Some Fresh Ways To Help You Pay For College:
Depending on your college plans there are a few different tricks you can use to pay for college and graduate without the shackles of decades of debt. Here are some nifty (ya, nifty) pieces of info we picked up in the news recently that you can use to help pay for college.
College Scholarships – Scholarship Search
Reed College’s decision to limit admission for some “needy students” received a lot of coverage. The New York Times headline: “College in Need Closes a Door to Needy Students.” [Reed College President Diver's response]. This should not have come as a surprise to anyone. The Times had an earlier article, Paying in Full as a Ticket to Colleges.
But the discussion reminded me of a presentation that I attended on access and affordability. Don Heller of Penn State presented. I found a recent version of “Access to higher education in the United States: Issues and challenges” [pdf] on his web site. The slide I was looking for was #16, click on the thumbnail for a larger version.
Financial versus Academic Barriers
It was interesting to see this chart played out so vividly in the national media. Kind of sad.
Bankrate.com: Government buys student loan: What to do?.
To help lenders stay in the student loan market, the federal government is buying on the secondary market and servicing the loans themselves
SmartMoney.com 3 Ways to Make College More Affordable.
Economy forces 2009 grads to dump dream colleges.
What is clear is that money played an outsize role in this year’s college search. Students are lobbying for every last financial aid dollar.
Advanced Dumpster Diving: Colleges Get Smart On Salvage – TIME.:
The scavengers arrive on college campuses like clockwork, in search of books, DVD players, barely worn clothes, lamps, couches and anything else that departing students didn’t bother to take home. Every spring, several years’ worth of accumulated goods are chucked into huge trash receptacles or placed on curbsides by harried undergrads.
Reuters: ”…ministry officials … got tips this week from professional comedians as part of training in communication skills. By experiencing comedy routines, we hope they can learn more about how to speak to clients and how to manage their staff…”
I wonder if financial aid offices should try that? I’m not picking on us but try this experiment…. Go to Twitter Search and type “financial aid” without the quotes.
Here are some of my favorites (usernames removed):
So maybe having some comedy training would be helpful. On second thought didn’t a college president get in trouble a couple of years ago for attending a comedy conference or was it a magic conference…I can’t recall.
NPR Series: This is a yearlong series of stories tracking Emmanuel Garcia and Marlo Johnson’s post-high school journey amid the college loan crisis. The most recent story is Recession Offers Hard Lessons In Paying For College.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Families, even affluent ones, aren’t getting the message that they need to save more for college and that a 529 college savings plan is likely the best option.
“I’m surprised at how many people think everyone gets some financial aid,” said Linda Leitz, a financial adviser in Colorado Springs, Colo.
A recent Gallup survey released by Sallie Mae found that 20% of those earning more than $150,000 aren’t saving for college costs.
Tha’t because most presentations on financial aid include students loans as a form of financial aid and most parents think of financial aid as scholarships.
Government insured student loans are a form of financial aid just not the kind that people want.