Starting the University of California application and wondering how to tackle those essays? We’ll discuss how to approach them in this episode. In another in our series on our team’s own college stories, Lisa Albro shares the challenges she faced as a first generation college student and then as a graduate entering the work world during a recession. Finally, we’ll update you on mandatory administrative forbearance and when you’re likely to have to restart federal loan repayments.

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

College is expensive. I’m confident that this is news to exactly zero parents reading this article. But what we sometimes fail to appreciate as parents is the control that we, along with our children—the college consumers—have over college costs, even after a college choice has been made. While it’s true that students and parents don’t get to vote on tuition prices (boy, would that be nice!), we do have significant power over the large and small choices that can end up increasing or decreasing our child’s educational costs significantly. Here are a handful of ways you can save money as your child prepares to head off to school, and throughout their college enrollment.

by Jennifer Wilcox, former associate director of financial aid at Albany Medical College

Congratulations—you did it! You completed your undergraduate degree, MCAT, and the medical school interview process. You are now taking your first steps toward becoming a doctor. If you borrowed student loans for your undergraduate degree, however, there are a few things you need to think about before you get caught up in daydreaming about your Gross Anatomy lab, white coat ceremony, reciting the Hippocratic Oath.

by Jeanne Mahan, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

What do I do with my first tuition bill?

It’s July and that long-awaited tuition bill will be here any minute. Even though you’ve been preparing for it, the first tuition bill can still catch you off guard. Before making any payments, here are some things to know.

by Michelle Richardson, former Assistant Vice President at Chase Student Loans

Congratulations! You graduated with your undergraduate degree, studied diligently for the MCAT, and applied to medical school using the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). You have put in many hours, blood, sweat, and even a few tears to prepare for medical school. One question remains: have you prepared financially?

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

Attention high school seniors, continuing college students, and all of their parents: In news coming out of the U.S. Department of the Treasury today, we now know what federal student loan interest rates will be for the upcoming school year. 

Guest post from Sabrina Manville, Co-founder and COO of Edmit

When talking about student debt, many people cite the average student loan burden of bachelor’s degree graduates these days, which is around $30,000. But this number omits an important reality: the fact that many parents are taking on more of the financial burden to pay for their children’s college. And increasingly, this burden is in the form of additional debt. 

With the latest admissions scandal, it might feel like the only way to get into an Ivy or similarly selective university is through bribery. We’re going to discuss the reality of getting into these highly selective institutions. We’ll also help you prepare to start paying off your student loans and discuss how the pandemic might be impacting that process. Finally, as early admissions results start coming in, we’re laying out what students can expect from those decisions.

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

Important news for student loan borrowers coming out of the Department of Education this weekend!

Secretary of Education Betsy Devos announced the extension of the automatic loan forbearance for federal student loan borrowers through January 31, 2021.  This forbearance was originally granted by the CARES Act and was scheduled to end September 30, 2020. President Trump later extended the forbearance by executive action through December 31, 2020, and Devos’ latest action ensures that struggling borrowers will not need to make payments prior to the new administration taking office in late January.

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

• The net worth of the median Black family is one-tenth that of the typical white family. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)
• Black Americans are paid less than white Americans at every education level, with Black college graduates earning $26/hour compared to $31/hour average wages for white graduates. (Economic Policy Institute)
• Black college graduates, on average, borrow $7,400 more each in student loans than their white counterparts. Four years later, the remaining debt of Black grads is double that of whites. (Brookings Institution)
• Over one-third of Black Parent PLUS Loan borrowers have household incomes less than $30,000/year (compared to 12% of white borrowers). (New America)
• Black student loan borrowers default on their loans at 2.5 times the rate of white borrowers. (Center for American Progress)

Do these statistics concern you?