What do you do if you get that letter and the financial aid offer is not enough? There are several routes to take. First, if family financial circumstances have changed, through loss of a job, for example, it's important to revise your FAFSA and contact the student aid office to advise them of the situation. You may qualify for more aid.
If the lack of aid is going to make attending impossible students should write a polite letter to the school, appealing for additional help. He suggests writing instead of calling, so it's more difficult for them to turn you down. Ask for help, not money. The rule is that if you don't ask, you won't get.
Another helpful Web site is SimpleTuition.com, which can help you work your way through alternatives to the aid you've been offered in the original letter.
Among those gap-filling alternatives: Private loans to students, PLUS loans to parents, or home-equity loans, if you qualify. You can actually search and compare private student loan providers on their site, including rates and total repayment cost.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Mesothelioma Lawyers - Important Information for Patients
Deciding to pursue legal recourse and selecting an attorney to represent you in a mesothelioma or asbestos lawsuit are important decisions that should be made carefully. I have seen some families receive $500,000 and others be awarded nearly $30 million. I have seen some lawyers reject a case only to have another firm accept it and make a big success of it. And I have seen some families wait nearly three years to receive their first check while others received large checks within three months of filing a claim. The main reasons for these differences are the facts of the patient's situation and the law firm chosen.
The Facts of Your Situation
Some mesothelioma patients know they worked around asbestos, but many do not know how they were exposed or how often. In fact, many people are not sure if they were ever near this carcinogen. Unfortunately, there have been thousands of products that contained asbestos - cigarette filters, hair dryers, brakes, basement and roof materials, pipes, boilers, insulation, and many other products found throughout the home and at work. If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma it is more than likely that you were exposed to asbestos multiple times in your life and that this happened decades before your diagnosis.
In general, the value of your case depends on how many asbestos containing products you were exposed to, the number of identifiable defendants that still exist (many have declared bankruptcy), your age and earning capacity. And the speed of your case can depend on a number of variables including the state where you worked and lived when you were exposed to asbestos.
The Law Firm You Choose
When you have been given the news about this terrible disease, you may not feel that you have the time to deal with the legal questions - Should I talk to a lawyer? Should I file a claim? However, you should not wait too long to learn about your legal rights for at least three reasons:
Statutes of Limitations - There are statute of limitations which means you only have a limited time to file your case after diagnosis. The statute of limitations time period is set by individual states and varies. The clock usually starts ticking on the day of diagnosis.
Financial Pressure - A mesothelioma diagnosis can bring financial stress, less income, more expenses, and treatments that are not covered by insurance. Knowing that money may be on the way from filing a claim can bring financial relief.
Lawyers Can be Excellent Resources - The more experienced mesothelioma lawyers and law firms can often be excellent sources of information about various doctors and treatment options available for this disease.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Paying for College - Before You Consolidate
There are a number of ways that you can pay for an online education. The three most popular methods include: Getting reimbursement from your employer; applying for financial aid; or by taking out a loan.
For those who are fortunate enough to work for a big company and want to pursue an education in your related field of work, you very well may be eligible to have your online education tuition paid for up to 100%. Companies such as Fortune 500 and other well know companies would be happy to pay for their employees’ online education. The higher the education of an employee, the more credible this is for the employer. It is also cost effective to the employer to pay tuition to an existing employee rather than having to train and hire a new employee.
When pursuing an online education that is to be paid by your company, most require you to keep good grades and get your degree in a field related to your job. Sorry, art history enthusiasts won’t get approved for tuition reimbursement when you’re working for an investment firm! You may also have to work at your current company for a certain amount of time after you get your degree. That way, the company gets paid back for paying for your online education in the form of your time and expertise.
However, if your real passion remains to be art history and you are working part time for a large franchise company such as Starbucks, you may have a better chance of at least getting a partial tuition for your online education.
If you are not working for a company that pays for your tuition, there are other ways to pay for an online education as well. You may be eligible for financial aid for an online education. The school’s website that you apply to should have financial aid information and will tell you how to qualify. You no longer have to attend a campus college in order to apply for financial aid because online education is now considered a valid alternative to physically attending a school.
A final way to pay for an online education may be a loan. Although this is a financial commitment, there are tax benefits associated with getting an education loan and you would have the time to pay off the agreed charge each month until the loan is paid off in full. Paying for an online education can be achievable and affordable for everyone if every avenue is explored.
Paying for an online education can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Consider the options presented here and determine what works best for your current situation. This will make paying for college much easier.
For those who are fortunate enough to work for a big company and want to pursue an education in your related field of work, you very well may be eligible to have your online education tuition paid for up to 100%. Companies such as Fortune 500 and other well know companies would be happy to pay for their employees’ online education. The higher the education of an employee, the more credible this is for the employer. It is also cost effective to the employer to pay tuition to an existing employee rather than having to train and hire a new employee.
When pursuing an online education that is to be paid by your company, most require you to keep good grades and get your degree in a field related to your job. Sorry, art history enthusiasts won’t get approved for tuition reimbursement when you’re working for an investment firm! You may also have to work at your current company for a certain amount of time after you get your degree. That way, the company gets paid back for paying for your online education in the form of your time and expertise.
However, if your real passion remains to be art history and you are working part time for a large franchise company such as Starbucks, you may have a better chance of at least getting a partial tuition for your online education.
If you are not working for a company that pays for your tuition, there are other ways to pay for an online education as well. You may be eligible for financial aid for an online education. The school’s website that you apply to should have financial aid information and will tell you how to qualify. You no longer have to attend a campus college in order to apply for financial aid because online education is now considered a valid alternative to physically attending a school.
A final way to pay for an online education may be a loan. Although this is a financial commitment, there are tax benefits associated with getting an education loan and you would have the time to pay off the agreed charge each month until the loan is paid off in full. Paying for an online education can be achievable and affordable for everyone if every avenue is explored.
Paying for an online education can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Consider the options presented here and determine what works best for your current situation. This will make paying for college much easier.
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