Search Results for: application

Why Your EFC Should be how you Start Your College Search

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playing pieces at start representing using efc to search for colleges

What is EFC? To start your college search, you need to be able to answer this question. If you’re like most parents starting the college search process, you don’t have a clue what EFC means. In fact, most parents don’t understand until they are well into the college application process which is not a good … Read more

FAQ: What is a likely letter?

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A woman stands on a campus pathway holding books. A large sticky note says, "College FAQ: What is a likely letter Harvard?" in red text.

A “likely letter” is a letter from the college admissions office stating that you are likely to be admitted as long as nothing changes before the official admissions deadline. They are not formal offers of admissions–just notices that students are very “likely” to be admitted. Students receive likely letters a month or two before the … Read more

Colleges that Meet 100% of Financial Need Depending on How You Define Need

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money with a chain and lock representing colleges that meet 100% of need

(Updated for 2023) Probably the biggest shock families experience as they consider their college options is finding out how much they’re expected to pay for college. But I think a close second would be how few colleges are actually able to meet the family’s admittedly flawed calculated need. According to the Common Data Set and college … Read more

5 Rules About Paying for College That Most Parents Don’t Know

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Woman in glasses and casual attire using a laptop with a blank screen to research ways to pay less for college, sitting on a gray sofa with her feet up.

(Updated for 2023) If you want to get any financial aid, you need to submit college financial aid applications such as the FAFSA and PROFILE. This is obviously a critical step: no application, no aid. But if you want to pay less for college, it certainly isn’t the first step. The fact is that the FAFSA … Read more

12 Days of Christmas 2022: Day 8

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Day 8: college admissions money tips

(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 eighth day of Christmas, DIY College Rankings wrote to me: Eight college admissions money tips. 8 Things Parents Must Know About Paying for College Am I repeating … Read more

126 Hardest Colleges to Get Into

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woman rock climbing representing hardest colleges to get into

(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 … Read more