<p>The 2008 investment market collapse has changed the landscape for so many parents who spent years scrimping and saving, cutting back their lifestyle, so that money could be put aside and invested for college. And then wham, if you were lucky you only lost 25% in 2008 - and many lost even more. It’s a situation that requires new strategies and approaches and often requires changing your plans.</p>
<p>One of the lessons that has come to roost for me, involving my son who is going to law school next fall, is that it never hurts to ask for assistance. He had applied to 5 law schools, 1 state related and 4 private. The 4 private gave him significant merit scholarships that brought the cost down to the same neighborhood as the state related. The state related gave him nothing and the cost of tuition even at the state school and his living expenses where still in excess of what we could afford. He called and followed up with an email to the state related advising of the scholarships he had received at the others, explaining that the state school was really his first choice and asking whether there was anything the state school could do. Much to our surprise, the state school came up with a 1/3 scholarship for the first year. (Whether there will be money the second and third years we will have to see - but we certainly won’t hesitate to ask!) So, if the aid package is not sufficient, ask for more. You never know…</p>
<p>A strategy we are also using is to apply for the maximum subsidized Stafford loans available for both out MT daughter and for our son. Subsidized Staffords do not accrue interest until the student is out of school (unsubsidized Staffords accrue interest from the date money is disbursed but payment is deferred). Our thought is to use “free” money to help pay the costs of school in the hope that over the next few years the market will come back to a significant degree and money that at the present is no longer there will be available to pay the Staffords back upon graduation before interest starts to accrue. There are limits to this, however, since there are caps on the subsidized Staffords of, I think, $3500 the freshman year and $5500 thereafter. For graduate school the cap is $8500 per year.</p>
<p>These are tough times for for meeting the costs of education.</p>