College Admissions Help Blog

So we are one month into the new year. Have you kept your resolution so far?

I am wondering - how many of you considered going back to school? Online Degree Programs are a good way to get your foot in the door. There are a ton of options, they are easy to take (on your own time, and you can finish as quickly as you like.

Any other reasons to take an online class?

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a great week! In today’s post I want to talk about a little myth in the college admissions world.

It is a common misconception that schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford only offer admissions to student who grew up and live far away from the school’s location. Many people think that if you live in CA you have a much better chance of getting into Harvard than if you live in MA and if you hail from the east coast you have a much better chance at getting into Stanford than a West Coast resident.

This notion is a definite myth. While Ivy League and other top ranked schools do admit students from all over the country, they are more local than you may think. Take Harvard for example; a new study from the University of Denver suggests that more than one in every three American freshman at Harvard grew up within 200 miles of Cambridge. Additionally, less than half of the school’s students were from more than 500 miles away. And Stanford? 40% of Stanford’s 2008 freshman class were from the state of CA. Finally, remember the quadruplets who were all accepted to Yale this year? They are right from the state of CT!

Don’t think that you can’t get into Columbia because you live in New York. Although these schools are looking for diversity in their population, they are also looking for the students with the best SAT scores, grades and other qualifications. So if the school next door is on the top of you college search, apply! You may be just what they are looking for.

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Happy Friday everyone! I bet you thought you weren’t going to hear from me this week! Today I want to talk about a subject that affects both high school juniors and high school seniors:  AP classes.

High school has become extremely competitive and more students are taking on college level Advanced Placement (AP) classes. What is the point of these classes you ask? Well AP classes have two major benefits; they can boost your GPA and they can help you place out of classes in college.

AP classes are generally carry more weight than regular and even honors classes. If you do well in these classes it can be very good for your GPA. A better GPA can help you get into a better school Colleges also really like to see that students have challenged themselves in high school. The AP class workload will also help you prepare for the work you will face in college.

At the completion of an AP course there is an AP Exam. These tests are scored on a scale of  1-5. If you do well on a test, (usually by scoring a 4 or higher) you may be eligible to place our of a similar college course requirement. For example, many liberal arts schools have a first-year English literature requirement. However, if you take AP English and do well on the test you might be excused from taking the college class.

Now I am not a huge fan of high school student killing themselves to get ahead, but if you think you can handle an AP class it is a great idea!

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Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are all having a good week and finally catching a break from college applications. At this point I am sure you have moved on to tackling the FAFSA with your parent. Soon enough you will be receiving financial aid packages

So what happens if you do not receive enough federal financial aid from any of the schools you apply to? Luckily there are other ways to help finance your education. Private student loans are an option to consider after you know how much additional help you are going to need paying for college.

There are  many benefits of private student loans. Unlike federal financial aid, private student loans are based on credit. You do not have to exhibit great financial need to qualify. You, or your cosigner, just needs to have good credit. Private student loan funds can also go towards paying for expenses beyond tuition including books and room and board.

There are many different private student loan lenders. Each offer different options and benefits so it is important to compare private student loan lenders before applying.

It is probably too early to think about applying for a private student loan now, but it is definitely something to keep in mind when the time comes. There are no deadlines with private student loans so you can even wait until you are well into your first semester to apply for one.

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Hello all and happy 2010! We have now entered the most wonderful time of the year; FAFSA season! If you are a senior in high school filing the FAFSA should be number one on your current priority list.

When it comes to financial aid one of the most common questions that people ask is, “do I really need to submit a FAFSA?” The short answer is 100% yes! No matter who you are and how much money your parents make you should file a FAFSA. A common misconception is that when you fill out a FAFSA you are only applying for need-based financial aid. People think that if they make over a certain amount of money they will not qualify for any aid. This is not necessarily true.

When you fill out and submit a FAFSA you are essentially applying for four different types of financial aid:

1. Grants: Grant money is financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Most grant money is based on financial need.
2. Scholarships: Like grants, scholarship money does not have to be repaid. Most scholarship money is awarded based on a student’s academic achievements.
3. Work-study: Work-study money is earned through a job on or near campus. Work-study money does not have to be repaid.
4. Loans: Loan money, including subsidized Stafford loans and unsubsidized Stafford loans, is awarded by the government and must be repaid with interest.

So file you FAFSA today! If you need help with it or have any questions about it download the 2010-2011 FAFSA form guide. This guide goes through the FAFSA step-by-step to make sure you can tackle the form efficiently and accurately. Good luck and may 2010 bring you abundant financial aid.

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