The difference between the value of college, indicated by price and intrinsic worth, and what a family feels they can afford to pay creates the need for financial aid. But, college bound buyer beware: NOT ALL FINANCIAL AID AWARDED BY THE UNIVERSITY IS ACTUALLY AID.
Tag: Financial aid
Paying for Childhood: Average Cost of Raising Children
Wondering how your parents were able to raise multiple kids (and none of you felt deprived) on a single income back in the day? A new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates families with children born in 2012 will spend an average of $241,080 in the next 18 years to raise their offspring–NOT…
Finding A College Can Feel Like Searching for a Needle in the Haystack
But, in reality, the student is the needle. No, that’s not some obscure Master-Yoda-Jedi-training-mind-trick. What it means is that the more that college bound student, knows about himself/herself (i.e. interests, vision, goals–career and otherwise), then the narrower the field of possible colleges for both application and enrollment becomes. Plus, the six figure price tag of…
Student Loan Interest Rate Relief In Sight
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to lower Federal student loan interest rates to 3.9% from 6.8% for the upcoming 2013-14 school year–following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the same bill last week. The rate reduction would mean a savings of $944.44 in interest over the life of the loan, for first year college…
1140% = Increase In College Tuition Since 1978
Another chart showing college tuition is increasing at a steepening rate: And is causing families to spend a greater portion of the family budget to pay for college expenses, thus making college “more expensive”: (If unable to view chart, click)
Paying For College Tuition
Student loans, grants and scholarships are replacing parent income and savings in paying for college. Source: Wall Street Journal
College Tuition Set to Keep Rising with No Relief In Sight
Since 1980, college tuition has risen 945%, in comparison with inflation’s rise of 193% during that same period–meaning all purchases have increased in price, but college tuition has increased at a ratio of 9 to 1–based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems…
College Admissions & Financial Aid 101: The Expanded Edition
After facilitating a lively Brown Bag Lunch discussion at Hewlett Packard in Roseville, CA called, “College Admissions & Financial Aid 101”, I wanted to l expand on a few answers, as well as offer additional tips for families: About the information college’s review in applications during admissions decision making: The four main areas of…
It’s Never Too Early (or Late) to Plan for College Costs
After talking with News10 Sacramento this morning about financial aid and paying for college, thought I’d share a few additional tips and expand on a few points we discussed: Understanding the Family’s Finances: The more parents can understand the family finances, the better planning can take place for the additional expense of college tuition. Some…
What Trends in Public University Tuition Means for College Bound Seniors
Public universities and colleges are partially funded by student tuition and partially by state and local government revenues (i.e. taxes collected), alongside subsidies by the Federal government and private donations. Public funding is then allocated per full time student, as shown in the map below. Alaska contributes the most per student at $14,837, while the…
The Student Debt Dilemma
While debt can be a useful tool to finance a college education, potential borrowers (and their families) would be prudent to think through their choices, as we discussed in a earlier 6-part series on fiscal planning. And, to add emphasis on the need to think ahead, Fidelity Investments recently found that, “[e]ven with the…
More 25 Year Olds Have Student Debt…And At Higher Average Amounts
As seen in the chart below, the red line indicates that the portion of 25-year olds with student debt has grown from 25% in 2003 to 43% in 2012–meaning an increasing portion of young adults are choosing to “bring forward” expected future earnings to pay for a college degree. Furthermore, the black line on the chart…
U.S. Congress Considering Student Loan Interest Rate Increase
Federal student loan interest rates on subsidized* (see below) loans are set to rise from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1, 2013. (Note: the interest rate for unsubsidized Federal student loans, in which interest begins accruing from the date of the loan, is currently 6.8%.)
Will College Price Itself Out of Its Demand?
As the price of tuition continues rising, will students (and their families) choose to forgo a college education? The most recent college application cycle for Fall 2013 doesn’t seem to indicate that students are not choosing a college education. Applicant numbers are up around the country from a 10.7% increase for the University of California…
What’s The Value of a University of California Education?
Roughly 30 percent of every dollar we take in from tuition we reinvest back in financial aid. So the nominal tuition is $12,000 but the real tuition is probably about $8500. It’s like the sticker price on an automobile: 62 percent of our students don’t pay the sticker price, [which is] income adjusted. But it’s…