Have you ever wondered why there couldn’t be a “one-stop shop” for applying to college? By the time you’ve hopped all around the college sphere looking for the best information, it can be exhausting. Read this blog. Check out this website. Explore these options. It’s almost more than one parent can handle and it can make you throw up your hands in frustration.
Continue reading Appily: A One-Stop College Shop
There isn’t any definitive answer to how much parents should contribute toward the cost of college. Some feel it’s the parent’s responsibility to pay for the entire cost. Others feel that the student should participate financially. And still, others believe the student is responsible for securing the loans, grants, and scholarships themselves and the parents should not invest. Of course, there are always those situations when the parents, no matter how much they would like to help, are unable financially to contribute.
No matter which group you fall into, there are some important facts you should know about financing your student’s college education.
Continue reading How Much Should Parents Contribute Toward the Cost of College?
Paying for college today can be stressful. Reading all the posts from parents on Facebook underscores the fact that college is expensive and parents are trying to pay for it without borrowing or graduating with massive student loan debt.
According to the Education Data Initiative:
Student loan debt in the United States totals $1.766 trillion.
Continue reading Avoid High Student Loan Debt with these Financial Strategies
Your child’s senior year of high school will be their busiest yet. Not only will they be managing applications, and completing their high school exams, but they’ll also be developing and socializing as young adults. There’s a lot going on, which can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety for teens.
As a parent, it’s your responsibility to help keep them on track with school, but you also need to be there to support them during the tough times and help them unwind. Here are some of the ways you can help them find the balance, helping them get to graduation and beyond.
Continue reading Helping Your Teen Find Some Balance in their Senior YearWhen I come across a scholarship that can help students and their families pay for college, I like to share it. Today’s scholarship is from BestColleges and there are five of them available for $6000. If your student qualifies, make sure they apply.
On average, Black women in STEM earn salaries that are 45% lower than their highest-paid peers. BestColleges is committed to breaking down barriers for students in underrepresented communities, who desire careers in the most competitive fields. This year, we’ll be giving away five $6,000 scholarships to Black women who are currently pursuing careers in STEM.
Continue reading Scholarship Friday: $6000 for Black Women in Stem
College visits have become more important today than they ever were in the past. Competition for that coveted admission spot and the competitiveness of the colleges vying for students makes the college visit a key factor in a student’s decision and a college’s recruiting efforts. College visits are the “bread and butter” of the admissions process and if you have a college-bound tween or teen, it’s time to get into the game.
Continue reading Making College Visits a Family AffairToday’s guest post is by Bob Collins, VP of Financial Aid at Western Governors University.
WGU students graduate with half the debt of their peers nationwide
Education is linked to the eradication of poverty and the promotion of prosperity, but evidence that college students graduate with excessive debt continues to pile up year after year. With student interest rates at their highest in the last decade, our current economy serves as a reminder that students should make informed decisions to borrow wisely.
Western Governors University (WGU) was established in 1997 with a mission to expand access to high-quality, online and affordable higher education. WGU serves more than 150,000 students nationwide and has more than 340,000 graduates in all 50 states.
Continue reading Restoring Education’s Promise with Responsible Student Loan Borrowing
Some of the latest figures show that over a quarter of students have back-to-school anxiety issues. With the school year just starting, it could be worse right now. From making a morning routine to celebrating the little wins, here are some practical ways you can beat the stress of it all.
Continue reading Helping Your Student With Back-to-School Anxiety
The Common Application is used by over 500 colleges. It was created to save colleges and students time when submitting their college applications, hence called the Common App. The basic information you complete in the application will be used by every college you apply to: test scores, personal information, and extracurricular activity lists. You don’t have to resubmit that information to each individual college.
The Common App was set up in 1975 to simplify the application process, but the very name of the application suggests that there is no opportunity for students to stand out in this common app process. But there are opportunities for students to stand out, or look uncommon when using the Common App.
Continue reading 5 Ways to Look Uncommon on the Common App
The NACAC (National Association for College Admissions Counseling) surveyed their member four-year colleges and you might be interested to know what they found.
The responses indicated that the most important factors in admission decisions were grades and high school courses. According to their recent survey, 77 percent of colleges listed the student’s grades in college prep courses (AP and Honors) as considerably important. High school grades in all courses were considered important by 74 percent of colleges, and the strength of the high school curriculum by 64 percent of colleges surveyed.
Interestingly, the essay had considerable importance by only 19 percent of colleges, with demonstrated interest ranking important by 16 percent of colleges.
Continue reading What Do Colleges Look for in an Applicant?