What’s the worst possible thing families could hear after getting their Estimate Family Contribution (EFC) for financial aid? How about that even if they could manage to pay their EFC, more than likely they’ll have to pay even more because most colleges won’t meet their full need. The data on who gets financial aid shows that most families aren’t going to have their need met. Continue reading
Yes, you can use college rankings to find affordable colleges.
Why look at a college’s endowment when trying to decide where to go to school? This falls into the category of all other things being equal, why not attend an institution that is in a better financial situation? Or more importantly, why risk going to a university that is facing financial difficulties? Continue reading
Should you play more than one sport in high school if you want to play at the college level? Focusing on a single sport would seem to provide players with the ability to develop advanced skills to stand-out from the competition. However, there are plenty of people out there arguing that playing multiple sports provides athletes with significant benefits, including in the recruiting arena. Continue reading
I’ve updated the number of community colleges with dorms with data available from IPEDS in November of 2017.
As families recoil in horror contemplate the price tag of four years of college, some start to look more closely at all of the available options, including community colleges with dorms. Since community colleges are offering more traditional college amenities such as dorms, honor programs, sports, and student activities, they are becoming a more attractive way for families to seriously cut their college expenses. Continue reading
Location can cost you.
According to an NCAA survey, 43% of D1 Softball players had their first recruiting contact in ninth grade or earlier. Another 35% had their first contact as sophomores. That means over 3/4s of all D1 sophomore players are being recruited by their sophomore year. This explains why, on average, D1 Softball players make their verbal commitments before the end of their sophomore year. I’m not saying it’s right. It’s crazy as far as I’m concerned. But that means softball players need to get their recruiting act together early! Continue reading
The following is a guest post by Randy Levin. Randy has one focus–helping students with their college application essays. Based on his experiences, Randy has created a list of commonly made mistakes by students which he shares here. You can see a sample of his presentation here.
It is important to first understand the purpose of the college application essay. A student’s transcripts as well as his academic and extra-curricular achievements do not give any “unique” insight into the student as a person. Yes….they will illustrate hard work, intelligence, drive, aptitude, etc. However, these are the same attributes reflected in the other 30,000 applications for the same institution. Continue reading
Rule 2: Reach Schools Will Cost You
