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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 Financial Planning10 Tips to Get the Most Financial Aid From Colleges
If you’re a parent of a high school student, make a resolution to gain a better understanding of how colleges determine their financial aid packages. Unlike what a typical financial aid information evening at your child’s high school may lead you to believe, there are a lot more complexities that go on behind that financial aid…
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College List Building10 Important Tips to Get the Most Out of Your College Visit
For high school juniors and their families, if it’s spring break, or the period leading up to it, it’s most likely college tour planning or attendance time. Visiting schools online has its own benefits, but seeing a school in person can really help narrow down a student’s top choices. It’s a good bet that an…
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Finance5 Myths About How to Pay for College
When our children were born, way back when, we thought we were diligent by opening a 529 plan before they turned one and contributing to it on a regular basis. Back then, tuition at an elite school (like Stanford) was $20,490*. Many of us weren’t even aware of tuition costs, but we assumed our attention…
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College LifeMoney-Saving Tips After You’ve Dealt With Tuition
Getting merit aid and appropriate financial assistance can help with tuition and even room and board. But there are more ways you can save during the college process. From getting the best deals on textbooks to taking summer classes, and knowing which credits will or will not transfer – these things and more will help…
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Financial Aid AppealsMaking Sense of Your Financial Aid Award Letters
The spring months can be considered “crunch time” for families in the college selection process. By then, most of the admission decisions are in and, and students will now be turning their attention to the final choice of a college as May 1st, National Decision Day approaches. It’s an exciting—and nerve-wracking—time to be sure, especially…
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College SavingsOne Mom Shares 5 Ways to Save for College
We’re always looking for ways to save for college. After all, the cost of college keeps going up. Over in our Paying For College 101 Facebook group, you can find great discussions about the most helpful things you can do to save money for college. One mom in the group even listed out some of…
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Community CollegeThree Advantages to Attending Community College Before a Four-Year School
For some, the idea of community college feels like a letdown or disappointment. However, it is nothing to scoff at, and it certainly shouldn’t be removed from consideration for any prospective college student. The Community College Stigma In 2023, over 10 million students were enrolled in community colleges across the nation. However, enrollment at community…
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College Financial PlanningParents: Do You Feel Obligated to Pay for College?
Angela Hunter’s nine-year-old twin girls are several years away from attending college, but that doesn’t mean Hunter doesn’t think about it. She definitely does. Hunter, who is an English professor, is still paying off loans for her three degrees. That debt, hopefully, will be paid by the time her twins graduate high school. Even if…
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FinanceBest Resources for Getting Help With FAFSA
If you’re like many parents, the thought of completing the FAFSA fills you with dread. You may wonder if you have everything you need, or if you’re going to make a costly mistake. Unfortunately, these fears can lead to you to procrastinate, which is the absolute worst thing you can do. Instead, review this complete…
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Standardized testsHow to Plan Your Studying: SAT and ACT Test Prep Calendar
A good study plan is crucial for passing the SAT or ACT. To plan well, it’s good to know the SAT and ACT test dates. And of course, several other factors – and study materials – go into creating your perfect SAT/ACT prep calendar. SAT Test Dates and ACT Test Dates One positive change regarding…
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Apply5 Things to Compare When Choosing a College (Besides Price)
As your student thinks about choosing a college, there are a lot of factors to consider. Of course, price is one of the biggest, and we work hard to provide a lot of information and tips about how to save money on school. But finances aren’t the only thing that makes a school ideal for…
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ApplicationsEarly Decision College Results From the Class of 2022
Once students learn the differences between early action vs. early decision and make their final choice, all there is left to do is wait. Below is a list of early decision results from common data sets of 2018 – 2019. (Please keep in mind all the comments below as you look over the numbers in…
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FinanceTalking to Your Kids About an Affordable College
The sky’s the limit; you can go anywhere and do anything! Well, at least that’s what most parents would love to be able to say to their student. The truth is, while effort can get you far, there are choices and tradeoffs to be made. Especially when it comes to choosing a college. With students,…
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ApplyThe College Search Process: Make a Checklist!
You’ve been discussing college for a few years with your child, but now it’s their junior or senior year of high school, and a final decision is looming. The questions can overwhelm any parent: Where? How much? Will we need loans? Can we even afford four years of college? Should we pay for everything? Where…
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CostsCollege’s Unexpected Fees
Like many parents across the country, Mike Mueller spent the summer helping his son, Jakob, prepare for his freshman year at Washington University in St. Louis. Of course, that also meant, for Mueller, studying the family’s finances and watching for any unexpected college fees and expenses that could catch Mueller off guard. What Are a…
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ApplyCreating a Realistic List of Colleges We Could Afford
The college process started for us the beginning of junior year. My son had taken the PSAT and a practice ACT and did pretty well. He had always been an A student, with AP and honors classes, so we were shooting fairly high in his choices of colleges. As part of our college visits, we…
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FinanceWhat’s the Point of Knowing Your EFC?
Editor’s Note: This article applies to the 2023-24 FAFSA and earlier. The 2024-25 FAFSA has been revamped and uses a metric called Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of EFC. Jenni, a member of our Paying For College 101 Facebook group, studied her family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) early in the college application process. That’s because she knew she…
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FinanceColleges With the Best Financial Aid
With college being so expensive, it’s no surprise that many people are looking for the colleges that offer the most financial aid. Being able to avoid paying at least some of the hefty price tag of a college education is a big deal — especially since it can help you avoid the cost of debt.…
