The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

So Grandma wants to help pay for college? Fantastic! Tapping into extended family resources can certainly help parents overwhelmed by college costs. And since tuition payments are exempt from the gift tax, a grandparent’s help seems to be an effective way to disseminate family wealth without negative tax implications.

The Tuition and Fees Deduction expired at the end of 2014, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be available in 2015. The Tuition and Fees Deduction has a judicial practice of disappearing and reappearing throughout the years. It first appeared in 2002 as part of the Economic and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, where it was put in place through the end of 2005. Then, in 2006, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act extended the benefit for tax years 2006 and 2007, and so began the tradition. Various bills brought the deduction back for 2 years at a time, and even last tax year we saw another extension for the year with the Tax Increase Prevention Act.

Are Universities in Canada Worth it?

So you want to study in Canada, eh? You’re not alone. Many U.S. high school students are including at least one Canadian university among their list of prospective colleges. In 2014, the Canadian government formally created an international education strategy to attract more international students, and for a U.S. student wishing to head north, this is most excellent news! Here’s why:

How to Buy College Textbooks

This is the sixth  in a series of posts that college finance expert, Laurie Peltier, is writing about her own experience going through the college application and enrollment processes with her kids. Her previous posts focused on how to stay organized during the college search and final decision-making processes, getting to know your school, the Federal Work Study program and the Army ROTC Scholarship. Here, she discusses the various ways students can buy books and save money at the same time. 

As former financial aid administrators, my colleagues and I experienced firsthand how unprepared some college students were when it came to financial matters. Whether it was managing their paycheck from on-campus work, understanding the impact of future borrowing, or balancing a checkbook, many of our students were overwhelmed and unfamiliar with basic financial concepts. As a parent of a college student and a recent college graduate, I also understand how challenging it is to teach financial skills in the midst of our busy lives.

As we enter the heart of tax season, many parents of college students are looking forward to reaping the rewards of all of the college tuition checks they’ve been writing recently: an education tax break!

Your child’s a high school senior.  Though your college savings are not what you’d like them to be, you’ve put away a bit over the years.  College applications are now done.  You’ve likely just submitted your FAFSA.  You breathe a tentative sigh of relief.  While the prospect of paying for college is still an overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable obstacle looming in your near future, you’ve done all you can do.  Aid applications have been submitted and the dice will fall as they may.  Things are out of your hands, right?

Paying for College When You Don’t Qualify for Aid

Paying for college is a challenge.  While this statement is probably not news to anyone, we sometimes overlook the extent to which this challenge affects all income groups.  Whether rich, poor, or somewhere in between, most people spend most of what they earn. Few of us can write an annual check for $60,000 without breaking a sweat (or, perhaps, suffering a complete panic attack).  As a College Coach financial aid expert, I work with families of all income levels struggling with the prospect of paying for college.  While students from lower income households often qualify for need-based financial aid, the assistance options for higher income families are more limited.  But that doesn’t mean they are nonexistent. Families can employ a number of strategies and utilize a wide range of resources to help pay for college when they don’t qualify for financial aid.

If you graduated this past spring and used student loans as part of your college financing strategy, you likely just received (or will soon receive) your very first student loan bill.  For many graduates, this first bill can come as an unwelcome surprise.  Sure, you knew you had to pay these loans back someday, but now that that day is here, and you see the size of your expected monthly payment, you may be feeling unprepared to handle repayment.  Rest assured:  if that monthly payment seems unaffordable based on your current financial circumstances, you do have some options.  The government offers a number of repayment plans for your federal education loans, some of which may provide you with some relief: