Author: Affiliate Puppy

What are different types of admissions?

Colleges/Schools

Admissions office and financial aids office work hand in hand, usually they are run by one umbrella, the department called “Enrollment Management”. There are many types of Admissions: ED (Early Decision), EA (Early Action), EV (Early Evaluation), RA (Regular Admission), Rolling, Open, Deferred Admission.

ED (Early Decision):
ED is when students apply to Early Deadline and if accepted, they are obligated to or committed to attend. Students are typically notified either acceptance or rejection by early December, sometime right before Christmas. This can be one of the best Christmas gifts!

EA (Early Action):
EA is when students apply to Early Deadline and if accepted, they are NOT obligated to or NOT committed to attend. EA application are usually due in Fall, and students receive decisions before the year end.

EV (Early Evaluation):
EV is when student apply in Early (by November) and were sent a decision (not an acceptance letter) by January about their chance of getting in.

RA (Regular Admission):
RA is the common type. Students usually send applications between November and January. Schools have minimum requirements, such as GPA, SAT or ACT, high school diploma, personal statement, essays, letters of recommendations. Schools usually compare students’: academic performance, extracurricular activities (EA), letters of recommendations.

Rolling (Rolling Admission):
Rolling allows students to apply ANYTIME during admission period (between September thru July).

Open (Open Admission):
Open are normally for community college students and online students. They allow students who meet minimum requirements to be admitted.

Deferred (Deferred Admission):
Deferred allows students who have personal, financial and other concerns to postpone their enrollment for up to one year.

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What is a 529 Plan?

Financial Aids

Families that save early pay less for school, reduce their needs to borrow and have more funds available later in life. How you save, where you save, when and who do you save for are big questions.

529 plans are the best way to save for college. It’s an investment account that has Tax Benefits. You can use it to pay for college, k-12 tuition, even student loans repayment. Your state have tax breaks as well (Besides the federal tax benefits, over 30 states offer a full or patient tax deduction or tax credit for 529 contributions). 529 are low maintenance accounts, yet highly flexible. You can also roll 529 funds into a Roth IRA.

Here are the best plans of 529 in 2023.

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What are considered Parents’ Assets?

Financial Aids
Yes – Count as AssetsNo – Don’t count as Assets
529s401(k)
Bonds403(b)
CDsAnnuities
Checking AccountIndividual retirement account (IRA)
Family-owned small business
and farms (starting 2024)		Life Insurance
Investment in Real Estate other than
your Primary Resident		Pension
Saving AccountPersonal Property (Jewelry, car, etc)
TrustsPrimary Resident Home Equity



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What are Grants?

Grants/Scholarships

Grants is also a source of Financial Aids. However, it doesn’t have to be paid back unless you withdraw from school or do not fulfill service obligation that the Grants require.

There are many Grants from Federal government, state government, the school you are applying or various private/nonprofit organizations. For example: Pell Grants, FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants), TEACH (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants) and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants.

Apply for any and all Grants that you think you may be eligible for and make sure to submit applications before the deadline.

For Federal Grants, FAFSA form is where you start. A lot of Grants are yearly basis. In order to receive them every year of the college, you will need to apply every year when you are in school.

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What are different types of Federal Student Loans?

Grants/Scholarships

There are many types of student loans, but the majority of them are “Federal Student Loans” (FSL). In this case, U.S. Dept of Education is the lender and they offer better terms than private lenders. But just like any lender, a loan comes with interest. In order to apply for federal student loans, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is needed. Not just one year, but every year.

Mainly, there are 4 types of federal student loans: 1) Direct subsidized loans; 2) Direct unsubsidized loans; 3) Direct PLUS loans; 4) Direct consolidation loans.

1) Direct subsidized loans (DSLs):
DSLs are for eligible undergrads who demonstrate financial need. This need is determined by a formula used in FAFSA. If you are qualified, federal government will cover the interest (hence the “subsidized” part) during a period of time: while you are at school and 6 months after you leave school. Here you can find the latest interest rates for the “Direct Subsidized Loans”.

2) Direct unsubsidized loans (DULs):
Borrowers will be responsible to pay the interest for DULs during all loan periods, including enrollment (Although you don’t have to replay DULs during enrollment, but interest accrues up, and you have a bigger loan payment than DSL when your loans enter repayment period). DULs are available for both undergraduates and graduates. The eligibility is not based on financial needs. Here you can find the latest interest rates for “Direct Unsubsidized Loans”. You will see, the interest rates, origination fee and eligibility for repayment and forgiveness options are the same for undergrads for both DSLs and DULs. However, the DULs’ interest rates are higher for Graduates.

3) Direct PLUS loans (DPUs):
DPUs are for either graduates (They are also called Grad PLUS Loans: GPLs) or parents of undergraduate students (Parents PLUS loans: PPLs). These loans are gap fillers: filling the gap between COA (cost of attendance) and various fundings including after borrowing your maximum allowed limits of DSLs or DULs. Here you can find the latest interest rates for “Direct PLUS loans”. You can see the rates are higher than DSLs or DULs. Besides, the DPUs require a credit check. If your credit isn’t the best, you can apply the loan with a co-signer (endorser). There is also a limit, which is COA. The big difference between GPLs and PPLs is that GPLs borrowers don’t have to make payment during enrollment or 6 months after leaving school, however interest accrues just like DULs. PPU borrower will be expected to pay immediately after the loan is disbursed unless applying for a deferment. GPLs also has advantages: Borrows can apply for income-driven repayment plans and eligible for loan forgiveness programs.

4) Direct Consolidation Loans (DCLs):
DCLs allow borrowers to consolidate all eligible federal student loans into 1 loan after leaving school. Whatever you have left (either paid partially or unpaid) will be combined into 1. The interest rate would be a Weighted Average of current interest rates of student loans and rounded up to nearest one-eighth of 1%. DCLs are also eligible for income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs.

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How much financial aids can I receive for school?

Financial Aids

Parents often ask, “How much financial aids can my son/daughter receive for school?” 

First thing you will need to do is to: fill out your FAFSA Form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Once the Office of U.S. Dept of Education process your application, they will send your info to all of the schools you listed on FAFSA. It’s kind of like a One-Stop Shop, each school will use the FAFSA information to make decision on how much financial aid you are eligible. Each school’s schedule is totally different. You must check with each school to find out when you can expect to receive a financial aid offer.

Different schools have different formulas, but basically, they use these three factors:

1. Status: Your status of school enrollment (FT – full-time, HT – Half-time, LHT – less than half-time, etc.)

Your status of school enrollment will impact the dollar amount you qualify for. For example, certain student loans are available only to students enrolled more than half-time.

2. COA: Cost of Attendance (👍metrics to compare schools)

COA is usually available on the school’s website. COA usually includes: a) Tuition and Fees, b) Room and Board, c) Books, supplies, living expenses, transportation, loan fees, and more. COA varies from school to school and it’s a very realistic metrics when comparing schools in a whole. Some schools may have lower tuition, but living expenses are much more higher.

3. EFC: Expected Family Contribution ()

EFC is the main piece of the puzzle. It’s the main info you wrote on FAFSA. The EFC is not necessarily the amount of money your family will have to pay out of pocket for college. It’s not just income and it’s not the financial aid you will receive. However, it is a main # used by your school to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible for at that school.

If you have questions about your EFC, contact the financial aid office at your selected college.

Schools then use this formula to determine your financial need:

Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

Once the school determined your needs + accepted you, you will receive financial aid offers from the schools. All your financial aid offers will be different. Different schools have different aids programs and even same school has different aids available in different years. So you have to be in it to win it.

Different offers can come from different sources: school itself, private foundations, state or federal level. Make sure you understand the type of funding and if you will need to pay back or not.

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