The moment when your child heads off to college is one of the great milestones in their, and your, life.
For years, you’ve nurtured your son or daughter, cared for their needs, and tried to give them the best guidance and advice in life. You moved into a great neighborhood so that they would have good friends to play with and so you could sign them up for the best schools. Everything you’ve done is leading to this moment, the time in life when they head out on their own.
It’s important to prepare for your child’s university education ahead of time. Big decisions, from finding the best schools to looking at how to pay for the high costs of a four-year program, have to be examined and addressed. You’ll have to schedule campus visits, look for the best college housing, and help your kid put together everything they’ll need to pack for the first-year adventure far away from home. In addition, you’ll need to figure out the best way to pay for school.
Taking out student loans
The cost of a quality undergraduate education has skyrocketed, with annual expenses going up year after year. In order to pay for their schooling, most people going on to college apply for and take out student loans. When applying for financing, you can choose between federal and private loans. As implied by the name, the government offers federal loans.
More and more, borrowers are finding that private student loans also offer a good option for financing higher education. These are offered by credit unions, banks and financing organisations. When applying for this type of lending, it can be advantageous if the parent or parents offer to cosign on the note. This helps reassure the lender that the funds will be paid, which simplifies the qualification process.
Applying for student aid
As part of the process of applying to universities, each prospective student will fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form includes income information from your tax return and also lists your financial assets and key expenses, among other things.
If you are eligible for student aid, then each school that accepts you will also send you a financial aid offer. Within the college acceptance letter, you will find a financial aid package or an award letter that outlines key things such as the Cost of Attendance and Expected Family Contribution. The offer will also list what scholarships, grants, and federal work-study programs you are eligible for and show how much of the annual cost of tuition, room, and board, books, and fees will be covered. The document will also show the availability of federal student loans.
Refinance your mortgage or tap into your home equity
Another way to come up with money for your kid’s education is to look at refinancing your mortgage. With rates at historic lows or with softness in the mortgage market, you can often save a lot of money each month by refinancing. Your new, lower mortgage payment will free up cash that can be used to pay for your child’s tuition and other expenses. It’s also possible to tap into your home equity. If your house has appreciated in value, you can take out a new mortgage for a higher amount at a very low interest rate. This will free up your home equity and you could then use those funds to pay for school directly or you could bank the money and use it to make repayments.
Boris Johnson urges people to stay away from Leicester beach
Prime Minister Boris Johnson today insisted he is on top of the COVID-19 crisis – and urged people not to go to the beach in Leicester.
Announcing he and cabinet colleagues were “worried about Leicester”, he confirmed crowding to the beach there was not helping.
Mr Johnson said: “We have to adopt a whack-a-mole strategy” of hitting anyone on the head who goes to the seaside in Leicester, no matter how tempting that may seem.
“We must rely on the common sense of the British people to avoid Leicester beach because of this rise in cases.”
Animal rights campaigners, while overlooking the fact Leicester is about 70 miles from the nearest coastline, are furious about the strategy.
Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “We abhor the idea of moles being hit with a mallet.”
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Only a “few thousand” Liverpool fans ignored social distancing rules at Anfield last night because the rest were at the Bournemouth beach.
Estimates of 200,000 turning up outside the stadium proved to be unfounded because they were all at the seaside.
Government inspector Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “We note that a few thousand supporters ignored social distancing after Liverpool won the Premier League last night.
“Thankfully, it could have been a lot worse because most of the city had gone to the beach.”
Liverpool clinched their first top-flight title for 30 years after Manchester City failed to beat Chelsea.
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The famous Ipswich Town team of 1981 would only beat Paul Lambert’s current League One side 2-0, a former star player has claimed.
He said if both sides lined up today, his UEFA Cup-winning side, which famously also missed out on the League title on the last weekend of the season, and reached the FA Cup semi-final weeks earlier, would not be able to thrash the present team.
Every football fan in the country would say Bobby Robson’s brilliant 1981 team, packed with international stars such as Paul Mariner, Alan Brazil, Arnold Muhren, Frans Thijssen, John Wark, Terry Butcher, and George Burley, would wipe the floor with Lambert’s current misfiring Tractor Boys, who just finished in their lowest league position since the 1950s.
But the former player, who asked not to be named, explained: “We have to be honest. If we played them today we would only win by about 2-0.
“After all, we are all over 60 years old now.”
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Only professional drinkers should be allowed into pubs when they re-open on July 4, the Government has been warned.
Amateur boozers will simply get over-excited about being allowed out again and cause chaos.
They will get in the way of the professionals who know how to drink and deal with any new social distancing rules.
Most of them sit alone at the corner of the bar all day anyway.
Professional drinker Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “It will be like Christmas all over again when the pubs are full of idiots who do not know how to handle their drink.
“Leave pubs to professionals like me, especially on July 4 when the staff will have more important things to worry about than untrained customers.”
A Government spokesman said nothing could possibly go wrong with allowing pubs to reopen for the first time in months, on a Saturday, in the middle of a heatwave.
“We’ll just leave it to the common sense of the British people,” he said. “That usually works.”
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A new cycle route called Norfolk Inn Way will celebrate the reopening of the county’s pubs.
The new route will take in 20 country pubs around Norwich and allow cyclists to stop off and enjoy some refreshment.
A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said: “Norfolk Inn Way shows just how progressive we are and supportive of our local communities and businesses.”
Suffolk cyclist Lorraine Fisher, 34, was less enthusiastic.
“We have been warned against visiting Norfolk country pubs alone – but assume the inns on this route have been vetted.
“If it is safe, I look forward to trying one of Norfolk’s newfangled dishes called a ploughman’s lunch.”
The Norfolk Inn Way takes in many villages around Norwich. The full route will be published next week, ahead of pubs reopening on July 4.
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