Changes to repayment rules for Federal student loans offers borrowers flexibility to manage their debts, as outlined in a recent New York Times article. However, not only do the recent changes provide assistance for current borrowers, potential student loan borrowers can plan ahead. Our recommendations are outlined, alongside excerpts of the article in italics. Rising…
Tag: College selection
Guest Post – S-N-O-W: The Education Without the Units
Rohan graduated with a full International Baccalaureate Diploma in 2012. He moved across the country from sunny Northern California to Ohio for college. Throughout the college application process, Rohan kept an open mind about weather giving him more education than just studying Engineering. After surviving the first winter, Rohan shares more thoughts about how “weather”…
Losing Sleep Over College Affordability Concerns? You’re Not Alone.
Families attempting to determine college affordability can be subjected to acute bouts of insomnia. The predicament of framing the pros and cons of each college choice for their children can be, at times, daunting for parents. Parents face the dilemma of defining the value of a future outcome–a college degree with all of its attendant…
“The Three D’s: Death, Disease & Divorce”
When beginning to write college application essays, students often worry about having lived an “ordinary” life, under the assumption that a dramatic event is a compelling topic to persuade college admissions officers. A few years back, a stressed-out Senior, with tears welling in her eyes, exclaimed to her dad, “Why couldn’t you have died?!? Then,…
Gaming College Admissions?
Nervous anticipation arising from predicting who’s going to get into which college doesn’t only affect Seniors, community college transfer students and their parents. The sense of foreboding can extend to parents of middle school age students, who are thinking backwards to choose a high school that seems more advantageous to meriting the college acceptances they…
Does My Kid Have Even the Slightest Chance to Get Accepted?
At this time of year, about one to two months from the first college application deadlines, parents’ and high school seniors’ concern about outcome of submitting college apps, is usually concluded by, “I’m never going to get in, ANYWHERE!” The lack of a straightforward, formulaic standard about who will or will not be accepted at a college can send normally…
Sigh of Relief for Parents: CA Passed an Online “Eraser” Law
The California Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown recently enacted the Online “Eraser” Law. Good news for parents concerned about social media’s impact on their children’s possible college admissions and future employment. Starting in 2015, teenagers will be able to request photos of embarrassing or otherwise youthful indiscretions be deleted by online providers. (The caveat: anyone…
College Admissions Can Seemingly Provoke More Questions Than Answers
Questions abound when parents and students are moving through the college admissions process, especially when everyone has a story to tell about who got in where and the media reports the falling admit rates at selective universities around the country, as well as annually rising college tuition and increasing average student loan amounts. A…
A Growing Gap: Rising College Tuition vs. Income
The value of college may not be reflected in the cost of college. However, the media attention to average student debt and annually rising college costs can mask the value of college. In addition, when the average costs of goods and services (i.e. inflation) is greater than the average rise in earnings for 99% of Americans…
How to Reduce College Costs
The “sticker shock” of college tuition rising at 1140%, as we posted here, can overshadow the need to calculate living and housing expenses, as part of the overall costs for college. Yet, families who budget for ALL college expenses for 4 years, not just year-to-year costs, are prudent and may find ways to save money. …
More College Admissions 101
Additional insights to answer the complex questions Hewlett Packard employees asked during our second College Admissions and Financial Aid Brown Bag Lunch, since we were limited in our discussion time last week. Each topic is bolded, with the details listed below: College Application Essays The autobiographical college application essays are a meaningful part of any…
Private Universities May Not Cost More Than A Public University, In the Final Analysis
Dismissing a college based only on cost, as many families tend to do when considering private universities, may overlook a valuable choice for an individual student. The following podcast discusses how to “value” a public university in relation to a private university, as well as offers tips for planning for future college expenses. For more…
College Costs: Myth vs. Reality
A tongue-in-cheek look at rising college costs, yet gives another incentive for college bound teens to think thoroughly about their college choices.
Common App Essays Part 2: How to Write College Essays
Knowing what the college essay adds to a college application, as we discussed in the first podcast of our Common Application essay series, is only the first step in developing a competitive personal statement. The following podcast advises Seniors how to actually write the autobiographical college essay, and addresses common challenges in the drafting process. The college…
Is College Financial Aid Really Aid?
The difference between the value of college, indicated by price and intrinsic worth, and what a family feels they can afford to pay creates the need for financial aid. But, college bound buyer beware: NOT ALL FINANCIAL AID AWARDED BY THE UNIVERSITY IS ACTUALLY AID.