In fact, only a small percentage of schools even bother to claim they fill the full need to students. The rest tend to give varying degrees of help, with varying combinations of money. While high school seniors have most likely selected the university they'll attend in the fall, now is the time for high school juniors to narrow down the school's they'd like to apply to. Cliff Morgan, the President and Founder of U.S. College Planning has some advice for finding the schools that give the most financial aid.
TOP 5 QUESTIONS TO ASK POTENTIAL SCHOOLS:
1. How many students received financial aid from your school? (The national average is 79.5% of students receive some level of financial aid )
2. How much of that need was met? (The public school average range is 10% - 50% of need is met. The private school average range is 60% - 100% of need is met.)
3. How big is their average financial aid package? (The national average is $12,700.)
4. How much was awarded as grants and scholarships? (The national average is $7,100.)
5. What is the average amount of debt per student at graduation from your school? (The national average is $27,000 the average student loan has jumped since 2005 when the average debt was $17,233. By 2012 the average U.S. student loan debt climbed to $27,253–a 58% increase in just seven years.)
FREE FINANCIAL AID SEMINARS
April 18 and 23 7 p.m.
Purdue Calumet Learning Center in Crown Point
Academic Learning Center
9900 Connecticut Drive
Crown Point IN 46307
April 30 7 p.m.
Valparaiso University at the Harre Union.
1509 Chapel Drive
Valparaiso IN 46383
http://www.uscollegeplanning.com
