50-50 Highlights: Colleges in Chicago

Chicago skyline representing colleges in Chicago

Downtown Chicago skyline representing colleges in ChicagoStudents looking for the big city attractions shouldn’t overlook colleges in Chicago. It’s the 3rd largest city in the United States and has all the expected amenities to go with it. There are 39 colleges with at least 500 full-time undergraduates in the Chicago Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). While 14 of them are 50-50 colleges, unfortunately only one is a public institution.

Read more

DIY College Rankings: Where to Start

woman using laptop to start using DIY College RankingsAs I went through the college search process with my son, I was constantly amazed at the way numbers are and are not used in the process. Everyone talks about student’s GPA, class rank, test scores, and college acceptance rates but no one seemed to know anything about their Expected Financial Contribution (EFC), four-year college graduation rates, or percentage of students receiving non-federal student loans.

Read more

Colleges Most Likely to Meet Financial Need List

Notepad with financial aid written on it

Notepad with financial aid written on itThis is a list of over 200 colleges most likely to provide need-based aid (not based on academic merit) to students. I include schools on the list if they meet one of the following requirements:

  • Meet 95% or more of freshman financial need according to the Common Data Set (CDS)
  • The Average Net Price for freshman with family incomes of $30,000 or less was $8,000 or less.

Read more

Why People Waste Their College Visits-Part 2

students walking on campus representing college visits

Students walking on campus representing college visitsIn the first part of Why People Waste Their College Campus Visits, I discussed how students and families don’t make the most of college visits because they don’t understand there are different types of campus visits and don’t prepare appropriately. I covered some common issues regarding campus visits and listed one of three types of campus visits. This post lists the remaining types of visits and what to do if you can’t visit.

Read more

Why People Waste Their College Visits

Happy student representing getting the most out of college visits

Student on college visitWhen people talk about college visits, it’s usually to give advice about questions to ask and places to visit while you’re on campus. There’s also the issue of how much importance to place on the official campus tour and student guide. No one stops to ask what “kind” of college visit is intended. Yes, there are different kinds of visits. There are actually three different types of visits.

Read more

Pros and Cons of Using College Navigator for Creating Your College List

Student using laptop to search college navigatorWhy should you use College Navigator as your starting point in creating your college list? Two reasons. The first is that College Navigator is provided by the federal government which is also one of the two major data sources for college search websites and the more reliable of the two. Really. When US News College Rankings wants to check their data, they use the federal government’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data to check the Common Data Set (CDS).

Read more

50-50 Highlights: Best Colleges for Merit Scholarships

hand holding key representing best colleges for merit aid

Hand with key to unlock best colleges for merit scholarshipsStudents with high Expected Family Contributions (EFC) who want to pay less for college need to find those colleges most likely to provide generous merit aid. One way to do this is to identify colleges that have a high percentage of freshman without need who receive merit aid. The higher the percentage, the more likely students are to qualify for merit aid.

Read more

50-50 Highlights: Colleges for Students with Disabilities

stduent standing in front of maze representing colleges for students with disabilities

Student lookng at maze representing colleges for students with disabilities(Updated for 2019) Attempting to list colleges and universities with the best services for students with disabilities ultimately demonstrates the problems in creating a list of the “best” of anything. When dealing with disabilities, so much depends on the individual needs of the students so what is ideal for one student won’t work for another. Never mind the fact that an institution’s approach to accommodating students can also heavily rely on one or two persons’ attitudes.

Read more

50-50 Highlights: Best Public Universities for Low Income Students by State

Stacks of coins with graduation hat representing Best Public Universities for Low Income Students

Stacks of coins and graduation hat representing Best Public Universities for Low Income StudentsGiven that very few private colleges meet 100% of financial need, the cheapest option for most low-income students will be one of their state’s public universities. There will always be some low-income students that will have their full need met at private colleges, but they will be the exception. The majority will find themselves “gapped” and forced to consider private loans to make up the difference.

Read more