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...

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...

At senior high schools around the country, the financial aid night has become a common fall event. With financial aid becoming more complex, many high school counseling offices are wisely choosing to invite the experts in to discuss the details of applying for and accepting financial aid. One thing to remember is that if your high school does not offer such an event, you can most likely invite yourself to another local high school’s financial aid night. The information should be as relevant to you as if it were given to you by your own high school. A good financial aid presentation should go over the basic application process including the FAFSA on the web application. This is the critical piece of information but not the only information you need. Other topics that may be covere...

May 23, Before you gamble the ranch on your child’s college education, do a little research to make sure it’s worth it. There are several reasons that a Home-Equity Loan may not be a good idea. In a recent article on Bloomberg.Com, these types of student loans can get you into trouble. Home-Equity Loans can make an impact on your financial situation in a big way such as: on your tax return. A Home-Equity loan interest is not tax deductible unlike other loans used for higher education. If your real estate market is on the downward spiral it might be a good idea to cash in on an interest only loan. By refinancing in this way you can save on monthly payments and apply that extra money to the extra expenses associated with your child’s college education such as books...

An expert from Kaplan was featured on the Today show discussing various ways to prepare for college costs. He highlighted some issues that we have discussed in previous “news” articles on FinancialAidFinder. This is a very tumultuous time for financial aid as budget cuts have reduced federal aid by $41 billion dollars while the cost of tuition continues to rise. We have compiled some of the important tips and issues that we have discussed over the past couple of months that are pertinent to the issues that the Today show highlighted. Start a College Savings Account for Your Child ASAP: If you have just had a baby or plan to have one very soon here are a few thoughts you might want to consider. Even if your child is older these ideas should help you plan for your childR...

It’s never too early to start planning for how you are going to pay for your child’s college education. Saving for college is critical. Public Universities raised the tuition for the 2005-06 academic year more than 7%! It’s scary to imagine what that cost might be eighteen years from now. If you have just had a baby or plan to have one very soon here are a few thoughts you might want to consider. Even if your child is older these ideas should help you plan for your child’s education. Make sure you start sorting out your finances now. If you have a lot of debt (maybe from your own college loans) make sure and keep paying them off. Investing in paying off your debts is one of the best financial investments you can make. Along that same line, try not to go de...