You’ve submitted the FAFSA. Now all you have to do is wait for the financial aid offers, right? Not always. Often we forget about additional forms or supplemental applications, even if we get reminders or email notifications. Missing a requirement or deadline may cost your family free federal and institutional financial aid. To be one-hundred … [Read more...]
What is Merit Aid and How Do I Get Some?
Written by | October 31, 2018 |
You may have heard of merit aid, that it helps pay for college, or maybe you know it as merit scholarships. This is what you need to know about merit aid as you prep for college applications. Colleges grant merit aid scholarships to students based on their academic or other achievements. It could be an impressive GPA, athletic skills, an … [Read more...]
5 Questions Parents Most Often Ask About Their 529 Plans
Written by | September 5, 2018 |
529 plans are one of the go-to college savings options for parents. They are heavily marketed, tax-advantaged, let you make high annual contributions, and don’t have income or age restrictions. Many families have some money in 529 plans (which they plan to use for college). If you’re one of those families who have some college savings into a 529 … [Read more...]
Extra Summer Job Earnings? Before Spending a Penny, Talk to Your Student About These 4 Ways to Budget
Written by | August 1, 2018 |
1. Stick to a savings plan A good rule of thumb is save first and spend what you have left over. Agreeing on a savings plan ahead of time will make it easier to part with a chunk of the money. A popular (and fair) budgeting technique is the 50/30/20 budget: 50% → Necessities 30% → Wants 20% → Savings Let’s say your student earns … [Read more...]
15 Things to Know About U.S. News’ College Rankings
Written by | May 23, 2018 |
By Lynn O'Shaughnessy Published originally on TheCollegeSolution.com While U.S. News and World Report’s college rankings are wildly popular, few families know much about how they are created. Before you place too much faith in U.S. News’ college rankings, here are 15 things that you should know about them. 1. U.S. News relies on rankings to … [Read more...]
Making and Sticking to a College Budget
Written by | May 1, 2018 |
By Kaitlin Hurtado Published April 3rd, 2018 on Uloop “Broke” and “college student” are often paired together when discussing the typical student’s financial situation. Between struggling a part-time job (or several) and academics or waiting until your next financial aid disbursement, you might find yourself struggling to get by at one point or … [Read more...]
Master Your Financial Aid Appeal in 5 Easy Steps
Written by | February 22, 2018 |
It’s about that time of year—when your senior is mid-way through their term—that financial aid packages come flooding into your mailbox. Seeing the raw numbers may cause a bit of panic. You remember hearing something about appealing financial aid, but where do you start? It’s a pretty straightforward process, and worth trying. Financial aid … [Read more...]
Dare2B Digital Conference 2018
Written by | February 20, 2018 |
We're excited to announce Beatrice Schultz will be a speaker at the Dare 2B Digital Conference 2018, hosted at the PayPal office March 3rd 2018! Join us for an action-packed day of learning and workshops! You've heard of "STEM" programs, but what about "STEAM"? STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) focuses on skillsets in the … [Read more...]
Head Of The Class
Written by | September 6, 2017 |
By Jerilyn Klein Bier Published September 2017 on Financial Advisor Magazine When financial planner Beth Walker’s son was born in 2002, she used the College Board’s cost calculator to project how much it would cost to send him to college. “I was literally blown away,” she says, by the $250,000 estimate. She was sure there had to be a better … [Read more...]
Never Pay Retail for College
Written by | April 27, 2017 |
An excerpt from Never Pay Retail for College by Beth Walker. If what you thought you knew about college turned out not to be true, when would you want to know? As soon as possible? In time to do something about it? I’m so glad you’ve found this book. In these pages, I will share with you the sobering news about higher education as it exists … [Read more...]
