Bachelor’s degree: Has it lost its edge and its value?

Undervalued and overpriced, the beleaguered bachelor’s degree is losing its edge as the hallmark of an educated, readily employable American.

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College Aid: Where does it go?

Washington spends about $65 billion each year on student aid. This would be a good thing if that aid goes to students; furthering their education and helping them establish a career for the future.

But the question now is where exactly does that student aid go and how is it used?

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Tips to Help Pay Off Your Student Loans

A lot have been said about macro and wide-scale measures to help alleviate the growing problem of student debt in the country. But what can you and me – the average American – do to pay off our own individual loans?

Here are a few tips to do just that:


Earn more – and then earn some more

We can’t pay off student debt if we don’t make money. That’s a no-brainer, but you would be surprised at how many people miss out on opportunities to earn extra money. Getting another job is a great way to earn some extra dough, especially if your first (and assumed to be primary) job leaves you with enough free time to take a second part-time job. Then you can turn your hobbies like blogging or graphic design or writing into profitable ventures. All you need is a little creativity to make this possible.


Track your expenses

Another way of tackling the problem is to keep careful watch of where your money goes. That daily latte, pack of cigarettes and/or trip to the department store can whittle away at your cash reserves without you knowing about it. Keeping credit card statements and a logbook of all cash expenses will be great help when you’re reviewing your lifestyle and what you can cut out to save more money.

Consolidate your loans

Keeping track of a dozen student loans is a nightmare that sucks up a lot of time and effort on your part. If you’ve been taking out government loans, then you can enroll in the loan consolidation program to roll them all into one neat package. Even if you took a private loan out for college, you can still explore other repayment options to better manage your student loan debt.

Pay off your debt ASAP

If you get some extra money, put it into paying off your debt instead of buying a new TV or a set of clothes. Remember that each dollar in debt will cost you about four to seven cents each year – and probably more with costly private student loans. The faster you pay off your debt, the less money you waste on mounting interest rates.

How to Fill Out the FAFSA in 7 Easy Steps

Learn how to fill out the FAFSA in seven easy steps and feel free to use this video as a helpful companion while you work on your FAFSA.

via youtube.com

Faces of Change: Dakota's Pell Grant

Pell Grants are only awarded to low- and middle-income undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor’s or professional degree. For many students, these grants are the foundation of their financial aid package, to which other forms of aid are added.

Unlike student loan, these federal funded grants are free money that do not have to be repaid; making it one of the most preferred ways to get money for college.

via freefafsagov.com

MCCC Offering Free Help With FAFSA in Norristown

According to a release issued by Montgomery County Community College, the school is hosting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Completion Workshop on Wednesday, April 11, at noon and 1 p.m. at the Norristown Resource Center at One Montgomery Plaza in Norristown. The workshop is free to attend.

All college-bound students are invited to receive assistance in completing the FAFSA. Space is limited, so interested students should pre-register at http://www.mc3.edu/admissions/paying

via norristown.patch.com

$1 Trillion Student Loan Crisis

via freefafsagov.com

It's FAFSA.gov; Not FAFSA.com

High school students looking to file for the government's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have been paying $79.99 to file with Student Financial Aid Services, Inc.

There's only one problem: Student Financial Aid Services is not affiliated with FAFSA (Fafsa.gov).  Its similar domain name (Fafsa.com) led some students to believe otherwise. There are many financial aid services similar to Fafsa.com. Some are cheaper, and others are more expensive, but none of them are necessary.

via businessinsider.com

The Myths of College Financial Aid

via freefafsagov.com

Obama Wants to Keep College Within Reach for Middle-class Families

President Barack Obama is proposing to keep college affordable by yanking federal aid from colleges that don’t keep tuition down and provide good value.

Obama also called on Congress Tuesday to keep interest rates down on subsidized federal student loans. And he wants to make more work-study jobs available for students who are paying their own tuition.

As he has in the past, Obama asked Congress to permanently extend a tuition tax credit that pays up to $10,000 over four years.

The proposals came as part of Obama’s State of the Union address, which focused on boosting economic opportunity. Part of Obama’s argument focuses on the need to keep college within reach for middle-class families.

via washingtonpost.com

Tuition Rises, Jobs Are Few & Virginia Students Ask for Help

Rising college costs have far exceeded increases in disposable income in Virginia over the past decade, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia reports. The cost for an in-state undergraduate student living on campus accounts for 43.7 percent of per-capita disposable income, SCHEV estimates. That key measure of affordability is up from 32.2 percent in fiscal 2002.

About 58 percent of students who graduated from Virginia’s public and nonprofit private colleges in 2010 were in debt with loan amounts that averaged $23,327, according to the Project on Student Debt of the Institute for College Access and Success.

Nationally, two-thirds of 2010 graduates had loans that averaged $25,250, up from $24,000 for the Class of 2009.

The “What’s Your Number?” petition, a campaign by the student advocacy group Virginia21, has drawn support mostly from colleges students but also parents and new graduates to call attention to the financial burden caused by tuition that has doubled over the last 10 years.

via www2.dailyprogress.com

Making College More Affordable & Student Debt More Managable

Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are traveling the country hosting conversations nationwide addressing the cost of college tuition and student debt on American families.

Watch the Video:

via ed.gov

HESC Launches Student Financial Aid Month

College-bound students and their families may be overwhelmed by the thought of paying for college in the months ahead. The New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) today announced its annual month-long campaign to help students and families understand the financial aid process and to encourage completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – one of the most important tools in securing financial aid – early in the New Year.

The HESC website, www.StartHereGetThere.org, simplifies the financial aid application process for college-bound students and their families with helpful tips and tools, and a step-by-step tutorial for completing the FAFSA, as well as information about federal, state and college-sponsored aid, including grants, such as New York's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

Students and families with questions about the FAFSA may also call a toll-free HESC hotline, 1-800-808-1790, every Tuesday and Thursday from Noon to 5 p.m. throughout the month. FAFSA questions may be emailed anytime to FAFSAHelp@hesc.org.

via readme.readmedia.com

Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund

Single mothers over 35 years of age and with low incomes are also candidates for the Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund. Recipients come from diverse backgrounds but all have the goal of furthering their education to create a better life for themselves and their children. In 2010, the fund awarded 80 low-income women in the U.S. with scholarships of $2,000 each.

via Scholarships for Single Mothers

FAFSA Hooray - What is FAFSA?

Learn all about the FAFSA in this groundbreaking new video by Charta Squad

via youtube.com

33 Factors for How to Choose a College

There are many ways to choose a college. You could choose one based on where you want to live, where your parents went to school, or even where your friends plan to attend. When selecting a school, it’s important to consider various metrics in order to find the college that best suits you and your unique needs.

What metrics should you analyze when trying to find the best college for you? Here are some really cool ideas to get you started in the areas of academic life, student life, and financial factors.

via moneycrashers.com

11 Tips to Mastering the FAFSA

In a continuing trend of a widening gap between the cost of higher education and the family income required to pay it, 2012 is shaping up to be a struggle for parents and a boon for colleges, nonprofit or not.

For financial aid expert Kal Chany, the corporatizing of higher education is driving the trend.

“Most people assume that a college’s aid office is looking out for their best interests, but that’s not the case,”

says Chany, author of Paying for College Without Going Broke, a guide now in its 20th edition with a foreword by Bill Clinton.

“In reality there’s a lot of aid leveraging, and they are just trying to figure out the least amount they can offer you and still have you attend their school.”

With that in mind, Chany shares some essential tips for planning education financing in 2012... read more

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez: Join Me for a FAFSA Workshop Near You

Garden Grove, CA - Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is proud to invite you to the following series of free FAFSA workshops .  Academic advisors will meet with parents and students to provide assistance in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form and will discusss scholarship opportunities.

For more information, please call Rep. Sanchez' Garden Grove office at (714) 621-0102.

via lorettasanchez.house.gov

NIU Urges College-bound Students to File FAFSA

Last year, 8,101 undergraduate students at Northern Illinois University received need-based financial aid in the form of state, federal and institutional grants.

However, hundreds of thousands of eligible Illinois college students missed out on state financial aid by not completing the required Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) soon enough.

The U.S. Department of Education began accepting FAFSA forms Jan. 1 for the 2012-13 school year. For this new year, the NIU Office of Student Financial Aid recommends getting an early start on the college financial aid process with early FAFSA completion. NIU’s priority 2012-2013 FAFSA application date is Thursday, March 1.

via beaconnews.suntimes.com