Affording College: Top 5 Articles of the Week – May 17. 2013

Another Friday, another weekly round-up from YesCollege! This week some of the best articles focused a little more on student debt. With so many students opting to take student loans to afford college, it’s essential to consider the fact that those loans will need to be paid back. That said, here are some of the best articles on affording college of the week.

College Cost

• How Will Your Children Pay for College? – Bruce A. Bittles, via The Bradenton Times, offers a helpful article that outlines the harsh realities of college costs. He covers in brief how tuition rates have risen, as well as the multiple avenues people use to help pay for college. It’s often helpful to look at the big picture when considering college costs.
• Why American Colleges Are Becoming a Force for Inequality – Josh Freedman at The Atlantic offers up an article that highlights a serious issue. Higher education should be the “great equalizer” that leads to social mobility, but some of the most selective colleges have been charged with perpetuating these divides. Mr Freedman contends, with the help of recent studies, that this is due in part to broken school funding processes at many of the nation’s top institutions.

Financial Aid

• How College Savings Can Affect Financial Aid – US News gives us another informative article on Financial Aid; this one is written by Reyna Gobel. Saving for college is a smart thing to do, and can go a long way in making it more affordable. However, have you considered how these savings could affect your expected family contribution? Getting more aid for college is always better, so knowing how to minimize your expected family contribution is critical.

Student Loans

• 13 States Where Student Loan Debt Is Crushing College Grads – It’s no secret that student loan debt is an issue (though some argue as to the relative size of the issue). Harry Bradford at The Huffington Post highlights 13 States where college grads are seeing the most crushing student debt. The results might surprise you.
• Graduating with Debt: 8 Tips for Paying Back Student Loans – YourCollegeKid offers up a great article with tips for paying back student loans. Acknowledging that student debt is a serious issue is only one part of the solution. Knowing how to get out of student debt is the other. This article is a good start for those currently struggling with the weight of their student debt.

That’s all we have for this week, have a great weekend!