College Planning
Browse our resource library for information about all aspects of smart college planning.
What is the Best Way to Save for College? 529 Plans
Planning to send your children through college is a daunting financial task with a variety of potential savings vehicles available. Each method comes with its own set of pros and cons. Learning how to assess your savings needs early can help you better weigh your options and make adjustments along the way. Learn more about how to analyze your needs, automate your savings, and more!
‘How Can We Afford College?’ 5 Tips to Figure it Out
Concerns about affording the cost of higher education arise long before your children approach college age. You can reduce your financial stress during this time by developing a better understanding of how to assess the value of a particular college or university and broadening your tools for minimizing education debt with these five tips.
6 Factors That Predict a Student’s College Success
A college education is a BIG investment. Smart parents are wise to understand the best ways to build their children’s’ social, emotional and financial ROI from college by looking beyond just the cost of any particular school. The true value of a higher learning institution is not always in the price tag, and the factors in this article can outweigh the “prestige” of a pricey school.
4 Ways to Evaluate Financial Aid Letters
Financial Aid letters can be very confusing to fully understand and not being able to decipher them may make you miss out on a better award. The letters are laid out in a way that is misleading to appear more generous. Take a look at these 4 ways to interpret those complicated letters so you don’t get misled and you can know your child is getting the best aid.
Planning a Debt-Free College Education
Higher education costs continue to soar, making it harder and harder to provide a quality education for your children. Avoid falling prey to long term loans and high interest rates by starting your college financial planning early, and learning about alternative ways to finance an education that won’t leave you or your child struggling with debt for years to come.
Filing the FAFSA: Do It Soon, Do It Right
One of the most important steps of financial planning for college is completing the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA), even if you don’t think you qualify for assistance. Get a head start and a deeper understanding of the FAFSA’s benefits with these tips and insights.
How Parent & Child Assets Impact Financial Aid
It is important to be aware of the types of financial aid and what those programs look at in terms of assets. Having a better understanding of these applications can help improve your child’s chances of gaining financial aid.
Will My Child Make a Good Salary After College?
A college education often comes with a hefty price tag, which leads to concerns that a graduate’s career choice may not provide an adequate return on investment. Use these assessment tools to navigate college claims and real-world data for a better understanding of your child’s career ROI.
Paying For College Is A Family Affair
Despite their age, children can (and should) be included in discussions about and the planning of a family’s college funding strategies. Not only can proper goal setting and open communications maximize the student’s degree potential, but young people can get their first taste of financial planning with their family as a trusted guide.
Roth IRAs – The Ultimate College Savings Vehicle?
Rising college costs continue to make the decision to pursue a degree a difficult financial quandary for many families. This month we discuss the college savings benefits to opening a Roth IRA account, which can give your family the edge in sending children to higher learning institutions.
10 Tips for Maximizing Financial Aid
It’s no question that college tuition is expensive, so when it comes to figuring out financial aid, it’s good to know how to maximize it in the best way you can. Take a look at the tips in this article for filling out FAFSA and how to contact the school itself about lowering costs.
Expensive, Popular or Affordable, Sensible School
The process of finding the right school to attend for a good college education can be very overwhelming. By focusing on a few different qualifying factors, you can create a checklist of what you, or your child, will value most and help you have a more clear idea of what schools would make the best fit.