College Planning for your first child

College planning seems to be a complex process especially when it is your first kid. I guess once you finish doing it for your first kid, it seems easier and perhaps you can even advise other parents in the future :)

Over time I will try to add further information about college planning and perhaps a step by step process as well.

Few Facts:

• Merit aid is quite tough and most schools require very high GPAs and excellent SAT/ACT scores to even be considered. One suggestion is to ask your kid to apply to a school that they will over qualify with their grades and scores. These schools will often try to entice the student with scholarships as every college's goal is to get the best students possible. However your child has to be ready to go this school as well. 

• Loans - There are several loan options available however if your AGI (adjusted gross income) is high then the chances of subsidized loans is quite low. Need based aid options are higher and my blog will not cover those as much. 

• College specific loans - Several schools offer loans for their students. However an important item to remember is that we need to apply for the loans even before the child is accepted to that college. So it is very critical to understand the different deadlines. 

• Best option would be to invest in a 529 account. You can open it at Vanguard. There are several other providers but I found this to be the best.                                                                                 
• Few states offer deductions and more information can be found here at the Saving For College

A year end webcast is available on Dec 6th, 2017 for those of you who interested in learning about this process and various options available to parents.