You’ve been accepted and received your merit awards. You have some great options to choose from, but your top choice’s out-of-pocket cost is a little out of reach. You may be wondering if it’s possible to appeal your merit award, and the short answer is, “Yes, you can!” Each college has its own policy on whether it reviews merit appeals and the basis for which it reviews them. It can’t hurt to appeal for more. You never know if the college is still seeking students like you, or if it is hopeful that a small increase to your award package will help put you on the campus. Let’s review some quick tips for deciphering if a merit appeal is right for you.
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Changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are on the way! With the passing of the Federal pandemic relief legislation in December, Congress also approved several updates to the FAFSA effective with the 2023-2024 academic year. Tucked into the nearly 6,000 pages of the Covid relief bill were many associated with the financial aid system. There is some good news in there such as the removal of many confusing questions on the FAFSA. There are also many changes that will directly affect the methodology used to determine a family’s financial aid eligibility. Let’s explore some of the changes expected to have the greatest potential impact on families:
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By now, hopefully, your main financial aid applications (FAFSA, CSS Profile) are submitted. For those of you who applied under an early admission program, you may have already seen some financial aid awards. Think you’re done? Sorry: there may be more roads to travel. The colleges and government sure can make this financial aid process convoluted.
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Read More“I make too much to qualify for financial aid, but not enough to pay full for college!”
“I can’t believe these colleges cost so much!”
“I don’t want to limit my child’s choice in college, we’ll figure it out”
According to a recent article (read here), only 9% of parents talk to their children about how to manage student loans. Since borrowers currently owe around $1.6 trillion dollars in student loan debt, it’s clearly an issue worth discussing. And at Campus Bound, we have some pretty strong feelings about when and how these discussions should occur.
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Dragging your heels, saying “I’ll tackle it tomorrow,” and waiting until the last minute… sound like you? In this blog post we cover three essential times you DON’T want to wait and explain how it could cost you if you do.
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Campus Bound is excited to present a series of webinars dedicated to helping families better understand and navigate the college search, application and financial process.
How often have you wanted to attend to a presentation? Indeed, you intended to go, but then, at the last minute, couldn’t make it. Or, you wanted to go but had a conflict with kids’ sports or other commitments. Adding salt to the wound, you hear from friends how great it was. And even though they offer to share their notes with you, it isn’t the same as hearing it firsthand. How nice that webinars solve that problem… a presentation that can be viewed from your home, your office, virtually anywhere at all. You’ll be able to ask questions and hear other questions and, it’s recorded so you can view it multiple times.
Sound confusing? But sound familiar? If so, then chances are your child is readying for college and you’ve come across this “lingo” along the way. Let us explain what each of these means.
By Gregg Cohen, Campus Bound Founder and President
At Campus Bound, we believe that finding a college that ‘fits’ each individual is extremely important. There are 3 core areas to determine if a college will position a student for a successful college journey and beyond. The first two – the academic program and non-academic factors such as size, geography and school culture, tend to get a great deal of attention and discussion. The third, the financial fit, often times does not receive the due diligence it deserves.
Many students and families will face a waiting period after college admission applications have been submitted and before the admission decision has been rendered. This is a perfect opportunity for families to familiarize themselves with the financial side of the college selection process and begin planning on the financial commitment to come.
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