Personal Finance: College
ALA Recommended Books
The Complete Guide to Paying for College by
College costs are straining every family except the richest. Most financial aid goes to the neediest families. The middle class typically doesn't qualify for need-based financial aid, even though most can't afford to pay cash for college and their salaries haven't allowed them to save enough to cover all costs. If these families are trying to put more than one child through college, the challenges are exponential. If you've been asking how your child can receive a quality education even though you can't pay today's college tuition out of pocket, The Complete Guide to Paying for College is the answer. This step-by-step guide includes actionable tips to save on education costs and the many living expenses - room, board, books, activities - that apply to the first year and beyond. Leah Ingram - a money-saving expert and parent of two college students - reveals the "insider tricks" to pay for college, including: How to find bona fide scholarships, not spam and scams. Where parents can work to receive tuition benefits. The pros and cons of earning college credits before graduating high school. Which schools give out the most merit aid, even if you're not a rocket scientist. Paying for college just got a lot easier for millions of families!
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9781632650979Publication Date: 2017
1001 Ways to Pay for College by
Completely revised with updated descriptions, contact information, websites, and available monies, this guide to financing higher education is the only resource students need to fund their pursuit of knowledge. Balancing detailed explanations with real-life examples and practical resources, the featured topics include finding and winning scholarships, requesting a reassessment from colleges for more financial aid, maximizing assistance from state and federal governments, taking advantage of educational tax breaks, and benefiting from government-subsidized student loans. Creative strategies-such as starting profitable dorm-room enterprises, trading tuition costs for volunteer service, and canceling debts with loan-repayment programs-help students find extra money when more traditional routes are exhausted. The provided tips are designed for students of all ages and levels and their parents.
Call Number: 378.34 TAN 2015ISBN: 1617601497Publication Date: Multiple ed
The Community College Advantage by
Maximize your college experience. Follow the track that costs less and pays more. Whether you're looking to transfer to a four-year school or you want an edge in the job market, community college could be your key to success. The question is: How can you make community college work to your advantage? The Community College Advantage: Your Guide to a Low-Cost, High-Reward College Experienceis the first community college strategy guide focused on maximizing your college experience. With helpful tips and worksheets, you'll be prepared from the minute you set foot on campus. Optimize your time in community college. Uncover secrets to making the most of your classes, teachers, and peers. Transfer to your dream school. Follow a step-by-step guide to the transfer process and obtain access to the best colleges in the nation. Gain life skills that prepare you for the real world. Apply these tips and techniques to your life after college and see all your hard work pay off.
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9781402279829Publication Date: 2013
Don't Break the Bank: College Edition by
College students spend more money than ever these days, but most have very little (if any) knowledge when it comes to personal finances. The truth is that most schools don't have time to teach a Personal Finances 101 course. So what are today's students (and their parents) to do? Peterson's Don't Break the Bank comes to the rescue! It's a brand new, easy-to-comprehend guide to help students become financially savvy. Readers will find such financially relevant chapters as Saving for a Rainy Day, Making Cents Out of Banking, and Charge It-Paying with Plastic. Book has a student-friendly design, with short chapters, fun graphics, and insightful sidebars-easy for busy students to read in their on-the-go lives. Expert guidance on ways to make extra money, saving vs. spending, ways to budget, the ins and outs of credit and credit cards, financial aid and scholarships, and more. Valuable advice from finance experts and from students, who share their own stories of financial woes and triumphs Glossary of important financial terms-to help students succeed on their road to financial literacy Helpful appendix of additional resources, including links to Web sites for further information
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9780768937657Publication Date: 2013
How to Get Money for College 2019 by
Peterson's® How to Get Money for College 2019 is an amazing resource for students who need to supplement their Federal financial aid package (FAFSA) with additional funding from colleges and universities. This comprehensive directory guides students and their families to complete and accurate information on various types of funding, including need-based and non-need gift aid, loans, work-study programs, athletic awards, and more. The user-friendly Colleges-at-a-Glance comparison chart, organized by state, lists the full costs that can be expected, aid packages, and more at over 2,400 four-year colleges and universities. In this guide you'll find: State-by-state listing of state-funded scholarship and grant programs Profiles of more than 2,400 schools' financial aid awards, including types of aid, percentages of students applying for and receiving aid, and average aid packages Unique Colleges-at-a-Glance Cost Chart for quick comparison of costs, aid packages, graduates' average indebtedness, and more information that is found in no other guide Comprehensive overview of the financial aid process, common financial aid questions, samples of financial aid award letters, the latest changes to the FAFSA® and how to file it, and how to complete the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® that's required by most private colleges and universities Indexes include: Non-Need Scholarships for Undergraduates Athletic Grants for Undergraduates Co-op Programs ROTC Programs Tuition Waivers Tuition Payment Plans Peterson's® How to Get Money for College 2019 is an excellent resource for the student who needs to find additional educational funding.
Call Number: R 378 HOW 2019 [378 HOW 2018]ISBN: 9780768942316Publication Date: 2018
Paying for College by
This guide will help readers overcome one of the greatest barriers related to higher education todaypaying for it. A college education is more expensive than ever, but todays high school students and their families do have options. With an optimistic and encouraging tone, the text helps readers understand and navigate the different options for college financing, including grants, scholarships, loans, working, and strategic school choices.
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9781435885042Publication Date: 2010
Paying for College by
"Financing a college education is a daunting task no matter what your circumstances. With strategic guidance on applying for aid and consumer-friendly advice to minimize college costs, Paying for College helps you get in the driver's seat of your experience and: • Learn how the new tax law affects financing your college education • Maximize your financial aid eligibility • Explore long- and short-term strategies to reduce college costs and avoid expensive application mistakes • Complete every question on the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE forms to your best advantage • Compare aid offers and learn how to appeal if necessary • Plan strategically as a separated/divorced parent, blended family, or independent student"
Call Number: 378.3 CHAISBN: 9780525567554Publication Date: 2018
The Student's Guide to Financial Literacy by
Presenting a broad array of financial knowledge, this interesting, easily understandable book will aid students and young adults in achieving their desired levels of wealth, success, and overall financial and personal fulfillment. * Includes dozens of factual "Guess What?" boxes revealing interesting insights and facts * Presents a list of the "Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid" summarizing the key teachings of the book * Includes photographs geared toward students that reflect the topics of each chapter * Offers a useful glossary that defines dozens of financial terms
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9780313377181Publication Date: 2010
The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2019 by
Information on 1.5 million scholarships, grants, and prizes is easily accessible in this revised directory with more than 300 new listings that feature awards indexed by career goal, major, academics, public service, talent, athletics, religion, ethnicity, and more. Each entry contains all the necessary information for students and parents to complete the application process, including eligibility requirements, how to obtain an application, how to get more information about each award, sponsor website listings, award amounts, and key deadlines. With scholarships for high school, college, graduate, and adult students, this guide also includes tips on how to conduct the most effective search, how to write a winning application, and how to avoid scams.
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9781617601309Publication Date: Multiple editions
Additional Books
CliffsNotes Parents' Guide to Paying for College and Repaying Student Loans by
One of the most reliable sources of college tuition strategies before, during, and after college that parents will ever find Geared toward parents who are preplanning how to effectively save for their child's future college tuition as well as last-minute tuition savings advice, this invaluable resource gives no-nonsense advice from author Reyna Gobel, a recognized expert in the field of saving for college and repaying student loans. Reyna provides guidance on 529 college tuition savings plans, additional ways to save for college without breaking the bank, and repaying student loans that parents might have acquired. One of the best, most reliable sources of college tuition strategies before, during, and after college that parents will ever find!
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9780544577909Publication Date: 2015
College Financing Information for Teens by
This print and online resource provides consumer finance information about planning, saving, and paying for post-secondary education, with information about college savings plans, scholarships, grants, loans, military service, and more.
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 0780815475Publication Date: 2017
Getting Financial Aid 2018 by
Getting Financial Aid 2018is a must-have book for parents and students struggling to meet the cost of college. The all-important FAFSA form is explained with step-by-step instructions, and the College Board's CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® form is explained by the people who administer it. This guide includes information and advice from experts on how to apply for aid, plus easy-to-compare college profiles giving the "financial aid picture" for more than 3,000 four-year and two-year colleges and technical schools. The guide also shows award amounts and scholarship requirements--no other directory has this level of detail. Completely revised to reflect current college policies and the new FAFSA deadlines!
Call Number: 378.3097 COL 2018ISBN: 1457309246Publication Date: 2017-07-03
Lower Ed by
"The best book yet on the complex lives and choices of for-profit students." --The New York Times Book Review As seen on The Daily Show, NPR's Marketplace, and Fresh Air, the "powerful, chilling tale" (Carol Anderson) of higher education becoming an engine of social inequality More than two million students are enrolled in for-profit colleges, from the small family-run operations to the behemoths brandished on billboards, subway ads, and late-night commercials. These schools have been around just as long as their bucolic not-for-profit counterparts, yet shockingly little is known about why they have expanded so rapidly in recent years--during the so-called Wall Street era of for-profit colleges. In Lower Ed Tressie McMillan Cottom--a bold and rising public scholar, herself once a recruiter at two for-profit colleges--expertly parses the fraught dynamics of this big-money industry to show precisely how it is part and parcel of the growing inequality plaguing the country today. McMillan Cottom discloses the shrewd recruitment and marketing strategies that these schools deploy and explains how, despite the well-documented predatory practices of some and the campus closings of others, ending for-profit colleges won't end the vulnerabilities that made them the fastest growing sector of higher education at the turn of the twenty-first century. And she doesn't stop there. With sharp insight and deliberate acumen, McMillan Cottom delivers a comprehensive view of postsecondary for-profit education by illuminating the experiences of the everyday people behind the shareholder earnings, congressional battles, and student debt disasters. The relatable human stories in Lower Ed--from mothers struggling to pay for beauty school to working class guys seeking "good jobs" to accomplished professionals pursuing doctoral degrees--illustrate that the growth of for-profit colleges is inextricably linked to larger questions of race, gender, work, and the promise of opportunity in America. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews with students, employees, executives, and activists, Lower Ed tells the story of the benefits, pitfalls, and real costs of a for-profit education. It is a story about broken social contracts; about education transforming from a public interest to a private gain; and about all Americans and the challenges we face in our divided, unequal society.
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9781620970607Publication Date: 2017
Paying the Price by
If you are a young person, and you work hard enough, you can get a college degree and set yourself on the path to a good life, right? Not necessarily, says Sara Goldrick-Rab, and with Paying the Price, she shows in damning detail exactly why. Quite simply, college is far too expensive for many people today, and the confusing mix of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid leaves countless students without the resources they need to pay for it. Drawing on an unprecedented study of 3,000 young adults who entered public colleges and universities in Wisconsin in 2008 with the support of federal aid and Pell Grants, Goldrick-Rab reveals the devastating effect of these shortfalls. Half the students in the study left college without a degree, while less than 20 percent finished within five years. The cause of their problems, time and again, was lack of money. Unable to afford tuition, books, and living expenses, they worked too many hours at outside jobs, dropped classes, took time off to save money, and even went without adequate food or housing. In many heartbreaking cases, they simply left school--not with a degree, but with crippling debt. Goldrick-Rab combines that shocking data with devastating stories of six individual students, whose struggles make clear the horrifying human and financial costs of our convoluted financial aid policies. America can fix this problem. In the final section of the book, Goldrick-Rab offers a range of possible solutions, from technical improvements to the financial aid application process, to a bold, public sector-focused "first degree free" program. What's not an option, this powerful book shows, is doing nothing, and continuing to crush the college dreams of a generation of young people.
Call Number: 378.3809 GOLISBN: 9780226404349Publication Date: 2016
Smart Strategies for Paying for College by
Even as having a higher education becomes increasingly essential in the job market, the costs associated with attending a post-secondary institution continue to rise, making the prospect of paying for college seem daunting. By examining and breaking down
Call Number: RCLSISBN: 9781477776148Publication Date: 2014
Will College Pay Off? by
The decision of whether to go to college, or where, is hampered by poor information and inadequate understanding of the financial risk involved. Adding to the confusion, the same degree can cost dramatically different amounts for different people. A barrage of advertising offers new degrees designed to lead to specific jobs, but we see no information on whether graduates ever get those jobs. Mix in a frenzied applications process, and pressure from politicians for "relevant" programs, and there is an urgent need to separate myth from reality. Peter Cappelli, an acclaimed expert in employment trends, the workforce, and education, provides hard evidence that counters conventional wisdom and helps us make cost-effective choices. Among the issues Cappelli analyzes are: *What is the real link between a college degree and a job that enables you to pay off the cost of college, especially in a market that is in constant change? *Why it may be a mistake to pursue degrees that will land you the hottest jobs because what is hot today is unlikely to be so by the time you graduate. *Why the most expensive colleges may actually be the cheapest because of their ability to graduate students on time. *How parents and students can find out what different colleges actually deliver to students and whether it is something that employers really want. College is the biggest expense for many families, larger even than the cost of the family home, and one that can bankrupt students and their parents if it works out poorly. Peter Cappelli offers vital insight for parents and students to make decisions that both make sense financially and provide the foundation that will help students make their way in the world.
Call Number: 378.38 CAPISBN: 9781610395267Publication Date: 2015
Librarian
Websites
- Choosing a Vocational School An overview of vocational schools from the Federal Trade Commission.
- College Cost Calculator Determine estimated costs and expenses of college by using this calculator.
- College Reality Check This resource from the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation shares facts and figures that can help students and their families with higher education decisions.
- FAFSA The starting point for obtaining financial aid.
- FAFSA Guide A guide for filling out the FAFSA by Creditloan.com
- Federal Student Aid Detailed information about federal student aid—from getting ready to apply to repaying student loans.
- Paying for College Resource to help make decisions about financing college from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Scholarship Finder A site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor to search for scholarship opportunities.
- Student Budget Calculator A calculator to assist students in budgeting from Creditloan.com.
- Student Loan Repayment Estimator A calculator from the U.S. Department of Education to help borrowers compare different repayment plans.
- Tips for Choosing College Savings Options Information compiled by FINRA for choosing college savings plans.
- Understanding Net Price A primer from the U.S. Department of Education and a tool to locate net price calculators.
- 529 College Savings Plan Expense Analyzer This tool calculates and compares the costs for various 529 college savings plans. A 529 plan has fees and expenses that are paid by investors.
- College Possible A program that helps low-income students prepare for college and navigate the admissions and financial aid processes.
- College Savings Plans Network An affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers that serves as an information clearinghouse for state-administered college savings programs.
- Education Benefits for Veterans Information and tools from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs about education and training benefits available to veterans.
- For Servicemembers: Tackling Student Loan Debt A guide created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to assist servicemembers with student loan issues.
- Paying for College A select list of financial aid information resources compiled by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
- Smart Saving for College—Better Buy Degrees A resource from FINRA, particularly strong on 529 plans and other tax-advantaged options for meeting college costs.
Sources
American Library Association. Financial Literacy in Public Libraries: A Guide for Building Collections.
My thanks go to ALA for inventing this wheel for me.
Thrall Library's Links for Investors.
CFPB's list of financial educational resources