Dear Class of 2017:
A lot is changing in the college application process, and frankly, your child (and the whole Class of 2017) is caught in the middle.
Grandma and Grandpa, are you looking to help your grandchildren pay for their college education? Wouldn’t you also like to see an estate planning benefit? You can by incorporating 529 savings plans in your estate planning strategies.
If you could earn $50 per hour, wouldn’t you? What am I talking about? I am talking about the process of finding college scholarships. The process isn’t easy. It might not be quick. But if you spent 20 hours searching and applying and earned a $1,000 scholarship, that’s $50 per hour! Pretty valuable when you look at it that way!
College-bound families should ask three questions, and they go hand in hand with one another…Where can we get in? Where can we get aid? What schools can we actually afford?
We’ll start with a disclaimer—we have no magic wand to waive on how to “show the love” to your favorite college. Besides academic criteria, every university pays attention to different things when they are looking at candidates. But one thing is clear, colleges want to extend acceptance letters, and potentially more generous scholarship offers, to those students who most want to go to their school. So what are some ways to show you are interested?
A new college application is coming your way – Is the Coalition a wonderful new tool or a marketing ploy?
College-bound students are familiar with the Common Application, used by over 600 universities and colleges to apply for admission. Recently a small group of 80 elite and selective schools have announced their launching of the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success with their own unique application. So far the list of schools are the heavy hitters with the deep pockets and clout. What does this mean for the college admission process? More importantly, what does this mean for YOU?!
At Capstone, we share ideas and create college funding plans with parents so their future college graduate does not suffer with an excessive student loan debt load. We are always trying to be proactive. However, we are often asked “what can I do now?” when the being proactive ship has sailed, and a graduate has their first job. All too often, graduates are faced with large debt balances. Their income is modest. They feel overwhelmed. Just this week a graduate asked us what she could do so here are some tips we like to share.
When it rains, it pours! This week the Obama administration announced not only a new College Scorecard website but also revisions to FAFSA—both with the aim of making college more accessible to everyone. What is important for YOU to know to be an informed consumer of higher education?
The birth of your child is not just the big day when you become a parent, but also the big day when your parents become grandparents! Grandma and Grandpa may want to spoil their little ones in every way possible. And if you are lucky, spoiling includes saving for their college education. So what are the do’s and don’ts for grandparents who want to help financially with college and don’t want to hurt your student’s chances for need-based financial aid?
A recent article from Columbus Business First caught our eye last week and was shared by many different people across social media…Ohio State ACT scores set another record – and are a far cry from a decade ago. The average ACT scores for incoming Ohio State freshmen was 28.9, a far cry from the 22.8 from 1995. These kind of increases in test scores are being seen in many colleges—not just Ohio State. So we paused for a moment and wondered…What is the driving force behind this increase in test scores at our colleges? Are our kids getting smarter?
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Capstone Wealth Partners is a fee-only independent Registered Investment Advisor in Columbus, Ohio. We are financial planners for college-bound families.
The Capstone Blog offers up our best ideas on how to save and pay for college, all while staying on track for a confident retirement.
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