Author: Editor

“And as with any investment, but especially with college savings plans, it’s always best to begin putting aside money as soon as you can.” This tagline from U.S. News says it all. It doesn’t matter what you put your money into to save for college — starting as early as possible is universally the best decision you can make. But, when exactly should your financial plan begin for funding college? Ideally, it’s best to start when you’re thinking about having children. However, it’s most likely that more than a few years have passed since that time in your family’s life. So, let’s turn our thoughts from when to where. Here are my top 11 suggestions for the best places to save money for college tuition. How To Save Money For College Tuition – The Top 11 Places 1. Section 529 College Savings Pl...

Did you get a provisional offer of admission from your dream college? What does provisional admission mean, and what do you need to do next? And have you been accepted or not? Provisional admission can be confusing for students and parents to navigate, but we're here to explain the process as well as the steps you need to take to get that official admissions letter.   What Is Provisional Admission? If you receive a provisional offer of admission, what does that actually mean? A provisional admission means that you'll be admitted to the school provided you complete a certain set of requirements (these will be spelled out for you when you receive the provisional admission). The requirements are often one or more classes you need to complete (often earning a certain letter grade in them) or...

June 15, 2022 We applaud a rising Stanford freshman for shining a light on the importance of education in the Indian American community (photo credit: King of Hearts). Are you the child of immigrants from India? Do your parents’ friends go up to you at Costco and ask where you’ll be applying to college? Do you regularly Google the US News & World Report college rankings? If so, know that you’re not alone. Like many other young Indian Americans, your parents value education as they believe an elite American university will be your ticket to the American Dream. And your parents are not wrong. As we’ve shown time and again on the pages of this college admissions blog, attending an Ivy League or other high...

McDonald's charities offer many different scholarships for college-bound seniors all over the country, all with different awards and eligibility requirements. Because there's so much variability among awards, applying for a McDonald's scholarship can seem daunting. Ultimately, though, it's worth it to apply—since 1985, Ronald McDonald House Charities have given out over $65 million in scholarships. Wouldn't it be great to get a small piece of that? I'll walk you through the different types of scholarship awards that McDonald's offers, in addition to offering tips and strategies to optimize your chances of winning your own award. (more…)

If you're a student athlete who wants to play in NCAA Division I or Division II sports in college, then this article is for you! We'll review NCAA's eligibility criteria for your GPA and ACT score, which NCAA compares using a sliding scale. More importantly, we'll give you the tips and strategies you need to achieve the NCAA ACT scores required for passing the clearinghouse. First, let's quickly review how your grade point average, or GPA, is determined. (more…)

  Many students think that they should begin looking at college scholarships once they actually start applying to college—so some time early in their senior year. Although it's true that many big-name scholarships require applicants to be high school seniors, there are some great awards out there for younger students as well. So why not get a head start on applying for scholarship awards? You could win money for college, sure, but you'll also get experience with the scholarship application process before submitting even more applications during your senior year. We've compiled a list of scholarships for high school juniors. This list will be a great place to start, but you might also want to search for more targeted awards (e.g., by geographic area). You can browse the scholarships below...

The decision to attend college is a big one. Getting a college degree takes time: at least four years for most people. Getting a college degree also costs money: tens of thousands of dollars for most people. You might be asking yourself, "Is it worth it? Should I go to college?" In this article, I'll explain the benefits of going to college and detail some of the potential drawbacks. Furthermore, I'll give you all the information you need to decide whether or not you should pursue a college degree.   4 Major Benefits of Going to College Going to college can make you richer, happier, and healthier—sounds good to me! Here, we take a look at the four biggest benefits of attending college.   #1: There Are Many Financial and Career Benefits Let's start by considering the financial advanta...

There are numerous "Best ACT Books" lists out there. But we think most of them aren't very good or thorough, so I've tried to write a much better guide here. In this article, you'll learn which books are absolutely critical for your ACT prep, which focus on improving individual sections, and which you'll need if you're aiming for a top score. Most importantly, you'll learn how to use these top-notch ACT prep books for effective studying. This guide is pretty detailed, so here are some quick links you can use to jump around to different topics. That said, I recommend reading the whole article if you can!   What's Better About This Guide to the Best ACT Books? Because your ACT score is important for getting into college and you'll probably spend a good amount of time studying, it's impor...