price:

Going broke

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Five Ways to Cut the Cost of College

December 23, 2010 By: Josef Katz Category: Aid for College, Financial Student Aid, Finding a scholarship, Maximize your savings 1 Comment →

Why pay full price for college? Here are five strategies that can cut costs by 25 percent or more and take the pain out of finding aid for college. 

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How to Find International Scholarships: Advice for Students on the Move

December 14, 2010 By: Barry Lenson Category: Aid for College, Financial Student Aid, Finding a scholarship, Scholarships No Comments →

Are you an American student heading off to study abroad? Or a non-U.S. student bound for America?

Whatever your situation, international scholarships are waiting for you. Let’s see if we can hook you up with some financial aid.

International Scholarship Money

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Plan Early to Secure Aid for College

October 12, 2010 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College 1 Comment →

With the cost of college continuing to rise every year, it’s never too soon to start looking for ways to begin securing aid for college.  For too many people, college seems to sneak up on them and they find themselves with few options other than to keep taking out loans.  While it’s difficult to avoid loans completely, taking steps early on to secure different types of aid for college may enable you to keep your student debt at a manageable level.

Aid for College

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The Best Scholarship Sites

October 04, 2010 By: Brady Norvall Category: Aid for College, Finding a scholarship, Scholarships 2 Comments →

The application and college selection process is extremely time-consuming, yet without the appropriate financial aid package, this could very well be time wasted. Therefore, it is important to have an idea of the best scholarship sites in order to find that critical component. So, without further adieu, let me show you the money!

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Photo my Borman818

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Can You Afford to Go to College?

July 09, 2010 By: Elizabeth Kraus Category: Aid for College, Financial Student Aid 2 Comments →

Today we have a guest post from Mary Fallon from Studentaid.com

The most confusing part of college planning is understanding your net price and out-of-pocket costs before applying.  Your specific cost of college is a mystery because your eligibility for student aid, which reduces costs, usually isn’t provided until after a college accepts you and issues an aid award letter. By then, it’s too late to comfortably comparison shop to find which college will offer you the best deal.  Not having a choice among affordable colleges may lead to borrowing huge amounts that will take many years to pay back after college graduation.

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Photo by Medium Boy

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10 Ways to Improve Your Chances of Winning Scholarships

June 25, 2010 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College, Finding a scholarship, Scholarships 5 Comments →

People can be quick to tell you that there are lots of scholarships out there that go unrewarded every year.  While that is true, sometimes they make it sound like all you have to do is fill out an application for these scholarships and the money is as good as yours.  I wish it was that easy, but there’s more to it than that.

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Photo by Alan Cleaver

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Is a College Degree Really Worth the Money?

June 22, 2010 By: Elizabeth Kraus Category: Aid for College, Loans, Student loans, The financial insider 2 Comments →

Today we have a guest post from Josef Katz from Straighterline, a company that offers a new way to complete your required college courses online with convenient and affordable online college courses that you can take on your own schedule.

A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the more you learn, the more you will earn during your working career:

• High school graduates will earn an average of $1.2 million over their careers
• College grads with bachelor’s degrees will earn $2.1 million
• People with master’s degrees will earn $2.5 million
• People with doctoral degrees will earn $3.4 million
• People with professional degrees will earn $4.4 million

Source: The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings 

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Photo by gadget dude

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Your Summer Scholarship Plan

June 11, 2010 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College, Scholarships No Comments →

With the cost of college going up every year, being prepared to apply for scholarships should be on every college bound student’s agenda.  Unfortunately, most students don’t give it much thought until their senior year.  By then, they are often too busy with school work and college applications to put in the extra effort it takes to submit scholarship applications that are likely to get you noticed.

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Tips for Your Scholarship Application Essay

June 04, 2010 By: Julie Manhan Category: Application tips, Scholarships No Comments →

Because students spend a lot of time working on college application essays, it’s understandable why many choose to reuse those essays for scholarship applications.  However, since the majority of scholarships ask for an essay that addresses a very focused topic, using those recycled college essays – even if they are beautifully written – could actually cause you to lose a scholarship.  A thoughtful, well considered essay will get you much further.

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Preparing Your College Bound Kids to Be Financially Responsible

June 02, 2010 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College No Comments →

When it comes to helping your students make a successful transition to college, and adulthood in general, one of the most important things you can help them with is learning how to handle their finances.  Student who have developed good financial habits with your guidance are more likely to make smart money decisions when they are far from your watchful eyes.

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Photo by Borman 818

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How to Graduate from College With Less Debt

April 13, 2010 By: Julie Manhan Category: Aid for College, Financial Student Aid, Loans, Scholarships 1 Comment →

Everyone knows how expensive a college education can be and that most people graduate from college with at least some debt.  The important thing is to not let the “sticker price” prevent you from pursuing your college diploma.  There are ways to lower your debt that may make a college degree more affordable.

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