A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Parents planning to send their kids to college may have a lot of questions right now since the Trump administration gutted the agency that administers federal student loans. It says the Small Business Administration may take over management of nearly $2 trillion in loans. At the same time, President Trump's tariff plan has shaken markets, shrinking the value of 529 college savings plans. So what do all those changes mean for college-bound students?
STUART SIEGEL: It's a nightmare, honestly.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Stuart Siegel. He's a longtime financial aid adviser who owns College Tuition Solutions Incorporated. I asked him how he's advising parents and students during uncertain times.
SIEGEL: I'm not so concerned about the parents who are looking for student loans right now. They're going to be able to get them. It's the people who are in repayment or about to go into repayment - you know, we have students graduating, parents who have PLUS loans, the Parent Loans to Undergraduate Students - they're very concerned. And at this point, yes, it is awful for somebody with almost 30 years of experience in this to be able to say I just don't know how this is going to play out.
MARTÍNEZ: So for a parent that has a kid who plans to enroll in college in a year or so, are you saying that they should be OK, or should they be doing anything different now than before?
SIEGEL: Well, if you have a student going to college in a couple of years, there's a number of things you have to do regarding student loans or parent loans. That's something that they should discuss with their financial planners in terms of having a plan to repay their loans. So what I try to do is have parents do a couple of things, and that is have a money talk with their students. This is probably the most productive thing families can do - is discuss what the parents can do financially. And if the student understands that when they go into their college search, they have to look at the financial aid part of it, and they are much more likely to take price into consideration. This is a great way to manage expectations.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, do you think that savings plans, like a 529, are still a safe bet? I mean, I know you specialize in federal student aid, but when it comes to saving for college, I mean, what kind of security does a parent have on that?
SIEGEL: Right now, if I was a parent starting a plan, for example, I think I'd be putting my money into cash equivalents - CDs, money markets, that sort of thing. If you are finding yourself with a diminished 529 at the moment, you have to look at some of the alternatives, including if you own your own home, you can always take out a home equity or a line of credit. Or you can go to a bank and take out a loan or even a Parent Loan to Undergraduate Students - the PLUS loan program - which many parents are aware of. If they utilize that for a while until their assets recover, that's certainly an option for them.
MARTÍNEZ: Do you have a single message that you have for parents that might be panicking when they see the world's finances look the way they look right now?
SIEGEL: The best advice I can give people if they're saving for college or they're looking towards college the next couple years is just do the best you can today. You can't look too far in the future 'cause you just don't know.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Stuart Siegel is the owner of College Tuition Solutions Incorporated. He advises parents on how to navigate college financing. Stuart, thank you very much for your time.
SIEGEL: My pleasure.
(SOUNDBITE OF PALOMO WENDEL'S "NO SHADOW WALK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
