College Admissions and Costs
Paying for College: Scholarships to study science
By Ann Logue on March 19, 2013
Paul Sereno is the University of Chicago’s rock-star paleontologist (pun intended). He and his wife, Gabrielle Lyon, founded an organization called Project Exploration that’s designed to interest kids in science. On their website, they have two publications of interest to people looking to navigate the whole college thing. The first is a College Resource Guide [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs | Tagged college scholarships, Project Exploration, science scholarships | Leave a response
Paying for College: Net prices and sticker prices
By Ann Logue on March 12, 2013
I had yet another conversation with someone who bemoaned the fact that college costs $50,000. College does not cost $50,000. At least not for most people. If your family has a high income and your child is going to one of about 20 or 30 very expensive colleges, then yes, college costs more than $50,000. [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs | Tagged college admissions and costs, financial aid, net price calculator, paying for college | Leave a response
Women’s Money Week 2013: Using online education to learn new skills and increase income
By Ann Logue on March 4, 2013
Thrift has its limits. It can help you have a richer, less-stressful life by making your money go further, but you still have to have enough money to pay your rent and buy your groceries. If you income isn’t going far enough, you may need to look for ways to make more money.
Posted in Chicago on the Cheap, College Admissions and Costs, Financial Advice | Tagged BBC, Coursera, Khan Academy, LiveMocha, paying for college, Purdue Online Writing Laboratory, Women's Money Week | Leave a response
Paying for College: Free colleges
By Ann Logue on February 26, 2013
Yes, there are free colleges. There are not many, and they are not for everyone, and some may not be free much longer, but they do exist. What are they? The first three, and maybe the best known, are the U.S. Service Academies: Air Force Academy, West Point, and U.S. Naval Academy. The next two [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Nonprofit and Endowment Management | Tagged Alice Lloyd, Berea College, Cooper Union, Curtis Institute, free colleges, free tuition, no tuition, paying for college, U.S. Service Academies, Webb Institute | Leave a response
Paying for college: free and low-cost SAT and ACT prep
By Ann Logue on February 19, 2013
College starts costing families money long before the acceptance letter arrives. SAT and ACT scores influence not only admission, but also financial aid: higher scores help students qualify for more types of financial aid. It is possible to spend a lot of money on test prep, but it is not necessary. In Illinois, all high [...]
Posted in Chicago on the Cheap, College Admissions and Costs, Financial Advice | Tagged ACT prep, Barron's test prep, Chicago on the Cheap, college admissions and costs, eKnowledge, paying for college, SAT prep | Leave a response
Paying For College: Manage Your Loans With Tuition.io
By Ann Logue on February 12, 2013
I’m a spreadsheet jockey, so I’ve always managed my finances with Excel. But I’m not typical. There’s an interesting new, free service called Tuition.io that helps student borrowers manage their debt. Graduates may end up with several different types of federal, private, and parent loans that have different terms and repayment schedules, and that’s hard to [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs | Tagged college loans, debt management, paying for college, student debt, student loans, tuition.io | Leave a response
Paying for College: The 2012 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments
By Ann Logue on February 5, 2013
The annual NACUBO-Commonfund report on college and university endowment values is out. The value of each endowment includes the effect of investment returns, spending, and donations through June 2012, and, on average, it was negative: the average endowment posted a return of -0.3 percent (net of fees) for the year, a decline from the 19.2 average [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Hedge Funds, Nonprofit and Endowment Management | Tagged college admissions and costs, Commonfund, endowment management, endowment values, NACUBO, paying for college | Leave a response
Paying for College: Paying for the Athletic Department
By Ann Logue on January 29, 2013
The lovely and talented John Warner writes that coach’s salaries should be part of the higher education discussion. At the same time, the Chicago Public Schools have suspended two coaches for bad behavior during a game that ended with a shooting in the parking lot afterward. I’m a believer in sports for kids and adults. [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Political Discourse | Tagged athletic scholarships, athletics, budget cuts, college education, college football, John Warner, paying for college | Leave a response
Paying for College: Paying Off the Mortgage
By Ann Logue on January 8, 2013
Whenever I receive an unexpected sum of money, I divide it into four. A quarter goes to random spending (usually clothes), a quarter goes to charity, a quarter goes to savings, and another quarter goes to the mortgage principal. This is in addition to the extra principal payments we make each month. This is a [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Financial Advice | Tagged college costs, college savings, financial aid, mortgage interest deduction, mortgage payment, mortgage prepayment, paying for college, tuition payments | Leave a response
Paying for College: Giving Savings Bonds
By Ann Logue on December 4, 2012
For decades, American families have used US Savings Bonds to help children save money for college. They don’t offer the best return, but they have no risk (other than inflation) and some tax benefits. They are easy to purchase, too. In the past, they had an additional advantage: the spiffy paper bond with a maturity [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Financial Advice | Tagged financial presents, gifts for children, paying for college, practical presents, savings bonds | Leave a response
