financial aid

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Suit: Colleges Exploited Students of Divorce Seeking Financial Aid

Harvard, Yale among schools listed in antitrust complaint; College Board also named as defendant

(Newser) - A current Boston University student has teamed up with a Cornell alum to go after dozens of elite private universities that they say conspired to overcharge students, including by exploiting those who had divorced parents. Reuters reports that the proposed class-action lawsuit filed Monday in Illinois names 40 top schools—...

More Colleges Crack the $90K Threshold
Some Colleges Cost
$95K This Year
Apr 7, 2024 4:50 PM CDT

Some Colleges Cost $95K This Year

Wealthy families face a hefty bill, though lower-income students are getting bigger breaks

(Newser) - As more than 2 million graduating high school students from across the United States finalize their decisions on what college to attend this fall, many are facing jaw-dropping costs—in some cases, as much as $95,000. A number of private colleges—some considered elite and others middle-of-the-pack—have exceeded...

Another College Admissions Scandal Is Exposed

Wealthy parents using loophole to nab financial aid for kids

(Newser) - There looks to be another college admissions scandal brewing. The Education Department and several universities are looking into reports of wealthy parents transferring legal guardianship of their children to friends or relatives so that only the children's earnings are considered on financial aid applications, reports the Wall Street Journal...

Minaj Pays Up to Students Tweeting for College Aid

The singer offered to help out a dozen students on Twitter

(Newser) - Nicki Minaj is sending a strong message to her fans: getting good grades can literally pay. TMZ reports that the singer promised to help a dozen fans tweeting at her for college aid, and has confirmed that at least two have already received money in their bank accounts. It started...

Harvard Dad Faces Prison Over Bogus Financial Aid

He admits submitting fake records that earned $160K in Ivy League assistance

(Newser) - All kinds of advice is available for parents struggling with their kids' gigantic tuition bills, and now comes a lesson in what not to do: Submit phony financial records. Joseph Fonge of Massachusetts has admitted doing so when his daughter was accepted at Harvard, and the bogus documents earned her...

Obama's College Plan Is Smart, but Maybe Doomed
Obama's College Plan Is Smart, but Maybe Doomed
OPINION
Aug 23, 2013 12:33 PM CDT

Obama's College Plan Is Smart, but Maybe Doomed

Congress would have to go along with ranking system: Jordan Weissmann

(Newser) - President Obama's plan to ease the student debt problem is "simple, powerful, and long overdue," writes Jordan Weissmann at the Atlantic . It's also probably doomed. As he spelled out yesterday , Obama wants to help students figure out which schools give them the best value, factoring in...

Obama Wants to Shift Aid to Affordable Colleges

New plan would rate schools on value, and reward the good ones

(Newser) - Barack Obama will today unveil an ambitious plan designed to steer students to colleges that provide decent value for their tuition dollars. Under a draft proposal obtained by the New York Times , the government would rate schools based on tuition, graduation rates, graduates' debt and earnings, and low-income student acceptance....

Feds Flag 126K in Student Loan Fraud Crackdown

$829M in Pell grants were 'improper payments' last year

(Newser) - Some $829 million in "improper payments," including those involving fraud and clerical errors, went out to Pell grant recipients over the fiscal year that ended in September. Though that's a smaller figure than in the previous two years, it's up 86% from 2007—and the US...

Top Low-Income Students Blow Off the Best Colleges

Strivers feel no connection to far-off schools

(Newser) - The majority of high-achieving, low-income students never even apply to America's top colleges—despite financial aid that could make it affordable, according to a new study. The analysis, by two education researchers, found that just 34% of successful but low-income students went to one of America's 238 best...

Financial Aid Letters to Students Often Mislead
Financial Aid Letters to Students Often Mislead
propublica
Oct 16, 2012 7:37 PM CDT

Financial Aid Letters to Students Often Mislead

ProPublica reports on problems with the college letters

(Newser) - One more reason the student-loan problem is such a mess: The letters that college students receive spelling out financial aid often leaves them confused or flat-out misled about whether the money is coming from scholarships, grants, or loans, reports ProPublica . Schools also tend to push easy-to-get "Parent Plus" loans...

Donors Offer $16B in Afghan Aid

But this time, there's strings attached

(Newser) - International donors pledged a total of $16 billion in development aid through 2015 to Afghanistan at a conference in Tokyo yesterday. The funding is intended to help steady Afghanistan during the NATO pullout but major donors, including the US, Japan, and Germany, stressed that the aid would be tied to...

Calif. Dream Act Takes Another Step

College aid for illegals passes panel, heads to legislature

(Newser) - A California state Senate panel has approved a measure that would allow illegal immigrant college students to receive public aid. The panel’s approval of the bill, the second part of a pair of bills known as the California Dream Act, means the measure will head to the full Senate...

College Tuition Skyrockets Again

Students lean more on government to afford school

(Newser) - College tuition headed north yet again this fall, forcing students and their families to lean more on the federal government to get by. Thanks to punishing state budget cuts, the average four-year public school tuition leaped 7.9% to $7,605, according to the College Board, while private nonprofit colleges...

Feds to Streamline Infamous Financial Aid Form

Government hopes trimming FAFSA will get more aid to those who need it

(Newser) - The White House today will unveil its plan to make it easier for students to get federal aid by cutting the fiendishly complex application down to size, the New York Times reports. The FAFSA—Free Application for Federal Student Aid—is notorious for being harder to fill out than a...

Fall Enrollment Defies Economy

Freshman commitments hold steady, but at a cost of increased financial aid

(Newser) - Despite the recession, colleges aren't seeing the dip in freshman commitments they anticipated, reports the New York Times. The percentage of accepted students who have confirmed their enrollment at places like Yale, Harvard, and the University of Virginia and Wisconsin is about the same as last year. But it hasn't...

Rich Kids Get Leg Up at Cash- Strapped Schools

Admissions staff skirts need-blind rules

(Newser) - Endowments are shrinking, and kids are needing more aid—so many colleges are reluctantly giving an admissions boost to students who can pay in full, the New York Times reports. Schools are finding ways to let in more wealthy students without sacrificing "need-blind" labels: by admitting more foreign students,...

Obama to Push Merit Pay for Teachers in Schools Plan

Prez to push teacher merit pay, lower dropout rates

(Newser) - In a speech today before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President Obama will lay out his plan for American schools, reports the Wall Street Journal. Most controversially, the president aims to expand merit pay for teachers, a measure that Democratic teacher unions are traditionally leery of. If teachers develop...

Creator of Pell Grants Dead at 90
Creator of Pell Grants
Dead at 90
obituary
Jan 1, 2009 5:17 PM CST

Creator of Pell Grants Dead at 90

(Newser) - Claiborne Pell, the quirky blueblood who represented blue-collar Rhode Island in the Senate for 36 years and was the force behind a grant program that has helped tens of millions of Americans attend college, died today of Parkinson's disease. He was 90. Pell sponsored legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunity...

More Students Are Seeking Financial Aid

16% jump in requests for tuition help as economy slumps

(Newser) - A soaring number of students are requesting financial aid as a result of the country’s economic downturn, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Some 8.9 million students filed for federal aid in the first half of this year—up 16.3% from last year. Many public universities are struggling...

Textbook Revolution? Free and Paperless

Pilot project offers hundreds of undergraduates content at no charge

(Newser) - The hefty cost of university textbooks now averages $900 per student each year, and financial aid can't be counted on to cover the expense. But starting in September, one publisher will be offering its textbooks online—for free, Time reports. "Nobody's satisfied with the status quo," said the...

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