September 29, 2020

TuitionFit Might Be A Great Starting Point For A College Search

TuitionFit helps cost-conscious parents and students begin their college search either before they apply to schools, or after they receive acceptance letters and financial aid awards. Suppose that your family knows that you have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC_ of $10,000. You also know that excellent grades might be the ticket […]
September 2, 2020

Five Things That College Admissions Officers Won’t Tell You

College admissions officers by and large are very nice, and very helpful people when they can be. The best are quite informed about their school. They know the academic programs as well as the faculty. They have to. The faculty want to see students who are capable of meeting their […]
August 25, 2020

Beware the Fine Print of Differential Tuition Pricing

I’ve always had a saying” Colleges are priced like houses and sold like cars.” Thankfully, car buyers have the Internet. They can find a true market value, usually a lower price, for the car they want as well as the true value to the dealer for the car they already […]
July 8, 2020

How Can You Plan for College Costs?

The new reality of COVID-19 has led families to consider college costs in a different light than before. Parents are questioning the “value” of a college education when it does not include the “college experience” outside of the classroom. But even if you intend to send your child to community […]
October 31, 2016

Can Merit Aid Affect A Choice Between Similar State Universities?

There is a saying among North Dakota football fans when describing the rivalry between their state universities: If you want to work the farm, you go to North Dakota State. If you want to own the farm you go to the University of North Dakota. It’s a fair bet that […]
July 28, 2016

Avoid the Pitfalls of Private Student Loans

When I started college nearly 40 years ago, the costs of room, board, tuition and books at Rutgers were less than $3,000. I took out a loan for a little more than half the money, got help from my parents as well as small scholarships, and took  a part-time job […]
July 27, 2016

What Causes Summer Melt In College Admissions?

The middle to end of July is usually a great time for a college admissions officer to take a vacation. High schools are typically out of session. Too few students are on campus to make campus events as worthwhile as they might be during the school year. But too many […]
April 11, 2016

Careful Reading Those Financial Aid Award Letters

With acceptance letters comes financial aid award letters. These are just as important for college-bound seniors who must make their college choice by May 1st. Ideally, a financial aid award letter should tell you: The total cost of attendance at the school. This is tuition, fees, room and board and […]
January 6, 2016

You Received a Merit Scholarship. What Should You Do?

More and more colleges offer merit-based versus need-based scholarship aid to prospective students, whether they need the aid or not. A college’s merit scholarship policy might not always be fair. But please keep in mind that colleges, like businesses and branches of government, have agendas. Why have colleges gone in […]