College Planning

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...

Getting ready to take the PreACT? Then you might be wondering whether you should prep for it—and what resources you can use. Is there a PreACT practice test you can take? What kinds of PreACT resources does ACT, Inc. offer? Keep reading to learn why it's a good idea to lightly prep for the PreACT, and get a comprehensive list of the best PreACT practice tests and materials you can use in your studying.   Why You Should Prep for the PreACT The PreACT was created to act as an ACT practice test for 10th graders. Because your PreACT score does not count toward any grades and is not reported to colleges, you're generally not expected to prep too hard (if at all) for the exam. That said, it can be a good idea to do some light prep, especially if your ultimate goal is to achieve a high scor...

If your child is planning on attending college after they graduate high school, it’s important to get an early start on academic preparation. It’s pretty hard to boost a 2.5 GPA to a 3.5 when you have only one year left. But academics aren’t the only consideration in college admissions. While there is no specific combination of factors that will guarantee your student a spot at their preferred college, a survey compiled by the National Association for College Admission Counseling reports that, besides academics, admissions officers look at factors like test results, community involvement, and demonstrated interest. Here are 5 tips to make the most of high school in preparation for college! 1. High School Academic Success In the estimation of college admissions officials, doing well in hig...

It can be difficult to keep your notes organized throughout the school year, especially in a class that covers so much content. This article will give you links to notes on every topic included in the AP Chemistry curriculum. If you're missing some of your notes, or if you just want a more structured overview of what you need to know for the exam, you've come to the right place! We'll also give you some study tips so that you can use both these notes and the notes you took throughout the year to your best advantage.   How to Use These AP Chemistry Notes The notes in this article can be used to study smaller portions of the curriculum or to review for the final AP Chemistry exam. There are currently nine units that organize all the concepts in the course, so we've categorized these no...

  It's hard to know where to begin when studying for AP World History. Though the exam mainly covers broad themes and trends, there's so much information to sift through that it can be easy to get lost in the weeds. Review books can help guide your study plan, ensure that you revisit the most important concepts, and teach you critical test-taking strategies. In this article, we'll go through the best books to use for studying AP World History and how you can choose one that will give you the tools you need to ace this test.   What's in This Guide to the Best AP World History Books? This is a list of the most helpful review books you can use to study for the AP World History exam and other assessments in class throughout the year. These books are meant to be used in conjunction with ...

The eight schools in the Ivy League are among the most well-known and selective universities both within the US and in the world at large. Because of this, Ivy League (and similarly selective non-Ivy) schools have tens of thousands of students from whom to choose their class of 2026. But what are Ivy League schools' acceptance rates, and how have those rates changed over time? In this analysis, we'll look at Ivy League admissions, from the number of applicants to the number of students who ultimately end up attending. In addition to the eight Ivy League schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale), we'll also consider eight equally selective non-Ivy League national universities: Caltech, Duke, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Stanford, UChicago, an...

Sometimes life happens and you end up missing an AP exam. Naturally, since the tests are expensive and you want to take them while the material is still fresh in your mind, you may want to make up the exam. In this article, I'll go over what to do if you know in advance you won't be able to make your AP exam, what to do in an emergency, how AP late testing works, and situations in which you might not be able to make up the test—and what to do about it.   What to Do When You Know You'll Be Missing Your AP Test There are a variety of reasons that you might find that the exam you signed up for a few months ago conflicts with something you can't avoid. As soon as you realize you may have a conflict with the exam, you should get in touch with your school's AP coordinator to discuss AP lat...

iStock It was the spring of 1985 and all I wanted was a Swatch watch. There wasn’t a specific one that I wanted; I just really wanted a Swatch. I had spent most of ‘84 ogling the bold plastic watches that I would see some of my lucky friend’s wear. In the mall we would walk past the glass display box in the department store on the way to the Naturalizer store for my mom’s beige work pumps. The loud colorful watches were screaming, “Look at me!” I always did. There were so many to choose from, too many. After what felt like years of asking and pleading for a Swatch, my mom finally agreed, but on one condition.  “If you clean up the yard, I’ll take you to pick out a Swatch.”  Well, it was springtime in Texas, so the yard was full of weeds. My job was to pull the weeds. That ...

Hitting the submit button on your college applications typically leads to feelings of great accomplishment and relief. However, before you put your feet up and relax, you need to make sure you’ve taken care of a few key items to solidify the process. It’s crucial to review each college’s website so that you know exactly what else needs to be submitted to complete your “application file”. Here’s an overview of what to do after you submit a college application to ensure you’re on the right track. Step 1 – Send Your Official Transcripts Official transcripts must be sent from your high school to each college you are applying to.  This may be done electronically through a transcript service such as parchment or manually through your school’s counseling office.  Check with your high school co...

The free-response section is the hardest part of any AP test. Although AP Human Geography is much more straightforward than some other humanities AP exams, if you don't have your stuff down, the free-response section can still hit you where it hurts. In this article, we'll go through the structure of the free-response section, some helpful tips for answering AP Human Geography FRQs, examples of what these free-response questions look like, and a few places where you can find the best practice materials.   AP Human Geography Free Response Section Format There are three questions on the free-response section, each worth 7 raw points. You'll get one hour and 15 minutes to answer all three questions, or about 25 minutes per question. Your free-response score accounts for half your AP Hum...

When you're studying for your AP Literature Exam, you're going to want to use practice tests and questions to hone your skills. But where can you find AP literature practice tests? And are all practice exams equally useful for you?  The real exam has 55 multiple-choice questions and three free-response questions, but there are practice tests with every conceivable number and combination of question types. In this article, you'll learn where to find every official College Board AP English Literature and Composition practice exam, free unofficial tests, and paid practice test resources. You'll also find out which tests are high-quality and how you can best use different practice exams to fulfill your studying needs.   Official Free AP Literature Practice Tests The gold standard of AP E...