Election 2012 and Education

The election is over and in the upcoming months, we will discover what we actually got for our votes. In general, students will be happy that President Obama was re-elected, but with the fiscal issues facing our country, that doesn't mean that scholarship and loan money will all of a sudden be more plentiful.

Pell Grants will likely stay in the budget, but don't be looking for increases.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit was extended through December 2012 by the Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2010. While the President is for extending the credit, it's definitely not a done deal at this point.

The Lifetime Learning Credit will likely remain as is, at least for the time being.

Subsidized Stafford Loans are provided currently at a 3.4% interest rate. That is only good for loans made through July 2013. After that, the interest rate is set to jump to 6.8% without Congressional intervention. It probably won't be an issue in the Senate, but the Republican controlled House may not be interested in extending the lower rate.

You may have noticed that all of the above will have an effect on those with a family income under $160,000 or so. Upper income families don't qualify for any of these now. So, even with President Obama's re-election, all is not rosy for the lower and middle classes.

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Getting into College - SAT & ACT

While you don't have to have extraordinary SAT scores to get into college, they will certainly help if you are looking for financial aid to help ease the burden of college expenses.

While some students don't test especially well, the good thing about the SAT (and ACT) is you have the opportunity to take the exams more than once. Take them during the spring of Junior year. If you find your scores are good enough, no problem. However, if your scores fall into the average or lower range, think about taking a prep course and going back to take the test again in the fall of Senior year.

If you've been putting it off, you still have the opportunity until October 19 for late registration for the November 3 SAT. You can check out other SAT and ACT test dates at 2012 - 2013 SAT Test Dates

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