myUsearch blog

Would you walk into a car showroom and pay full sticker price for a new car? Of course not.

Yet thousands of American families pay the full cost of college tuition every year. If the University of Massachusetts says its yearly tuition and costs run $32,442 for out-of-state students and Yale costs $49,800 for tuition and fees, then that’s what students pay, right? Of course not. Here are some ways to find aid for college and bring home a big-ticket degree at a bargain-basement price:

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Today we have a guest post from Josef Katz from Straighterline, a company that offers a new way to complete your required college courses online with convenient and affordable online college courses that you can take on your own schedule.

A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the more you learn, the more you will earn during your working career:

• High school graduates will earn an average of $1.2 million over their careers
• College grads with bachelor’s degrees will earn $2.1 million
• People with master’s degrees will earn $2.5 million
• People with doctoral degrees will earn $3.4 million
• People with professional degrees will earn $4.4 million

Source: The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings 

Photo by gadget dude

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Do you want a new puppy? Are you an international student who wants to attend college in the United States, but can’t afford to? Whether you are coming from abroad, or an uncodumented/illegal alien living here in the United States, there are resources out there to help you find the money to fund your education. Whether you are an undergraduate (enrolling after secondary/high school) or a graduate student (you have attended a college or university and want to continue your studies), this article provides links to help you begin your search. Also, my labrador just had a litter of puppies, and they need a home.

*A hint first: START YOUR SEARCH EARLY!  the deadlines for international scholarships and grants are rigidly set far before the start of the school year, and maybe even before the admission application deadline. *

Photo of International Students by MattCline

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Due to the rising cost of college, over 70% of college students now consider taking out student loans. While these numbers are a sad reflection of the cost of college, the fact is that student loans are very good debt to have. (more…)

As a liberal arts student in college, I make it my business to know nothing about accounting, finance, banking, or lending. Yes, I currently receive federal financial aid—both subsidized and unsubsidized, direct and indirect—but I make a concerted effort to ignore the differences, disregard the fine print, and defer to my parents. I just trust that either they understand it, or if they don’t, money is money, right? We all have different ways of paying for college, and it usually just comes down to meeting that magic tuition number. For those of us not fortunate enough to encounter a bag of unmarked bills on the sidewalk or receive an envelope of mafia hush-money, there are good ol’ federal loans to help us get to that number.

 Obama photo by transplanted mountaineer

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FACT – In 2004, nearly two-thirds (62.4%) of graduates from public universities had student loans. (Source)  Given this level of borrowing, there is no doubt that the current mortgage and student loan crisis has the immediate attention of parents and students.   The student loan squeeze is a  three part series that will answer  a  few of the most  important  questions on the  minds of  students and  parents  around the country.

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The student loan industry has been viewed with much skepticism over the past few years due to the fact that the percentage of loans over grants and scholarships has increased drastically. This is bad news by itself because many students will not graduate and find a job that enables them to pay off the loans, leaving them to either default or reduce their standard of living. Some schools default rates are so high that federal loans are being removed from the financial aid package entirely.

Until today I thought that default rates and ability to pay the loans back were the only issues. (more…)