Hi All,

Do you need to enhance your academic and workforce skills?  Are you looking for a better job or looking to get a better education?

Then LIEOC might be for you.  LIEOC is an acronym for 'Long Island Eucational Opportunity Center'.  The LIEOC offers free academic and workforce development .  They provide these services to elegible members of the community.

Specifically, LIEOC is sponsored by the the State University of New York and Farmingdale State College.  It helps eligible members of the community enhance the academic and workforce development skills they need to become self-sufficient, empowered and committed to excellent. LIEOC provides a range of programs and services adapted to the needs of adult learners and the demands of the private and public sectors.  

There are three LIEOC units on Long Island - Brentwood, Farmingdale and Hempstead.   LIEOC offers free Microsoft certification classes at the Brentwood and Hempstead locations. 

Hope the site is useful and helpful.

Regards,
Stu

Free Financial Aid Resources

Hi All,

Check it out - its that time of year when college applications are due.  And once that happens, college acceptance letters should start rolling in. 

With that in mind students - and their parents - might be well served by visiting the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation website from the New York State government.  Click here to visit the site.

What does the site have you ask? Great question!  Three major sections will help students.  The first major section helps students prepare for college.  There is a section on your 'High School Plan' which will help you determine what to do year-by-year to prepare for college.  There is also a college fair calendar and a section on applying to college step-by-step.

Next is the 'How to Pay' for college.  22 NYS student financial programs are covered, federal financial aid is covered.  Sections on filling out and completing the FAFSA and TAP applications are listed as well.  There are also calculators, estimators and more on this section of the site.

Finally, the last section is called 'Repay' - paying off student loans.  Finally, readers of this blog entry can use this site to find FAFSA completion events in our area - click here to go to the site. 

Enjoy the site - and I hope the applying to college process is quick, painless and successful for you.

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

What does the number 529 mean to you?  Is it a batting average or a birthdate?  In terms of education - specifically your children - does it mean anything? Well...it does have a pretty darn important meaning if you want to send your children to college. 

A 529 plan is a college savings plan that is a tax-advantaged program that is created to help families save for a child's future education expense. (The name '529' comes from the IRS Code section that specifies the plans' tax advantages.)

Click on this link to learn about the general characteristics of 529 college savings plans, how it can help you save for college, what kinds of plans are available and choosing a 529 plan. In addition, this website has links for parents, grandparents and family & friends.

And, since many folks - okay, probably 95% of you - who read this blog live in Farmingdale/Long Island area, you might want to visit the New York State site for 529 plans.  Clicking on this link enables users to learn about the plan benefits, investments, open an account, a section of FAQ's and resources about 'all-things-529-related'. 

Finally, readers would be well advised to take a look at the site called 'Savingforcollege.com' - this particular link has an entry called 'Which is the best 529 plan available?' Alternatively, users can click on this link from the Huffington Post, titled, 'The Best and Worst 529 College Saving Plans of 2014'.

Finally, to learn more about the best and worst 529 plans, users can do a simple Google search for the phrase 'New York State 529 Plans Best Worst'.

Hope the post was educational and helpful.

Regards,

Stu