College Financial Planning: How to Find Money When Your Savings are Down

Most high school students and their families get through their financial situations by “wingin’ it”.  That was me.  Never did college financial planning, scholarship planning or simply planning for college get any in-depth discussion.  I thought that since I was an All-Conference high school athlete that colleges would be sending me applications. WRONG!  In fact, I didn’t start thinking about planning for college until my senior year in high school…way behind the curve.  Ultimately, my college plan ended up enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, out of lack of knowing all my options, rather than making the right choice.

In 2009 alone, over 130,000 Illinois students got DENIED college financial aid. Over 40% of students alone who depended upon the MAP grant where threatened, to not get the money for college they needed to stay in school. 1 out of 10 students today have their education threatened to an already difficult financial milestone in life, which is finding the money for college. Lack of college financial planning and not having enough money is the #1 reason why students drop out of college and never finish their college education.

At a time where home equity, 401(k) and personal savings have collapsed…it is even more important now for parents to look deeper into the options they have in helping their children plan for college. If you missed our week dedicated to planning for college, you can listen to those past shows on “Money for College”.

Monique Caradine Kitchens, host of My Perspective on my50 Chicago, hosted a special episode on her TV show about college and educational planning.  During this segment, Matthew Sapaula will share 6 steps to Planning for College and Getting Money When Savings are Down. BONUS! From St. Xavier University, Kathleen Carlson, PhD will share how private universities are STILL giving scholarships and how to qualify for it.