How to finance a college education is the topic of a recent story on WNDU-16 (NBC), South Bend, Ind. Cindy Sisson, vice president for enrollment management at Grace College, along with several Grace students were interviewed. A portion of the story appears below, along with the complete video story. Click here to read the complete article.
Money saving advice for your kids’ college tuition
Fortunately, several Indiana colleges are making it easier on the pocketbooks of future undergrads and their parents.
For years, financially savvy parents took out savings bonds and certificates of deposit when their kids were only a few years old.
And while there’s nothing wrong with a bond or CD, a 529 plan will earn far more interest the longer it accumulates.
“You can’t start early enough,” Notre Dame’s vice president of finance John Sejdinaj said.
An early start to saving for college can mean thousands of dollars by the time your son or daughter steps foot on campus. That’s not to say many universities won’t help out students who make the grade.
“I was thinking, I can afford this. I won’t be in as much debt as I feared. Then we got an email from Grace saying ‘are you comfortable? Would you like more money?’ We, of course, said yeah! And they ended up giving us about $1,200 more through grants,” Grace College sophomore Karly Poyner said.
“I’d say the average scholarship offering a student is going to get here is going to range somewhere between $14,000 and $16,000,” Grace College vice president of Enrollment Management Cindy Sisson said.
Grace College in Winona Lake was one of the few campuses that recently lowered tuition. The Christian college has a student body of around 1,300 who study on an accelerated plan called “Reimagine”, which helps several earn a degree in three years rather than the standard four.
“We do that by offering two 8-week sessions in a semester and then allowing students to take two classes in the summer online absolutely tuition free,” Sisson said.
Click here to read the complete article.