How to Pick a Major in College: Steps to Making the Right Choice Wondering, "What should I major in?" As a college...
College Admissions 101
List of Extracurricular Activities for Students
List of Extracurricular Activities for Students As a high schooler, you have heard the reverberating advice from your...
How to Write an Application Essay for a Summer Program
Do you plan to attend a summer program in high school? If so, it can offer a great opportunity to plump your résumé...
Avoiding the Scholarship Black Hole
Students and their families seem excited about scholarships in the fall of the senior year, but by the spring of that year, many have not yet applied for even one scholarship. This scenario almost sounds paradoxical as the potential to win free money should be a top...
Financial Aid beyond the FAFSA: A Closer Look at the Direct PLUS Loan
Many families falsely perceive or simply do not realize that college financing options do not end with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. I believe it is more important than ever for families to be aware of college financing options in the...
Financial Aid before the FAFSA: What is the Prior-Prior Year?
The thought of filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form can be intimidating and confusing to many families. What I often find to be the first point of confusion for many families is understanding the correct base tax year that the FAFSA will use...
What Motivates Me to Help Families Truly Afford College
“We honestly cannot afford to attend and I am too embarrassed to tell our son.”"We did not expect college to be so expensive.”“We have not been able to save for education over the years as we had hoped.”"We thought government financial aid would help us in affording...
Happy Holidays to Your Admissions Representative?
As you are shaping your holiday card list, it may be wise for a student to send a holiday card to the admissions representatives on their college list. After all, admissions representatives are the “behind the scenes” advocate for a student’s application and will...
When Did Going to College Become Extremely Complicated?
“I am totally confused” is a phrase I commonly hear from parents contacting me for assistance with their son or daughter’s college education planning. What many parents encountered 20 to 25 years ago in their college admissions experience has gone through monumental...
Attending College Fairs…Thoughts from the Admissions Side of the Table
College fairs to help inform students and their families about the college journey tend to be held most often in the fall and spring. As a former admissions professional, who has exhibited at hundreds of college fairs, I generally found that most students and their...
Top Financial Planning for College Tips
Not surprisingly, a lot of parents ask me, "How do we afford college?” Parents who attended college 20 years ago usually find themselves in shock over the number of changes in the college landscape — from tuition costs to the fact that they must fund most of it...
Don’t Let the Summer Heat Melt Away Your College Plans
As the summer gets into full swing with sunny weather and hot temperatures, it often causes acollege admission melting process for many recently graduated high school seniors who haveworked diligently to be accepted into a desired college. Many people are unfamiliar...