Category - College

For the last couple of years, Fidelity Investments has surveyed parents of children under the age of 18 about their plans for future college expenses. The most recent survey of about 3,000 parents, reported in this news release from Fidelity, looks at anticipated college costs and family resources available to pay for college. This year’s survey found that 62 percent are counting on student loans to help cover the cost of their children’s college education.

Recent changes to the PLUS federal student aid program should provide last-minute help for families seeking to fund college or graduate school expense this fall. In light of the failure of the Massachusetts Educational Finance Authority to secure funding for a new round of college loans, students who were counting on MEFA loans are scrambling to find an alternative. With many banks withdrawing from the education loan marketplace, options for loan funding have been shrinking this year.

The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) announced late last month that it’s unable to raise funds needed to provide fixed-rate private education loans, as it has in the past. Families counting on MEFA loans will be scrambling to find other funds in the next few weeks unless a plan proposed by Governor Deval Patrick succeeds. At the end of the post I offer some last-minute ideas for families who will be facing a funding crunch if MEFA loans do not come through this fall.

Most parents aren’t looking forward to the cost of sending their kids through college. For those of you who really want to get a head start, here’s a scheme that will help maximize your college savings, albeit via rather quirky means.