Students whose financial aid packages include loans will receive a preferred lending list with their financial aid package. Most college financial aid office have one. What is a preferred lender list? And, amid news reports of a scandal in which certain lenders did favors for a group of financial aid administrators in return for a pitch, can you trust the list? ...

I am confused about which parent's information to include on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). My ex-husband paid child support for 7 months this year from a settlement agreement but has been unemployed for nearly two years. He is re-married. My son is 18, lives with me, and starts college next fall. This year my ex-husband gets to ...

Your parents are broke but not broke enough for you to qualify for full need. You have no chance of getting a student loan. During your summer vacation, you burned through your savings. Tuition prices just shot up another 7%. And despite receiving several scholarships, you will still owe thousands of dollars for your college education. So what do you do? ...

Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) late on Tuesday, January 1, 2013. The measure passed with bipartisan support in the Senate by a vote of 89 to 8 and in the House by a vote of 257 to 167. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law. This legislation addresses some aspects of the ...

Need a credit card? It will soon become a lot more difficult to get one. College students who want a credit card but are under age 21 will need to have a cosigner, such as a parent or other adult who is at least 21 years old. College students can also get a credit card without a cosigner if they can ...

I am in kind of a bad situation. I had a bit of personal problems and had to move out of my house and no longer live with my parents. Unfortunately they will no longer pay for any of my schooling. I previously filled out the FAFSA and did not qualify because my parents made too much money. However, because I ...

I have been financially independent from my parents since I was 19. I'm 23 now. I've been working two jobs and taking 12 hours in school. My school says that I cannot file a FAFSA without my parents' information. My parents will not give me their tax information or even fill it out online. I don't have the stamina to work ...

To fully understand your student loan options, it helps to understand some basic loan terms. You'll find them scattered throughout loan materials and in conversations with financial aid advisors. Use this glossary to get the terms straight on your loan. Accrued interest: The interest that accumulates on the unpaid balance of a loan. Annual percentage rate (APR): The interest associated with ...

While the US Department of Education is working on simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the College Board has already been taking similar steps toward simplifying the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form. The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form tries to calculate a more precise measurement of ability to pay. This necessarily involves asking more questions than on the FAFSA. However, ...

How does a chapter 13 bankruptcy affect financial aid? Would it be difficult to get financial aid for my child because my husband and I filed chapter 13 about 2 years ago? — C. F. A previous bankruptcy can affect eligibility for some education loans but it does not affect eligibility for other forms of financial aid. The Bankruptcy Reform Act ...

Graduate and professional students can borrow money for school through the PLUS Loan Program. Qualifying students who are enrolled at least half time can take out a loan for up to the cost of attendance, minus the amount of other forms of financial aid. You must file a FAFSA and accept all Stafford Loans you are offered before applying for the ...

Meet College Joe. He attends a four-year university and is going to graduate in May. Unfortunately, College Joe had to take out a lot of loans to pay for his education. When he graduates, he'll be roughly $21,000 in debt. What's worse is that College Joe has no "real world" job prospects. In fact, he's been hearing from most of his ...

I'm having problems with my financial aid. I'm a single mother of one. My daughter is almost three years old and will be attending daycare this semester. I've been going to college for two years and will receive my associates degree soon with a cumulative GPA of 3.7. I will continue my education at another college this fall, and again I'm ...

Ebook readers work well for pleasure reading, but need some improvements in usability before they will be able to replace textbooks on a widespread basis. The potential cost-savings are more limited than most people expect. I am an early adopter of technology and gadgetry. I purchased two Sony PRS-500 Readers when they first became available: one for my wife and one ...

My daughter received some financial aid for her freshman year of college but we still had to take out a sizable loan for the rest. She applied for a loan her sophomore year and was denied because we have "insufficient income" to repay the debt. My husband is self-employed as a landscaper and it was a bad year. She was attending ...

For many college-bound students the anticipation of higher education is overshadowed by financial anxieties. With tuition rising faster than financial aid dollars, more students are finding gaps in their financial aid packages. The gap appears when the student's expected family contribution (EFC) plus the school's financial aid package don't equal the cost of attendance. This gap appears as unmet need on ...

This article summarizes President Obama's FY2013 budget proposals for the federal student aid programs. Most of these proposals will require Congressional approval before they can be implemented. The combined cost of the President's proposals are in excess of $10 billion per year. Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the education appendix to the FY2013 budget, as released on ...

Last week, a friend and fellow writer had problems finding a captivating intro to his article. “Write about toothpaste,” I said helpfully. He looked at me. I shrugged, “Hey, everybody’s got teeth.” The fact is, not everyone has teeth. But I think everyone — at some point or another — has money. I have about as much of the sweet stuff ...

I am a college student with a severe congenital physical disability. If I apply for and am granted SSI benefits, will receiving these benefits cause my family's EFC to increase? I am not employed and am a full-time student, living in my parents' home. Would we end up paying more for my college expenses if I were to receive SSI benefits? ...

Veterans and active duty military personnel are considered automatically independent for federal need analysis purposes. However, the Veterans Administration and the US Department of Education use a different definition of veteran, leading to some confusion. The definition of active duty also excludes active duty for training or attendance at a service school or, in many cases, members of the National Guard ...