I meet with families who tell me, “Susie is a D1/D2 softball prospect so we’re really only worried about her siblings.” I get quizzical looks when I ask, “How are Susie’s grades?” Before you commit your summer to ID camps, you need to understand how athletic scholarships work. Continue reading Athletes and Grades
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
How America Saves for College
Sallie Mae’s annual How America Saves for College report shows that almost 2/3 of parents are saving for college, and 1/3 saved more this year than last year. That’s great news. The report also had some other interesting findings: Continue reading How America Saves for College
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
Finding Scholarships
Did you know you can get a scholarship just for being enthusiastic about the number 5? Or for being tall? Or well-rounded? Or wearing a dress made from Duck Tape to prom? While the vast majority of scholarship dollars on any college campus come from the school’s own funds and donors, there are plenty of other scholarships out there for students willing to track them down and apply. Summer– when school-related writing is on hiatus– is a great time to apply for outside scholarships. Here are some of the best ways to find them: Continue reading Finding Scholarships
Manipulation of Student Loan Default Rates
A recent New York Times article brought attention to a GAO report about schools manipulating their cohort default rate data to avoid federal sanctions that can result from schools having too high a percentage of students default on their loans. Because cohort default rates are a metric I’ve encouraged prospective students to look at, I wanted to provide some additional detail. Continue reading Manipulation of Student Loan Default Rates
Interest Rates on Student Loans for 2018-2019
If you will be taking out loans to pay for college, you probably want to know what interest rate you’ll be paying. Unfortunately, the rates for the coming school year are not available yet. They’ll be set based on the 10-Year Treasury Note from the last auction Continue reading Interest Rates on Student Loans for 2018-2019
Scholarships and Why You Still Need to Save
According to the College Board, about 2/3 of college students receive some form of scholarship or grant. And the NCAA doles out more than $2.9 billion in scholarships annually. Many parents see numbers like those, look at their own children’s awesomeness, and say, “We’ve got this.” But breaking down those numbers shows that you will still pay quite a bit for college and therefore probably need to save. Continue reading Scholarships and Why You Still Need to Save
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
A little off topic today
Lately it feels like the Interwebs are loaded with stories about “perfect” kids—4.3+ GPAs, 1400+ SATs—not getting into their first choice schools. Kids are being told that getting into a “good college” is the “best path” to a “good life” so they work hard, hit all the marks they’re supposed to, and then get shut down in the college admissions process. (Scare quotes are deliberate there.) Going into a four-day trip chaperoning the high Continue reading A little off topic today
