Last week, I talked about non-need based scholarships your student may be eligible for. This week, I want to cover the other major type of college money: need-based financial aid. Who May Be Eligible for Need-Based Financial Aid? There are…
Category: Financial Aid
Comparing Financial Packages in the College Choice Process
If your child will soon be making the final college choice, it’s time to prepare to compare financial offers. That is, of course, unless you don’t need to worry about the price difference between schools. As you review acceptances, scholarship…
Tagged with: college choice
Finding the Best Deals on Colleges
Wendy Nelson
Posted in College Search, Financial Aid, Paying for College, Scholarships, Uncategorized
For three mornings this week, I spoke to groups of parents and students at the local high school about the college search process. When I spoke to high school juniors and their parents, I stressed that there are several ways…
Didn’t Make a College Choice Yet? There are Still Options
My daughter, a high school senior, came home recently and said she had a friend who not only hadn’t selected a college yet, but hadn’t even applied. She assumed that his only option left would be to attend a local…
Negotiating Your Out-of Pocket College Cost
Can you negotiate college cost? Yes, and you should. Most schools have some wiggle room with their merit and need-based offers. While the college choice process isn’t really like buying a car, there are some similarities. You can start the…
Minimize Your Out-of-Pocket College Cost – Part 2
Wendy Nelson
Posted in College Search, Financial Aid, Net Price Calculator, Paying for College, Scholarships
Updated 2-4-17 – Updates in red In part 1, I talked about what you can do to minimize your upcoming out-of-pocket college costs when you have a senior in high school who is in the process of getting down to…
Thoughts About the CSS Profile
I recently filed the CSS Profile for a couple of highly competitive top-dollar universities on my daughter’s college application list. According to the Net Price Calculators at these schools, we would probably qualify for some institutional grant aid, even though…
Tagged with: CSS Profile, EFC, Expected Family Contribution, FAFSA, financial aid, institutional grant aid, Tuition Coach
FAFSA – Wait for Your Tax Return or File an Early Estimate?
Before you can determine this, you need to know when the financial aid deadlines are for the schools to which you are sending a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You need to go with the earliest financial aid deadline…
FAFSA – To File or Not to File?
This is the time of year when parents need to think about filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). But how do you know if it is worth your time and energy to file? Many people have the…
Private Colleges – Merit Aid vs. Need-Based Aid
When you are looking at private colleges, there are two types of financial assistance that may be offered – merit aid and need-based aid. The beauty of merit aid is that it has nothing to do with how much a…
Tagged with: CSS, EFC, Expected Family Contribution, FAFSA, financial aid, kid's college, merit aid, merit scholarships
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