Everything About Financial Aid:

Show me the money!

Financial Aid: As in, how're you gonna pay for college?

Some options:

Financial Aid is a general term referring to money made available from various sources to provide some or all of the costs of a college education and the process of applying for it.

These sources include student and parent loans, grants, and scholarships. Some loans are available with a signature, some are need or merit-based: the field is a wide one, and some rudimentary knowledge is necessary to find your way.

Tuitions are up at some schools, and grants are down, and many families are feeling the stress of wondering how they will pay for your education. It is a good idea to have a candid discussion with your parents before beginning the college search process. This way you will have a more realistic view of the role finances may play in your college search and eventual choices.

Minimize sticker shock from costs by considering financially safe colleges-ones your family can afford, and you feel comfortable attending. Two-year community colleges and four-year in-state public colleges are often financially safe choices. Another option is a college offering a three-year bachelor's program.

There are many outstanding colleges, providing excellent educations, that fit within reasonable economic boundaries. For instance, students in thirteen western states may participate in reciprocal agreements that allow reduced tuition at other states in the program.

Learn About College Student Loans

Government Sites for Financial Aid information

Get Your Loans from the Government! They Cost Less.

Avoid Private Lenders.

Forget Fannie Mae and Sallie Mae, you'll suffer long and needlessly by using ANY private lenders instead of the government.

Heard on 60 Minutes: Most universities guide their students to private lenders...One reason is that they offer incentives to some of the schools."(Kickbacks, big time.) Politicians receive contributions from the finance and banking industry in exchange for rasing student loan rates.

While I almost never think that government beaurocracies can do anything better than private industry, especially cost-wise, there are exceptions, and this is a big one:

WHEN YOU TAKE OUT A STUDENT LOAN, GO DIRECTLY TO THE GOVERNMENT AND BORROW FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. Don't be influenced by your college financial aid department representative into using private lenders. GO TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SITE: Government funding information

Don't forget about alternative sources of money, some of it earned, and some of it free.

Families with younger children and time on their side, may be interested in working with a certified financial planners who specialize in helping families prepare for college expenses. While the best time to contact an educational financial advisor is while their children are young, financial planners are also able to offer financial advice, flexibility and leverage for families with high school students. In the words of one planner: "Would you rather pay wholesale or retail for college?"

Be sure to investigate thoroughly, and ask for references, and proof of certification.

Please Don't Leave Yet, But When You Do...

A vast amount of useful and necessary information can be found at U.S. Department of Education's huge Web site.

This is where you go to find out anything you'd want (well, more like need, actually,) to know about financial aid, colleges and higher education.

You'll find sites for students, parents, and educators. AND, the site has an awesome college search engine that searches 7,000 schools, allowing you to set a lengthly list of search criteria.

Also get acquainted with the financial aid terms. You'll learn, or at least know where to find, the meaning of all those boring acronyms that are essential for navigating the-paying-for-college stuff stuff, and they describe different types of loans and programs.

The page also has links to all our other comprehensive financial aid and scholarship pages.

All in all, it's a deal.

National Association of Student Financial Aid

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Learn about scholarships here

College Student Loans

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