(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 fourth day of Christmas, DIY College Rankings wrote to me:

How to search and what to avoid.

4 Easy Steps to Find 254 Colleges for Potential Merit Scholarships

An average net price of over $30,000 suggests that regardless of the amount of aid being awarded, the school is still likely to be expensive.

4 College Recruiting Mistakes to Avoid When You’re the Best Player on Your Team

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you can judge your ability because you have played other teams and haven’t seen anyone as good as you.

4 Reasons People Don’t Pick Affordable Colleges

Attending affordable colleges comes with some trade-offs that not all families are willing to make.

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(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 Hard Truths About Financial Aid

For the majority of families, the EFC is going to be much higher than they anticipated.

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?

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(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.

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(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 year, one must read.

15 Things Parents of High School Freshmen Must Know NOW About Getting Into and Paying for College!

If I had only one post people read from my website, I would pick this one. Ideally, it would be read by parents when their kids are freshman. The earlier parents are aware of the realities of paying for college, the more likely they will be able to orient the college admissions process to maximizing their potential financial aid. After all, you can’t get financial aid from colleges you never apply to.

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