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College List BuildingUC Berkeley Common Data Set
Sifting through a college’s Common Data Set can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the most important information from UC Berkeley’s most recent Common Data Set to provide you with the information you need at a quick glance. This guide contains key information from UC Berkeley Common Data Set 2025-2026. Berkeley Common Data…
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College List BuildingMIT Common Data Set
Sifting through a college’s Common Data Set can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the most important information from MIT’s most recent Common Data Set to provide you with the information you need at a quick glance. This guide contains key information from MIT’s Common Data Set for 2025-2026. MIT Common Data Set…
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College List BuildingDuke University Common Data Set
Sifting through a college’s Common Data Set can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the most important information from Duke’s most recent Common Data Set to provide you with the information you need, at a glance. This guide contains key information from Duke University Common Data Set 2025-2026. (This is the most recent…
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College List BuildingCornell University Common Data Set
Sifting through a college’s Common Data Set can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the most important information from Cornell’s most recent Common Data Set to provide you with the information you need at a quick glance. This guide contains key information from Cornell Common Data Set 2025-2026. Cornell Common Data Set Quick…
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College List BuildingJohns Hopkins University Common Data Set
Sifting through a college’s Common Data Set can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the most important information from Johns Hopkins’s most recent Common Data Set to provide you with the information you need at a quick glance. This guide contains key information from Johns Hopkins University’s Common Data Set 2025-2026. Johns Hopkins…
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College AdmissionsWhich Colleges Actually Cost the Most? Not the Ones You’d Think
Thirteen private colleges posted a price above $100,000 a year in 2025-26, but the average family paid a small share of that after aid. Here is why you can’t rank those schools (or many others) by their sticker price, and how to see what you will actually pay. Inside This Article: Quick Summary: College sticker…
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College AdmissionsThe Real Cost of Private College: Why Families Rarely Pay Full Price
Few families pay a private college’s full sticker price. Here is how private colleges set their real prices, what the data shows about various schools, and how to use it to target your best opportunities. Inside This Article: Quick Summary: The published price of a private college differs greatly from what most families actually pay.…
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ApplyHow Much Do Early Decision and Early Action Increase Admission Chances?
Applying early can boost your college admission odds, but how much depends on where you apply. Use this article’s ED and EA statistics and college lists to make smart admission decisions. Inside This Article: Quick Summary: Applying early can improve your admission odds, but where you apply matters far more than when. At the…
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College List BuildingUniversity of Chicago Common Data Set
Sifting through a college’s Common Data Set can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the most important information from University of Chicago’s most recent Common Data Set to provide you with the information you need, at a quick glance. This guide contains key information from University of Chicago’s Common Data Set 2025-2026. University of…
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College Financial PlanningPurdue University Merit Scholarships
Finding individual college merit scholarship information can take a lot of time. Instead, we’ve gathered the statistics you need to know about Purdue University’s merit scholarships, at a quick glance. Before diving in, make sure to review The Ultimate Guide to Merit Scholarships. Purdue University’s Merit Scholarships Statistics Presidential Scholarship Requirements: This scholarship seeks to…
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AdviceHow Our Student Got Two Full-Ride Offers for Biomedical Engineering — And What We Learned Along the Way
The Bottom Line Up Front We have a high SAI (around $88K), so $0 from need-based aid — everything was merit-based. In the end, our daughter, Alice, got two full-ride offers at two amazing programs, was waitlisted for one full-tuition scholarship, and received some great merit offers from other schools. The focus of her list…
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AdviceFreshman Year Loneliness Is Normal — Here’s What to Tell Your Student Before They Leave
This story was first shared in our Paying for College 101 Facebook community. It’s been edited for clarity and flow. Kellsey Stokes is a wife and mom of two who attended Davidson College, worked in college ministry at Salem College and Wake Forest University, and holds a master’s degree in Counseling. She knows firsthand what freshman…
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College List BuildingColleges That Change Lives: The List of 44, Comparisons, and How to Choose
The “colleges that change lives,” arising from a 1996 book with that title, are 45 small liberal arts colleges touted for their personal approach and lifelong impact. This article delves into the book’s historical significance, its widespread influence, and the distinctive attributes of these schools. Explore our chart of all 45 “Colleges That Change Lives”…
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Financial aidHow Work-Study Actually Works (and How to Land the Good Jobs)
By Debbie Schwartz, founder of Road2College Work-study is one of the most misunderstood lines on a college aid offer. Families see a dollar amount and assume it’s money the college will hand over, or that it comes straight off the tuition bill. It’s neither. Work-study is a chance for your student to earn that amount…
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FinanceHow to Find Your Real SAI Before Senior Year (Without Anyone Seeing It)
By Debbie Schwartz, founder of Road2College Your Student Aid Index is the single number that decides whether colleges think your family needs financial aid. And you can find out yours long before your student applies, privately, without a single college ever seeing it. Knowing your SAI early changes how you build a college list. It…
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AdviceThe Student Loan Questions Our 310,000 Families Ask Most
by Debbie Schwartz, Founder of Road2College Note: This article is sponsored by Citizens®. Road2College maintains editorial control over content and recommendations. Every year, the same questions surface in our Paying for College 101 Facebook community of 310,000+ families. Not the definitional ones. Families figure out what a loan is. The questions that keep coming back…
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ApplyIs an Honors College Worth It? Ask What You’d Miss Without It
Editor’s Note: The writer, Debbie Schwartz, is the founder of Road2College. “Is an honors college worth it?” is the wrong question, or at least an incomplete one. The better question is specific to each school: what would your student actually miss without it? At some colleges, it unlocks perks that every student already gets. At…
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College Financial PlanningTuition Payment Plans: The Interest-Free Way to Chip Away at Your Bill
Editor’s Note: The writer, Debbie Schwartz, is the founder of Road2College. Families tend to think about paying for college in two buckets: money they’ve saved, and money they’ll borrow. There’s a third source that’s easy to overlook — the income coming in each month while your student is in school. A tuition payment plan is…
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College Financial PlanningUse the Common Data Set to Find Colleges That Give Merit Scholarships
Editor’s Note: The writer, Debbie Schwartz, is the founder of Road2College. Every college quietly publishes a report that shows exactly how much merit aid it gives out, to how many students, and the average award. It’s called the Common Data Set, it’s free and public, and most families never see it. For anyone chasing merit…
