College planning and saving advice from the experts
2020
Calculating Financial Aid Eligibility
Eligibility can vary significantly from one college to the next simply because of the COA. At College A, the student can receive up to $40,000 in financial aid, but is only eligible for up to $10,000 at College B.Colleges determine eligibility for need-based financial...
Ask the Expert: Waitlists
My high school senior was waitlisted at one of the colleges they applied to. What happens next? First, provide encouragement. A wait list offer means the college would like to admit the student if a space opens up—they...
2019
Ask the Expert: Scholarships and Financial Aid
I’ve heard I shouldn’t apply for outside scholarships because it will impact my financial aid. Is that true? All outside scholarships need to be reported to the financial aid office at the colleges you are applying to....
Scholarships: Tips for Searching and Applying
A great place to start is through online search platforms such as Fastweb, Cappex, College Board and scholarships.com. These are just a few of the search tools available where students can create a profile and filter through millions of dollars of available...
Ask the Expert: Building the College List
What's the right number of colleges to apply to? We’ve seen an increasing trend of students applying to more and more colleges—it’s not uncommon to find students applying to over ten or fifteen schools these days....
Top 5 FAFSA Tips
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is required by all colleges, and in some cases, it’s the only application needed to award financial aid from all sources. The FAFSA can be completed online at FAFSA.gov as early as October 1st to apply for the...