Preparing For College

So you've been accepted and the 529 plan was a big help. Now what? Navigate the waters of financial aid, textbooks and all the other expenses of getting an education.

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529 Plan Guide
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Student loan guide
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Student loan rate debate ignores the real problem of over-borrowing

While the Democrats and Republicans grandstand about avoiding increases on the interest rate for certain subsidized federal student loans, we're having the wrong discussion entirely. Instead, we should be focusing on making it more difficult to borrow ourselves into student loan debt in the first place. We as a country ...

ClarkHoward.com and The Clark Howard Show offer more advice for members of our nation's armed forces.

Military warned to stay away from for-profit colleges

Military personnel seeking a college education after they serve their country are getting ripped off by recruiters at for-profits colleges. While there are new rules in place to protect them, I'm recommending you take one additional step to safeguard yourself or your loved one in the military. It is so ...

ClarkHoward.com and The Clark Howard Show offer more money-saving advice for college students

Stop student loan debt before it's too late

With student loan debt sitting at more than $1 trillion, our nation faces a plague that can harm America's homeland security, economic growth and relative competitive position in the world. Barron's magazine ran a recent cover story about this ticking time-bomb of student loan debt. Over the last 20 years, ...

Simple rules for student loan borrowing

Many families have just had college acceptance letters show up. Then the questions come, "How are we going to pay the tuition?" In many families, there's not dough saved over the last five years after a lot of Americans had hours cut or lost their jobs outright. That creates a ...

Charter school enrollment is booming

Enrollment at charter schools is booming in one of the largest consolidated school districts in the nation. I've long loved the idea of charter schools as an alternative way to provide your kids a better public education. Parents are starting to see charter schools as tuition-free private schools. Now The ...

Student loan debt now burdening the elderly

Student loans have moved from burdening the young to plaguing the old. Student loan debt is a pox on the American pocketbook. This terrible national burden now exceeds credit card debt in the U.S. and is growing exponentially. Tuition costs have been rising at roughly three times the rate of ...

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Alternatives to public education for your kids

If you're fed up with the public education system, parents can still assure their kids a great education, even if you can't afford private school. Clark talks options.

Average 20-something has nearly $50,000 in debt

CLARKONOMICS: The average person in their 20s has a backbreaking load of debt and it's not all about student loans. A new PNC Bank survey found that the average 20-something is carrying debt approaching $50,000. While student loan debt represents the bulk of it, there are also credit cards and ...

Texas universities to offer $10,000 four-year degree

The state of Texas has come up with a solution to the high cost of college that I'm hoping will be a model for other states to follow. Despite what you may have thought of Gov. Rick Perry's presidential aspirations, he was on target with a promise he made in ...

Clark updates his 529 guide

If you're saving for your child's college, I have updated my 529 plan guide for 2012. This invaluable resource can help you to be "Clark Smart" in an age when student loan borrowing now exceeds borrowing on credit cards. The idea behind 529 plans is that the money you save ...