It’s January and as you know FAFSA season is upon us.  You may question whether or not you should file the form if you think you may not qualify for free money from the government.  So should you?  Absolutely!  But don’t just take my word for it, here is an article that outlines the top reasons that every family should apply for financial aid.

One big reason every student should complete a FAFSA application is to qualify for the Stafford Direct Loan.  This loan is a government loan that a student can receive in his or her own name at a fixed interest rate without a co-signer.  Financial need is not a factor in receiving this loan, however whether or not a student receives a subsidized portion (meaning it’s not accruing interest until the student graduates or falls below half-time status) is based on the family’s finances.  Another benefit to filing the FAFSA?  If you are planning to take a parent PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student) loan, your student will need to have filed the FAFSA.

It’s important to file the FAFSA because a student’s financial need can vary from year to year.  For instance, let’s say you filed the FAFSA last year for your student and their EFC (expected family contribution) came back at $30,000.  If your student was attending one of our 4-year public colleges in the state of New Hampshire he or she would not have a financial need as they cost less than that amount (although he or she could have received a scholarship based completely on merit).  But now let’s say that you have 2 children in college for the 2012-2013 academic year.  You would file a FAFSA for each of your children and you would find that the EFC drops roughly by 50% (it will vary based on how much each of your children earned from working and what they have in assets).  For easy numbers, let’s say that each of your children has an EFC of $15,000.  In this case, they may receive some financial aid based on need from their college if this number is less than the school’s yearly cost.  You never know, and it’s definitely worth it to find out.  Any free money, no matter what amount, is good money!

Want some help filing your FAFSA?  Call the Center for College Planning at 888.7.GRADUATE ext. 119 to schedule your FREE 60 minute FAFSA appointment today.

Be financial aid savvy,
Val

Hello everyone,

Most of you have probably just started or are getting ready to start your spring semester. Some of you might be unhappy about your performance in the fall semester. I sometimes have students ask me how to improve their grades in their classes and after a little bit of probing, I often find that these students can start by making a very simple change which is the first step toward any improvement in performance. Many of these students missed quite a few classes—they simply chose not to attend, most likely because they saw no harm coming from that choice.  What is the harm of missing class? I usually try to explain that when a student misses class, he or  she misses a lot of important information. But that argument doesn’t seem to convince students to make it to class. So here’s a different reason for why you should attend ALL of your classes—it’s a waste of your money not to.

In-state tuition (not including room and board and mandatory fees) at Plymouth State University, where I teach, for the 2011-12 academic year is $9,110. Out-of-state tuition is $16,570. If we do the math, we see that tuition for New Hampshire residents is $4,055 per semester and for non-residents it is $8,285. This price allows students to take between 12 and 17 credits during that semester. Let’s assume students take, on average, 5 courses at 3 credits each. This means that each course costs $811 for residents and $1,657 for non-residents. If a course meets twice a week for 15 weeks, each class period costs a New Hampshire resident $27.03 and a non-resident $52.23. Although these are just estimates for what each class period costs, they are fairly indicative and if you miss a class, you are throwing away some amount of money.

The first step to getting good grades is to attend all of your classes. Make it your goal in the new semester to have perfect attendance. Can you really afford not to?

Cathie

Here at the Center for College Planning we meet with families that have had to choose between saving for their retirement and saving for their child’s college education.  Here is an article that explains that while it is ideal to save for both at the same time, it is not a possibility for every family.  If given the choice, parents should consider saving for their retirement before saving for their student’s college costs because there are options available to pay for college; you are unable to borrow for retirement.

So what are some of the ways that families can finance college if they have been unable to save (or have saved, but not as much as they will need to fund college)?  There are college tuition payment plans that some families utilize for a portion of the balance.  If you as a family know that you can contribute say $100 a month for 10 months, that means $1000 less that will have to be funded through another source.  If it’s $1000 less that is borrowed, that’s less money accumulating interest over a 10 plus year period.  That can add up to real savings!

Students are able to borrow $5,500 in their own name at a fixed interest rate from the government (for their 1st year of college if attending full time).  This loan is called the Direct Stafford Loan and the application for it is completion of the FAFSA form.  Some parents choose to take out a loan in their own name from the Federal government.  This type of loan is called the Parent PLUS loan and it has a fixed interest rate of 7.9%.  For more information on both of these loans, click here.

And hopefully students are awarded scholarship (based on merit) and grant money (based on finances), both free sources of aid.  These can be given from the government, college or through a private source.  The FAFSA, and possibly the CSS Profile are the applications for all grant money, but students should research scholarship options through their high school, town and private organizations.  Check out www.nh93.com for some great local scholarship opportunities.  Every little bit adds up and goes a long way to help defray the cost of college.  Even if your student is not a senior in high school, but a sophomore or junior, encourage him or her to research these scholarship opportunities.  Some are available for underclassmen and even if they are not, it’s helpful to know their eligibility criteria in advance.  It may give the students the motivation needed to complete the requirements for the various opportunities.

If your family would like free help completing your student’s FAFSA form schedule an appointment to meet with us in our Concord office.  We also meet with families to discuss funding options once students have received their offers of financial aid from their colleges.  Call us at 888.7.GRADUATE ext. 119 to schedule your free 1 hour appointment.

Explore college funding opportunities today,
Val

Here at the Center for College Planning we meet with families that have had to choose between saving for their retirement and saving for their child’s college education.  Here is an article that explains that while it is ideal to save for both at the same time, it is not a possibility for every family.  If given the choice, parents should consider saving for their retirement before saving for their student’s college costs because there are options available to pay for college; you are unable to borrow for retirement.

So what are some of the ways that families can finance college if they have been unable to save (or have saved, but not as much as they will need to fund college)?  There are college tuition payment plans that some families utilize for a portion of the balance.  If you as a family know that you can contribute say $100 a month for 10 months, that means $1000 less that will have to be funded through another source.  If it’s $1000 less that is borrowed, that’s less money accumulating interest over a 10 plus year period.  That can add up to real savings!

Students are able to borrow $5,500 in their own name at a fixed interest rate from the government (for their 1st year of college if attending full time).  This loan is called the Direct Stafford Loan and the application for it is completion of the FAFSA form.  Some parents choose to take out a loan in their own name from the Federal government.  This type of loan is called the Parent PLUS loan and it has a fixed interest rate of 7.9%.  For more information on both of these loans, click here.

And hopefully students are awarded scholarship (based on merit) and grant money (based on finances), both free sources of aid.  These can be given from the government, college or through a private source.  The FAFSA, and possibly the CSS Profile are the applications for all grant money, but students should research scholarship options through their high school, town and private organizations.  Check out www.nh93.com for some great local scholarship opportunities.  Every little bit adds up and goes a long way to help defray the cost of college.  Even if your student is not a senior in high school, but a sophomore or junior, encourage him or her to research these scholarship opportunities.  Some are available for underclassmen and even if they are not, it’s helpful to know their eligibility criteria in advance.  It may give the students the motivation needed to complete the requirements for the various opportunities.

If your family would like free help completing your student’s FAFSA form schedule an appointment to meet with us in our Concord office.  We also meet with families to discuss funding options once students have received their offers of financial aid from their colleges.  Call us at 888.7.GRADUATE ext. 119 to schedule your free 1 hour appointment.

Explore college funding opportunities today,
Val

The Center for College Planning Library, located in our Concord Office, has a great selection of books highlighting college majors, the college application process, standardized testing strategies and test samples, college life, financial aid and so much more!  So don’t go out and purchase a book that you can borrow from us for free!   While we don’t have every college related books, we do have many available for you to borrow.  For a complete listing of our CCP Lending Library Catalog click here.

Please stop into our 4 Barrell Court, Concord, NH location anytime Monday-Friday from 8-5 p.m. to reserve and borrow your book(s) from us today!

Happy New Year,
Val

Hello everyone,

At most universities, the Fall semester has just ended and the end of a semester means that students will be receiving grades. For some first year students, grades at the end of the first semester can come as a shock. Grades mean different things to different people but no matter what you think about grades, they matter to your college career. Although grades do not measure your worth as a person, they are important because they determine your grade point average, which is important for President’s and Dean’s List calculations, for scholarship and internship opportunities and even for finding your first job after graduation. If your grades (and therefore, your grade point average) drop below certain levels, you may even be placed on academic probation or be asked to leave school. If you find yourself in this situation, most schools offer a number of opportunities for quickly bringing your grade point average up and you should take advantage of this. At Plymouth State University, for example, if a student receives a grade lower than a C- in a class, the student can retake the class to receive a new grade. The new grade (even if it is lower) will replace the original grade in the grade point average calculation, although the original grade will still appear on the student’s transcript. Replacement of low grades with higher grades will bring a grade point average up very quickly! Of course, the best way to stay out of academic trouble is to not receive low grades in the first place.

If you are having trouble with some of your classes, seek help as early as possible.  At Plymouth State University we have a Writing Center and a Math Activity Center to help students.  Find out what resources are available at your school and take advantage of them.  They are there to help!

Happy Holidays!
Cathie