While there is a large amount of funding for higher education available, the mounds of paperwork can be intimidating.

High school seniors and their parents can learn more about ways to pay for college and other post-secondary education opportunities during the Chandler Unified School District Financial Aid Night. The event will be held 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 16) at the Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m.

High school seniors and their parents can learn more about ways to pay for college and other post-secondary education opportunities during the Chandler Unified School District Financial Aid Night. The event will be held 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Arizona State University is now prepared to more clearly inform students about the cost of their education after the institution pushed for a nationwide reform program to improve financial transparency.

Arizona State University is now prepared to more clearly inform students about the cost of their education after the institution pushed for a nationwide reform program to improve financial transparency.

Mesa Counts on College, an initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, announced this week three projects that will receive money to increased post-secondary completion among Mesa’s youth. The selected proposals, which total $19,000 in funding, were submitted by Chicanos Por La Causa, the Mesa Community Action Network and Randy Payne of the Dobson High School’s counseling staff.

There has been a lot of talk in the opinion pages recently about the Quality Education & Jobs Act, which seeks to adequately fund K-12 education, universities and children’s health care. A lot of the criticism comes from lobbyists who represent special interest groups, rather than the interests of real Arizona parents and students.

It’s that time of year, and creating competition between schools is important as you help your child apply for colleges and universities. Your child should apply to anywhere between six and eight schools.

Students preparing for college can learn about financing their goals during the 16th annual Arizona College Goal Sunday and Saturday. The free statewide initiative, put on by the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education, provides students and their families on-site professional assistance in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

It’s time to pencil some savings into your 2012 calendar.

Students and parents can learn more about how to receive assistance for postsecondary education during College Night, 6 p.m. Jan. 19, at Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 E. Pecos Road, Gilbert.

Summer is in full swing! The weather's hot, the days are long and you'd kill to be doing anything outside. Camping trips, weekends at the beach and barbecues abound during this eventful time of year. It's a time to relax, rejuvenate and, most of all, have fun. Kids know how to do this best. After they've been studying at school all year they just want to have fun all summer long. It's good for them to get all that pent up energy out and recharge their batteries. It's good for you, too. You'll need the rest when fall comes around and the school schedule makes demands on your time and focus.

With the pace of higher-education costs consistently on the rise faster than the general Consumer Price Index (CPI), understanding the alternatives and opportunities you and your child or grandchild may have regarding financial aid is more important than ever.

With the pace of higher-education costs consistently on the rise faster than the general Consumer Price Index (CPI), understanding the alternatives and opportunities you and your child or grandchild may have regarding financial aid is more important than ever.

Spring has arrived, and for high-school students and their parents, life can't get much busier as graduation and post-graduation plans start to take shape.

Here we go again! State budget cuts could lead to more tuition increases for college students. Arizona's three public universities are proposing tuition hikes of approximately 15 percent for next year. The recommendations were made to the Arizona Board of Regents, which plans a hearing on the proposed hikes March 28. Families are wondering if they can afford to send their children to our state colleges. What can you do?

Parents and students needing help filling out the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, for college can attend free events this weekend.

On Jan. 1, the 2011-12 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be available for students seeking college financial assistance. FAFSA is not only used to determine eligibility for Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, but also by colleges and universities to determine eligibility for grants and scholarships. Many colleges and universities require the FAFSA even for non-need based sources of funds.

Higley Unified School District will host a College Strategies Night 7 p.m. Tuesday at Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 E. Pecos Road, Gilbert.

Every year on July 1, with summer in full swing and fall tuition payments on the horizon, interest rates on federal student loans reset. But this year, along with rate decreases on some loan types, came major changes to the way students will borrow money in the years to come.

College Goal Sunday will be held around the Valley 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 31. During the event, high school seniors, families, and returning adults enrolling in college for the 2010-11 academic year can receive free assistance to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The latest data available show that among the 50 states, Arizona has seen the third-largest increase of FAFSA applications, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Rebecca Warren: It’s a few short weeks until cap and gown season begins, and for grandparents hoping to do something nice for their grandkids and something sensible for their estate, there are several options to explore.