I gave a financial aid talk to college and career center volunteers at our high school recently. One question stood out: “This is a lot of information to absorb at once. Can you break it down into some specific suggestions by grade?” Two ideas are important here: College planning is a process that should start well before senior year, and there are things that can be done at any point to make things go more smoothly when the time comes to start applying. So here goes. Continue reading College Prep by Grade
Category Archives: Application Process
Early Admission/Early Decision
More and more schools report filling substantial portions of their freshman classes through early decision or early action, and it’s not uncommon to hear of higher acceptance rates of early decision/early admission candidates than regular decision. But does that mean you should do it? Maybe, maybe not. Continue reading Early Admission/Early Decision
Honors Colleges, Dual Enrollment and Majors
Apologies for my recent absentee-ism. Between our (hopefully) last college visit and my nephew’s wedding, it’s been a busy couple of weeks here!
Our hopefully last college visit was with both kids at our in-state flagship school. My son loved it; it’s where he was already intending to go and the visit really confirmed that, as well as increasing his excitement about being there next fall. Looking at it from his perspective, the visit increased my happiness about the circus-free nature of attending Continue reading Honors Colleges, Dual Enrollment and Majors
Preparing for the FAFSA
Next year’s FAFSA will be available on Oct. 1. That doesn’t mean you need to rush online and complete it on Oct. 1. Here are a few things that should factor into your timeline for completing it. Continue reading Preparing for the FAFSA
Some College Statistics to Pay Attention To
Here is a great article from DIY College Rankings explaining some statistics that lead to lower college costs.
EFC vs Net Cost
Families who are a few years out from college should calculate their EFC, but as college approaches and students start identifying schools they’re interested in, net price calculators become far more valuable. There can be vast differences between EFC and net price, and even significant school-to-school differences in net price due to different aid policies. Continue reading EFC vs Net Cost
What to do this Summer
Another school year is drawing to a close, meaning that free time and mental bandwidth are about to become available for many students. Here are some things high school students may want to spend some time on this summer: Continue reading What to do this Summer
NACAC College Openings Update
We’re so conditioned to seeing college acceptances as a scarcity that the NACAC College Openings Update list showing schools that have openings for freshmen as of May 1 may come as a surprise to some. Continue reading NACAC College Openings Update
How Do Students End Up Owing So Much?
Most students and families don’t go into the college process intending to graduate with debt in the high five figures. So how does it happen? Here is a great article explaining common mistakes families make in the college planning process that lead to increased borrowing and debt loads.
About All That Mail…
Does your mailbox look like this each day?
