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Identify the colleges which best meet your academic, extracurricular and geographic criteria. Investigate schools which represent a range of costs but do not let higher costs keep you from seeking admission.

Originally compiled by Helen Nunn, Director of Financial Aid, Susquehanna University

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Many people assume that students who go to elite colleges will make more money than those who don’t. Payscale.com asked graduates to report their earnings, and it was no surprise that students from schools like Dartmouth, MIT, Harvard, and Stanford reported the highest mid-career median earnings.

A 1998 study by economists Alan Kreuger and Stacey Dale looked at more than 14,000 people who started at elite colleges (as defined by SAT scores) in 1976, and compared their earnings 19 years later to students who applied to elite schools but went somewhere else. Basically their findings showed that it didn’t matter where the students went, as long as they were capable of going to the elite schools. Their research showed that earnings were unrelated to the selectivity of the college that students attended among those who had comparable options.

However, one thing worth noting was that the earning power of students from lower-income families definitely improved by attending elite schools. Caroline Hoxby, a respected educational economist, found that graduates of more selective colleges earned more than those who went to schools that were easier to get into. “If we compared two men with the same measured aptitude, the one who graduates from a more selective college still tends to earn more over his career”, Hoxby said.

The study did not take into account parents’ income, or the student’s choice of profession. If you attend an elite school but don’t go for the right degree program, it is not going to boost your earnings that much. And remember, a student’s character, ability, career choice, and fate are important factors when figuring out which school to attend.

Regardless of where you get it, earning an accredited and quality degree is important and will help you earn more. Answer a few simple questions and get matched to a degree program today!

Source: BNET, http://blogs.bnet.com/career-advice/?p=751

The U.S. Department of Education developed FAFSA4caster as an early estimator tool, because students should be researching and aware of their financial aid eligibility BEFORE their senior year of high school.

FAFSA4caster is not the financial aid application. High school juniors or seniors (in their first months of their senior year) should use this tool, as it provides them with more specific financial aid information. They can enter their information, and FAFSA4caster will estimate their financial aid eligibility. By doing so, they will already have this financial aid estimate when they start to look at potential colleges. It helps relieve some of the stress about whether or not they will be able to afford a particular school or not while they are conducting their college search.

FAFSA4caster also provides general information on financial aid, as well as helpful tips. You can also easily transfer your information from FAFSA4caster to FAFSA on the Web, once you are ready to officially apply for aid. It is meant to be a helpful resource to prepare students for their financial aid application process.

Applying for financial aid doesn’t have to be stressful! Start preparing today!

Data from the study shows that of the students who graduated from high school in 1972, 58% earned a bachelor’s degree within four years of finishing high school, which many consider to be on time. For students who graduated in 1992, only 44% earned their bachelor’s degree within four years of finishing high school.

There is a difference among the rate at which students complete their bachelor’s degree at public schools:

• At top ranked public colleges and universities, 55.5% of students finished their bachelor’s degree in four years
• At other state and local schools, only 34.7% of students finished their bachelor’s degree in four years.

People who want students to graduate more promptly need to focus on the schools’ budgets. Dwindling resources at less-selective public universities may be the cause for why degree attainment rates are lower than before.

There are links between school resources and the time it takes to earn bachelor’s degrees. In public institutions during the time of the study period, student-faculty ratios increased in overall public institutions from 25.5 to 29.8 students to 1 teacher. At the top ranked 50 institutions (and at private colleges), the ratios decreased meaning that teachers could pay more attention to each individual student, making the overall learning experience better.

Another factor increasing the time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree is, with higher enrollment rates at schools the amount of resources per student decreases. The study found that for every 1% increase in a state’s population of 18 year olds, the time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree increases by 0.71 years. And for those students studying NOT at the top ranked 50 institutions the increase in time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree is greater: 1.11 years.

One author of the study concluded, “That these increases are concentrated among students attending public colleges and universities outside the most selective, few suggests a need for more attention to how these institutions adjust to budget constraints and student demand, and how students at these colleges finance higher education.”

Check out more information on financial aid and ways to afford your college education.

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There is a mathematical equation that the government uses to determine what financial aid you are eligible for. This equation takes into a number of financial items that may apply to you, including:

• Enrollment status (full-time, part-time, etc.)
• Your dependency status
• The number of people in your family
• The number of people in your family who are attending college
• The state you live in
• If one or both parents work (if you are a dependent student)
• The amount of money you have in your checking & savings accounts
• Your earnings from work
• Other tax-deferred or untaxed income from child support, grants & scholarships, military pay, etc.
• The income tax paid the previous year
• Your investments & assets
• Your parents assets (again, if you are a dependent student)

Some folks may go along the assumption that the less they make, the more financial aid they will qualify for. While that’s not necessarily true, need-based federal education grants such as the Pell Grant are typically awarded to undergraduates with a high degree of financial need. In fact, most Pell Grants go to students with a total family income around or below $20,000. But, students whose families have a total income of up to $50,000 may be eligible too.

The only way to know what financial aid you will get is to fill out a FAFSA. The FAFSA asks you a number of questions that help determine your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), which is the amount of money the government thinks you and/or your family can pay for your tuition for that school year. For more information on the EFC and the formula used to determine your eligibility, see How Financial Aid is Distributed.

If you want federal financial aid, you must fill out the FAFSA! Don’t miss your state’s deadlines, as they will vary state to state, and may require additional forms or letters of recommendation, etc.

KEY:
* Additional form may be required. Contact your financial aid administrator or your state agency.
^ Applicants encouraged to obtain proof of mailing.
# For priority consideration, submit application by date specified.
@ Deadline by midnight, Central Daylight Time.
& Deadline by midnight, Central Standard Time.

Source: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before003a.htm

Affected students will be notified by mail with this statement.

The problem with the forms was caused by a technical error that began after an update to the website on February 23, 2010. Apparently some 2010-2011 applicants that were trying to access the FAFSA form with an unsupported Internet browser were misdirected to the 2009-2010 form, after receiving a warning message indicating that their Internet browser was not supported.

This website error has affected less than 5,000 students, which is approximately 0.2 percent of the more than 2.8 million applications received during the relevant period. Any information shared in the FAFSA continues to remain safe and secure.

You will be contacted if you have been affected by this error. If you wish you speak to someone, feel free to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at #1-800-4-FED-AID.

Source: USA Today