(I’m taking a break from regular blogging and newsletters during the holidays. Hope you enjoy the DIY College Rankings version of the 12 Days of Christmas.)
On the third day of Christmas, DIY College Rankings wrote to me:
Three wake-up calls about college financial aid and recruiting.
3 Reasons Why Your Kid’s Good Grades Won’t Pay for College
Yes, your teen may have great grades and test scores. But are they substantially better than everyone else’s that attends the colleges she’s applying to?
(I’m taking a break from regular blogging and newsletters during the holidays. Hope you enjoy the DIY College Rankings version of the 12 Days of Christmas.)
On the second day of Christmas, DIY College Rankings wrote to me:
Two lists worth taking the time to review before creating your college list if you want to save money.
Harvard Scholarships: No Such Thing
This post is actually about Colleges that don’t Offer Merit Scholarships, Harvard is just the example. Skip down to the middle of the post to see a list of 84 colleges that provide little to no merit aid. And not all of them meet full need.
(I’m taking a break from regular blogging and newsletters during the holidays. Hope you enjoy the DIY College Rankings version of the 12 Days of Christmas.)
On the first day of Christmas, DIY College Rankings wrote to me:
In case you missed it this past fall, one must read.
The EFC Chart: Understand How Much You’ll Pay for College
If I had only one post people read from my website, I would pick this one. In the past I would direct people to the EFC quick reference chart done by Troy Onink. However, it hasn’t been updated since 2017. The chart I’ve created doesn’t have the same level of income categories as Troy’s. However, it does demonstrate how much savings will affect your EFC.
This is a basic introduction to the college recruiting landscape. I’m sure there will be many who will read this and think, “you’ve got to be kidding-how could you not know this?” Yet, you would be surprised at how many families don’t know that D3 schools don’t offer athletic scholarships or that some rules will depend on the college’s conference. Consider this a review of the basic college athletic terms that you need to know to even start the college recruiting process.
Seattle, Washington (Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA)
3,443 (2,640 undergraduates)
Does College Size Matter?
(See the list for 2022 at the end of the post.) What are the hardest colleges to get into? Anyone going through the college admissions process can’t help but ask the question at least once. It’s a lot like visiting a Parade of Homes that you know you’ll never afford or maybe like rubbernecking while driving past a car wreck on the freeway-which ever analogy works for you. Of course, you can just look at US News College Rankings and get a pretty good idea. And that’s the point, everything in the media seems to reinforce the perception that exclusivity equals quality. Even if when we know better, we can’t help but feel insecure when we choose a lesser-known college.
Glenside, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA)
3,064 (1,832 undergraduates)
Does College Size Matter?
So far I’ve covered college recruiting mistakes concerning signs that you don’t understand the college athletic recruiting process and mistakes players and families make about their ability and what it means. Today, I’m going to cover mistakes related to finances when looking for athletic scholarships. If it’s really about using sports to help pay for college, you need to avoid the following college recruiting mistakes:
Lake Forest, Illinois ( Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA)
1,690 (1,661 undergraduates)
Does College Size Matter?
