The Truth Behind Private Scholarships

In the early 1970s, the U.S. auto industry received warnings from economic experts—if they continued on their current path, Japanese car companies would soon put them out of business.  Detroit’s Big 3 of GM, Ford, and Chrysler were told that if they remained attached to producing oversized, inefficient American-style...

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Maximizing your eligibility for need-based aid

You likely vowed to start planning for your son or daughter’s education back when he/she was only a baby. Your intention was to open up a 529 Plan and stash away a little extra cash each month until it matured into six-figures. With that money plus an athletic scholarship—I...

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FAFSA Changes – Beginning October 1, 2016

To fans of obscure, “does anyone really celebrate these?” holidays, October 1st is known as National Homemade Cookies Day as well as National Fire Pup Day. To the rest of us, especially those with children soon headed off to college, October 1st, starting in 2016, will be known as...

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The Truth Behind Private Scholarships

In the early 1970s the U.S. auto industry received warnings from economic experts—if they continued to focus on the wrong thing, Japanese car companies would soon put them out of business.  Detroit’s Big 3 of GM, Ford, and Chrysler were told that if they remained attached to producing oversized,...

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Making college affordable

In Back to the Future II, Marty McFly travels from 1985 to 2015 and is shocked to learn that a bottle of Pepsi costs $50. With Pepsi bottles sitting firmly in the $1.50 range as we approach 2015 in real life, this estimate of inflation may have been as...

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Paying for college: How to win merit aid

At the risk of sounding like Matthew Lesko, the question mark suit-clad lunatic of early 2000s infomercial fame, COLLEGES WANT TO GIVE YOU FREE MONEY!!! Okay, so schools aren’t exactly looking to send cash to any freeloader with a self-addressed stamp envelope, but each year billions upon billions of dollars...

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Short-term Strategies for Financial Aid Success

With FAFSA season fast approaching, you no longer have the luxury of long-term financial planning for college unless you happen to stumble upon a 1985 Delorean fully-loaded with a flux capacitor (in which case you should pull a Biff, bet on future sports events, and not even worry about financial aid)....

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