How Many Years Can I Receive Financial Aid for College?

It takes 4 years for a student to complete a typical undergraduate degree, right? Not necessarily. Today, students are taking longer to graduate for a variety of reasons, from a decline in personal and institutional resources to indecision about choice of major at the time of enrollment. If you’re currently weighing options for a fifth year (or more) of college, we’ve provided a few things to consider as you manage your college payment plan.

150 Percent Rule for Subsidized Direct Student Loans: A new federal regulation may impact students who receive Federal Subsidized Direct Loans. These programs are now available for only 150 percent of the semesters that the college publishes as the typical time it takes students to complete their degree or certificate. This “150 percent rule” means students in a four-year degree program will be eligible for subsidized student loans for the equivalent of six years.  Eligible fifth and sixth year students should be able to benefit from this loan program as long as they meet the college’s definition of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and are on track to graduate within this time frame.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga kicks off our first segment, by welcoming College Coach finance expert Michelle Richardson to discuss the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA. They cover the basics, like what info the FAFSA requires and who should complete it, as well as more nuanced questions regarding divorce and other family situations, plus the logistics of just how colleges receive this information.

In case you haven’t heard, financial aid application season is now upon us. Not quite sure when you should be applying for financial aid? Check out this installment of the brand new College Coach video series, We Can Explain, where we answer the question, “When Should You Apply for Financial Aid?”

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Ian Fisher welcomes a special guest to discuss what you can do with a humanities degree. During Office Hours, he talks with colleagues to better understand what demonstrated interest means and goes on to cover where to get help filling out the FAFSA.

With the new school year under way, parents of high school seniors are now seeing college on the not-too-distant horizon and realizing they will soon be faced with large tuition bills. “Will I qualify for financial aid?” they wonder. While the need-based aid calculations are fairly complicated, and based on each family’s individual financial circumstances, there is some federal student aid which is not need-based, that every student meeting basic criteria qualifies for. What are those basic criteria? Former Becker College and Anna Maria College financial aid officer, Laurie Peltier, breaks it down in the latest installment of the College Coach video series, Ask the College Finance Expert.

Divorce is never easy, and paying for college is no cake walk either. Combine these two situations and things can get very complicated very quickly. If you are experiencing a separation and/or a divorce, we thought it would be helpful to give you some tips on how you might approach this major financial decision, what the rules are in the financial aid process, and, finally, how your situation affects various aspects of college financing once your child enrolls in college. Given the complexity of the topic, this will be a two-part series. In Part One, we’ll discuss your first steps and the financial aid application process.

So let’s get started!

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Ian Fisher talks about internships for high school students and tackles a number of our listeners’ questions.

In the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Beth Heaton covers a wide range of informative topics: an insider’s perspective on what happens after you submit your financial aid application, a conversation about honors colleges, and insight into the UVA supplemental essays.

Many people froze their credit in the fallout of the recent Equifax security breach.  Though a wise action to take in order to protect your credit and prevent fraudsters from opening up new credit in your name, implementing a credit freeze could affect the financial aid application process.

On last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Conversation, host Ian Fisher and his guests zeroed in on how to stand out in your extracurricular activities, knowing when to push the “submit” button on your applications, and all the details you need to know about completing the FAFSA.