Posted on Sun, Nov. 15, 2009
It's the season for students to apply for college admission, and for parents to begin wringing their hands over how to pay for it. These sites offer guidance and links to financing options.
Education department. The government's Federal Student Aid site explains the main sources of financial aid for most students, almost all of it tied to information that students and families will provide by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa - an unfriendly, but unavoidable, part of college-going. Foresighted students will click on "repaying your loans" to get an idea of how life will look after graduation. Take special note of the loan-forgiveness program for people who go into public-service jobs.
http://go.philly.com/payforschool
Simple, or not so. OK, we hope that leaving an e-mail address at this site will not add spam to our in-box, but so be it. What we got by signing up at College Made Simple is a newsletter listing "9 new ways to beat the high cost of college." You may find these tips from college funding adviser Scott Weingold revealing. He includes some advice on how to legally game the Fafsa form just by understanding it better. For example, parents' retirement savings such as 401(k) funds shouldn't be reported. Lumping them in as part of your assets could cost you in financial aid.
www.collegemadesimple.com
FinAid. Look here at the section on saving for college. While it might be a bit late in the case of a student about to start college, there are things families can do to stash away college money, or to prepay tuition. College-saving programs known as 529 plans have lost their luster in the last year as investments tanked, but you should still consider the option. The site has calculators for determining saving needs, loan payments, and such.
www.finaid.org
FastWeb. Finding private scholarships that might apply in your case used to be quite difficult. It still isn't easy, but FastWeb helps. So don't overlook this site in your hunt for aid. FastWeb and FinAid are published by financial-aid and college-planning author Mark Kantrowitz.
www.fastweb.com
Contact staff writer Reid Kanaley at 215-854-5114 or rkanaley@phillynews.com.
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