Affording College: Top Five Articles of the Week – April 19, 2013

Welcome to our third official Weekly Roundup! This week there were several fantastic articles that touched upon the financial aspects of college life. Financial aid, college savings, and general college cost cutting are all essential things informed students and parents should know about. See below to find some great articles covering these subjects.

Financial Aid

• April Financial Aid Checklist for Seniors. From College Admission, run by Robin Mamlet and Christine VanDeVelde, a fantastic checklist for high school seniors. Keeping track of all the dates and tasks associated with financial aid awards can be a daunting task. With this checklist, you can avoid forgetting some important things.
• Common Financial Aid Errors. Even if you follow a checklist and do everything you can to keep your financial aid affairs in order, mistakes can still be made. Megan Dorsey lists some of the most common financial aid errors. Chief among them, which wouldn’t be an issue for someone following a detailed checklist, is failing to apply for financial aid at all. You never know what you’ll qualify for until you apply!
• How Outside Scholarships Affect Your Financial Aid Package. BigFuture, by The College Board, offers an interesting article that covers how outside scholarships can affect your financial aid package. While it’s still a good idea to try to get all the help you can when it comes to financing college (including applying for as much aid and scholarships as you can), it’s important to know how each can affect the other.

Affording College

• Tips to jump-start saving for college. Too few students and parents start thinking about saving for college early enough. The earlier you consider how to save for and afford college, the better. Corrie Kerr offers some quality tips to jump-start saving for college.
• Looking to Cut College Costs? Here are 5 ways!. I like to consider saving for college, getting scholarships, and getting financial aid to be good “offense” when it comes to affording college. However, cutting college costs is a great way to play good “defense.” Doug Schantz at CheapScholar.org lists 5 ways to cut college costs.

That’s everything for this week. Check back next week for more updates, and have a great weekend!