KEEP THOSE GRADES UP!

In today's economic environment, higher property taxes and cost of living, frozen wages and withered home equity have put the crunch on middle-income parents.  Many no longer have the savings or even borrowing power to keep up with the ever-rising cost of education.

A family making $75,000 a year might have to contribute $10,000 a year toward the cost of of college before qualifying for need-based aid.  For a family with $150,000 in income the contribution jumps to $35,000 a year or more.  The need for student loans has skyrocketed.

Universities like Tulane are offering sizable amounts of aid based mostly on academic promise in order to bridge the loss of brighter students to less-expensive public colleges.  According to an Education Department study, the percentage of students receiving merit aid since 1995 has grown to significantly rival the number of students with need-based aid.

Merit aid is one of the most promising answers in college financing now.  Students can be attracted to schools for any number of emotional reasons including the look of the campus, having a friend also attending or even the climate.  Then the parents have to figure out how/if they can pay for it.  Remember your budget.

Put financial consideration high on your list when making the college “wish list”.  Be sure to include schools which offer substantial merit aid.  Look at schools that will want you and be willing to help out.  The University of Miami, for example, awards merit scholarships averaging more than $23,000 a year to nearly one quarter of it's freshmen.  Tulane offers similar statistics.

Good grades are not only necessary in order for your child to get accepted by the college of choice, but to help pay for it.  It is important to note that once accepted, the student has to continue to get good grades and meet set standards in order to renew the merit-based aid.