When a Letter of Recommendation Isn’t Just a Letter of Recommendation

Now, that school’s back in session (or about to be back in session), and the excitement of choosing colleges for application can be wearing thin (given that everyone who discovers or knows you’re a senior is asking where you’re applying), so what’s next?  Well, parents, since about July have been asking us about letters of…

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How to Make the Most of A Campus Tour: Creative Marbles in Chicago

All colleges have basic features: classrooms, residence halls and dining commons, people.  How education happens at a college depends on history and culture (i.e. the attitudes, beliefs and values–which can be shaped by history.)   Exploring colleges from multiple perspectives–academics, social life and the culture–will help students and parents make more confident choices about where…

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“Why Do You Want to Go To College?” Has New Meaning

“How do employers look at college names?”  is a typical question parents ask us, when trying to narrow their senior’s choices for application.   Two meanings emerge from this question: What’s the value of a college degree? How, if at all, is value different for different colleges? The value in college question will be answered differently…

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Changes to Subsidized Direct Student Loans for Fall 2012

For Fall 2012 and future Fall 2013 Subsidized Direct Loan Borrowers: The Federal Government will no longer withhold interest during the six-month grace period before loans go into repayment.   According to Federal Student Aid, “the interest will be capitalized (added to the principal amount of your loan) when the grace period ends.”  Borrowers do not need…

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Guilt? I Didn’t See that On My College Bill

Without understanding the value of a college degree, students can sense, what they often term, “guilt.”  They may not confidently understand why their families, and increasingly themselves (in the form of student loans), are paying the thousands of dollars (and rising each year) that a college degree costs. Listen to the following podcast, featuring Julie…

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Guest Post: Study Abroad from a Parent’s Perspective

By: Lisa Dalton, parent of a senior at the University of Oregon, and sophomore at Washington State University CMC Note: There are alternatives to “studying” abroad, including service projects that many universities arrange, as well. _______________________ If you are in the midst of college tours with your high school senior, or you have a student…

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College Tuition: Is a Private University Always More Expensive than Public?

According to the Wall Street Journal and the College Board, public university tuition is rising faster than private universities around the nation.  “In-state residents at four-year public schools, tuition and fees are up 25.1% from the 2008-09 academic year; over the same time period, tuition and fees at private universities rose 13.2%.”  While public universities…

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