Knowing the facts about financial aid can help college-bound students select a best fit school.
As students kick their college search into high gear this fall, NACAC encourages you to share your wisdom via Twitter.
Contribute your top tips using #FinAid101 and follow the hashtag to see advice submitted by colleagues from across the country.
Good information can go a long way when helping students make the right college choice.
Financial Aid Basics: What Students & Families Need to Know provides an overview of how to estimate college costs and apply for aid.
Continue reading New from NACAC: Download Our Financial Aid PowerPoint
Planning to work during the school year to help pay for college?
Incoming freshmen should start searching now to increase their odds of landing a great campus job, according to a post on Homeroom — the official blog of the US Department of Education.
“If you’re interested in working part-time while in school, it’s best to start checking out those opportunities early, even before you get to campus or start classes,” notes blog author Susan Thares, who works with the department’s office of Federal Student Aid.
Continue reading Students: Start Searching Now for On-Campus Jobs
Will the FAFSA’s earlier filing date result in increased access to higher education?
New federal data is promising.
After a four-year decline, FAFSA completions are up for the high school class of 2017, the first cohort of students who were able to file for aid starting on Oct. 1 — a full three months earlier than previously allowed.
A new law prohibits scholarship displacement at Maryland’s public colleges and universities.
The state is the first in the nation to pass legislation limiting the practice, which can spur financial aid reductions for students who are awarded private scholarships.
Continue reading Maryland Outlaws Scholarship Displacement at Public Colleges
Women hold more student debt and take longer than men to pay it off, according to a recent report from the American Association of University Women.
“It’s encouraging that women are enrolling in college more than ever before, but at the same time they are taking on larger amounts of debt to pay for their dreams,” AAUW researcher Kevin Miller said in a press release. “Because of factors like the gender pay gap, debt that could be manageable ends up becoming unmanageable, particularly for women.”
Women now earn 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded by US colleges, but hold almost two-thirds of the country’s $1.3 trillion student debt.
Continue reading Report: Women Hold Two-Thirds of All Student Debt
Many of us working with students in the college search and selection process struggle to help families understand college affordability. While most students will not pay the full cost of attendance, many will use sticker price to eliminate colleges from their list before they have the chance to weigh financial aid packages and scholarship offers.
What are best practices in talking to students and families about financial aid, student debt, and fit and finances? How do we best explain longer-term benefits beyond financial gain, inherent in the value of higher education, to high school juniors and seniors? How do we address the value of borrowing for college?
In just a few short months, a new crop of freshmen will begin their college journey.
For first-year students, four years may seem like more than enough time to pick a major and earn a degree.
But national data shows that roughly one in five students take longer to complete college. And each extra year cuts into their lifetime earnings and retirement savings, according to an analysis by NerdWallet — a San Francisco-based consumer finance company.
“Taking six years to get a four-year college degree can cost students up to almost $300,000 in tuition, interest on loans, and forgone income and retirement savings,” the report notes.
Continue reading Study: Extra Years in College Cut into Income, Retirement
Editor’s note: A version of post was first published on Counselors’ Corner.
Spring is a season of mixed emotions for school counselors. As students come in to share the exciting news of college acceptances and generous scholarships, an equal number of families come in with questions that are harder to answer:
“What more were they looking for?”
“Don’t they know this isn’t enough to cover my needs?”
“Why does college cost so much?”
It turns out this last question has a pretty clear answer—it’s complicated, but it’s clear.
“It doesn’t have to cost this much, if you start at a community college and transfer.”
New York Times bestselling author Wes Moore launched BridgeEdU with one goal in mind: To increase college access and completion rates for low-income and first-generation students.
The program, which began in Baltimore in 2014, uses a high-tech, high-touch academic support model to help students transition during their first year of college. But as Moore and his staff quickly discovered, the complex process of applying for financial aid can create roadblocks for even the most motivated students.
Case in point? Although all members of the inaugural class of BridgeEdU scholars reported that they had applied for financial aid, the staff soon discovered that a whopping 75 percent hadn’t completed the FAFSA, and most of the students had not created accounts with Maryland’s state grant agency.
The experience inspired BridgeEdU staff to create YesU — a mobile app released in 2016 that offers customized step-by-step support to students across the nation as they apply for financial aid.
Continue reading YesU: New App Helps Families Navigate the Financial Aid Process