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Federal and Private Student Loans From A to Z

Debbie Schwartz

Debbie Schwartz is a former financial services executive and founder of Road2College and the Paying For College 101 Facebook group. With an expertise in personal finance, analysis, and marketing, she's working to give families the information and tools they need to make smarter financial college decisions.

Articles by Debbie

How Do Parent PLUS and Private Student Loans Compare?

June 22, 2020

Once students have maximized all their available financial aid, including grants, scholarships, work-study, and Stafford loans, they may discover they…

Parent Advice on Starting the College Search

Parent Advice on Starting the College Search

June 13, 2020

If your child is a high school sophomore or junior, you may be thinking about your college search process. But…

Four Key Things to Know About the Lifetime Learning Credit

June 9, 2020

If you’re like many families with students in (or nearing) college, understanding the two major education tax credits is important. The…

10 Income Strategies to Reduce Your Cost of College

10 Income Strategies to Reduce Your Cost of College

June 9, 2020

Reducing your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is a viable strategy in trying to reduce your SAI and maximize how much…

College Prep and Motivating Teenagers – Like Mixing Oil & Water?

June 2, 2020

As most parents know, trying to motivate a teenager to do something they don’t want to do can feel like…

A Family’s Journey To Find An Affordable College

May 10, 2020

Anna Velazco, a parent in our Paying For College 101 Facebook group, agreed to share her daughter’s journey to find…

8 Financial Aid Mistakes to Avoid

8 Financial Aid Mistakes to Avoid

May 1, 2020

Figuring out what your child’s college will cost and how your family is going to pay for it are enough…

Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Families with High School and College Students

Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Families with High School and College Students

April 17, 2020

Uncle Ed once said “Life is like baseball. Most of the time, nothing happens.”  However, even Uncle Ed would admit…