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Undoubtedly, paying for a college education is a major financial challenge for many families. Indeed, a majority of students and/or their parents will have to seek some form of financial aid in order to finance that education. Of course, the earlier you can start saving money for your child's education, the better your situation will be when the time comes that your child graduates from high school and wants to continue their education. Regardless of how near or far commencing of a college education is for your child, you can find plenty of information on the Internet which may be helpful.
 Perhaps you've heard of College Parents of America. It not, we suggest you visit their Web site for some information on their valuable services. It's a unique organization which deals with a wide range of issues for families with current and/or future college students. If interested, you can join online, or print an application to mail in. A small fee is charged for membership, but the benefits will far exceed the cost if you take advantage of their services.
For online information on financial aid, you should follow this link to our page for Financing College Education and visit some Web sites identified there, just as your child should do. Perhaps you can spend some time together doing this. If, as a result of receiving information at high school or college, your child takes the initiative in obtaining and completing application forms for financial aid, you will still need to supply certain information for any need-based source of aid since the family's financial circumstances are the basis for determining need. The application will ask for information about your assets (real estate, investments, cash, etc.), liabilities, income, and expenses. |
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As you will see when you study the types of financial aid, one source for which you are primarily obligated is the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS). These loans generally have lower interest rates and more liberal payment terms than typical consumer loans; interest rates will be similar to mortgage loans. For certain other loans, the student is the party having legal obligation to pay back the loan; payments generally are deferred until after the student graduates.
Alcohol and drug abuse in the college environment is something many parents may be concerned about. USA StudyGuide has some good suggestions about how to address this very serious topic with your college-bound or in-college student. And, for more extensive resources, visit the U.S. Dept. of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention; they have content specifically for Parents.
If you have e-mail, use it as one way to keep in touch with your student. You save on long-distance telephone costs and avoid the problem of missed calls that can happen when your student is out and a roommate or another dorm resident answers. Chances are good your student can get free access to e-mail, either at a school computer facility or in their room if they have a computer and connectivity to the school's network or the Internet. See the box at the right side of this page for more comments on email. For a historical perspective on email, see this CNET article: E-mail has come a long way in 30 years.
Campus Tours. Certainly, there is no substitute for on-campus visits to help your child decide what school they most want to attend. However, the next best thing is probably an online tour. For more information, visit CampusTours.com; the gist of this is usually a thorough photographic display of campus buildings, with a description of each building's history and current purpose, and campus maps to give you a feel for the layout of the campus. |
