Blog | Capstone Wealth Partners - Financial Planning for College-Bound Families

Aug 13

College Students and Credit Cards

Every year as parents send their children off to college for the first time, they wonder...should I get my child a credit card? According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the total credit card balance in the US reached $890 billion in the first quarter of 2020. (This... read more →

Aug 07

Getting Sick at College: Some Financial Considerations for Parents

Every fall, parents send their children off to college. The anxieties for parents can be many. One big one...What happens if your child gets sick at college? Having a sick child who is away from home can be scary, but today with COVID-19 some extra advance planning can be a... read more →

Jul 31

Scholarship Displacement – How Can Winning a Scholarship Cause You to Lose Financial Aid?

Every year, students work very hard to apply for and receive scholarships from private sources like rotary, civic, and religious groups, to name a few. These private scholarships are outside the aid students might be receiving from the colleges themselves. Parents sometimes assume the awards are in addition to the... read more →

Jul 24

The most dangerous words in college planning: “If you get in, we’ll make it work”

"If you get in, we'll make it work." These 8 words are by far the most dangerous words in college planning. We hear from parents who have told their children this all the time. Suddenly, they find themselves faced with staggering college costs that they had not anticipated, and they... read more →

Jul 17

Going to Graduate School: Is it a good idea? How do you pay for it?

Every year, college graduates leave their home of the past four or five years and consider the road ahead of them. Most start their careers, but some consider continuing their studies and embarking on graduate school. This year, we are faced with a new dilemma--the job market is suffering. Many... read more →

Jul 10

College Plans for the Fall 2020

COVID-19 continues to shake the college world, and it is an ever-changing landscape. Colleges are now issuing statements about their plans for the fall. Some are changing semester start and end dates--doing away with fall breaks. Many colleges are offering classes totally online, some are hoping for in-person classes, and... read more →

Jun 26

Federal Student Loan Interest Rates Drop to Historic Lows

Every July 1st, federal student loan interest rates are adjusted for the upcoming year. In 2020, those rates will drop to historic levels. Why did this happen? What does this mean for families? Effective July 1, 2020, The new federal student loans rate for undergraduates will drop from 4.53% last... read more →

Jun 18

Work-Study Federal Student Aid

Work-study federal student aid…what is it and who can take advantage of it? When today’s Gen X parents were college students, they could earn enough money through their own work and employment to make a serious dent in their college costs. Recently, one parent (a cattleman) told us he sold... read more →

Jun 12

Thinking About What College Will Look Like in the Fall of 2020

As we write this blog, our country is griped in a pandemic. Practically everything shut down, and now we are beginning the slow process of adjusting to our new normal and opening again. Current college students returning to campus in the fall are wondering what it will look like. Parents... read more →

Jun 05

6 Myths You Need to Know About Parent PLUS Loans

One of the types of federal student loans available are Parent PLUS Loans. These types of loans are meant to fill the gaps when a family does not have enough money to pay for college, and the limit on the federal direct student loans is not enough. We want to... read more →