Parents of sophomores need to know that their students’ college financial aid awards will be calculated on the base year that starts January 1 of the student’s sophomore year. This means that the fall semester of the student’s sophomore year will be the last chance parents have to implement some financial aid strategies that could … Read more
College athletic recruiting is a process of narrowing down school choices while collecting increasingly detailed information about those choices and not losing track of where you are during the process. Piece of cake-right! The problem is that athletes won’t always be at the same stage in the recruiting process for every college they’re considering. One … Read more
As students and parents start to wade into the college athletic recruiting process, they’ll soon see all kinds of advertisements, websites, and offers from athletic recruiting services. All promise to help you with getting an athletic scholarship because, they’ll tell you, they have access to people and information that you don’t. And as the wading … Read more
After diligently reporting their families’ financial information as accurately as possible in the FAFSA under the threat of a $20,000 fine and/or prison, high school seniors are anxiously waiting to receive their financial aid award letters. Now, even though each student’s family situation is different, applicants all completed a standard form for financial aid. Major … Read more
When students start creating their college list, smart families make sure they use the Net Price Calculator on all possibilities before adding them to the final list. Net Price Calculators (NPC) provide families with the estimated price they will pay after deducting for gift aid. This is called the average net price. Essentially, NPCs provide … Read more
The first of the Early Decision college admissions deadlines are approaching and students are nervously revising their college application essays. However, before they submit their applications, they need to remember that there are reasons why people criticize Early Decision as primarily benefiting rich kids. As students make one final review of their application, they should make sure … Read more
Defining a Research University Research Universities are Large Research Universities are Focused on Faculty Research Best Research Opportunities List of Research Universities in the United States Defining a Research University A research university is simply a type of university that conducts more research relative to other colleges and universities. American universities are defined as research … Read more
EFC stands for expected family contribution. This is the amount of money families are expected to pay for their students to attend college. Colleges and federal and state governments use the EFC to calculate a student’s financial aid award. The basic theory is that the lower your EFC, the bigger your financial aid award. A … Read more
Last week I watched my son played at his college’s annual Blue and White game. It’s just an intra-squad scrimmage at the end of their Fall practices followed by a family cook-out. It was cold but it was great to spend the weekend with him. He gave us a tour of HIS campus which is … Read more
