Letting Go and Staying Connected: How to Parent Your College Student

Congratulations! Join the club! You are now the parent of a college student! For nearly two decades, we have raised our children, created opportunities for them, and served as their strongest supporter and advocate. Now, they are off to college, where they are immersed in vast sea of opportunities in the company of mostly strangers. We are wondering how to stay connected to our young adults. Letting Go Can Be Hard to Do We have written the check, said our…

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A College Fair May Change Your Life

College Fair season is nearly upon us! Don't underestimate the potential of a college fair to change the trajectory of your life! The first one I suggest you attend is coming soon to a metropolitan area near you: Colleges That Change Lives. This organization is a not-for-profit consortium of colleges that was created in 1998. Normally, you would attend a college fair to meet with and speak to representatives from some particular colleges. That is not my advice here.…

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Calculating Your College Budget: Real-Time Answers

Calculating your college budget can be a mysterious process. Families have a difficult time predicting the awards. In reality, there are still the real-time answers that only the college can answer for you to help prepare your college budget. Stephanie Kennedy was showing me the proprietary software used by her academic team to help families with the college search process. I was quite impressed with how the software enables her team to quickly optimize a student’s opportunity for earning merit scholarships. Indeed, many…

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5 Questions to Ask Your College Funding Adviser

According to Kalman Chany, author of Paying for College Without Going Broke, using an accountant to do your college financial plan can actually cost you thousands of dollars in potential financial aid. Here are 5 questions to ask before you make a decision to retain anyone as your college funding adviser: 1. Should I increase my retirement contributions to lower my adjusted gross income during my child’s college years? If the accountant says yes to this question, you definitely have the wrong person…

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Decide Your College in 6 Questions

National College Decision Day is upon us! It is time to DECIDE YOUR COLLEGE!! If you have 2 (or 3) colleges that you love from which to choose, how do you decide? Here are some questions that families need to consider: 1. Is the money really different from one college to the next? If the scholarships and other aid from your top-choice colleges varies only somewhat, then try to keep money out of the decision, at least for the time that…

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Leverage Your Unemployment for Appeals in Financial Aid

March 24, 2014
MCPTmichaelL
Financial Aid

If you were unemployed anytime during the three years preceding your base year, that period of unemployment can be leveraged to get you additional financial aid--if you appeal for professional judgment. The additional aid can help you get through some difficult financial times. You need education financial aid for unemployed. « Learn more about financial aid Take Action Fast If you want that additional financial aid it’s important that you act immediately after receiving your award letters. Many colleges will…

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