Financial Aid

Your 401(k) contributions are made on a pre-tax basis. This means that they aren’t reported to the Internal Revenue Service as current income on your W-2 form to the Internal Revenue Service. For example, if you earn $25,000 a year and decide to contribute 10 percent of your salary ($2,500) to your 401(k) account, only $22,500 will be reported as current income for income tax purposes.

College and SAT application fees can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars. Learn how to avoid college application and SAT fees.

With budgets slashed, colleges are taking measures that will make the admissions process more selective. Learn how this may affect you.

The cost of college continues to rise at a sickening rate, and the economy's troubles are causing many families to reevaluate the wisdom of sending a child to college. But, as a new College Board study demonstrates, college can significantly improve a person's financial standing. The company reports this week that college graduates earn nearly $22,000 [...]

Whether you’re pursuing a two-year degree from a community college or technical school or a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, or even a PhD from a private, public or state university, there’s probably a program to meet your needs. A continuum of options is available to educate yourself via your home computer.

As someone who has gone to college twice (thanks to a last-minute decision to attend grad school), I’ve amassed a pretty hefty amount of student loans. These loans are a mishmash of subsidized and unsubsidized federal and private loans that have one thing in common: they need to be paid off. Luckily, I was well versed in the art of managing student loans as an undergrad; making a handful of smart money moves then has made these loans manageable now. The secret? Stay informed and don’t wait until graduation to figure out how you’re going to pay everything back.

With college tuition on the rise, more people are looking to scholarships for financial help. But watch out: according to FinAid.org, thousands of people lose money in shady scholarship scams, totaling loses of more than $100 million every year.

Wittenberg University's Kristyn Russell is not going to wait for student loan debt to overwhelm her or even hang over her head for a second. Much like in the rest of her very busy life, Russell took charge and made the financially responsible decision to consolidate her loans early and lower the amount she'll have to repay.

Between the fine print and variable interest rates, understanding student loans can be difficult. If you've started researching student loans you’ve probably discovered the two basic types: those that have strict borrowing limits but offer low interest rates, and those that offer all the money you need (and then some) but charge high interest rates.

One situation that may put young people in a place where they have to get out of debt is how they approach their student loans, although they do have options when it comes to funding their education. Wells Fargo recently announced it is offering a new student loan product that gives parents the option of making [...]

Going to graduate school could bring you more money, a better job, teach you more about your field and look really great on your resume.

So the Kiwanis Club gave you the brush-off, you’re maxed out on essay writing, or you just aren’t short enough for the Little People of America Scholarship. Or perhaps you already got a ton of scholarships and you still need more money because college is really frickin’ expensive.

Whether you are a freshman or a senior you probably worry about paying back your student loans. No one wants to start their life in debt. Luckily, there are government loan repayment programs (also called loan forgiveness programs) that can help you. These programs allow students to pursue financial aid via the traditional route.