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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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What parents should have their kids should do during Quarantine
While it may seem like it’s been forever since we’ve been able to freely go about our business without the coronavirus hovering over our heads, it’s really been “only” a few weeks. Coming up with new and interesting things to do, in addition to the online classes most students have had to take during this…
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12th GradersHow Parents Can Help Students Handle Admissions Decisions
Parents of Seniors – For many students and families in the coming weeks, college decisions will cause many emotions. They are the culmination of years of hard work, commitment, and energy. Here are a few things to remember as parents: How To Handle An Acceptance Never take any college acceptance for granted. One person’s “safety”…
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FinanceCollege Grants for Women: A Complete Guide
Women are eligible for gender-based grants offered on the basis of financial need or pure merit. You just have to know where to look. Here’s our complete to finding college grants for women. 17 College Grants for Women Like other forms of financial aid, grants are designed to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of higher education.…
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College Financial PlanningEssential College Tuition Facts
When it comes to choosing a college, price is one of the top considerations, and tuition the largest part of the cost. While there are ways to reduce the expense of college, tuition can only be lowered through financial aid. This is one of many tuition facts that college-bound students need to know. Here are…
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12th GradersCollege Decision Day: It May Not Be What You Think
In the past, College Decision Day signified the deadline for seniors to choose the college or university they wanted to attend—the culmination of the college selection process. But the process has changed in a number of ways and for a variety of reasons. The changes went largely under the radar during the pandemic, when the…
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College Financial Planning7 Costly Mistakes About Paying For College
What’s the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make? If you’re about to say “a house,” stop and think for another second. Did your house cost $250,000 plus four years’ wages? That’s the cost of a private college education these days. The cost of public schools, while cheaper, is still likely to exceed $100,000 once you…
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Standardized TestingWhat is a Good PSAT Score?
Many students take the PSAT each year, from freshmen to juniors. There are a variety of reasons students take the test. Some want to prepare for the SAT by taking the PSAT, and others are trying to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. Either way, it’s important to understand what’s a good PSAT score. PSAT…
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Financial Aid AppealsSample Financial Aid Appeal Letters
If you’ve determined that you have good cause to appeal your financial aid award, and, as a result, have made the decision to appeal, it’s important to write a convincing financial aid appeal letter. Reading about how others have successfully navigated the appeals process can be invaluable. In addition, having a basic guideline for what…
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FinanceHow to Pay for College Without Loans
One of the biggest factors in higher-ed planning is figuring out how to pay for college without loans. Here are some of our top tips for lowering the out-of-pocket cost of higher education. 9 Ways to Pay for College Without Loans As you begin researching ways to pay for school, be aware that there are…
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ApplicationsNeed College Admissions Help? Stay Sane With These Tips & Tricks
When you have a teenager, each new year of high school inches them closer and closer to graduation. And if attending college is part of their post-graduation plan, what looms ahead cannot be ignored. Many parents who have already journeyed down this path say that if your student is a junior or senior, the insanity…
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11th GradersThree Established Facts About College Selection From an Expert
In trying to come up with reasonable facts about college, one can easily say that there are very few things that remain “static” about higher education. Costs seem to rise with each passing semester, interest rates on college loans are forever fluctuating, and the algorithms that schools use in order to create a “perfect” class…
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ParentingAdvice From Parents on Applying and Paying for College
We asked parents from our Paying for College 101 Facebook community to tell us one thing they’ve learned about the college application and college financing process that they didn’t know at the start of their journey. Their responses touched on topics ranging from finding the right school and navigating the application process, to the woes…
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ParentingChasing Merit Scholarships and Surviving the Road to College
Have you ever wondered about how other families go about chasing merit while navigating the (very long) road to college? Once you read the story below from a parent in our Paying for College 101 group, you will have a good idea of how they do it and how sometimes bumpy that journey can be.…
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ScholarshipsFinding Scholarships for High School Juniors
Financial aid that is awarded to students based on merit is called merit aid (or merit scholarships). Unlike need-based aid, private scholarships for high school juniors are awarded to students who achieve certain standards in academics and/or extracurricular activities, or who meet established guidelines. Can a Junior in High School Apply for Merit Scholarships? While…
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College Financial PlanningScholarships With February Deadlines
Here is a list of scholarships, all of which have February deadlines. Association of Women in Mathematics Essay Contest Amount: Varies Apply by: February 1, 2026 Description: Contest is open to students in grades 6 through 12 and undergraduate students. Students must submit an essay based on an interview with a woman currently working in…
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ApplicationsCollege Interview Questions You Can Expect
College interviews can be intimidating. While pretty much every other aspect of the application process takes place from behind the safety of a computer screen, the interview requires interaction with—gulp!—another real, live human being. But this process doesn’t have to be so scary. Preparation will help you immensely in feeling confident before your interview. Read…
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College Search12 Assumptions to Avoid When Choosing a College
This story was first published in our Paying for College 101 Facebook community. It’s been edited for clarity and flow. During my work in college admissions I’ve heard many versions of the statements below from parents and students about choosing a college. Full disclosure: I am a champion of small colleges, but that does not…
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College AdmissionsCollege Advisor Wants You to Know These College Admissions Tips
This story was first published in our Paying for College 101 Facebook community. It’s been edited for clarity and flow. Our Paying for College 101 Facebook group members are a generous source of reliable, practical knowledge about the college admission process. They regularly pay it forward by sharing what they’ve learned. Here, a member of our…
