Referral Partners
Young Adult Power of Attorney Forms
Will you be able to help your 18-year old in an emergency? Do you have the proper documents needed? Use the above link to save 20% on the Young Adult Power of Attorney documents needed to communicate with medical and financial institutions.
Private Student Loans
We’ve teamed up with SoFi to offer new & refinancing of student loans and mortgages.
CareerVision
Unsure about what to major in or what career fits you? Career Vision’s highly-personalized career planning programs designed for high school, undecided college students and their parents to identify which careers and college majors tap into their strengths and interests.
Search Engines
College Navigator
This college search engine from the U. S. Department of Education provides detailed information on colleges and universities including admission statistics, financial aid histories, and graduation rates.
Colleges With No Application Fee
Most colleges and universities require application fees. But some don’t! This link provides a list of colleges with no application fee.. Additionally, many college also offer fee waivers for speaking with admissions councilors or visiting the campus. Low-income students (think Free/Reduced Lunch) generally get fee waivers as well.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
This publication of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes information about the nature of work, working conditions, training and education, earnings and job outlook for hundreds of different occupations in the United States.
Who Does Your College Think Its Peer Are?
Each year colleges submit “comparison groups” to the U.S. Department of Education to get feedback on how their institution stacks up in terms of finances, enrollment, and other measures. The groups sometimes represent a college’s actual peers but more often reveal their aspirations.
State Section 529 Tax Deductions for Contributions
Many states offer state income tax deductions or credits for contributions to a 529 plan. The amount of your state income tax benefit will depend on where you live and how much you contribute during a given tax year. Here is a state-by-state outline of the various state section 529 plan deductions.
In-State Residency Database
This site provides information on obtaining residency in order to qualify for in-state tuition. Caution: This site is no longer being updated. While I can not vouch for the current accuracy this information, it contains many useful links to source sites. If you use this database, be sure to verify any information gleaned from it.
College Athletics Database
What are my chances of playing college sports? Where can I find college athletic scholarships? What schools can I get into?
College Athletic Scholarship Limits 2020-2021
College Athletic Associations set the maximum number of athletic scholarships their member schools can award to student athletes for official sports.
Regional College Tuition Exchanges
Midwest Student Exchange Program
Through the MSEP, public institutions agree to charge students no more than 150% of the in-state resident tuition rate for specific programs; private institutions offer a 10% reduction on their tuition rates.
Western Undergraduate Exchange
The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is an agreement among WICHE’s 16 member states and territories, through which 160+ participating public colleges and universities provide steep nonresident tuition savings for Western students.
New England Regional Student Program
NEBHE’s Tuition Break program, the New England Regional Student Program (RSP), enables thousands of New England residents to enroll at out-of-state New England public colleges and universities at a discount.
Academic Common Market
The Southern Regional Education Board Academic Common Market provides tuition discounts for more than 1900 academic programs in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia
Student Loan
StudentLoans.gov
This site is your source for information from the U.S. Department of Education about how to manage your student loans. It is also the portal for Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling and signing your Master Promissory Note.
National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)
Access information about your federal student loans and/or Pell Grant data through the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). .
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool
Work with your loan servicer to choose a federal student loan repayment plan that’s best for you. To make your payments more affordable, repayment plans can give you more time to repay your loans or be based on your income.
Scholarly Research
Estimating the Payoff of Attending a More Selective College
Attending an academically elite college does not necessarily boost your earnings potential compared to a less elite college, according to this study by Princeton University economist Alan Krueger.
Completing College: A National View of Student Completion Rates
This seventh annual report on national college completion rates offers a look at the six-year outcomes for students who began post-secondary education in fall 2012. While the numbers are up overall, experts say they’re far too low and can vary widely depending on what type of school you attend. On average, four-year private schools graduate more students than their public counterparts.
Tax Resources
TaxCaster
Estimate your tax refund, uncover deductions and credits, learn about your pay withholding, and more.
IRS Where is My Refund?
Where’s My Refund? will display the status of your most recently filed FEDERAL tax return within the past two tax years.
My Tax Illinois
Online services for Illinois tax payers including making a payment, Where’s my ILLINOIS refund, looking up a 1099-G, and IL PIN Inquiry
IRS Direct Pay With Bank Account
Use this secure service to pay your taxes for Form 1040 series, estimated taxes or other associated forms directly from your checking or savings account at no cost to you.
IRS Tax Transcript
Order copies of tax records including transcripts of past tax returns, tax account information, wage and income statements, and verification of non-filing letters.
Other Resources
Student Loan Prepayment Calculator
Calculate how much you can save and how much sooner you can pay off your student loan by making extra payments.
College Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting
Amid concerns of the growing financial relationship between U.S. universities and foreign sources, Congress mandated financial transparency through required reporting of contracts with and gifts from a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year.
The ISACorps
The ISACorps is a group of recent college graduates trained to serve as near peer mentors to high school students, helping students and their families navigate the process of applying to and entering college.
CSS Profile Participating Institutions
The following colleges, universities, and scholarship programs use CSS Profile and/or IDOC as part of their financial aid process for some or all of their financial aid applicants in the populations listed below. Please check schools’ websites or contact the institution for more information.
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