It’s no secret that college is getting more expensive by the minute. For instance, the cost of education at a university rose from 23 to 38 percent between 2001 and 2010. That’s a huge climb! In attempts to make college possible, many students take out student loans in pursuit of their higher education. While an investment in education is one of ...

Do you have fine wine tastes on a cheap beer budget? It’s ok – most college students are living on a budget. If not, they’re likely students getting themselves into a cycle of debt. While neither is fun or easy, you can become smarter about the way you spend your money. Keep in mind that the key to financial success is ...

It feels like yesterday that a new year of FAFSA forms began but, alas, time flies when you’re having fun. Come June 30th, the fun with FAFSA will sadly end, at least for the 2013-2014 school year. Even though the deadline is near, you still have time to get your application in to qualify for free federal student aid to help ...

Student Loan Interest Rates Set to Skyrocket for 7 Million Students & Counting If Congressional action isn't taken, the interest rates on government subsidized student loans will double to 6.8 percent on July 1st of this year. This change will affect one third of undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Direct Stafford Loans. The high interest rates aren't news to undergraduates ...

Everyone wants a slice of the American Dream and, in this modern day, going to college is essential to success. Forget the Jones’, these days Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the very student loans they took out to help ensure future success. So, what happens when they very institution that’s supposed to safeguard your future now ...

By now, we’re all aware that managing money can be quite difficult. Here are some surefire ways, straight from nationally recognized financial expert Mark Kantrowitz, on how to help stay on track when it comes to pinching pennies. [gate] First, exercise control over your money by increasing awareness of your spending habits. Start by preparing a descriptive budget, where you track ...

Nationwide, in-state tuition at 4-year public colleges increased by 15.0% from 2008-09 to 2010-11, according to updated college affordability data released by the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (These figures do not appear to be weighted by full-time equivalent enrollment.) Tuition at community colleges increased by an even greater percentage, 16.6%. Tuition at 4-year non-profit colleges increased ...

Some of the protesters at Occupy Wall Street are demanding that a college education be provided for free. But even if their request is granted, which is unlikely, it might not actually be free. The definition of "free" is straightforward enough. A product or service is free when it is available without any cost or charge. But marketers often distort the ...

A report released today by The Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), discusses trends in net tuition and net price at US colleges and universities. Net Tuition and Net Price Trends in the United States: 2000-2009 reports that "At four year colleges, net tuition has increased by around one thousand dollars over a time period when per capita income has ...

How believeable and reliable are the net price values quoted on the College Navigator web site? My granddaughter is interested in two public universities, one in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota. Each has an online net price calculator. The Wisconsin university is $13,948 and the Minnesota university is $18,318. But on the College Navigator web site the costs are $14,063 and ...

Title: Dealing with the Debt Deal and Downgrade: Practical Tips for Students and their Families Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgraded US long-term debt one notch from AAA to AA+ after the stock market closed on Friday, August 5, 2011. This is the first time the United States has lost its AAA rating. The downgrade triggered a panic sell-off when the ...

I graduated from high school with honors in June and have been accepted to a prestigious private college, where I will be majoring in computer science and math. The college awarded me $31,000 in grants and scholarships, but I still need to come up with $20,000. I applied for a student loan with each of my parents and was declined, both ...

As required by Congress, the US Department of Education is now publishing lists that rank the most and least expensive colleges. Colleges are ranked according to tuition and fees as well as net price within each college type category. The US Department of Education is also publishing lists of colleges with the greatest increases in tuition and fees or net price. ...

This article discusses the need to minimize student loan debt and provides more than a dozen practical tips on ways to reduce borrowing for college costs. Try to avoid overborrowing for your college education. Do not treat loan limits as targets. A good rule of thumb is that your total education debt for your entire college education should be less than ...

As of June 2010, total student loan debt passed total credit card debt for the first time. According to the Federal Reserve's statistical release, G.19 Consumer Credit, the seasonally adjusted revolving credit totaled $826.5 billion as of June 2010. As much as 98% of revolving credit is credit card debt. Student loan debt outstanding totaled at least $830 billion as of ...

Sallie Mae and Gallup just released the results of their third annual survey of how American families pay for college. The survey found that families perceived college costs as increasing by more than 17% compared with last year. As a result, families are becoming more cost conscious in their college choices. Family estimates of the total cost of attendance increased 17% ...

Financial aid is a complicated topic with an alphabet soup of acronyms like FAFSA and EFC, rolling deadlines and (seemingly) endless forms, rules and regulations. But with the state of the economy, you're most likely going to have to get some sort of outside help in your pursuit of higher education. Don't panic! This video will provide you with an ...

UC Berkeley students are up in arms over an approved 32 percent tuition increase for all ten campuses in the University of California system that will raise yearly fees above $10,000 for the first time in history. Similar protests and sit-ins took place at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. The regent committee endorsed the hefty hike by a vote of 10-1. ...

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 ...

Students, you and your parents are so focused on the standard college questions – what school, what degree, how to pay for it – that you overlook the elephant in the room. An Elephant in the room? Yes, the educational Elephant who can cost you and your families thousands of dollars, unnecessarily. Here’s where the elephant raises his costly tusks. You ...