Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “parents”
Reviewing a financial aid package from a college can be overwhelming. Schools take tens of thousands of dollars worth of expenses and fit everything into a short document. Many families make the mistake of deferring to the Financial Aid Office’s assumptions without doing any additional investigation on their own. Not …
Scholarships are by far the best form of financial aid for college. Scholarships are not required to be repaid, and scholarships are available from a wide variety of sources, including schools, non-profits, and many corporations. College students who invest their time seeking out assistance are often handsomely rewarded for their …
Funding a college education has always been a source of stress inside college families. Navigating the FAFSA and tracking down the right mix of scholarships, grants, and loans can be a time-consuming endeavor. For many, the growing cost of higher education has represented a significant hardship. Adding COVID-19 and the …
Many parents may not have been able to help their children fund college while their kids were in school, but as these parents approach retirement, they get a second chance to help pay for school in the form of student loan repayment assistance. One such parent recently emailed us the …
One of the most frequent reader questions that I receive looks something like this: Please help! I cosigned a student loan for my child/grandchild/friend, and they are not making payments. The lender keeps calling me. What can I do? In some cases the primary borrower cannot afford the payments. In …
I’m not a fan of having cosigners on loans. It is a huge commitment for the cosigner, and if the borrower runs into trouble, it can destroy a close relationship. Lenders like to advertise cosigner release programs, but they have almost no incentive to grant a release, and securing the …
Any parent with a child about to head off to college should be concerned about student debt. Used properly, student loans are an excellent tool for further educational opportunities and to build a better future. Used improperly, student loans are a recipe for financial hardship. Student loans are easy to …
There is a debate about who should be expected to pay for Parent PLUS loans. Those looking at things from a moral standpoint might reach a different conclusion than those looking at it from a legal point of view. What isn’t up for debate is the fact that paying off Parent …
When evaluating college options, it is easy to get sticker shock. Tuition and housing can cost well over $50,000 per year at many schools. Some are closer to $100,000 per year by the time all the costs of attendance are included. Despite the scary numbers, it is a big mistake …
Private student loans should come with a warning label. For many borrowers, student loans are a necessary tool in the pursuit of the American dream. Used properly, student loans can be an excellent investment in the future. The problem with student loans is that things don’t always go as planned. …
