Good Financial Reads: Off to College

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Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:

Your Child Can Succeed in College Despite Losing IEP

by Quentara Costa, POWWOW, LLC

I recently met Marylee Palmer of By Design College Consulting in Lexington, MA who provides various college prep services. Her specialty within the field is helping students with learning disabilities succeed as they apply to and attend college. While I’ve met plenty of families who have a child utilizing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan, I was personally unaware that these didn’t follow the student through college. This is an especially frustrating revelation as it can take quite a bit of time through trial and error to recognize and develop a successful program.

[Read the Full Article]

College Savings

One of the areas you want to discuss once you have children is whether to save or fund your children’s college education. Do you want to fund all of it, some of it, none of it?

In planning for the day when funds will be needed for her education we have chosen to save money our daughter has received from birthdays or holidays. Up until now she has been too young to choose what to buy, save, or spend for. So we have set this money aside in a custodial account for her to use later in life.

We wanted her to have the ability to spend these funds for things other than college if she didn’t end up needing them for education. If she gets a scholarship that covers her education we wanted the funds to be available for use even on something like a home purchase if she chooses. Also if there are things like classes while she’s younger we are able to use these funds for that, as long as they are for her benefit.

[Read the Full Article & Watch the Video]

6 Ways To Minimize The Cost Of College

by Jared Paul, Capable Wealth

College tuition is getting outrageous!

In the last 30+ years, the cost of higher education has skyrocketed to levels that are putting a serious strain on those attempting to better their lives.

In the 1980’s, it was the norm to pay less than $10,000 for a year of private education.

Flash-forward to today, for the 2017 – 2018 school year, the average cost of tuition and fees was $34,740 for private colleges, $9,970 for in-state public schools, and $25,620 for out-of-state public schools.

And that only includes the cost of tuition and fees. If you include all of the additional costs like room and board, etc. it now costs the average student attending a private university over $50,000 each year!

[Read the Full Article]

How Much in Student Loans Should You Take Out?

by Jared Paul, Capable Wealth

If you know me, you know that I’m pretty critical of the way the current educational system is set up, especially higher ed. Students are graduating with record sums of student loans, and the figures are getting worse every year. What’s worse, many recent graduates are having a hard time finding good-paying jobs.

In essence, college students are being forced to pay more and more for an education that is returning less and less. Not a good dynamic.

Simply getting your college degree is no longer the “sure path” to a better life that it used to be.

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