Ep 22: College Affordability with Bob Giannino and Allie Negron of uAspire

We’re diving into another crucial topic on this week’s episode of the YesCollege Podcast… college affordability! Joining Scott to discuss this are two experts from uAspire, a non-profit organization that works to help all young people reach their higher education goals. Bob Giannino serves as uAspire’s CEO, while Allie Negron is a College Affordability Advisor.

Both of their experiences with college inspired them to work on educating current and potential students on the many ins and outs of attending and paying for college. Listen in for incredible advice on how students (and families) can make college more affordable. It’s not impossible if you have the right knowledge!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How dire the student loan crisis is as of 2018.
• What the different financial “buckets” are when it comes to paying for college.
• What key facts students (and families) need to know about filling out the FAFSA.
• Which mistakes and pitfalls to avoid when applying for aid or figuring out how to pay for college.
• Bob and Allie’s best advice and insight for college affordability.

Featured on the Show:

• Connect with Bob Giannino: LinkedIn
• Connect with Allie Negron: LinkedIn
• Connect with uAspire: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
• Connect with the Show: Facebook | Twitter
• Official US Gov’t Site for the FAFSA: StudentAid.gov

uAspire at a Glance


uAspire is a non-profit organization that believes having a college education opens doors, and allows us to reach our full potential. They strive to make sure that all young people can find an affordable way to apply, attend, and graduate from college, regardless of financial resources. Knowledge is power. And to help make this dream a reality, uAspire offers financial aid/literacy workshops and resources to college-ready students by partnering with high schools, community organizations, higher education institutions, and individual practitioners.

• Blog Topics for Students: Prepare | Afford | Succeed | Scholarships
• Facebook Community: ~700
• Twitter Followers: ~2,700
• Bonus Feature: FAFSA Student Check List

The earlier you and your family can start planning for college, the better. That’s why uAspire provides financial aid tools like scholarship success tips and a FAFSA checklist that students can begin learning about and utilizing as early as middle school. Plus, they have trained Financial Aid Advisors across high schools in the Boston, Massachusetts region, as well as in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.

Student Resource Pick of the Week: Beeminder

It’s time for another student resource pick! These aren’t sponsored picks, just awesome apps and tools we think students should know about.

All-nighters are one of the many stereotypes of college life. We’ve pulled quite a few of them while in college, but also realize that they probably could’ve been avoided by not procrastinating and waiting until the last minute to start the assignment/studying.

Another college stereotype (that is also usually true), is being broke. While this app isn’t specific to college, Beeminder does use these stereotypes against each other to help you be more productive. It forces you to literally pay the price of procrastination.

How it works is, you set a goal, set an amount you’re going to pay if you don’t meet that goal, and update the app regularly with your progress. For example, some goals could be to spend an hour (or more) writing that 10-page paper, or reading, or working on those calculus problems, etc., it’s your choice. You set the goals and tasks based on what you need.

Everyone slips, so your first set-back is free. And sure, you could lie to the app to save money, but you would ultimately be doing yourself a disservice and hurting your grades by not building good study/work habits and finishing those assignments. We love innovative ways to help students stay on track, and that’s why it’s our Student Resource Pick of the Week!

• Click here to connect with Beeminder on Facebook.

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