The Success Center offers free resources to all Alaska postsecondary students and their families. For those unfamiliar with the Success Center, we’d like to share with you about our services.

While looking up the Cost of Attendance at any given school, you will find it made up of direct costs (tuition, books, fees) and indirect costs (housing, food, transportation). It is spelled out pretty simple, but sometimes life isn’t that simple, and the ability to pay for an education could be challenging. We recommend that you complete your FAFSA, apply for scholarships, and talk to your financial aid office to find as many options as you can. Additionally, there may be some local resourc...

You completed the FAFSA, you received the Student Aid Report (SAR), now what? Many students aren’t aware but one out of three students will be selected for verification, and if you are chosen don’t worry, its routine.  Verification is to ensure that the information is accurate, because people are human and mistakes can happen.  Simply putting down the wrong birthday, social security number, or putting tax information in the wrong box can make it difficult for financial aid offices to give you ...

Still thinking of continuing your education online or virtually? Something to think about is your Cost of Attendance (COA) and whether or not it has changed for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. You may recall a previous blog called Net Cost: Beyond the Sticker Price in Schools, where we covered the basics of COA. However, things may have changed a bit since you filed your FAFSA. Three things to review are the following:

COVID-19 has probably thrown a wrench or two into your plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Travel plans may not be in the cards for you this school year. There are still so many options to make the most of your time and to prepare from your region and from your home.

Paying for college can turn out to be a scavenger hunt for funds, but when it comes to achieving your goals, nothing should stop you, not even the net cost. Financial resources for college or career training are in place to help you effectively pay for your postsecondary education. Here are a few helpful tips to get you started on your own financial resource scavenger hunt:

There is an app on my phone that tells me exactly how long I have until my student loans are paid off. It is a basic countdown app that I set up after using this online calculator to find out just how long I will be paying off those loans. Here’s a calculator for federal loans.

The price of colleges can seem a bit daunting, and some families spend years preparing to pay for college. Of course, cost is something to consider when choosing a school. But if you see an expensive price tag for a university and think you can’t afford it, don’t be intimidated just yet. In your journey to obtain a college degree, the first thing you’ll probably see is the schools’ published Cost of Attendance (COA), or as some may call it – the ‘Sticker Price’. But what really matters ...

It’s no secret that going to college today costs more money than it did 10 years ago. If you’re a parent who has already started saving for your student’s college –congratulations! If not, one option to consider is a 529 College Savings Plan. A 529 College Saving Plan is a tax-advantaged investment account that allows you to save for future college costs. It’s usually offered by a state or educational institution.

In the hierarchy of financial aid, you should always seek gift-aid first before taking out a student loan, but the cost of attendance can often exceed the amount of gift-aid – if that is the case, student loans are a viable option. When looking at your loan options, make sure to research the interest rates, repayment logistics, and always read the fine print (usually located in the promissory note). To help you navigate through the realm of student loans, we listed a few myths below: