The current state of the economy for Arizona is a determining factor if (and it is a big if) if the AIMS (Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards) [A.K.A. Regents High Honors Endorsement Scholarship] scholarship will be available to bright students in the very near future.

Here is the latest news regarding the AIMS scholarship.

The official statement is:

The Arizona Board of Regents has decided to retain the “AIMS Scholarship” or “Regents High Honors Tuition” scholarship with the existing eligibility criteria for the graduating classes of 2009 and 2010. All college students currently receiving this scholarship will continue to do so if they meet the renewal criteria set by the universities. The impact on the class of 2011 and subsequent class has yet to be determined. The Arizona Department of Education will keep our website updated (www.ade.az.gov/asd/tuitionwaiver) on any Arizona Board of Regents decisions regarding this scholarship.

So here are a couple AIMS facts

This scholarship applies only to the three Arizona State Universities (ASU, U of A, and NAU). Community colleges have scholarships/grants available to students who graduate in the top 15% of their graduating class or are severely in need.

This link http://www.maricopa.edu/foundation/apply has several community college scholarships for Maricopa county community colleges.

This is an university academic merit-based scholarship; therefore, students do not need to demonstrate financial need in order to qualify. However, all students are encouraged to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) regardless of their financial situation. Students who are offered other scholarships from the university may not receive this ABOR scholarship. Students automatically receive the higher scholarship offered from the university, but not both.

This scholarship is only good at the three Arizona state universities and cannot be used at private colleges or colleges outside of Arizona state boundaries.

The PEG grant can be used at Private colleges or universities in Arizona.

However, there are other merit-based scholarships that can be used at colleges in other states and these vary by state and by college.

Remember AZCollegePlanning.com is Arizona’s exclusive and premier college financial planning firm.

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Pool season is almost over and now it’s POLL season. You know the ones. Those polls that rank colleges based on a variety of criteria. Polls that stir up a frenzy and make hopeful college students drool like puppies anticipating their Scooby snack.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal asks the questions ‘what the heck are those college ranking lists for anyway?’

Understand that a college is a business and its business is education and nothing else. Also understand that a college produces income in a variety of ways. Two of the ways that a college produces income is 1.) through enrolment, somebody pays the tuition and other fees. Mom and dad write a check or loans or federal/state monies pays this section of the college’s income and 2.) through application fees.

So the question is how does a college get more kids (and their eager parents) to fill out a application? Through the upward movement in the polls. When polling reports are published through US News and World Report or Princeton Review or a variety of other poll reporting entities; parents, students, teacher and counselors see that, “well last year this school was number 17 now it is number 14 it must be doing better” which results in hopeful students energized and enticed to apply.

Lets look at the numbers of UC Berkeley. The cost to apply to this school is $60. Now grated there are probably a few kids who had the application fee waived. So I am going to just assume that every one of those 48,627 applications sent into UC Berkeley had a check (or credit card) with $60 bucks.

So lets do the math. 48,627 applications multiplied by $60 = $2,917,620.00. Yes folks you read that right $2.9 million dollars. Not bad, not bad at all. (I’m not directly picking on UC Berkeley. It is a fine academic institution. I could have used the numbers for Duke University 23,750 applications or the University of Michigan 29,939 applications or any number of other colleges.)

This is why colleges pay serious attention to the reporting polls. If there is upward movement in the polls, then more than likely more hopeful future college kids will apply resulting in greater income revenue.

Let’s ignore these silly numbers and focus more on your kid. Ask these questions. Does the college offer the major and career contacts my child needs? Is it a great fit and will this college help my child thrive so that he/she can get a jumpstart into his/her career as quick as possible. Focus more on the outcome for your child and how the college education and college environment will help than the polls.

AZCollegePlanning.com presents free local workshops that expose the dirty little secrets that colleges don’t want you to know. Check the website for locations and dates. AZCollegePlanning.com is dedicated to help make college more affordable.

By J.D. Wyczalek (why-zall-ick)

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Tips for surfing college websites. Long gone are the days when colleges depended only on the brochures and view books they could fit inside your mailbox. They now devote large chunks of their websites to grabbing your attention. But there’s much more to a college website than the Web pages of the admissions office. By surfing as though you’re already a student, you can start to picture life on campus. Here are some tips that take you far beyond the home page.

Grab a tray. While some campuses offer only school-run cafeterias, others rent space to private businesses selling everything from pizza to garden burgers. Look for a link to dining services and get a taste of what’s available. You might even find this week’s menu online.

Check up on student health services. You’ll be charged a student health fee when you register for classes, so why not find out what you’re paying for? Look for a link on the home page that will take you to the student health services website. You’ll learn which medical and counseling services are included and which are not.

Go clubbing. Are you an activist? A bird watcher? A master at the chess board? A future marketing exec? A South Asian female? Often funded by student government, clubs come in all shapes and sizes. Look for links like Student Life to find out if there are campus clubs you’d want to join. Get involved, make friends and enjoy college life.

Browse the school newspaper online. More and more colleges are putting their student-run newspapers online. Although it may take some digging to find them, they’re well worth looking for. In everything from hard news to editorial cartoons, you’ll get a feel for campus life, student concerns, and the caliber of student thinking and writing.

It is important to find if the college you are thinking of spending the next four years at is going to be a good fit. A bad or wrong fit college, can result in transferring to a different college (which is one reason why students spend 6 years earning a 4 year degree.)

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“HOPE & LIFETIME LEARNING CREDITS—CHANGES 2009 AND 2010″

For the years 2009 and 2010, the following changes have been made to
the Hope credit. The modified credit is also referred to as the
American Opportunity Tax Credit.

The maximum amount of the Hope credit increases to $2,500 per
student. The credit is phased out (gradually reduced) if your
modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is between $80,000 and $90,000
($160,000 and $180,000 if you file a joint return).

Exception. For 2009, if you claim a Hope credit for a student who attended a school
in a Midwestern disaster area, you can choose to figure the amount of
the credit using the previous rules. However, you must use the
previous rules in figuring the credit for all students for which you
claim the credit.

The Hope credit can now be claimed for the first four years of
post-secondary education. Previously the credit could be claimed for
only the first two years of post-secondary education.

Generally, 40% of the Hope credit is now a refundable credit, which
means that you can receive up to $1,000 even if you owe no taxes.
However, none of the credit is refundable if the taxpayer claiming
the credit is a child (a) who is under age 18 (or a student who is at
least age 18 and under age 24 and whose earned income does not exceed
one-half of his or her own support), (b) who has at least one living
parent, and (c) who does not file a joint return.

The term “qualified tuition and related expenses” has been expanded
to include expenditures for “course materials.” For this purpose, the
term “course materials” means books, supplies, and equipment needed
for a course of study whether or not the materials are purchased from
the educational institution as a condition of enrollment or
attendance.

For 2009, the amount of your lifetime learning credit is phased out
(gradually reduced) if your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is
between $50,000 and $60,000 ($100,000 and $120,000 if you file a
joint return). You cannot claim a lifetime learning credit if your
modified AGI is $60,000 or more ($120,000 or more if you file a joint
return).

• Please consult with your tax professional or CPA before implementing any strategy.

If you need help or have any questions on how you’re going to pay the upcoming astronomical costs of college, please contact us, your local AZ College Consulting firm. We can help you through several different scenarios options and help determine which is right for you.

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