Homeschool Parents - Helpful Hints For Your Role As College Planning Counselor

College Fairs - Why They Are a Must for Students, Parents, and College Admission

Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents

This book can save you over $100,000

These days, most people assume you need to pay a boatload of money for a quality college education. As a result, students and their parents are willing to go into years of debt and potentially sabotage their entire financial futures just to get a fancy name on their diploma.

But Zac Bissonnette is walking proof that this assumption is not only false, but dangerous-a class con game designed to rip you off and doom your student to a post-graduation life of near poverty . From his unique double perspective-he's a personal finance expert (at Daily Finance) AND a current senior at the University of Massachusetts-Zac figured out how to get an outstanding education at a public college, without bankrupting his parents or taking on massive loans.

Armed with his personal knowledge, the latest data, and smart analysis, Zac takes on the sacred cows of the higher education establishment. He reveals why a lot of the conventional wisdom about choosing and financing college is not only wrong but hazardous to you and your child's financial future. You'll discover, for instance, that:

* Student loans are NOT a necessary evil. Ordinary middle class families can- and must-find ways to avoid them, even without scholarships.

* College "rankings" are useless-designed to sell magazines and generate hype. If you trust one of the major guides when picking a college, you face a potential financial disaster.

* The elite graduate programs accept lots of people with non-elite bachelors degrees. So do America's most selective employers. The name on a diploma ultimately won't help your child have a more successful career or earn more money.

Zac can prove every one of those bold assertions - and more. No matter what your current financial situation, he has a simple message for parents: "RELAX! Your kid will be able to get a champagne education on a beer budget!"

Price: $16.00

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Connecticut Parents of College Bound Students - Get More Free Money From Connecticut Colleges

One of the hidden gems in the Connecticut college financial aid process is the ability to appeal an awards letter if you don't agree with the amount of financial aid that a school has awarded your child. Most Connecticut parents reluctantly agree to the initial amount that the Connecticut colleges award, never taking the time to wonder if there is more than meets the eye.

However, in my experience the best way to get the best financial aid package from a college in Connecticut starts months before you ever receive a financial aid package. For example make the student as attractive as possible to the college by raising SAT and ACT scores and creating competition for the student by selecting 6-8 Connecticut colleges comprised of a low-cost in-state public college, college in the same athletic conference, similar college in a different region of the country (cultural diversity), similar college that is known to give good awards, similar college where the student will be in the top 25% of the incoming freshman class and most importantly a Connecticut college that has empty seats to fill.

If a student receives a good award offer from a competing Connecticut college, the student should ask his college of choice to match the other college's award offer. However, never use the word match in the correspondence or conversation with the financial aid officer. The word match offends some financial aid officers. It's important to remember that colleges with declining enrollments may be more willing to negotiate with a student because of their desire to fill empty seats.

Colleges in Connecticut may also have scholarships for upper-middle class and wealthy families to attract good students and future benefactors. Special scholarships for minority students are also a good idea. A student should inquire at the college for these scholarships. Some Connecticut colleges may even have special scholarships for students of alumni or legacy students. A college's desire for cultural diversity in its enrollment may lead to increased financial aid offers for students who are from out of the college's geographic region, or who are culturally different from its normal enrollment.

Once you have done all those steps and received an awards offer then you need to determine how much the college was short of meeting 100% of the financial need. Then you need to get the true cost at each Connecticut college and decide which is the best financial aid offer. The best way to do this for many parents is to hire a Connecticut college consultant or a Connecticut admissions counselor. While they or you are doing this research it is a good time to inquire about special circumstances that the college has previously accepted as reasons to amend an awards offer. Checking with the Financial Aid Office/Admission Office about the special circumstances before the initial financial aid award is offered can be done during a college visitation, phone or by letter.

These special circumstances may include:

Death

Divorce/Separation

Disability or Injury

Unemployment

Sickness, medical, or handicap expense

Tuition for private schools

Natural disasters

Dislocated worker

Unusually high child care expenses

Un-reimbursed expenses shown on Form 2106

One-time bonus

CCC loans reported as income

Unusually high income

Unusually low expense

Anything you can use to convince the financial aid officer

Another couple of good tips is to use the Connecticut college admissions office, coach, or any other Connecticut college officials to assist in the appeal and appeal in person, if possible. Always send adequate documentation of the special circumstances and never use the words negotiate or match in the appeal.

Connecticut parents find out how to send your child to the school of his or her dreams...without getting trapped in a financial nightmare of high rate, high payment, expensive debt! Click Here.

Find out the single biggest mistake 9 out of 10 parents make when applying for aid to Connecticut Colleges that literally cost them thousands of dollars! More importantly, how to avoid this fatal error! Click Here.

How to double, or in some cases triple, your eligibility for FREE grant money for Connecticut Colleges. even if you are dead broke or a millionaire making a good six figure income.

Biggest Secret About Financial Aid And Connecticut Colleges That Connecticut Parents Don't Know

One of the biggest secrets that Connecticut parents of college-bound students don't know is that by accepting a financial aid award offer from a Connecticut College you are not required that your student attend that college.

Hear me when I say this...

Your child is not required to attend a college simply because you sign and accept an awards offer!

So if you are like the thousands of Connecticut parents who are juggling timelines from many different schools then accept the initial awards if you are worried and then compare the rest as you receive them.

Let's take a look at this example to see how you could get the best of both worlds.

A student had applied and been admitted to four Connecticut colleges. He received a financial aid award offer from College 1 on February 13th. The award contained a $10,000 per year scholarship for the four years of college. The award offer had an acceptance deadline of March 21st. However, the student had not yet received his award offers from College 2, College 3 or College 4. The student then contacted College 1 and requested an extension of time to accept its award letter. However, the college denied his request and restated that the deadline for accepting its award offer and scholarship was March 21st.

The student then contacted Colleges 2, 3 and 4 and asked them to send their award offers to him before March 21st so that he could compare all four colleges' award letters. Colleges 2, 3 and 4 informed the student that they would be unable to send him their award letters until after March 21st. At this point, the student was faced with a huge decision. Should he accept College 1's award offer by March 21st, without knowing what College 2, 3 or College 4 would offer him, or should he wait until he received their award offers and miss the deadline (and lose the scholarship) for accepting College 1's offer?

Fortunately this student's parents had sought the expertise of a Connecticut college consultant and had attended Connecticut college admission counseling and as a result the student then signed and accepted Connecticut College 1's award offer. By accepting the offer, he safeguarded the award offer and scholarship. Nonetheless, the student was not obligated to actually attend College 1. The student then had time to receive the award offers from College 2, College 3 and College 4 and to review and compare the award offers from all four colleges.

If you are concerned about getting the best financial aid package at a college in Connecticut and do not know how to compare them then click on the link below to get dozens of free tips, strategies and insider secrets that will give you the specific knowledge that can help your student.

Connecticut parents find out how to send your child to the school of his or her dreams...without getting trapped in a financial nightmare of high rate, high payment, expensive debt! Click Here.

Find out the single biggest mistake 9 out of 10 parents make when applying for aid to Connecticut Colleges that literally cost them thousands of dollars! More importantly, how to avoid this fatal error! Click Here.

How to double, or in some cases triple, your eligibility for FREE grant money for Connecticut Colleges. even if you are dead broke or a millionaire making a good six figure income.

Advice To Parents On Saving For College

Start Early

Planning and financing for college begins well before high school. Selecting the elementary school your child needs to attend is as important as deciding which high school or college to attend. A proper foundation for learning is of utmost importance for college admission and scholarship consideration.

Make Appropriate Course Selections

Selecting the right curriculum in elementary, high school, and college are linked. Being ready for college while positioning oneself for scholarship and other financing is a process. The transition from elementary, middle school, and high school to college is determined by taking the right classes like upper-level math and science, foreign language, honors' classes, and Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Boosting the GPA with these classes is important in class rank and college entrance.

Talk To Your Child

College planning is a family concern. Since a college degree is essential for students and the cost of a college education continues to rise, a collective effort is needed. Waiting until high school for parents to speak to their child about college, actually doesn't make sense. Without communication, the child may develop the assumption that all is well and that the parents have planned to pay for his/her college expenses. Parents may think that they have college expenses covered and their child may have other colleges in mind with higher price tags or further college goals. Whatever the situation, parents and their child need to be open and honest about their feelings and realistic about college issues.

Set Up Two College Funding Plans- One College Funding Plan for Parents and One for Child

Research various savings plans for you as parents and for your child beginning early to reach your college funding goals. Don't let it catch you by surprise. Small investments can add up over the years. Encourage grandparents to get involved by giving college money instead of toys for birthdays, Christmas, etc.

Enroll in Dual Enrollment College Classes

Check with your local high school and colleges to see if dual enrollment college classes are available and how to meet the requirements. Taking college classes and receiving college credit before leaving high school can save time and money!

Shop Around

Consider In-State colleges as opposed to Out of State colleges since tuition is much higher for some Out of State colleges. Look at smaller colleges, which may have more scholarships, lower GPA and college entrance test requirements, or other Sports/Fine Arts scholarships. Don't overlook 2-year colleges as a less expensive way to reach the final four-year degree. Living at home for awhile could also cut college costs. Compromise could be the solution to being in debt.

Loans Should Be the Last Option

Students do not need to spend the years following college with hundred of thousand of dollars in loans while being in debt the rest of their lives. Parents do not need to borrow from retirement funds and not be able to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. If loans are needed, let the loans be short-term and low-interest and shared by parents and the child. If parents can't pay loans, then have the child apply for the loan, but help the child in other areas for college.

The years from cradle to college come too fast! Backing yourselves into a corner and reaching the college years with no available funding are a direct result of not planning ahead.

Cathy Gullo has over 30 years of experience as a high school English teacher, guidance counselor, and educational consultant. She has also chaired and been a member of numerous corporate and community scholarship committees. Being an expert in scholarship coordinating, career and college counseling, and test-taking, she shares her knowledge with students, parents, and teachers as a published author of college planning books.

Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know About Getting into College

The updated edition of the must-have resource for any student applying to college

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of the bestselling book Admission Matters demystifies the college application process and offers practical advice for choosing the right school, writing an effective essay, navigating financial aid, and more. This handy resource will help any college-bound student whether they attend well-funded private schools or cash-strapped public schools. Filled with helpful suggestions, ideas, and advice, the new edition also includes tips for home-schooled students who are preparing to attend college.

• Helps all students who are applying to college understand the process and find the school that fits their needs
• Expanded information on testing, early decision/early action, applying as a home schooler, and tackling the dreaded college essay
• Up-to-date advice on financial aid in tough economic times – how it works and how to maximize your chances of getting aid
• Authors bring the multiple viewpoints of college admissions officer, high school counselor, and parent of college-bound students

This book gives any college-bound student the information they need to make the application process run smoothly.

Price: $14.95

Click here to buy from Amazon