Largest College Endowments by State

fingers pointing to money representing largest college endowments

fingers counting gold coins represent largest college endowments by stateEveryone wants to know if colleges are going to open next fall. Or rather if they are going to open for in-person classes since by now the colleges have demonstrated their ability to conduct virtual classes. Of course, if they are mandated to remain shut-down, it’s not a question they have to answer. But otherwise, there are a lot of reasons why colleges will be welcoming students on campus for classes coming this fall and they pretty much all come down to money.

Read more

Colleges Most Likely to Meet Financial Need List

Notepad with financial aid written on it

Notepad with financial aid written on itThis is a list of over 200 colleges most likely to provide need-based aid (not based on academic merit) to students. I include schools on the list if they meet one of the following requirements:

  • Meet 95% or more of freshman financial need according to the Common Data Set (CDS)
  • The Average Net Price for freshman with family incomes of $30,000 or less was $8,000 or less.

Read more

What Athletes Need to Know About the Ivy League Academic Index

A brown dachshund stands on its hind legs and looks intently at the screen of an open laptop on a desk, perhaps analyzing the ivy league academic index.

dog on computer looking up ivy league academic indexIf you’re interested in playing your sport for one of the Ivy League schools, you need to understand the Academic Index. I’m assuming that you already know that the Ivy League does not provide athletic scholarships and that you’re hoping to use your athletic abilities to help you get admitted. After all, recruited athletes have approximately a 30 percentage point advantage in being admitted compared to non-athletes with no legacy status. And a recent analysis of data from Harvard showed that “Athletes with the highest or second-highest academic rating on an internal Harvard admissions scale have an acceptance rate of 83 percent—compared to 16 percent for non-athletes.”

Read more

50-50 Highlights: Best Colleges for Merit Scholarships

hand holding key representing best colleges for merit aid

Hand with key to unlock best colleges for merit scholarshipsStudents with high Expected Family Contributions (EFC) who want to pay less for college need to find those colleges most likely to provide generous merit aid. One way to do this is to identify colleges that have a high percentage of freshman without need who receive merit aid. The higher the percentage, the more likely students are to qualify for merit aid.

Read more

50-50 Highlights: 54 Public Colleges for Merit Aid

A piggy bank wearing a graduation cap sits on a calculator with the display reading "SCHOLARSHIP," symbolizing the savings possible through public colleges for merit scholarships.

Piggy bank on calculator representing best public colleges for merit aid(The following has been updated for 2019.) Merit scholarships from colleges aren’t simply a way for schools to reward students for accomplishments, it’s part of the supply and demand of paying for college. Colleges use merit aid as a way to increase the supply of “accomplished” students at their schools. This is why the most competitive colleges in the country such as Princeton and Harvard don’t offer merit scholarships–they have no problem attracting high achieving students to their schools.

Read more

50-50 Highlights: Colleges with the Best Financial Aid

Table showing best colleges for financial aid

boy digging for buried treasure representing colleges with most generous financial aidThe list of 50-50 colleges and universities is designed to provide students and their families with options for good schools where students are likely to be admitted. What makes a 50-50 school even better is when it provides generous financial aid. This can come in the form of scholarships and need-based grants. And quite a few 50-50 colleges do and are worth looking into.

Read more

Should You Pay Someone to Complete the FAFSA?

hands with help sign in piles of paper representing need for fafsa preparers

Hand raising help sign in pile of crumpled papers representing FAFSA preparers(Updated Dec 2018) In July of 2015, the United States government finally gained control of the FAFSA.com website. Until then, the website was owned and operated by Student Financial Aid Service, Inc. which charged students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Over the years, FAFSA.com became the  poster child for financial aid scams designed to take advantage students and families trying to get financial aid for college. So does its demise represent the final statement of whether or not students should pay for a private financial aid consultant to complete the FAFSA?

Read more

5 Ways to Get Smart About the National Letter of Intent

hand holding pen signing National Letter of Intent

hand signing the national letter of intentWe’ve all seen the pictures in the local paper, high school seniors signing their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play for a specific university or college. Sometimes there are proud parents in the pictures. Other times, you’ll see team colors or maybe a football. What you won’t see is a coach from the university the student is signing the NLI with.

Why? Because it’s not allowed under the rules.

Read more

What You Need to Know About ROTC Scholarships

A person in a military uniform with crossed arms and a graduation cap stands beside the text "What You Need to Know About ROTC Scholarships.

Femaile ROTC graduate representing what you need to know about ROTC scholarships(The following is a guest post by Dr. Kuni Beasley. ROTC scholarships offer more money than most National Merit Scholarships and can be used at more institutions.)

Most people do not know about ROTC scholarships.  Indeed, most high school counselors and most professional consultants know little about them… if at all.  The Army, Navy (includes Marines), and Air Force provide ROTC scholarships to students to attend civilian colleges and become commissioned officers.  Over 1100 colleges have ROTC, from Harvard to Berkeley to the Northern Marianas College to the University of Alaska – Fairbanks.

Read more