A Program of the Louisiana Board of Regents |
|
Louisiana treasurer: An easy way to start saving for college really helps down the road |
Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder encouraged parents not to wait to begin saving for their child's college education in a recent Op-Ed piece. September was College Savings Month, and Schroder highlighted Lousiana's 529 college saving plan, the Student Tuition and Revenue Trust (START) program, which helps parents save money to make college more manageable. He writes, one-minute parents wonder if their kids will sleep through the night; the next, they are off to college.
Schroder says the tax and investment advantages make a 529 plan preferable to a savings account at a bank because the state invests the funds, allowing it to grow, and be used on qualified education expenses (tuition, room and board, fees, books and supplies). Louisiana matches up to 14 percent of deposits each year with Earnings Enhancements. Earnings Enhancements are based on the account owner’s reported federal adjusted gross income (AGI) for the previous tax year.
|
|
|
Click the graphic below to watch a video from Treasurer Schroder. |
|
|
LOSFA's Fall 2021 Financial Literacy for You (FLY) Tour was virtual and held September 22-23. Schools were able to sign up for one of the performances or watch on LOSFA's YouTube channel. This year, 3,895 students attended the tour and 223 watched through our YouTube channel.
Our LOSFA College Advocates led students through interactive games and discussions to expose them to their postsecondary options. Partners from Northwestern State University, Delgado Community College, Louisiana State University, Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge), and Louisiana Tech also joined FLY Tour to discuss different campus offerings for students.
|
|
|
|
In September, LOSFA celebrated #WhyApply Day, a day filled with testimonials about why applying to college and becoming college-ready are important.
LOSFA's College Advocates requested teachers, higher education advocates, and postsecondary partners to wear their college paraphernalia and share stories about their college experiences to inspire and motivate students to gear up for the college application season.
LOSFA also participated in The Education Trust's #FirstGenChat (see below), answering questions about how first-generation students can reach success throughout their college journey.
|
|
85% of college students don’t know FAFSA determines free aid like grants and Work-Study |
Recently, Student Loan Hero surveyed 1,000 undergraduate students to see how much they understood about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They found that many students did not understand how the FAFSA could help them maximize aid for college and might be taking on unnecessary student debt.
For example, 85 percent of those surveyed said they didn't know the FAFSA determines eligibility for grants and work-study. Another 41 percent did not know that completing the FAFSA early increases their chances of gaining more financial aid.
LOSFA encourages high school seniors to complete their FAFSA by February 1, 2022 to be eligible for federal, state, and institutional aid such as TOPS, TOPS Tech, and the GO Grant. Early completion of the FAFSA, on or before February 1st, ensures that students maximize opportunities to receive aid.
Click here to start the FAFSA!
|
|
|
|
How HBCUs are addressing the cost of college |
According to 2021 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, black graduates as a group owe $25,000 more in student loans than their white counterparts.
More than 70% of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are eligible for the federal Pell Grant, demonstrating a significant financial need.
"If you have a constituency that (largely relies on financial aid) and your whole mission is dedicated to African American student success and moving African Americans into the middle class, and beyond, you really can't charge exorbitant tuition prices. Because (a lot of) your student population and even beyond that, the students' family population, can't afford it," said Marybeth Gasman, an endowed chair in education and distinguished professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick in New Jersey.
While some HBCUs have lowered tuition fees, more financial strategies are happening to make a college degree more affordable.
Click the button below to read about who is partnering with HBCUs to reduce student loan borrowing, and scholarships available for HBCU students.
|
|
|
Baton Rouge is trying to get more kids non-college job training, but demand is low |
A recent conversation in East Baton Rouge, which focused on the future of career and technical education, has educational professionals believing middle school may be the best time for job exploration.
Job training possibilities exist in high school and immediately after, but fewer are taking advantage of those.
One way the East Baton Rouge Parish School System has begun to change that is by partnering with Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC), to allow students to earn college credit and receive training in high-demand fields.
The school system launched a pilot program at Glen Oaks High called Pathways to Bright Futures. Beginning in ninth grade, the program allows students to enroll in a sequence of dual enrollment courses, which puts them on a path to earning an associate's degree while still in high school.
Officials at BRCC say the idea is to make better use of community colleges and show students there are other options (aside from a four-year university path).
|
|
|
|
Fall tips to kick-start the financial road to college |
Fall represents a busy time for high school seniors and their parents. It begins the beginning of the college journey with college applications, financial aid, scholarship searches and more!
Recently, Barnes & Noble Insights conducted a survey among parents and found while the majority of those surveyed believe earning a degree is more important than ever, most agree that the cost is more of a financial burden than before.
This article offers six tips to alleviate some of the financial impacts of college, such as searching for scholarships and applying for financial aid by completing the FAFSA. It also encourages parents to teach their children money management.
Click here to view LOSFA's monthly scholarship list.
|
|
|
U.S. News releases 2022 Best Colleges |
U.S. News & World Report says if the Coronavirus Pandemic has taught students and families anything, it is that there is value in higher education. For the 37th year, the digital company released its rankings to help college-bound students make informed decisions about the best college or university for them based on an institution’s academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, social mobility, student/faculty ratio, ACT/SAT scores (from 2019 to early 2020, prior to the pandemic) of admitted students and alumni giving.
More than 1,850 schools reported data to U.S. News. The data was collected using surveys from spring and summer 2021.
In Louisiana, the following institutions were ranked on the 2022 Top Public Schools list:
Click here to see which Louisiana institutions are on the 2022 Best National Universities list.
|
|
|
|
About LOSFA
The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA), a program of the Louisiana Board of Regents, strives to be Louisiana's first choice for college access by promoting, preparing for and providing equity of college access.
|
|
Connect with us on our social media platforms! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
