College Admissions Help Blog

To all the college bound students, parents and admissions professional out there, I hope you had a happy holiday and are preparing for an amazing new year!  The HowToGetIn blog has been writing about college admissions and providing students with links to helpful and vital resources since 2007!  I am thankful to be one of many who blog about education on this site over the past 3 years.  In 2010, more than ever, there are people joining in the discussion on Twitter, Facebook and Blogs and as a result more students than ever have access to the advice and encouragement needed to get through the college admissions process.

Before we launch into 2011, I would like to share and reflect on the 10 top College Admissions blog posts of 2010:
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College scholarship money is abundant, but  you have to work hard to get your share. Many scholarships require that you submit a scholarship essay on a topic relevant to the foundation or organization providing the cash. January, once your applications are off, it is good time to start writing those essays and spending some of your time off from school searching for scholarships and plowing through the essays that have been put off throughout the fall.

Time and effort are certainly required to write a successful scholarship essay. Here are quick tips that will lead you in the right direction and make sure you write a great essay in a reasonable amount of time:

* When it comes to developing a topic, think outside of the box . Unique essays will shine in a large pool of applicants.
* Use all of the writing skills you have learned in high school. It is important to treat every essay like a piece of writing you would turn in for English class. Use every writing tip you have learned from having a strong theme to proper sentence construction.
* Give a scholarship essay the same attention you would give a college admission essay. This essay will not determine whether or not you get into college, but it could certainly help you pay for your education.
* Proofread and spell-check your work! Spelling and grammar mistakes can lead a scholarship committee to immediately dismissing your essay as a contender.
* Have a parent or friend give it a second look. It never hurts to have another person take a look at something you have written. It is easy to miss small mistakes that someone else could have picked up on.

If you follow all of these steps you should have a piece of work you can be really proud of turning in. It may seem like a lot of work, but every scholarship you apply for will bring you one step close to paying for college with scholarships!!

FAFSA season is just after the holiday season - are you ready?

www.FAFSAonline.com has recently been updated to provide families with tips and tricks for completing the governments Free Application for Federal Student Aid - also known as the FAFSA form.   Check out the site for advice, a free eBook and other tips for completing the form on time and error free.

Some FAFSA tips:

File early to increase your chances of receiving financial aid.  Many sources of aid are limited and given out on a first come, first served basis.  In this case, the early bird catches the worm.

Be careful - errors will cause delays in processing and (as described above) you may miss out on aid.

Ask for help - your financial aid officer is available to help you with questions and you can cal the Department of Education's Financial Aid Hotline at 1-800-4-fed-aid.

Get your FAFSA PIN (Personal Identification Number) from the DOE, save it and don't share it with anyone else.

Know your FAFSA school code.  You will have to provide this when completing the FAFSA.

If you have other tips - please post them below!!!

FAFSA season is just after the holiday season - are you ready?

www.FAFSAonline.com has recently been updated to provide families with tips and tricks for completing the governments Free Application for Federal Student Aid - also known as the FAFSA form.   Check out the site for advice, a free eBook and other tips for completing the form on time and error free.

Some FAFSA tips:

File early to increase your chances of receiving financial aid.  Many sources of aid are limited and given out on a first come, first served basis.  In this case, the early bird catches the worm.

Be careful - errors will cause delays in processing and (as described above) you may miss out on aid.

Ask for help - your financial aid officer is available to help you with questions and you can cal the Department of Education's Financial Aid Hotline at 1-800-4-fed-aid.

Get your FAFSA PIN (Personal Identification Number) from the DOE, save it and don't share it with anyone else.

Know your FAFSA school code.  You will have to provide this when completing the FAFSA.

If you have other tips - please post them below!!!

ScholarshipPoints just announced the most recent $10,000 college scholarship recipient.  Not sure if you know of the ScholarshipPoints program, but you should.  In short - it is a college student membership rewards program where students earn points for completing certain online activities (take a survey, read a blog post, visit a website).  Students accumulate points which can be converted into entries for that month's scholarship sweepstakes. 

ScholarshipPoints will give away more than $110,000 this year and likely even more next year.  The beauty if it is that the more students who join, the more scholarship are given away...

If you have not allready, tell your students, family and friends to sign up at:

http://www.scholarshippoints.com/

ScholarshipPoints just announced the most recent $10,000 college scholarship recipient.  Not sure if you know of the ScholarshipPoints program, but you should.  In short - it is a college student membership rewards program where students earn points for completing certain online activities (take a survey, read a blog post, visit a website).  Students accumulate points which can be converted into entries for that month's scholarship sweepstakes. 

ScholarshipPoints will give away more than $110,000 this year and likely even more next year.  The beauty if it is that the more students who join, the more scholarship are given away...

If you have not allready, tell your students, family and friends to sign up at:

http://www.scholarshippoints.com/

You can file the FAFSA on January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011, but if you are applying to a traditonal four year school for the fall 2011 semester you will want to complete the FAFSA on or soon after January 1st.  Why? In some cases, federal aid, grants and scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so get the ball rolling early.

To file your FAFSA, there is information you will need to gather regarding income and taxes for the 2010 year, before you receive your income reports from the previous year (W2′s) and file your taxes.  This may trip you and your parents up as you are not required to file your tax information for the previous year until April 15th.  While having your federal tax return complete will save you a lot of time when filling out your FAFSA, you will want to file your FAFSA form earlier (starting Jan 1st) than you are able to complete your IRS federal tax return (after receiving income reports, by April 15th).

Thankfully, you are allowed to report estimated tax data on your FAFSA.  As long as you correct the estimates once you finish your taxes, you are not required to complete your IRS federal tax return before filing your FAFSA. It is a common misnomer that it is required when it is simply encouraged. Note there is a question on the FAFSA about which IRS Tax Form you will fill out in the future, and that is where the 1040 Form comes up. You can fill out a 1040 form using estimated income amounts, either using your previous year’s tax return or your current pay stubs.

What is the 1040? The 1040 is the Federal Income Tax Return form. There are a few different versions of this form and it is important to determine which you will be filing. The FAFSA-on-the-web application will populate other parts of the form for you based on qualifications you would have in order to file the specific types of federal return.  Use this guide below to guide you on which form you and your parents can us.

To qualify for the 1040EZ:

• Your total income is under $100,000
• Your interest income is under $1,500
• You have income only from wages, interest, unemployment compensation, and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends
• You and your spouse are under 65 years old
• Your filing status is single or married filing jointly.
• You do not have any adjustments to income
• You are claiming only the standard deduction
• You may claim the Earned Income Credit
• You are not claiming any other tax credits

If you meet all of these conditions, you are eligible to file the 1040EZ, and you will note this on your FAFSA. Most students are eligible to file the 1040EZ.

To qualify for the 1040A:

• Your total income is under $100,000
• Any age, any filing status
• You have income from wages, interest, dividends, capital gain distributions, IRA or pension distributions, unemployment compensation, or Social Security benefits
• You can claim the following adjustments to income: penalty for early withdrawal of savings, IRA contributions, student loan interest, and jury duty pay given to your employer
• You can claim the following tax credits: Child and dependent care credit, Credit for the elderly and disabled, Education credits, Retirement savings contributions credit, Child tax credit, and Earned income credit.

Completing one of the 1040 tax forms will give you a better idea of what adjustments can be made to your income, such as tuition and fees deductions and student loan interest. And you’ll be a step ahead on filing your federal taxes when you are able to.

Filing your taxes online? Most tax software will determine for you which form you are supposed to file, and then you may note that on your FAFSA.

For more FAFSA tips visit www.FAFSAonline.com

As January approaches most of you should be narrowing a list of schools and be preparing the applications for submission.  Use this time before applications are due to get a second opinion on your college essay. English teachers and counselors are an amazing resource, but it is also good to take advice from students who have been there when you begin writing your college admissions essay.

Many colleges now incorporate student blogs on their admissions sites to help give prospective students a real taste of college and university life. Students are given free reign to talk about the things they may not have expected or the struggles they may be going through day to day such as a big test, because that is the real stuff! Notably, the MIT admissions blog employs a number a great bloggers that write on relevant topics for prospective students. This blog post “Just Chillax’ [about your college essays]“, posted a few weeks ago by Elizabeth C. ’13 may be particularly helpful for those with essays still in the review process.

My favorite line from this post is: “0% of people who do not apply to MIT get into MIT.” There is a lot of pressure to deal with when writing an essay.  Don’t be afraid of your reach schools, whether it is an academic or financial reach, because you will never know if you do not try!  As a college student recently told us, “Schools below your average can be good as a failsafe option, and schools above your average may unexpectedly accept you.” Acceptance to a reach school may hinge on your essay, so use every resource available.  Elizabeth C. includes her own essay in this post, read it and see where you essay matches up or doesn’t, and consider if any of the techniques used could help your essay.  If your school has a student blog reach out and ask for advice from a student who has been there.

Earlier I wrote about picking a college essay topic, if at this point you feel that you may be working on a topic that isn’t quite right, you still have a chance to rewrite and review before applications are due.  Sometimes it takes stepping away from the whole process for a few minutes to gain clarity. Don’t sell yourself short, use the resources around you to write a great essay!  I recommend checking out this NYT article on “A Few Essays That Worked (And a Few That Didn’t)“, and if you need advice you can post your essay on the admissions forum and admissions experts from the HowToGetIn team can give you advice.

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