News, Resources, & Musings
What happens if you back out of an Early Decision offer?
As college application season enters full swing, families should be having serious conversations about what applicant pool their child plans to apply to. It matters to students’ admission chances and financial aid opportunities. First, let’s cover the four basic...
On Mental Health and Asking for Help
Life has brought unprecedented challenges and stressors over the past couple of years. Doctors report more patients than ever needing anti-depressants and anxiety medications, and patients often find the wait to see a counselor is months long. For teenagers going...
Advice from Certified Adults
For high school students in the throes of adolescence, it can be hard to imagine going off to college and making...
Tips for Tackling the Common App Activities List
Rising seniors are well-served to begin working hard on their college applications this summer, NOT when the fall semester begins. Most students today understand they need to write a strong essay in order to stand out at more selective schools, but they often fail to...
Beyond EFC into Savvy College Shopping
For many middle class families, paying for college is a real struggle. Although we try to prepare families to brace themselves for what the FAFSA says they should be able to pay, it’s still a shock for most families we work with, particularly those with net family...
The Biggest Little Lie
Ask any busy high school student and they will tell you that one of the hardest parts of applying to colleges and scholarships is keeping up with all the detail. For scholarships, the details can be particularly important in determining your eligibility, protecting...
More Isn’t Always Better: Information Overload and the College Search
On a recent professional development webinar run by college admissions officers, one of the presenters said something that made a record scratch go off in my head: “Students always want more information.” Now, hear me out here, but…no. No. Students don’t always...
Facing debt realities and paying for college
College is expensive in the US. Tuition costs have far outpaced inflation in this country and have grown by as much as 200% for some schools over the last 20 years. It’s crazy, and it has created a student debt crisis in this country. Today, about 43 million...
The 1-minute task you shouldn’t skip
In the wake of the Penn State Jerry Sandusky scandal, the university's credit rating was downgraded due to "anticipation of the substantial financial impact on the university from the ultimate cost of future settlements and possible judgments." The university's entire...