50-50 Highlights: 41 Best Financial Bets for Public Universities

I’ve created two lists of colleges to target for merit aid, one consisting of only 50-50 schools and a more general list taking into consideration test scores. Since all the colleges on the lists are private schools, I thought I would create a list best financial bets for 50-50 public universities. As I started looking … Read more

Guaranteed Tuition and 4 Year Graduation: Part 2

Guaranteed tuition programs are one way to save money although they probably have a greater effect at public colleges than private ones. The other guarantee program popping up with increasing frequency is a four-year college graduation guarantee. This means that if it takes you more than four years to graduate, the college will pay for … Read more

400 Plus Full Ride Scholarships

I’ve been spending some time talking about a Moneyball approach to college admissions. The idea is to get the best college education without sacrificing your financial future. And what better Moneyball solution for college than a full-ride scholarship? Want to know where to find such scholarships? Wendy Nelson at My Kid’s College Choice has created … Read more

Moneyball College Admissions Rules: Use Your College Experience to Get What You Want

At first glance, Billy Beane’s fourth Moneyball rule wouldn’t seem a good fit for the college application process: “Know exactly who you want and go after him (Never mind who they say they want to trade).”  After all, it doesn’t seem likely that many students will convince colleges to  change admission requirements or how much … Read more

Moneyball College Admission Rules: Know How Much You’re Paying and Why

I don’t know about you, but I’m always leery when the price of a good or service I’m considering purchasing isn’t readily available. The phrase, “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” starts echoing in my head. However, although most college websites don’t have their costs readily accessible, it doesn’t seem to be … Read more

Moneyball College Admissions Rules: Ignore the Status Quo

Last week I talked about taking a Moneyball approach to the college admissions process. The idea being that as in Major League Baseball, the college admissions market is not operating efficiently resulting in some players/schools being significantly undervalued where others are way over-priced.