-
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…
- ACT
- Advice
- Apply
- Careers
- College Admissions
- College Financial Planning
- College List Building
- College prep
- College Sports
- Community College
- COVID-19
- Curated Articles
- Family Journeys
- Federal Loans
- Finance
- Financial Aid Appeals
- Find Scholarships
- Gift Ideas
- High School Academics & Activities
- ICYMI
- Learn
- Merit Scholarships
- Military
- News
- Paying Off Loans
- Plan
- SAT
- SAT Prep
- Season
- Standardized Testing
- Student & Parent Loans
- Student Athletes
- Survive
- Test Taking
- Uncategorized
- Vocational schools
- What You Need to Know
-
College List Building15 Colleges Frugal With Financial Aid
In case you haven’t heard, some colleges are more likely to provide institutional scholarships and grants than others. Some are generous with merit aid while others give better need-based aid. And just as some colleges are known for their aid, there are those that are known for the lack of it. In this post, we’re…
-
Paying Off LoansIs College Worth It?
Right now, there’s a bit of a debate surrounding college. As college costs rise and student loan debt weighs on more graduates, some are starting to ask this question: “Is college worth it?” However, like so many things in life, there’s no one answer. It’s not cut and dry. In fact, there are several factors…
-
Financial aidFinancial Aid Definitions You Need to Know
The financial aid process is full of terminology that not everyone is familiar with. To help, we put together an alphabetical list of commonly used financial aid terms and their definitions. Be sure to bookmark the list to keep it handy! A Acceptance Rate: The percentage of students, out of everyone who applied for admission…
-
Student & Parent LoansFactors Impacting Your Student Loan Repayment
Getting a student loan is essential to most students receiving a college education. Whether your child opted for a federal loan, a private loan, or a combination of both, they probably some kind of loan to help afford school. What they may wonder, especially as they approach graduation, is exactly how much they’re going to…
-
Student & Parent LoansFederal and Private Student Loans From A to Z
If your student will need loans for college, it pays to know what’s available in federal and private student loans and carefully consider your options. As of 2025, 43 million U.S. college graduates carried an average of $39,075 in federal loan debt. When you are looking for student loans, there is a dizzying array of…
-
College List BuildingCollege Campus Tour Red Flags: What to Look for on a Visit
A campus may appear to have it all. The best professors in a particular major. An active campus life. Beautifully designed dorms. Championship sports. That is when you see a college on paper or online. But visit a campus, and an entirely different picture might emerge. Sometimes, what you and your student research about a…
-
ScholarshipsCollege Scholarships for High School Students
The process of finding college scholarships for high school students can be confusing and overwhelming for students and parents alike. Most families want to know: Is It Worth It to Apply for Scholarships? Absolutely — but only if a student is willing to put in the work it takes to apply correctly. That means using…
-
Financial aidAnswers to Your Frequently Asked FAFSA Questions
Don’t have a FAFSA meltdown. Get answers to frequently asked FAFSA questions to help you through the process.
-
College LifeWhat’s It Like Attending Top Party Schools?
Should your student attend a “party school?” There comes a time during the college search process when a high school student and their parent must formulate a list of potential schools to apply to. This decision is only made trickier by the fact that not only must they consider the academics, rankings, and resources of…
-
College AdmissionsDOJ Pushes Changes In College Admissions Recruiting: How Your Student Will Be Affected
Brace yourself for a change in the way colleges admit students. The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) Code of Ethics serves as a guidepost for its nearly 8,000 college and university members. It not only steered them, but, more or less, dictated how college admissions worked throughout the United States. Yes, it kept…
-
Financial aidHow to Apply For FAFSA: A Step by Step Walkthrough
Watch this extremely informative and helpful video as Luanne Lee, a college funding expert from Your College Planning Coach, goes step by step through how to fill out the FAFSA. Other resources we have to help you with FAFSA include: Best Resources For Getting Help With FAFSA 2020-21 How Is Your FAFSA EFC Calculated? Reviewing…
-
Standardized TestingWhat Is a National Merit Scholarship? Should Your Student Try?
Of course, you’ve heard of the PSAT, but did you know that the PSAT is more than just a prep test for the SAT? It’s also the exam that can qualify your student as a National Merit Scholarship winner. To win the National Merit Scholarship, your student must do extremely well on the PSAT during…
-
Financial Aid AppealsNegotiating College Tuition Tips: How to Get a Better Deal From Your School
You don’t walk into a car dealership and expect to pay sticker price. It’s assumed you’ll haggle and ask for incentives to bring the price down. The same is true of college. Believe it or not, college financial aid packages are subject to negotiation. The key is knowing how to win a financial aid appeal.…
-
Find ScholarshipsApplying to College Scholarships? Avoid These Mistakes
This might surprise you, but college scholarship judges are everyday people who want to bless a student with the scholarship money from the company or organization they are representing. Some scholarships result in hundreds, and quite possibly thousands, of applications to wade through, however. So student need to keep in mind that these judges can…
-
Parents & teensMom Pays it Forward to Parents of Seniors
A mom of three offers advice to parents of high school seniors on how to handle the emotions during the months leading up to your child leaving for college.
-
ApplyIs a Brand-Name College Worth the Extra Cost?
The Tale of Two Colleges—which one should you choose? Is a Prestigious College Worth It? A brand-name college with no offer for aid or a less prestigious university with an attractive financial package? Assuming an ability to meet college costs at either of these choices, which do you choose? And how do you actually make…
-
Survive“Failure to Launch” Is Not a Label You Want for Your Child
A few years ago, there was a film in the theaters called “Failure to Launch.” . It was a romantic comedy about an adult who couldn’t commit to either an adult relationship or an adult lifestyle. It was a light and humorous story. And it was fiction. Not exactly Oscar material, but it was entertaining…
-
Student & Parent LoansHow to Help Your Student Start Building Credit Before College
When it comes to paying for college, one of the keys is to have excellent credit. Your child may not start off at age 18 with good credit, but they can build it if they are financially responsible over time. As they build good credit, they will be eligible for better rates and may be…
