Scott Karl – Economic and Insurance Services
Serving Clients Throughout California

Scott Karl – Economic
and Insurance Services

Will you get a fair financial aid award?

Will you get a “fair” financial aid award? Well, the truth is – most families never find out. They’ll simply take what’s offered. As a result, many families will pay more for college than they need to sometimes up to tens of thousands of dollars more. Unfortunately, I see this scenario play out over and […]

What Questions Should I Ask the College

What Questions Should I Ask the College Admissions Department? When your child begins searching for the college of his or her dreams, you are going to be bombarded with more facts, figures, and statistics than you will know what to do with. Some of it will be useful, some of it will be unnecessary fluff, […]

The Disturbing Facts about Today’s Student Loan Debt

The Disturbing Facts about Today’s Student Loan Debt What does $35,000 in student loan debt do to a new college graduate? Sometimes it means living with their parents, which can seem like a financial leash to both the graduate and the parents. For most of the graduates living on their own, they have to continue […]

Pros and Cons for Early Admission to College

Pros and Cons for Early Admission to College Congratulations! You just received your letter – you’re in! Or are you? More and more colleges are issuing what are called early decision – a promise of a slot, provided certain criteria are met. (Here is the Wikipedia definition of early decision: “…a common early admission policy […]

Need-Blind vs. Need-Aware in the College Admissions Process

Need-Blind vs. Need-Aware in the College Admissions Process Sometimes it is important to remember that, deep down, colleges are businesses. Certainly, the goal of these “corporations” is primarily to educate rather than profit, but they also face many of the same financial challenges as any other company. And while each institution handles the process in […]

How To Use Twitter To Aid Your College Search

How To Use Twitter To Aid Your College Search Twitter is certainly popular, but can it actually help a high school student’s college search? It turns out; Twitter can help students get financial aid and increase their chances of being accepted into colleges of choice. But as with anything in social media, you have to […]

How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education For Your Child

How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education For Your Child In this series, I am going to discuss an extremely important topic – one that will significantly impact both your child and your bank account. I am talking about… How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education! Most parents take […]

How To Manage Senioritis with College Admissions

How To Manage “Senioritis” with College Admissions “Senioritis” is a well-documented annual epidemic that sneaks up on even the most academically ambitious high school students. Common symptoms of senioritis are laziness, lower grades, decreased motivation, an increase of absences, even leaving your backpack in the trunk of your car from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. […]

How To Make the Cost of Textbooks As Cheap as Possible

How To Make the Cost of Textbooks As Cheap as Possible It is easy for textbooks to get lost in the shuffle of college financial preparations. After all, when compared to $40,000 in tuition or $10,000 in room and board costs, buying a few books may seem less significant. But when we take a step […]

How To Know What To Spend on College

How To Know What To Spend on College It’s a simple plan: Invest money in a college education now, and your child increases his or her earning power over their lifetime. After all, on average, those with college degrees still earn a lot more than those without four-year degrees. Still, as the cost of obtaining […]

How To Get Maximum Money For College

How To Get Maximum Money For College If You’re Divorced, A Minority, Own A Business, Recently Unemployed Or The Parent Of An Athlete In this series, I am going to talk about special topics or circumstances that may make your family situation stand out from the “norm.” What I mean by the “norm” is…married, average […]

How To Find a Job While You’re in College

How To Find a Job While You’re in College The skyrocketing cost of college has students everywhere looking for ways to fatten their wallets – or simply to “get by” as they pursue their degree. Getting a job is an obvious answer, but many students don’t know where to start. On or off-campus, there are […]

Financial Aid Probation vs Suspension

Financial Aid Probation vs. Suspension With the cost of higher education these days, more and more families are relying on financial aid in order to put their kids through college. When you receive your financial aid package, make sure you take the fine print seriously! You don’t just need to know where the money is […]

A New Trend in 529 College Savings Plans

A New Trend in 529 College Savings Plans According to a recent CNBC.com report, for only the second time ever, families are taking more money out of 529 saving plans than they’re putting in. This would seem like a small blipexcept the first time it ever happened was just recently as well. The reasoning is […]

The Expected Family Contribution Explained

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Explained – What It is & How to Use It When you’re applying for financial aid, no number is more important than your Expected Family Contribution. Simply put, the amount of aid you’ll get is figured by taking the cost of college and subtracting your EFC. Thus – the smaller […]

6 Financial Aid Traps To Avoid at all Costs

6 Financial Aid “Traps” To Avoid at all Costs Traversing the world of collegiate financial aid can feel like you are navigating a maze.And if you go into the process blindly, that is exactly what it will be: a confusing tangle of dead ends, backtracking, and worst of all, traps. Today we’ll take a look […]

5 New College Scholarship Frauds To Look Out For

5 New College Scholarship Frauds To Look Out For With so many families looking for scholarship money to offset today’s huge tuition bills, it’s more important than ever to know the facts. You see, the number of scholarship scams and frauds are ever-increasing, and the tactics used to separate families from their money have taken […]

8 Vital Questions Every Parent Must Ask Colleges

8 Vital Questions Every Parent Must Ask Colleges Before Applying For Financial Aid If your child is in his/her junior year of high school and hasn’t started filling out their college applications you must find out the financial aid deadlines at each college and make sure you get the financial aid forms in before the […]

3 Ways To Reduce College Costs

3 Ways To Reduce College Costs No matter how much planning you do, it’s the sort of question that can keep you up at night: How can we afford college? It’s not just the ever-rising tuition costs, either there’s also all the attached spending. And if you have two or more children in school at […]

Could you use

Could you use $19,075 per year in financial aid for your child? For most families sending a child off to college, the answer is a resounding “YES.” That’s why I am surprised I haven’t heard back from you yet. You see – that figure – $19,075 – is the average annual aid package families have […]

Income Limits and Financial Aid

Income Limits and Financial Aid Let’s be clear from the start; every single family with college students should fill out the FAFSA every single year. No matter who you are or where you come from, every person enrolling in college has the right to submit their free financial aid application to the Department of Education. […]

4 Things To Do Before Heading off to College

4 Things To Do Before Heading off to College Getting into college is exciting in so many ways. Yet there’s usually very little time to prepare before your student leaves home for school. That’s why I’ve put together a brief run-down of important things to square away with your student – before they leave the […]

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