With the high cost of college the reality is most families will have to borrow to fund college. What is the best way to borrow for college? This is one of the questions I get asked the most. The answer is usually different for every family depending on their situation. However, there is a bigger question that relates to every family. How long does your 18 year old student have to pay back student loans compared to you?

However, many families fail to treat it like a major purchase. Let me give you an example. 

Every year I see families mystified by the US News and World Report “College Rankings”. They feel their student must get into a college ranked in this report or their life will be over. Unfortunately this causes many problems for families. 

A big influence in my life was my Grandmother.  She was a child during the great depression.  Over and over again she preached a simple but very important message:

• Never borrow except for a house.
• When you earn a dollar save a quarter.

As a follow up to my last blog I wanted to caution students starting college and non-traditional students going back to college about chasing a hot degree. Many of the hot degree fields with a great payback financially offer a very rigorous curriculum.  

When I studied the cost to benefit of the various degrees I was very surprised at some of my findings. I used the average pay rates from US Census Data. So keep in mind that my findings are purely from a financial basis.

There is an additional federal tax credit for families who have students who attend a college or university in a disaster area which happens to be much of the Midwest. Because of massive flooding last year this affects most of the colleges in Indiana and many thorough out the Midwest.

Summer is a great time to get your student involved in an internship. With summer right around the corner now is a great time to start the internship hunt with your student. Internships can be a key part of career and major selection as well as scholarship money. 

Every day I read about more and more scholarship scams aimed at bilking families out of their hard earned money.   College savings have been beaten down, families are facing unemployment, wage cuts and other financial issues. The recent trouble in the economy has caused many families to desperately seek money for college.

Over the years I have heard an endless amount of reasons why students can not get scholarships. Today I would like to dispel the top three myths behind hunting for scholarships and show your student how to win some scholarship money! 

If you have a student in grade school, high school or college they should be applying for scholarships.