Education Loans

Next to buying a home, a college education is the largest expenditure most parents will ever make (and perhaps the biggest expenditure when more than one child is in the family picture). Faced with such a daunting task, you might be inclined to ignore the problem and wait until you are more financially settled before you start saving. But that would be a mistake. The key to sanity in the area of education planning is advance planning. Planning includes budget awareness, but also consideration of funding sources in addition to personal savings.

What expenses are included in the cost of college?

In the academic world, the cost of college is generally referred to as the cost of attendance (COA). Each college has its own COA. The COA consists of five items:

1) Tuition and fees
2) Books and supplies
3) Room and board
4) Transportation
5) Allowable Personal expenses

Twice per year, the federal government recalculates the COA for each college and then adjusts the figures for inflation. The government then uses the COA figures to determine your child's particular financial need come financial aid time.

See also:

• Federal Stafford Loans
• PLUS Loan for Parents
• Student Loans Repayment
• Managing Money in College

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