The cost of a college education is rising every year. This year the average cost of a private four-year school was $26,273, up 4.4% from last year, and the average cost of a public school was $7,020, up 6.5% from last year. For most families, paying for college is a struggle. If you feel like you do not have all the pieces of the financial aid puzzle, you are not alone.

This week, we talk about the 2010-2011 FAFSA form and grant eligibility, expected family contribution, and what happens after you complete your FAFSA.
Download the MP3 file here.
File your FAFSA here.

5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts

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Reminders
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at Financialaidnews.com.
+ Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook
+ Online …

PrivateStudentLoans.com, a subsidiary of Student Loan Network, recently launched a unique online private student loan comparison tool (www.privatestudentloans.com/compare/) to help students make informed decisions about private student loan lenders. Many loan comparison tools require borrowers to submit personal and financial information before beginning the comparison process. This new tool is distinctive because there is no upfront registration requirement. Borrowers can use this resource to get information about multiple lenders in one place and then decide which loan product they would like to pursue.

This week, we talk about the 2010-2011 FAFSA form and dependency, student financial information, and determining who is a parent.
Download the MP3 file here.
File your FAFSA here.

5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner

Did you enjoy this? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day.

Reminders
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at Financialaidnews.com.
+ Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook
+ Online degrees programs and …

In this week’s Financial Aid Podcast, we begin to review the 2010-2011 FAFSA form, covering the new web application, eligibility questions, and tips to help you make the most of your FAFSA. Tune in this week and the next two weeks to get an audio overview of what to expect as you complete this financial aid application and mistakes to avoid.
Download the MP3 file here.
File your FAFSA here.

5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts

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Did you enjoy this? If so, please consider …

Read this month’s Financial Aid Newsletter to learn more about FAFSA changes, plus how to compare private student loans, get federal loans, and find more scholarships.

2009 was a tumultuous year for the world of financial aid, from legislative changes to continued market instability. Let’s review the top 10 stories of 2009 as determined by you, our readers, after the break.

For college students and their families December can an extremely stressful month. December is one of the two times per year when tuition bills are expected to be paid in full to colleges and universities across the country. You probably received your financial aid package for 2009-2010 almost an entire year ago. Everyone knows that financial circumstances can change drastically in one year especially in a recovering economy. Perhaps the money that you and your parents thought you would have for this coming semester suddenly needs to be allocated elsewhere.

Financial Aid Podcast 935: FAFSA verification, tuition increases, holiday free stuff
Download the MP3 file now.
Weekly Financial Aid Roundup
From NASFAA:
More than three in four college financial aid offices reported an increase in the number of cases where they must verify information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to NASFAA’s latest Quick-Scan Survey. The increase in the number of verification cases was more likely to affect two-year colleges and low-income students.
From Smart Money:
Although most universities won’t announce their new financial aid budgets until February, schools are clearly nervous. …

ScholarshipPoints.com, an Edvisors online education company, recently awarded $2,000 in free scholarships for the month of November, will award an additional $12,000 in scholarships for December, and pledges $160,000 for 2010. The December $10,000 scholarship drawing (Students have until December 15, 2009 to enter) will make 2009 the biggest year ever for the ScholarshipPoints program. After giving away $40,000 in 2008, the amount of scholarship dollars given away this year increased to more than $80,000. In 2010 ScholarshipPoints.com plans to double its scholarship giveaways to over $160,000 including a monthly $10,000 scholarship drawing.