Students

Students

Time to file your FAFSA

Tags: , Blog, Financial Aid, Information, Parents, Students
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Happy New Year!! January 1st marks the beginning of FAFSA season. You can now file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov to see what you qualify for in terms of aid for the 2016-17 school year. Be sure to use the fafsa.ed.gov website because it is free. There are other websites that are similar but they charge you. You should file as soon as possible even though you do not have your 2015 tax information; just use your 2014 tax return. In many colleges aid is filled on a first-come-first-serve basis so do not delay.

CollegeBoard releases Trends in College Pricing Report

Tags: , , , Blog, Colleges, Financial Aid, General, Information, News, Parents, Students
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The CollegeBoard has released the findings of a study that investigated the cost of a college education in the United States.  The study considered several factors:  tuition, books, fees,  housing – including food.  The report noted that college prices have been rising more rapidly than the prices of other goods and services over the last three decades and that “the increasing economic inequality in the United States over recent decades has exacerbated the difficulty in paying for college for many students, in addition to straining federal, state, and institutional budgets.”

Advice for Students Using CommonApp

Tags: , Application, Blog, News, Students
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CommonApp now has more than 500 of the nations colleges/universities on their register.  A program that used to provide students with the opportunity to be quite creative and individualistic has fallen far short of that goal.  This year CommonApp released a new version of the application and has been plagued with problems ever since for all involved.  As different problems are exposed, the company has worked feverishly to find solutions.  The problem lies in the fact that students do not necessarily know that there is a problem.  CollegeBound strongly suggests that students check back regularly to verify that completed applications have been submitted.  A completed application includes the general application, application fee, supplement (if the college has one), and supporting documentation from recommender(s) and counselor, which includes the transcript.  The student must also remember to send their official scores from the testing agency.

How to Avoid Ending Up in the Unemployment Line

Tags: , , Blog, Career, Parents, Students
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Jeffrey Selingo, editor at large for The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, posts an article with some strong advice for college students — choose a major with rigor.  To many college students opt for a major that requires very little high-level reading and writing.  Many students use professor rating sites to choose the class with the least amount of out-of-class work and in the end, pay for this decision in the job market.  Mr. Selingo’s advice, challenge yourself in college with difficult courses.  “Look for classes that require you to read more than forty pages a week or write more than twenty pages over the course of an entire semester. Such deep experiences writing and reading improve your reading comprehension and communications skills, both important markers for employers.”

Common App Essay Prompt Advice

Tags: , , , , Application, Blog, Colleges, General, Information, Parents, Students, Uncategorized
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The Common Application will open on August 1 for the new cycle of 2014 college applications.  Many students are trying to get a head start on the application essays prior that date.  It is a great idea to at least start the brainstorming portion of the essay writing process; however, students should not feel as though they need to have everything completed before the start of the senior year.  But where to start?  What is the college looking for?  Ted Spencer, Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director at The University of Michigan, Undergraduate Admissions, says that “the most important thing is to hear the student’s voice. We’re looking for a story.”  In interview after interview with college admissions directors, the idea is the same.  They want to know who you are, what will you bring to their community.  They are not interested in a typical English class essay; they want a story — your story.

Student Loans Set to Increase July 1

Tags: Blog, Financial Aid, General, News, Parents, Students
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There are two new bills in Congress that affect student loans, with ramifications for parents as well as students who are using federally funded student loans to pay for college.   H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, sponsored by Rep. John Kline (Republican from MN), was passed by the House of June 3, 2013.  S.B 682, the Student Loan Fairness Act is still pending in the Senate.  Both Bills have implications regarding the rate of interest of students loans that are set to hike on July 1, 2013.  US News and World Report Education section offers an explanation of the new student loan proposals.

Transitioning from High School to College

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As graduating seniors head off to college this fall, they will receive all kinds of advice from well-meaning loved ones. Who should the new college freshman listen to? One of the best pieces of advice is offered from perfect strangers at the New York Times in an article entitled 7 Things Graduating Seniors Should Know About College, written by Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman.

Space Still Available for Fall of 2013

Application, Blog, Colleges, General, Information, News, Parents, Scholarships, Students, Uncategorized
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The National Association of College Admissions Counseling [NACAC] keeps a running list of colleges and universities with spaces available for admission, for financial aid, and for housing for both freshmen and for transfer students.  This sight will be active through June 28 on the NACAC website.  This list, composed of approximately 72% private and 28% public institutions, is significantly lower that the number available last year and the lowest in the history of the survey.

New Program at DePaul Saves Students Time and Money

Blog, Colleges, Information, Parents, Students
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DePaul University announces  new programs entitled the 3+4 Pathways programs in Pharmacy and Podiatric Medicine, which allow students to become practicing professionals a year earlier than usual.

These programs enable highly qualified and motivated students the opportunity to accelerate their pursuit of a career in health. Students in the 3+4 programs will spend three years of undergraduate study at DePaul. If accepted for early admission to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, they complete their fourth year at Rosalind Franklin University while simultaneously beginning their graduate studies. Students will earn their bachelor’s degree from DePaul and their professional degree from Rosalind Franklin. Read More