21 Schools to Avoid if You’re Making a List of Affordable Colleges

student thinking about which schools to include on her list of affordable colleges

In case you haven’t heard, some colleges are more likely to provide you institutional scholarships and grants than others. Some are more generous with merit aid while others give better need-based aid. And just as some colleges are known for their aid, there are those that are known for the lack of it and shouldn’t … Read more

5 Financial Mistakes that Can Limit Your Chance of Playing Your Sport at the College Level

A collection of sports balls, including a soccer ball, basketball, and football, arranged on grass against a clear blue sky, often used in athletic recruiting.

So far I’ve covered college recruiting mistakes concerning signs that you don’t understand the college athletic recruiting process and mistakes players and families make about their ability and what it means. Today, I’m going to cover mistakes related to finances when looking for athletic scholarships. If it’s really about using sports to help pay for college, you need to … Read more

15 Things Parents of High School Freshmen Must Know NOW About Preparing for College!

Mother and son representing what high school freshman need to know about paying for college

As the parents of college freshmen drove home from dropping their kids off at college, many had to be thinking about how they’ll do things differently next time knowing what they know now. Many were probably wishing, “if only someone had told me four years ago when we first started thinking about preparing for college … Read more

76 Best Bets for College Merit Scholarships

hands exchanging money representing best bets for college merit scholarships

The best bets for college merit scholarships aren’t necessarily schools you have heard of. But if you’re serious about looking for an affordable education at a good college, does it matter? Don’t think you’ll qualify for any significant need-based financial aid? Then it’s time to begin looking beyond the rankings and paying attention to the … Read more

Must Read for High School Baseball Players and their Parents

ball on field representing why some don't play college baseball

There is a post at the Next Level Baseball Player blog that all high school baseball players who want to play college baseball and their parents should read “A Raw Look Inside College Baseball Recruiting.” It’s an email from a coach at a D1 university responding to a father who asked why his kid isn’t … Read more

Why Your Best College Financial Aid Will Probably Come From a School No One Has Ever Heard Of

Boy scratching his ear because he never heard of the college offering the best college financial aid

Your best college financial aid will likely come from the college you attend. This means students need to rethink their college search based on size. Size is probably one of the first limitations students use when searching for colleges, often based on little to no real experience or evidence. And if you’re interested in getting the … Read more

Should You Use an Athletic Recruiting Service?

As students and parents start to wade into the college athletic recruiting process, they’ll soon see all kinds of advertisements, websites, and offers from athletic recruiting services. All promise to help you with getting an athletic scholarship because, they’ll tell you, they have access to people and information that you don’t. And as the wading … Read more