A college education… Getting a degree is one of the most important investments you will make in your life. However, with the increasing costs of tuition, figuring out how to finance your education can be discouraging and even a little scary. The management team of Financial Aid Finder has been producing top rated financial aid resources since 1993. A few years ago, we decided to bring these resources to the public for free. Financial Aid Finder believes that in today’s economic market students need all the help they can get in finding and evaluating college financial aid options to help them pay for their college and university education. Let’s face it financial aid is as confusing as it is necessary to a college education! That is why we have designed this website to a...

Welcome to the final part of the Financial Aid Finder’s five-part FAFSA Workshop. If you want to catch up on parts 1-4, follow these links: Essential FAFSA Documents FAFSA PIN Common FAFSA Blunders FAFSA Deadlines Well, we have arrived at the final installment of our FAFSA workshop. For some of you, this may no longer be relevant, since you had March 1st (or earlier) deadlines by which to complete your FAFSA. If you are still working on your application, however, you might find some good tips in today’s FAQs. A special thank you to everyone who sent me their questions. I hope that our answers today are able to help you, but if you are still confused, leave me a comment below so I can follow up with you. I am applying to three private schools and two state schools. How many FAF...

In honor of Martin Luther King Day tomorrow, I have been thinking a lot about dreams. If you are reading this blog, odds are that attending college (or, at the very least, affording college) figures somewhere in your dreams. For many of us, college is more than just a lofty dream. It is the representation of very concrete opportunities — opportunities to learn and grow, to discover and realize our career aspirations, to change our lives for the better. In many ways, higher education is the great equalizer. With a lot of hard work and dedication, we can all come out the other side smarter, wiser and better equipped for the rest of our lives. In fact, the opportunity of higher education reminds me a lot of something Dr. King said that November day that he delivered his famous ̶...

July 7, 2008 by Mara Strom Most of the time I come here and talk about what you should do to get financial aid…Gentle reminders about filing before the FAFSA deadline, applying for as many scholarships as you can, and picking the right student loan to cover the gap. Well, today, I’m going to be a little more ruthless. I’m going to tell you what NOT to do — under any circumstances — if you want financial aid. Don’t let one of these goofs gut your chances for the education you want and deserve. 1. Not Applying for Financial Aid This made sound too obvious to be true, but many students and their families assume they won’t qualify for financial aid so they don’t even bother applying. They think they make too much money — but even families makin...

April 21, 2008 by Mara Strom Summer is just around the corner. Which means, it’s time to start your search for the perfect summer job or internship — you know, the one with enough earning potential to cover your contribution to tuition, room and board for next year. Summer jobs are undoubtedly a cash cow for many working students, but if you’re looking for a less labor-intensive way to earn some extra money for college, then check out our scholarship update. Today’s update includes two great opportunities with deadlines coming up this week. You don’t have much time left, and one of these requires a serious essay, so check them out quickly! 1. The Student-View Scholarship This is more like Publisher’s Clearing House than a traditional scholarship, but hey, $1...

April 17, 2008 by Mara Strom If you’re a recent college grad straddled with a sizeable chunk of student debt, you’re in good company. In fact, a study by The National Center for Education Statistics indicates that 50% of all college grads have an average of $10,000 or more to pay back on their college loans. Let’s say you’re a little better than average and take out $18K in loans. Here’s what you’ll be looking at: $207 per month for 10 years, if you’ve got a Stafford Loan with a (relatively low) fixed interest rate of 6.8%. And P.S. On the original principle, you’ll be paying back another $6,900 in interest. If you want to see the breakdown for your specific loan, check out the nifty student loan calculator at finaid.org. Now consider that the average starting s...

America’s Top Colleges Are More Popular Than Ever April 7, 2008 It’s April, which means that if you were one of the hundred thousand high school seniors shooting for an Ivy League education, you already know your fate. Hopefully you’ve spent the past few days celebrating that golden acceptance letter. But if you’ve been consoling yourself instead, perhaps this will help: you’re in very good company. The number of applicants to America’s Ivy League has reached an all-time high (the rates are double what they were just 10 years ago), and the percentage of students offered admission is scraping the bottom of the award letter barrel. Here are some stats: According to The New York Times, Harvard fielded over 27,000 applicants – and only 7 out of every 100 got in. Yale was a bi...

Physical Therapists May Soon Be Eligible For Loan Forgiveness Physical therapists might be enjoying some student debt relief in the near future if Congress gets its way. On February 7, the House approved The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, H.R. 4137, which would allow physical therapists to apply for student loan forgiveness. The wide-reaching Bill, introduced by Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), aims to overhaul the 1960s Higher Education Act and ensure better access to college education for all qualified Americans, especially those from low- and middle-income families. Among its many priorities, H.R. 4137 would provide service-based loan forgiveness as a means to encouraging students to enter “critically needed” fields. Physical therapy is now co...

It’s never too late to save for your children’s education. Even if your child is a teenager, save as much money as you can until they are ready to attend college. One way to save is with a 529 college savings plan. A 529 college savings plan is an investment plan that puts money aside for higher education, and can offset the amount needed in the form of college student loans. 529 plans offer a tax advantage to parents and other relatives that want to help a child go to college. All fifty states and the District of Columbia have their own 529 plan. To find out the requirements for the savings plan in your state, visit their website. There are two types of 529 plans. Pre-paid tuition plans let parents purchase tuition credits based on what the going rate is today and the plan...

It’s a rare college student who does not have to assume student loans. If student loan debt is in your future, now is the time to educate yourself on your rights and responsibilities. New changes to the student loan program make it necessary for student loan borrowers to educate themselves on their rights and responsibilities. New student loan borrowers are required by the Department of Education to complete a rights and responsibilities tutorial aptly named Entrance Counseling. This counseling used to be done en masse on campuses to incoming students but is now easily accessed via the internet and can be accomplished at the borrower’s convenience from and computer with internet capability. Since this tutorial is required of all borrowers we’ll concentrate our attention in th...