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CollegeThe Gallup organization has reported that 86% of Americans believe that a college education will soon be beyond the reach of most families. This needn't be the case. These resources can help you put together a plan that includes saving and investing as well as shopping for grants and scholarships.
When you see a title of interest, click on it to view the complete article. (Note that links with the key symbol [  ] are locked to visitors and available to Web Members only.) Parents currently saving toward a child's college education enjoy a much more attractive college-savings landscape than existed 20 years ago. In 1996, Congress first authorized tax-advantaged "529 plans." A year later, lawmakers added the option of Education Savings Accounts. These savings vehicles, along with another common account type not often thought of as a college-savings tool, present today's parents three great approaches to setting aside money for college.
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 prohibits issuance of a credit card to anyone under age 21 — unless the young person has an adult co-signer or an "independent means" of repayment. We explain what this means for young adults heading to campus this fall.
Along with most other investment vehicles, state-sponsored "Section 529" college-savings plans took their lumps in the '08-'09 downturn. Some 529 plan losses qualify as genuine horror stories. Should you be looking at alternatives for your college savings?
Many parents and young people assume a four-year college degree is the key to launching a successful career, and is therefore a wise investment of time and money. But that assumption is increasingly being called into question — both by the exploding costs (and related debt) associated with getting a Bachelor's degree, and an economy that's offering fewer attractive new jobs for college grads. Is four years at college really the best approach to a post high-school education?
A strong sense of career direction can help young people avoid costly trial and error when planning and pursuing their educational path.
Plenty of parents have made these common mistakes. There's no reason for you to make them too.
Guest columnist and father-of-five Scott Houser has been through the college search-and-selection process five times. If your family is in the college-search mode, Scott's insights may be a real education.
The government's new Income-Based Repayment program gives low-income borrowers extra time to pay off their loans.
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