{"id":7590,"date":"2016-06-29T06:44:28","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T13:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/?p=7590"},"modified":"2016-06-29T06:54:19","modified_gmt":"2016-06-29T13:54:19","slug":"tools-financially-wise-college-bound-parent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/tools-financially-wise-college-bound-parent\/","title":{"rendered":"Tools for the Financially Wise College-Bound Parent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today paying for college has become perhaps one of the greatest financial concerns for millions of Americans.\u00a0 This is completely understandable as college costs have risen to an all-time high. \u00a0Harvey Mudd College<\/a><\/span><\/strong> for example, sits atop the list of most expensive colleges in the U.S.\u00a0 The cost of attendance (COA) for 2016-17 is a shocking $71,917, an increase of over 70% since their $42,000 COA in 2005.\u00a0 Now for those that aren\u2019t planning on heading out to Claremont California to attend a premier college, the national average COA for all public four-year college is $20,000 and $47,000 for the private nonprofit colleges.<\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re like many parents feeling stress and overwhelmed, here are some tools that can help you make some smarter financial decisions about college and reduce their costs:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Graduation Rate<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The vast majority of students at American public colleges do not graduate on time.\u00a0 Nationally, the four-year grad rate at state colleges and universities is just 33 percent; for private institutions, it is 53 percent.\u00a0 We all know that time is money, so graduating in four years can leas to considerable savings for families.\u00a0 For example, in Georgia the average student takes 4.9 years to complete a 4-year bachelor\u2019s degree.\u00a0 The cost of an additional year of college is $21,756, plus $45,327 in lost wages, equaling a cost of $67,083.<\/p>\n

    So, take the time and get aligned with colleges that have a good graduation track record – these are the ones that offer the resources students need to graduate on time.\u00a0 An excellent place to start is collegecompletion.chronicle.com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. \u00a0The College Completion is a microsite produced by The Chronicle of Higher Education with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.\u00a0 On this website you can check the four- and six-year graduation rates of any college or university.\u00a0 These details will also help you to see that private colleges may cost less than you think.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Expected Family Contribution Calculator<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Well if you didn\u2019t know already Uncle Sam determines what you and your family should pay for college.\u00a0 The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a number that determines students\u2019 eligibility for federal student aid.\u00a0 The EFC formulas use the financial information students provide on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA\u00ae)<\/a><\/span><\/strong> to calculate the EFC.\u00a0 Financial aid administrators (FAAs) subtract the EFC from students\u2019 COA to determine their need for a handful of federal student financial assistance offered by the U.S. Department of Education.<\/p>\n

      Parents often struggle with unrealistic ideas about whether they will be eligible for financial aid. Some parents simply never complete the financial aid applications mainly because they mistakenly assume that they won\u2019t qualify.\u00a0 While other parents are banking on the idea that they will be eligible for a good amount of need-based aid, when their chances are nil.<\/p>\n

      Many parents assume that there must be an income cut-off that once reached would disqualify them from receiving need-based aid.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there are too many other factors that impact aid eligibility.\u00a0 Although you can get a good idea of whether aid is a possibility \u2013 and what schools that are more favorable \u2013 by using the EFC calculator on the College Board\u2019s website www.collegeboard.org<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      For example, a family with a household income of $90,000 may have an EFC of $14,000.\u00a0 So, at a college with a COA of $50,000 and the EFC is $14,000, the student would be eligible for up to $36,000 in need-based aid.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Net Price Calculators<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Net price is the true amount a student will pay for a college.\u00a0 The \u201cnet price\u201d is often the published price of tuition and fees\u00a0for a college minus the amount of gift aid and education tax benefits a student receives.\u00a0 While most teenagers apply to colleges blindly, without any idea of the school\u2019s merit- or need-based aid.\u00a0 So to prevent making this financially disastrous decision before it is too late for a do-over.\u00a0 Most all colleges have these net price calculators on their website, and please keep in mind that the more details the calculator asks for the more accurate the results of your \u201cnet price\u201d.<\/p>\n

        These tools will certainly come in handy in helping you make a better decision with your college planning.\u00a0 You may also find even more value from a financial advisor, who can provide hands on solutions to help reduce the cost of college for your family.<\/p>\n

        To learn more about David Fountain, view his<\/strong> Paladin Registry research report<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Today paying for college has become perhaps one of the greatest financial concerns for millions of Americans.\u00a0 This is completely understandable as college costs have risen to an all-time high. \u00a0Harvey Mudd College for example, sits atop the list of most expensive colleges in the U.S.\u00a0 The cost of attendance (COA) for 2016-17 is a shocking $71,917, an increase of over 70% since their $42,000 COA in 2005.\u00a0 Now for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":7595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[765],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-finance"],"yoast_head":"\nTools for the Financially Wise College-Bound Parent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are some tools that can help you make financially sound decisions about college and 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