College Admissions Help Blog

On Tuesday, the Senate voted on the future of Stafford Loan interest rates. The rates for subsidized loans are currently at 3.4%, but without action from the government, will jump to 6.8% come July 1, 2012. A majority of 60 votes were needed to pass the bill which would lower these rates, unfortunately, the votes were split 52/45.

It's 7:30 on a monday morning and your alarm clock goes off. You turn it off and roll over for 5 more minutes of sleep. When you finally roll out of bed and look at the clock, it's 11:30 and you've missed your class. Not a big deal, right? As it turns out, skipping class might cost you more than you think.

This week, many student nationwide are rejoicing in their college decisions, having just sent their deposits to their chosen colleges. Simultaneously, parents everywhere are worrying about how to pay the upcoming tuition bill. If you're one of these parents, you may be weighing the pros and cons of tapping your 401k for those funds.

Welcome to the last post in this month's financial literacy blog series! We've previously looked at student loans basics and interest rates, and covered budgeting in college. Today, I want to tell you a little bit about credit and break down student credit cards. While credit cards are scary and troublesome for many people out there, they don't have to be. It's all about being responsible!

I'm pretty sure the title of this post just about says everything I need to say about the following video. Obama + Student loans + music + Jimmy Fallon = Magic.

This week I want to break down interest rates even further to help you understand why banks charge what they do and how this is determined.

April is financial literacy month and this blog kicks off our financial literacy blog series! In keeping with this spirit, I wanted to break down some common student loan terms so that students and parents can be better informed about the student loan choices they make.

With graduation right around the corner for many-a-senior, the thoughts that occupy the minds of future grads probably revolve more around finals and parties than around repaying their loans. While graduation is absolutely a time for celebrating accomplishments, it also means that loan repayment is looming. Start planning now so that when the time comes, you're ready and not scrambling to locate your loan paperwork. Here are five ways you can prepare for repayment right now:

If you have had any issues with your federal student loans, you may be familiar with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman office. This office is responsible for mediating issues with your federal student loans or financial aid office. Students weren't lucky enough to have this luxury for private student loans, that is, until now.

Quick reminder, the 2012 Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid, or  FAFSA, will be available January 1, 2012. Students who are hoping to receive federal financial aid for the Fall 2012 semester need to fill out the FAFSA to be eligible.

Filling out the FAFSA will mean you will have to coordinate with parents and guardians to get together tax information. A recent post by the StudentLoanNetwork highlights an IRS retrieval tool that can be helpful to students when filling out the FAFSA. If you will be filling out this form come January 2012, you’ll want to check out this post, and visit FAFSAonline.com to get tips and help with your financial aid applications.