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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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ApplicationsStay on Track With This College Application Checklist
Students and families need to stay on track to find the right college at the right price, so we’re providing this comprehensive college application checklist. Use this resource to give yourself enough time to build a list of potential colleges and then complete your applications without unnecessary stress. Your College Application Checklist Our Road2College members…
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ApplyWhy Starting College in the Spring or Summer Might Be Your Best College Move Yet
As colleges wrap up their acceptances and denials for the next fall, many students are receiving deferrals that grant them admission for spring or even summer semesters. In some cases, they’ll have to wait six months to begin taking classes, and in others, they’re being asked to start college earlier than expected. The trend is…
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AdviceSAT Prep Guide: 9 Steps to Raise Your Score in 2026
Editor’s Note: The author, Dr. Kelly Frindell, is a test prep expert and owner of InHouse Test Prep. Students across the U.S. started taking the new digital SAT in 2024. It requires different test preparation than the old paper SAT, so we’re offering this practical guide on how to prepare for the all-new digital SAT,…
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AdviceParents Share The Ugly Truth of College Waitlists—And How To Handle It
Ugh, the dreaded waitlist. If there’s one thing that drives students and parents crazy, it’s ending up on a college’s waitlist. Sure, there’s still a chance that you may get accepted — but the odds are often slim, and being in limbo makes it hard to move forward with other schools, which creates its own…
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FinanceColleges Offering Merit Aid to 95%+ of Students Without Need
If you’re a family that won’t qualify for need-based aid, it’s time to start looking for merit scholarships. What Are Merit Scholarships? Merit-based aid is money that colleges award that is not based on any financial need. These scholarships are usually awarded based on academic performance and sometimes based on special talents in athletics, sports,…
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FinanceSix Key Strategies to Lower Your SAI
Families often look for ways to qualify for more need-based financial aid. The number that determines this is the Student Aid Index (SAI) — the figure colleges use to estimate how much your family can contribute toward college costs. If you’ve heard the term Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in the past, the SAI replaced it…
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AdviceHow To Survive Senior Year, From Parents Who’ve Been There
Senior year of high school is stressful for everyone — parents, students, and even the admin high school staff. It’s a year full of ups and downs, surprises, and confirmations, but it’s also a major milestone that deserves to be recognized and celebrated. We asked parents of high school seniors in our Paying for College…
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AdviceComplete Guide to Paying for College: Strategies & Tips
Many families use student loans as the primary way to pay for college. Fortunately, students have various funding options that don’t require taking out loans. To help, we explore funding and financial aid options, strategies to help you prepare for paying for college, and tips to manage loan repayments post-college. Understanding the Costs of College…
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Advice10 Ways to Win A Full-Ride College Scholarship
Less than 1 percent of students applying to college are offered a full ride, which usually covers tuition, plus room and board. But while it’s extremely rare, it’s certainly doable. Thousands of students achieve it every year. We asked parents in our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group to share what they think is the…
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AdviceHow To Find Schools For Less Than $20,000 Per Year
If you ever want honest-to-goodness advice about paying for college, ask a parent who’s already been through it. They are full of valuable information that can significantly impact your student’s future— and they’re usually more than happy to share their wisdom. One of the parents in our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group, Chrissy G.M.,…
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Advice5 Questions About Paying for College Every Parent Should Ask Their Child — Before It’s Too Late
It’s one thing to talk to your child about going to college and perhaps even which colleges they may want to apply to, but too few parents get into the nitty-gritty of how to pay for said college, and how that may impact their choices now and their lives later. Below, we look at five…
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College List BuildingComplete Guide to the Western Undergraduate Exchange
If you live in a western state, you may qualify for a tuition discount at participating out-of-state colleges. Here is your guide to the Western Undergraduate Exchange. What Is the Western Undergraduate Exchange? The WUE a regional tuition-discount agreement administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WUE enables students from one of…
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AdviceWhich Is Better, AP or Dual Enrollment?
Over the past few years, there’s been a significant increase in the number of high school students who take college-level courses, whether via AP classes or dual enrollment (DE). Both have the potential to save students time and money, and both can help them begin to develop a college identity, giving them a boost of…
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FinanceCSS Profile vs. FAFSA: How They Differ and Why You Might Need Both
There are two main financial aid forms: the FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and the CSS Profile, which stands for College Scholarship Service Profile. Understanding the purpose and differences between these forms is crucial for families navigating college financial aid. What Is the FAFSA? The FAFSA is the most common…
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AdviceThe Most Common College Application Mistakes to Avoid
If you could avoid the biggest mistake that most parents and students make when applying to college, would you? We asked parents in our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group whose children have already applied to college to share what they think is the top mistake that even smart applicants make. Some of their answers…
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AdviceFun, Clever, and Smart Ways to Handle College Rejections
Celebrating college acceptances is great, but how do you mark the other significant moment, rejection? We asked parents in our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group to share how college rejections were handled at their house, and dozens wrote in with unique and clever responses. “Last year our family had sparkling cider for acceptances and…
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College Financial PlanningShould Parents Foot The Bill Based on GPA?
Should decent grades be a requirement for you to help your child pay for college? We asked parents in our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group if they require their students to disclose their grades as a condition to paying for tuition and/or room and board, and hundreds of them shared their thoughts. “College is…
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Advice6 Ways This High School Counselor Says You Can Best Help Your Student
When a high school counselor begins with, “Let me be real frank with some of you,” you know you’re about to get an honest dose of reality. That’s just what happened when high school counselor Karen F. shared the following thoughts with parents on our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group. Hundreds of parents weighed…
