Jan 15

Don’t Let the College Dream Become a College Nightmare

Originally published April 2017. Updated on January 2021. We see it often at this time of year. Juniors are starting to consider where they want to apply in the coming fall semester. Seniors are receiving their college acceptance letters through mid-spring and are deciding where to attend. Unfortunately, many families... read more →

January 15, 2021
Joe Messinger, CFP®
College

Jan 08

New FAFSA Changes

We welcome Matt Carpenter, from College Aid Pro™, who has shared this feature video with us to discuss the new changes to the FAFSA. There are pros and cons to be aware of. Please find the transcript of the video below. Transcript of Video: Hi, everybody, Matt Carpenter checking in... read more →

Dec 11

Making a List of Colleges: Are You Ready for the Tough Questions

Beth Probst, Founder and CEO of At The Core, has generously agreed to share a guest post with us. She has some thoughts to share about college selection and how sometimes you have to ask the tough questions. At The Core helps students figure out what they want to do... read more →

Nov 27

How to get more money in your 529 college savings plan

2020 may have been challenging, but if it's done anything - it has helped us all to clarify our goals and values. One value for many families is education. Unfortunately, it now takes a tribe to save and plan for the growing cost of education! Parents discover something shortly after... read more →

Nov 13

3 Tips for Investing Wisely in a 529 Plan

Fans of ESPN’s College Game Day know the familiar “not so fast, my friend” from Lee Corso. Sometimes we come across articles that cause us to say those very words. While the information is true, we might not 100% agree. We had a “not so fast” moment when reading an... read more →

Nov 06

How is real estate reported on financial aid applications?

Determining financial aid is based on a family's "need." Need is determined by looking at a family's income and assets (and in some financial aid applications, expenses like medical bills). Families often think of real estate as an asset, but real estate can take different forms--the primary residence, a second... read more →

Oct 30

Student loans are scary: How much can you afford?

Do you know what is scary?! We’re not talking zombies, ghosts, or witches. We're talking scary student loans! How about these facts? The current outstanding student loan debt in the US is $1.676 TRILLION! The amount of student loan debt is rising about $2,858 PER SECOND! Only 41% of students... read more →

October 30, 2020
Joe Messinger, CFP®
College

Oct 23

Essential Planning For College-Bound Students

Today we welcome a guest post from our friend, Logan K. Philipps, Esq. Logan is a partner at Resch, Root, Philipps & Graham law firm in Dublin, Ohio. He and his wife, Molly, have three beautiful boys. Before going to law school, he taught fifth grade language arts and sixth... read more →

Oct 16

Early Decision College Applications

It's college application season! When it comes to deadlines, colleges throw around several terms for when the application is due--early decision, early action, regular decision, and rolling admissions to name a few. Some colleges get even more creative with terms like "restricted early action" and others. In this blog, we... read more →

Oct 09

FAFSA Mistakes To Avoid

FAFSA is open and ready to be filled out! This year, according to the U.S. Department of Education, fafsa.gov has enhanced help topics by providing images of the form along with relevant line numbers to help students navigate the form. Now let's take a closer look at the mistakes you... read more →