Frequently Ask Questions

Schools are prohibited from releasing certain information (including grades) to parents without permission of the student because of a federal law (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA, also known as the Buckley Amendment).

Because of FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, information is not provided to parents of students over the age of 18. Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record.

For more information, check out the Department of Education's site: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.

The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program makes loans available to students and their families through some 7,100 participating private lenders. The federal guarantee protects FFEL lenders against loss from borrower default. In 2001-02, the program made 6.3 million loans for a total amount borrowed of over $29 billion. These loans are guaranteed by the federal government, and are designed to give students flexible repayment options.

No, unfortunately in-state and out-of-state tuition are specifically for public institutions.

Prepaid Tuition: Essentially, parents, grandparents, and other interested parties may purchase future tuition at today’s rate. The program will then pay the future college tuition of the beneficiary at any of the state’s eligible colleges or universities (or comparable payment to private or out-of-state institutions). Amounts of tuition (years or units) may be purchased through a one-time lump sum purchase or monthly installment payments. The program pools the money and makes investments to enable the earnings to meet or exceed college tuition increases in that state.

The Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) Program program provides grants to low-income students, and generally helps supplement the aid they receive from Pell Grants and other sources. Federal funds provide for 75 percent of the award; the college or university contributes the remaining 25 percent or more. In 2001-02, the program provided $691 million in federal funds to approximately 1.2 million students at approximately 3,800 postsecondary institutions. In 2001-02, awards ranged from $100 to $4,000; the average grant was $581.

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First - encourage your student to be involved in campus activities in some way. For some - a Greek society may be a good fit, and intramural sports may be a better fit for others. Either way - studies have consistently shown that students actively involved in campus activities are more successful students.

Visit the College Drinking Prevention site and click on your student's school to learn more. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list.

Undergraduates are offered financial aid in the form of a 'package' — a combination of grants, loans, and work-study. The first step in determining a student's financial aid package is through the process of need analysis. There are two formulas for need analysis. The first is conducted by the federal government to determine eligibility for its programs. The second is sometimes conducted by colleges and universities to determine how they will distribute their own institutional aid.