It’s been a busy holiday season culminating with the availability of the new FAFSA. Let’s just say it’s been anything but seamless for parents and students.
Monitoring Facebook groups, I’ve noticed so many frustrations with the new form. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s new and everyone is not too sure about the simplified format, or the instructions just aren’t clear, which is a distinct possibility. Whatever the case, the questions online are prolific.
My best advice: take it slowly. Read every section carefully and if you don’t understand, search for answers at StudentAid.gov.
From NerdWallet, here are its five most-confusing aspects, and strategies to deal with them — so you can submit your form ASAP.
Almost half of a school year is behind you. Whether your teen is waiting to hear back from their college choices, or continuing the decision process as they approach senior year, it is helpful to understand and evaluate college size and student population.
Does size really matter?
The answer to this question is complicated. Size really doesn’t matter as far as the quality of education your child will receive. Some of the best institutions of higher learning have large campuses with enormous student bodies, and some have fewer than 3000 students. What does matter, and always matters, is whether or not the school is a “perfect fit”, after examining a few factors:
Going to college is, for many, one of the most important experiences you will have in life. It’s also the kind of thing that can take a lot of your time and which requires your dedication to succeed. If you also have a baby or child, then you might well be wondering what you can do to ensure you are looking after them as well as pursuing your college degree. As it happens, it is possible to do both at once, though it might take some awareness of what approach to take. Here is some advice on doing that.
With the holidays looming ahead, everyone is looking forward to spending time with family and friends; and students are looking forward to a much needed winter break from school. But while on break, every high school senior is most likely scrambling to finalize their college applications. Traditionally, seniors who are applying regular decision are focusing on college application preparation during the break time to get everything together for submission after the holidays. And for every college-bound teen, it’s the end of a long process and the beginning of a long wait to hear from the colleges they have chosen.
Are you interested in helping your teen live a healthy life? More and more families are jumping on the non-toxic bandwagon. It’s more than just a passing fad; it’s about embracing a healthier, more planet-friendly way of living. Let’s take a closer look at these six easy-peasy steps to kickstart your journey to a cleaner life. And guess what? It’s honestly not as difficult as you may think.
College preparation does NOT begin during your student’s senior year. It starts in middle school with a discussion about college and decisions related to high school course selection and gets off to a running start their first day of high school. While you might be astonished and astounded by this statement, the truth is if you take it to heart, your student will enter senior year prepared and at the top of the college applicant pool.
Following are five steps to take once your student enters high school to prepare for their senior year and the college admissions process. These steps will help you and your student have less stress and be less likely to panic due to a lack of preparation when that all-important college application time comes along.
Just about everyone has heard of dorms specifically for entering freshmen. But did you know that you can also request a specialty dorm? Most colleges have designated dorms to meet the needs of a diverse student population. If you have a preference regarding your living accommodations on campus, ask about these dorms on your college visit and upon accepting an offer of admission.
Specialty dorms fall into three categories: academic housing, lifestyle housing, and living-learning communities.
Most high school seniors use the Common Application to apply to colleges. Since over 1000 schools now use this application, students can apply to multiple schools with one application. That doesn’t mean your student should “phone it in”, however. Taking the Common App seriously is the first step in completing an application that will help you stand out and receive an offer of admission.
Here are ten tips that will help your student ace the Common App this year:
US News, Forbes, USA Today, Princeton Review, and Niche are just a few of the many college rankings available for parents and students to review. Most college experts agree these college rankings should have little weight when choosing a college. But let’s get real for a moment, we all rank everything: from movies, to music, to restaurants, to hotels, to companies. Consumer reports ranks just about everything known to man: appliances, electronics, automobiles, and more. The New York Times Bestseller lists ranks books. Rankings are a part of our lives.
With the school year in full swing, college-bound juniors are working on their college list. Narrowing down the college preferences can be difficult, especially when your student is indecisive or feels overwhelmed about the college process. These young students need guidance, even if they don’t think so or are hesitant to ask for help.
When my daughter started making her college list in her junior year she didn’t know where to begin. She had a few must haves on her list: sororities, a small college, and one with a focus on fashion merchandising. Beyond that, she knew she wanted to apply to a few colleges in Boston, especially the one on her dream list: Boston University. But in the beginning, it seemed like a monumental task.
Following are five steps we followed to begin and ultimately create her final college list:
