College Search Cheat Sheet

Two highlighters (green and yellow) lying on a printed college search cheat sheet with various color-coded data points and a red pen atop the paper.

Are you worried about finding the right college for your kids? Does the idea of researching colleges make you nervous? Do you find the idea of finding and paying for college daunting? Do you just want to know how to get started? If you answered “yes” to any to the previous questions, I’ve got a … Read more

50-50 Highlights: 29 Private Colleges to Target for Financial Aid Opportunities

student aiming bow at target representing best colleges for financial aid

I’ve talked about colleges most likely to provide merit aid before. In this post I’m going to focus just on 50-50 schools and consider all financial indicators. For example, in previous lists I didn’t take into consideration PLUS loans. I also limited schools by test scores which I don’t do in this list.

31 Potential Colleges for Students with a Full-Pay Hook

Money representing colleges for full pay students

Families that can’t afford to pay the sticker-price for private colleges need to do two things. The first is identify which schools are more likely to provide need or merit aid. The second is avoid those that are less likely to do so. This means steering clear of “dream” schools that may rank in terms of prestige … Read more

50-50 Highlights: NCAA D2 Colleges

The NCAA Division 2 is the smallest of the three NCAA Divisions. Division 2 colleges, like Division 1 schools, offer athletic scholarships. However, they do not offer as many scholarships in many sports and are not required to sponsor as many varsity teams as D1 programs. They also tend to offer more partial scholarships. However, since … Read more

50-50 Highlights: Colleges in Philadelphia

Philadelphia skyline representing colleges in philadelphia

When creating their preferred list of colleges, many students are looking for schools that will include the “big city” experience. New York is the obvious choice. However, students shouldn’t overlook the nation’s 7th largest city, Philadelphia, just a 90 minute train ride to the south. Surely it can provide the requested “big city” experience at … Read more

50-50 Highlights: Colleges in Los Angeles

I’m pretty sure the number of students who would want to attend college close to beaches and mountains and with sunny weather outnumbers those that don’t which is why many look for colleges in Los Angeles. With the area’s entertainment industry, international business connections, and tech development, Los Angeles has more than just its climate … Read more

50-50 Highlights: Colleges in the Boston Area

Going to college in Boston isn’t just for high school valedictorians, those with 10 AP classes on their transcripts, or those with test scores in the 90th percentile or higher. It’s only natural that you would assume so with names like Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Boston College, Wellesley, Northeastern, and Brandies dominating the higher education neighborhood. … Read more

50-50 Highlights: Colleges in the New York City Area

New York City representing colleges in New York City area

When students think about going to college in New York City, NYU and Columbia are usually the first colleges that come to mind. And then maybe Vassar and Fordham will be mentioned. Someone might think about the City Colleges. But for too many students, going to college in New York City is pretty much limited … Read more

50-50 Highlights: Most Expensive Colleges

student standing in front of word college representing most epensive colleges

The point of the 50-50 schools list is to identify colleges and universities that most students can get into while meeting a minimum standard for college graduation. However, just because a school is academically accessible doesn’t mean that students can afford to attend. Some of the most expensive colleges make the list. Like colleges and … Read more