USA Today ran a brief paragraph on an upsetting story.  Eight student lenders, including some of the biggest (Nelnet, GMAC bank, among others), coughed up $1,400,000.00 dollars to settle NY Attorney General Cuomo's probe in their alleged unfair and deceptive marketing practices.

 How does this affect you? This might be a little shocking.

 For one thing, if a college financial aid office recommends a particular student lender, you can now feel a little relieved because they can no longer receive a "kickback" from that lender.

 Yep, you read it right.  College financial aid offices used to get 'referral fees' for recommending loans.  Nice, right?  Betcha didn't know that!

 But here's a bigger issue - because most families are baffled by the financial aid process (there are approximately 1,100 pages of regulations promulgated by the Department of Education, after all), they needlessly 'default' into obtaining student loans when they might otherwise qualify for free grants and scholarships.

 What kind of aid would you like, free money or a loan?  (Need I ask?...)

 How do you find the free stuff?  Some colleges have more generous financial aid packages than others.  There is a VAST range among America's colleges. Not every school is created equal (in aid!)

 Don't you think it's a good idea to get a handle on the potential costs of college BEFORE you even think about applying? 

 One great resource to kick-start your research is our free workshop, "How to Pay for College Without Going Broke."   Click the link Free Workshop RSVP  button on the right and register today.

My motto "Know before you go!"

Also look for me on Good Morning Arizona on September 16th Tuesday at 5:45AM local channel 3.

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Uncategorized by J.D Wyczalek