The cost of a college education today has reached “crisis mode.” The cost of most large state universities are over $30,000 a year per student and some elite schools, such as Yale U, have price tags approaching $80,000 a year per student. Most families with two, or more, students cannot afford to fund their future retirement and pay for college at the same time. You know the high cost of college is in crisis mode when politicians use it as a major election platform. They scream “f....
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The Department of Education (DOE) recently announced the annual updates to the tables used in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology that determines a student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for the award year 2020-2021 for student financial aid programs. The Higher Education Act requires the DOE to update these tables for price inflation annually: Income Protection Allowance (Student & Parents) Adjusted Net Worth (NW) of a Business or Farm Asset Protection Allowance....
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Every year, students and their parents spend countless hours going through the stressful college admissions process in the hope of getting into top colleges. The results are often not pretty. As we just passed the May 1st enrollment deadline, here are a few comments of parents from a college Facebook group: "My kid is in her room crying her eyes out because we can't afford the two favorite options we have and she is likely going to "have to go to a STUPID SUNY!". "All our life we have sa....
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THE APPEAL PROCESS Each spring colleges attempt to entice students to their university with award letters to reduce the end cost. These award letters will show up in the families email, or mailbox between March 1 st and April 15th, depending on the college. When a college's award letter does not meet the student's financial needs, either in the total amount or type of aid, the student can appeal the award to the college. Most colleges have an appeal process that allows students to request a re....
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