Happy New Year to All

Just a little reminder that it's not too early to start your financial aid planning for college next year.

• Begin your FAFSA
• Start researching for scholarships and grants
• Talk to your advisor
• If you know where you are going to school in the fall, touch base with the financial aid people there
• Don't procrastinate, start today and do something every day.

It's also not too early if your kids will be going to college in 2020. Check out your state's 529 college education funds. The earlier you start this, the better off you'll be.

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Oregon's Early Bird Scholarships

Oregon uses a single scholarship application for over 3,200 individual awards that you can fill out online at the Oregon Financial Aid website GetCollegeFunds.org. The due date for the application is March 1. Submit your completed application by February 15, the “Early Bird” deadline and you will be entered into drawings for 19 $500 awards. These awards are grouped by various college populations and GPA ranges to ensure all students have a chance at being selected.

Federal Pell Grants

Grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. Federal Pell Grants are usually awarded to undergraduates. The criteria for eligibility include

• Studying for first undergraduate degree
• US citizen or eligible non-citizen
• High school diploma or GED or be able to show the ability to benefit from the program
• Males must be registered with the Selective Service
• Incarcerated students are not eligible
• Those in default on a Title IV loan or owing a refund on a Title IV grant are not eligible
  

Those meeting the above requirements may be awarded a Pell Grant based on

• Financial need based on Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)
• Cost to attend school
• Whether a part time or full time student
• Whether student will be attending for the entire school year

There are no academic requirements to fulfill as long as you are attending an eligible school.

As with most of your financial aid, you will need to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for the Federal Pell Grants. If you haven't filled out a FAFSA before, you should apply for a personal identification number (PIN). The PIN will allow you to fill out and submit your FAFSA online.

For the 2005-2006 school year, the minimum award is $400 and the maximum amount awarded will be $4050. This amount can change from year to year depending on the amount of federal funding to the program. Your school may apply your grant to your school account, pay you directly with a check, or some combination. They will let you know in writing how much your award is and when it will be paid. Payments will be made at least once per semester, trimester or quarter depending on how your school's academic year is set up. Those schools without normal session braeks will pay at least twice per year.

Students who receive a Federal Pell Grant may also be eligible for a Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG).

Why Consolidate Your Student Loans?

It's January of your senior year and time to start thinking
about all those loans you took to help pay for college.
Between Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and all the rest,
between subsidized and unsubsidized you begin to realize
that a year from now you will have run out of grace period
and have to start paying back all those loans. You're going
to be paying back eight different loans at eight different
interest rates and eight terms. It's time to start thinking
about a student consolidation loan.

A student consolidation loan could be worth it just to
simplify your repayment schedules. But more importantly, if
you can get a loan with a lower interest rate than you are
paying on your school loans, then you can save yourself
some money. If the consolidation loan extends the length of
your student loan payback term, then it may have the added
benefit of lowering the monthly payment now (when you
aren't making a large salary). You can always increase your
payments as your salary grows.


How to Consolidate Your Student Loans

After deciding to consolidate your student loans, the next
step is to figure out how to go about it. You may have
several choices of lenders, and what you choose could affect
the amount you ultimately pay. Choose carefully.

The Department of Education provides the Federal Direct
Consolidation Loans Program. Numerous states have student
consolidation loans, some for your federal loans and others
for your state loans. Then there are private lenders
offering consolidation loans as well. You might first check
with your current loan providers to see what they have to
offer. They may have a better deal for current customers.

Federal Direct Consolidation Loans

Federal Direct Consolidation Loans are run by the US
Department of Education and provide a means to combine
multiple Federal loans into one.

You can apply online for the Federal Direct Program by
visiting http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov.

State Student Consolidation Loans

Several states offer consolidation loans as part of their
education loan programs. Check with your state to see if
they have a loan consolidation program.

Private Student Consolidation Loans

Private loans can not be consolidated under the Federal
Direct Plan. If you have private loans that can't qualify
for the federal and state student loan consolidation
programs, there are many lenders who make private
consolidation loans available to students. Check with
your own lenders first to see if they have a consolidation
program.

Student loan consolidation is another case where a little
work now can pay off in the long run by saving you time,
money and lots of aggravation.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

If you (or your child) are planning on going to college next year, and you will be looking for financial aid, the FAFSA is your first stop. All of the following programs require a FAFSA, as well as many state run programs and privately funded grants and scholarships.

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans
• Campus-Based Programs
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
• Federal Work Study
• Perkins Loans

You can either fill out a paper FAFSA or do it online. For the 2006-2007 school year, you can submit it any time after Jan 1, 2006 up until June 30, 2007. It will be to your advantage to fill it out and submit as soon as possible. Many programs have limited funding and the earlier you apply, the better chance of getting your share.

Before you can fill out the FAFSA online, you will need a PIN (Personal Identification Number). You can get one at http://www.pin.ed.gov/. After you get your PIN, you will also need your income tax forms as soon as you have them done. If you are still your parent's dependent, you will need their tax forms as well.

Once submitted, as long as everything is in order, you will receive an Student Aid Report (SAR) which shows all the answers that you submitted on the FAFSA. Make any corrections necessary, or if ok you may submit either electronically or sign the SAR and mail back. Your SAR will also include your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) which is used to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid.

Now is a good time to start preparing for next year. Get your PIN now if you haven't already.

Good luck.

Paying for College

Whether you are still in high school, already attending college or your child will be going to college in the fall, the biggest question many people have is "How am I ever going to pay for school?". Fortunately, with a little forethought and a lot of work, almost everyone can figure out a way to pay for their college education.

That doesn't mean that everyone is going to be able to pay for four years at Tufts University (with their total estimated tuition and fees for live in students of $43,383 per year). But just about everyone ought to be able to pursue a degree somewhere.

If you want to start thinking about it, here are a few possibilities:

• Stafford Loans
• PLUS Loans
• Perkins Loans
• Private Loans
• Pell Grants
• FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants)
• Institutional Grants
• Home Equity Loans
• Scholarships
• Employer Reimbursement
• Armed Forces

As we go along, I'll get into each of these in greater detail and give you some hints on finding, applying and qualifying for them. If you want more info now, you can visit my website at Paying for College.

Hi and welcome to the college money blog. Everyone is worried about paying for college. College tuitions are going out of sight, private universities to $40,000 and more per year and even state colleges getting up to 5 figures and over. We'll be looking at various ways to help you pay for your college education including grants, scholarships and loans. There are billions of dollars out there waiting to be claimed. Make sure you get your share.