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College List Building
UC 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…

September 13, 2026

College Admissions
April 26, 2020

Colleges Are Considering These Options for Fall 2020

If we’ve learned one thing about COVID-19, it’s that we need to expect the unexpected. So much so, that as Siri says (repeatedly) when we’ve taken a wrong turn, “recalculating” has become a way of life. As a result, the world of higher ed is coming up with multiple scenarios for managing the 2019-2020 school…
College Life
April 24, 2020

Online Learning: How to Help Your Child Excel

As the parent of a high school or college-aged child, you’re likely being put to the test, literally–as teacher, and/or chief encourager. To help you both, we’ve collected online learning tips so you can power up and on–and, perhaps, with a little less stress. Although it may seem like it is, online learning is not…
Today's issues
April 24, 2020

After COVID: How Will Our Lives Be Different?

While right now we’re stuck fully in the center of the novel coronavirus pandemic, there’s no doubt that all of us spend time thinking about the days when things returns to normal and a virus isn’t dictating daily life. But is a complete return to “normal” even a possibility? Even now, this pandemic and its…
College Life
April 22, 2020

Leaning Toward Community College as a Result of COVID-19? Here’s What You Should Know

Research has shown that many high school seniors who hadn’t considered attending a community college before COVID-19 emerged worldwide, will now add two-year schools to their roster of options. Come September, more students than ever will pivot toward attending local community colleges instead of traditional, often far from home, four-year universities. The issue of community…
College Financial Planning
April 21, 2020

Rutgers New Brunswick 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 Rutgers’ merit scholarships, at a quick glance. Before diving in, make sure to review The Ultimate Guide to Merit Scholarships. Rutgers’ Merit Scholarships Statistics Rutgers’ Merit Scholarships Rutgers First-Year Student Awards International Student…
Applications
April 20, 2020

What I Would Have Done Differently When I Was Applying to College

Almost all my friends have decided where they will be going to college next year. So it’s time to pass on my bits of advice to juniors, who are just about to enter the whirlwind maze of the college process. When I was in your shoes last year, I wish a graduating senior had passed…
High School Academics & Activities
April 20, 2020

Pros and Cons of AP Classes

AP — Advanced Placement classes and tests — were first developed in the 1950s to help college admissions officials determine potential student competency. Their popularity has grown tremendously since, and many highly competitive schools all but require them to even be considered for admission. They are a popular choice for many high school students and…
College List Building
April 20, 2020

Is It a Good Idea to Take a Gap Year?

Gap years are popular in Europe, but only recently have gained traction in the United States. According to US News & World Report, “40,000 to 60,000 students take a gap year each year.” The idea gained popularity when, in 2016, Malia Obama took a gap year before entering Harvard and traveled to Bolivia and Paraguay.…
College Financial Planning
April 19, 2020

9 Tips to Help You Play the Financial Aid Game

Over the last decade, the process of getting into college has become akin to playing a “game.” The “winners” are good at understanding the rules of the game and then figuring out ways to maneuver through it, legally and strategically, of course. In order to successfully complete the game, the contestants must know to how…
College List Building
April 18, 2020

Which College Majors May Be Influenced by the Pandemic?

The long-term effects of COVID-19 on our society as a whole, and on our individual health, is still unknown. What we do know is that throughout history, when there’s been major economic upheaval, people go to school to get degrees hoping to build a better world, and to make a good living. Whatever major a…
College Life
April 17, 2020

Transferring From One College to Another: What You Need to Know

College is not for everyone, and every college is not for every student. There is no shame in a student realizing that the school they thought was “the perfect” school back on May 1, was by March of their freshman year, not so perfect. In a recent article, the author Anne Brady discussed the reasons…
Finance
April 17, 2020

Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Families with High School and College Students

Uncle Ed once said “Life is like baseball. Most of the time, nothing happens.” However, even Uncle Ed would admit to being wrong the last few weeks. In one of the most challenging periods in the last century, the Coronavirus has roiled healthcare systems and everyday life, with citizens wondering what the ramifications are for…
Applications
April 17, 2020

Applying to College When Mom Is a College Admissions Pro

Across 16 years as a grant writer for a nonprofit that helps low-income kids apply and get into college, I kept up to date on the latest research and statistics, best practices, and trends in college admissions and access. I also spent several summers serving as a writing coach to guide kids through the process…
Financial Aid Appeals
April 15, 2020

How Two Students Successfully Appealed Their Financial Aid Awards

It may not be as simple as marketplace haggling, but bargaining with your college’s financial aid office can be worth the hassle. Playing schools’ offers off one another can pay off in subtle ways (a well-paying work-study job) or change your whole college trajectory. All this because of a secret most college applicants forget: Sure,…
College Financial Planning
April 14, 2020

Scholarships with May Deadlines

All-Star College Scholarship Amount: Up to $10,000 Apply by: May 1, 2026 Description: Open to children adopted at or after the age of 13 to provide increased opportunities for advanced education. Sponsor: UMPS Care Charities Brightsprout Crossword Scholarship Amount: $1,000 Apply by: May 1, 2026 Description: Open to all incoming undergraduate students who create one…
College Financial Planning
April 14, 2020

How to Pay for College Without Student Loans

Here’s the $1000,000 or quarter million dollar question depending on whether you’re considering private or public colleges… Can you pay for college without student loans? And despite the fact that there are so many horror stories about people paying student loans into their retirement, believe it or not, your answer SHOULD be “yes.” Getting through…
College List Building
April 14, 2020

Choosing a School Away From Home During a Pandemic

Figuring out where to go to college is one of the biggest decisions your child will make. There are a number of factors to think about, and now, with COVID-19 impacting whether campuses will be open in the fall, that decision, especially as it relates to attending college away from home, has gotten more complicated.…
College List Building
April 12, 2020

How to Visit a Campus Without Leaving Home

You know what they say: Seeing is believing. So how can a prospective student properly evaluate a school and its campus if they can’t even step foot on it? High school students and their families who don’t have the time, money, or availability in their schedules to visit college campuses have learned to reinterpret the…