10 Easy Steps to Start Your College Plan! Time and time again we are asked to give families a “how to” book for preparing for college. Well we thought we’d do just that! Below is a quick, 10-step planning process for you to begin your college plans. 1.) You need a destination to create a map. Do you ever get on the freeway to drive to an unknown destination? Do you get in your car and say, “I’m going to start driving, and I am sure I’ll end up where I need to be today,”? I’m going to say, probably not. You typically start a journey with an end goal in mind. College is the same thing. If you don’t know where…
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California Residents: Is College Admissions Harder?
For all of you California residents is college admissions harder? A blog post recently made on HuffingtonPost.com paints the picture that higher education is a bigger challenge for students living in California. In the article we learn that college admissions for California students at UC schools has slipped form 63% to 60% this year. That means 40% of those students attending our in-state schools are non-residents of California. That is shocking when you consider that our tax dollars are what fund the UC system. But should we be surprised? When budget cuts come we often take money away from public education. The bulk of those cuts go to higher education services. That is to say that California community colleges, California State Universities, and…
The Value of a College Education
The Value of a College Education Is college really worth it? We’re always hearing debate about whether or not the value of a college education holds strong in this economy. With tuition rising people question whether or not the investment is worth it. We want to break it down for you to make it easy for you to decide. Questions Brewing In an article in Forbes a couple of years ago, Erika Andersen wrote: “we over-rely on time spent in school as a measure of intelligence… and of fitness for a job. Now, don’t get me wrong: some careers certainly require a rigorous course of study, generally best done in a collegiate and/or post-collegiate environment… But for other jobs, I think we…
Important ACT Update!
Important ACT Update!! We posted a few weeks ago that the ACT would be changing this September. The changes include edits to roughly 20 multiple choice questions throughout the test, but the biggest chance will be found in the writing portion. The writing portion will be graded on a 1-36 point scale and will look for a different approach to content grading. Test scores matter in college admissions, so you need to make sure you’re prepared. We have some good news! The ACT has finally released a full-length practice exam incorporating all of the recent changes (including multiple texts in the reading, six science passages, and the “enhanced” writing prompt). You can find all of this information at the following link: http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/. You…
ACT Changes September 2015!
ACT changes September 2015! The ACT will be undergoing some changes this fall, and this could greatly impact your college preparation plans. ACT, Inc. announced they will be implementing changes to the ACT starting with the September 12, 2015 exam! Brief overview of the changes: • Roughly 20 questions (total) on each exam will be affected by these changes • ACT will be introducing a two passage reading component • ACT will also change about 5 math questions to better align them with content areas recently introduced to the ACT • Roughly 3 English questions will be reworded • Roughly 2 science questions, which require prior science knowledge, will be added • The biggest change is an updated Essay or Writing Test (see below for…
Community Service Matters
Over the past few months, I’ve been privately working with a non-profit organization. This group reached out to me for help, and I couldn’t stand the thought of not offering support. The non-profit I’m referring to helps single, homeless mothers get back on their feet. These women have struggled to survive after being completely abandoned by their husbands. It’s sad to hear stories of how successful they once were and how far they’ve fallen. Because of their pride these women didn’t initially want to let anyone know of their issues. When these mothers were finally left with no options they turned to this extraordinary non-profit organizations for help. I met with a few of the moms and you would not believe what they are going…
Beware of 529 Plans
An article posted on Time.com today caught my attention today, and I had to write about it. The article boasted that 529 Plans are a great place to save for college (despite the worry about how it effects financial aid awards). The article sites an expert, Joe Hurley, on this topic. With his advice the article explains that the impact of 529 Plans on financial aid is “minimal.” That is WRONG. While it is true that parent income and assets effect one’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) towards college costs, your EFC is not exactly what you’ll end up paying. Your EFC is what the government thinks you can afford for college, but the school doesn’t have to meet your left over financial need….
How to Keep Your Retirement and Pay for College
One issue we hear many of our families say is that they won’t have enough money to retire if they pay for their children’s college educations. They get stuck between a rock and a hard place because they don’t know how to give their children what they need to better themselves without sacrificing their ability to enjoy their senior years. I decided to write this blog post to explain how to be able to achieve your retirement goals while sending your children to college. First, prioritize. You can’t take loans for retirement, but you can borrow for college. Now, I know that taking loans may not be your goal in how to fund college, but this statement should be understood because you should be…
Why Your Future Beyond College Matters
As the end of the school year approaches, remember this: some accomplishments have been had, but more opportunities await. While it is important to look back and reflect on all that you have done this academic year, it is also important to look to the future. For many, the future includes college plans. College is an important part of adulthood and transitioning to the workforce; however, instead of focusing on college I encourage you all to reflect on your bigger goals. Where do you want to live when you’re 30? Do you want to have a family? What is your dream job? When you look forward to a future beyond college, then college will become a stepping stone to a greater goal–your future life….
How to Afford College
I think it is safe to say that college is expensive, so how does a family afford to send their children to get a great education without sacrifice? There are countless solutions offered on how to minimize student debt, and most recently is legislation that has been created by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. His suggestion is extreme: make college free for everyone by collecting more taxes from Wall Street. You can read more about the legislation here. My question is this: how can we make college more affordable without making society pay more? If we make something free, the money has to come from somewhere, right? How do we do this? Taxing Wall Street may not be the best solution….
