College Financial Blog

The Latest College Financial Planning News

Financial Aid and Early Decision

Early Decision is an application process which involves a binding contract.  Early decision is not to be confused with early action which is a non-binding application process. The term “binding” means that if the student is accepted through an early decision application, that student must attend that school as per the early decision contract and withdraw all other applications.  The student

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Ringing in 2018 with the top 18 tips for success!

Know how stressful the college process is for your student.  It starts early in 11th grade.  Be their support.  They really do not need more pressure from parents. Use tools like Naviance to understand where your students might fall in a pool of applicants. This can help you avoid setting them up for failure. Understand

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Are Public Colleges Really Free In New York?

This past weekend New York became the first state to make four year public colleges tuition free by approving the Excelsior Scholarship.  The Excelsior Scholarship will cover the cost of tuition at SUNY, CUNY and community colleges for New York residents and it will go into effect this fall.  While the cost of tuition will

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Understand the FAFSA Changes

There have been some significant changes for our 2017 high school graduates.  Not only has the SAT has been overhauled, but the FAFSA will be available October 1 instead of January 1.  Additionally, the “prior, prior” year’s income will be collected instead of the current year as before.  This means that all students applying for

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FAFSA News – FSA ID Replaces PIN

As of May 10, 2015, the U. S. Department of Education replaced the FAFSA PIN with the Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. The new FSA ID will allow students and parents access to the FAFSA with a username and password rather than having to enter sensitive information such as name, date of birth and social security

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Words of Wisdom…

“You are what you are, and you are not greater if you get into your first-choice school or less if you do not. You will make the best of life’s opportunities and your own gifts – if you believe in yourself. If you do not have confidence in yourself and respect for yourself, you will

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Who Should Be Applying For Financial Aid? EVERYONE

An excellent article was recently published in Forbes explaining the process behind admissions and the manner in which financial aid is distributed.  The research and findings in this article is something everyone should strongly consider when applying to colleges and for financial aid.  Showing the school your ability to pay for college may actually put money back

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Important FAFSA Information

The FAFSA becomes available as of January 1, 2014.  All colleges will require this form for students applying for financial aid.  The process of applying for financial aid can seem daunting to most families.  A myriad of questions run through our minds like will this will hurt my chances for admission, am I answering everything

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Will Applying for Financial Aid Hurt My Chances?

Most colleges proudly claim to be need-blind, meaning they will not take financial need into consideration when determining admission.  A better student may receive a more attractive financial aid package but a lesser student will not be rejected based on financial need. Need-aware schools such as Tufts, Trinity and Lafayette will admit a majority of students based

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