This month's topic: Decision Time: Comparing Financial Aid Award Letters
Are you a high school senior who just received two or more thick envelopes with college admission offers? Congratulations! Up until now, everyone’s been evaluating YOU. Now you get to decide which offer to choose. Our advice: Look before you leap, and delay any final judgment until you’ve dissected and compared each school’s financial aid award letter.
Articles for students and families
Excuses, excuses! What's the holdup in filing your FAFSA? Attention high school seniors and parents: The best way to apply for financial aid for college for fall 2008 is to fill out the all-important Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1.
Decoding financial aid lingo College-bound high school seniors and their folks often struggle to keep student financial aid terms and concepts straight.
Preparing your college applications. Take the time to put your best foot forward Your college application is your best opportunity to present yourself to admissions officers as a capable, multi-faceted, appealing addition to their student body. Rushed, last-minute applications often have mistakes and omissions that could knock you out of the running for your favorite colleges. Aim to submit an error-free, signed, dated application several weeks before each school's official deadline. Here are some nuts-and-bolts tips to help you complete your applications correctly—and with a lot less stress.
Taming those "other" college costs When new crops of freshmen arrive at college, few fully anticipate the many costs beyond tuition, room and board. Before you hit campus, sit down and list your expected daily living expenses for the school year: cell phone, Internet service provider, socializing, laundry detergent, and other "incidental expenses." If the results make you gulp, what are your options?
Why a college's "sticker price" shouldn't stop you from applying Before you automatically rule out certain colleges on the basis of "It costs how much!?" you should realize that a school's "sticker price" is often far higher than what you may be asked to pay.
Coming up short on tuition? Check out these last-minute ways to pay for college If you don't know how you're going to pay your first tuition bill, don't panic: There are ways to come up with the cash in time for class.