Scholarship and College Advice

College Class of 2013 Students Beware... Is a Company Behind Your Facebook Group?

2008-12-20T20:19:00.006-05:00

Brad Ward, the Electronic Communication Coordinator at Butler University noticed something strange about Butler's Class of 2013 group on Facebook... the administrator for the group had not actually been accepted to Butler. Alerted to something fishy by a colleague at Winthrop, Brad began digging deeper and noticed that a few names were behind hundreds of Class of 2013 groups on Facebook.

Company Uses Student Interns to Set Up Facebook Groups

Now the Common Application may make it easy to apply to a dozen schools, but three students appeared as the administrators for more than 40 Class of 2013 groups each. Ward eventually traced the Facebook users back to College Prowler, which had recruited students as unpaid interns to spearhead its "social marketing strategy."

Colleges Concerned About Use of Facebook Groups for Marketing

Ward and many of his colleagues at universities across the country expressed concern that these groups could have been used to "spam" students and push affiliate links onto unsuspecting students.

The Role of Colleges on Facebook

This started a healthy debate about what roles colleges should be playing on Facebook. Should they be actively engaging students, starting "official" Facebook groups for incoming classes, or leveraging other Facebook opportunities? Or should they take a more hands-off role allowing students to drive interactions related to college admissions? This latest incident is likely to push many colleges and universities to be more pro-active. Ward already intends to set up the OFFICIAL Butler Class of 2013 group, not because he wants to moderate the discussion, but because he wants to make sure students have a safe place to discuss Butler without having to worry about being marketed to by for-profit companies.

A College Interview... on a Webcam

2008-12-08T11:24:00.006-05:00

Wake Forest University is experimenting with an interview technique that may become much more common... talking with students via webcam. This is a great idea. It offers an opportunity for students to interview with admission counselor when they may not be able to afford a visit to campus or they may not live in an area with alumni interviewers. It seems to be a win-win for students and colleges.

Will Other Colleges Be Trying Webcam Interviews?

This is the first year for Wake Forest's webcam interviews, but I would not be surprised if this practice were put into use by other colleges over the next few years. While face-to-face interactions are likely the preferred method for conducting interviews, the webcam option would seem to be an attractive alternative when a face-to-face interview is not possible.

Could This Help Colleges Stand Out?

Additionally, I think colleges embracing technology in a constructive manner such as this will win some bonus points with students. It demonstrates that they are willing to think creatively to interact with prospective students and to adapt to students' needs. If you can't make it to campus for an interview, we'll figure out a way to bring the interviewer to you virtually. I think it gives students the feeling that a school really is interested in getting to know them and will go to great lengths to do so.

College Tuition Increases Far Outpace Income Growth over Last 25 Years

2008-12-05T09:43:00.009-05:00

According to the Measuring Up 2008 report (PDF copy) by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, college tuition and fees have increased by 439 percent in the U.S. between 1982 and 2007. Over this same period, median family income rose only 147 percent.

College Bills Rising Faster than Medical Bills

WOW! That means college costs grew almost three times as fast as family income. College costs grew nearly twice as fast as medical care costs, according to the report. If that trend continues, parents may need to start playing the lottery in hopes they can win enough money to pay for their children's college education.

More Debt, Please

And financial aid has not been able to keep up. The poorest families (those in the bottom 20 percent) have seen the net cost of college increase from 39 percent of their income to 55 percent of their income. That is the net cost, so it takes into account financial aid they may have received. That doesn't leave much money for food, rent, and clothing... some other "nice-to-have" items. If this trend continues, college graduates will be leaving school with more and more debt. It may really start to affect the decision of whether college is worth the money or not, if it hasn't already.

No College or College Abroad?

If something does not change, are we headed for a time when college is not really accessible to everyone? Or maybe more and more people will look abroad instead of attending higher-priced private institutions in the U.S. – see the NY Times' article Going Off to College for Less (Passport Required).

Top Colleges See Rise in Early Decision / Early Action Applicants

2008-11-26T09:51:00.011-05:00

Is it the economy? Is it an increase in the number of students going to college this year? The answer is probably both. A number of top colleges are reporting a significant increase in early applicants this year.

Students and Parents May Want Certainty in this Economy

Many colleges anticipated a drop in early admissions (which often times is binding), assuming students and their families would be more budget-conscious and therefore want to do some "comparison-shopping" among schools' financial aid packages. Apparently, the economy may have had the opposite effect. Students and their parents may be looking for certainty in what has been a crazy few months with the economy.

Competition for Admission to Top Colleges May be Peaking

Additionally, competition for entrance into top colleges is likely at its peak right now. The number of students graduating from high school is up from 5 and 10 years ago, and early admissions is often perceived as a way of improving one's chances of getting in.

Early Admission Increases at Some Top Colleges

Here is a sampling of top colleges and their increase in early admissions applicants:

St. Olaf College - 50 percent
Wesleyan University - 40 percent
George Washington University - 30 percent
Pomona College - 20 percent
Stanford University - 18 percent
Northwestern University - 15 percent
Haverford College - 14 percent

A handful of top colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia, have eliminated early decision altogether in the past few years.

Baylor Trying to Game U.S. News Rankings by Paying Freshmen to Retake SATs?

2008-10-20T10:00:00.002-04:00

The New York Times recently published a story about Baylor University paying incoming freshmen $300 to retake the SAT and awarding them a $1,000 merit scholarship if they raised their SAT score 50 points. Just to clarify, Baylor paid students who were already admitted to the school $300 to retake the SAT.

Why Was Baylor Paying Admitted Students to Retake the SAT?

While the university claimed that much of the motivation for letting incoming freshmen retake the SAT was to award additional merit aid (that is, the $1,000 merit scholarship if they raised their score 50 points), the tactics seem a little fishy. The initiative appears to be a veiled attempt to improve the school's standing in popular college ranking guides.

First, the offer was only open to incoming freshmen. No upperclassmen were offered the opportunity to do the same. Why is that significant? Well, because the test scores of upperclassmen have already been reported to organizations like U.S. News and World Report and Princeton Review in past years and won't have any affect on the school's current rankings.

Second, it was not as though they had pre-defined standards for merit aid and were encouraging students who fell just short of those standards to retake the SAT so they could qualify. That might seem compassionate, in some way, letting a kid who scored an 1220 on the SAT and fell just short of a 1250 cut-off for a scholarship give it another try. You could qualify for the merit aid whether you had a 1000 SAT score or a 1300 SAT score.

Finally, if it was mostly about giving out additional merit aid, aren't there better ways to give out scholarships rather than making a freshman retake the SAT? One quick idea could be to tie the merit scholarship to community service.

The Results of Paying Students and the Criticism that Followed

The program cost the school a reported $862,000, and the average SAT score of incoming freshmen climbed just 10 points from 1200 to 1210. When the news broke in the university's student newspaper, The Lariat, the school received criticism from all quarters of the university. The newspaper released a highly critical op-ed piece, the faculty senate condemned the practice, and many students on campus derided it as unfair and out of line with Baylor's institutional values. Criticism also came from the admission professionals around the country.

Baylor Stops the Program

In response to the mounting criticism, Baylor has stopped the program. It's unclear whether it was initially intended to be a one-year program or an ongoing offer to incoming freshmen.

The whole affair has stoked the fires for critics of published rankings and for critics of standardized tests.

Are the SATs Days Numbered?

2008-10-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

A panel of admission experts, assembled by the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) and led by William Fitzsimmons, dean of admission and financial aid at Harvard, recently put out a report that raises questions about the use of SAT and ACT in college admissions decisions. The panel asked colleges to look critically at the correlation between SAT and ACT scores and performance in actual college classes and decide whether the use of these standardized admissions tests is appropriate.

So What Does This Mean?

Many colleges have already started a shift toward test optional policies, meaning students can submit SAT or ACT scores if they like, but are not required to do so. According to FairTest.org, the number of colleges and universities that have some form of test optional policy now approaches 800. This trend seems likely to continue. However, it's unlikely that college-bound students will be able to completely ignore the SAT and ACT any time soon.

If you're a high school or middle school student, you may not want to get too excited. The report does not advocate eliminating testing altogether. It proposes the consideration of alternative tests that are more curriculum-based, meaning they would test what you actually learn in high school. Some examples of curriculum-based tests are AP Exams and SAT Subject Tests. According to the report, these tests tend to be better predictors of success in college classrooms than the ACT and SAT.

The Test Prep Industry

The panel also pointed to the entire industry that has sprung up around test preparation for the ACT and SAT as an unfair advantage for some and an unnecessary distraction from actual learning. Not everyone can afford an SAT Prep Class from Kaplan or Princeton Review. Additionally, the panel believed that curriculum-based tests would send "a message to students that studying their course material in high school, not taking extracurricular test prep courses that tend to focus on test-taking skills, is the way to do well on admission tests and succeed in a rigorous college curriculum."

My guess is that the test prep industry would adapt their methods to the new curriculum-based tests. They may not be as easily "gamed", but there will likely be places where test prep will allow for improvement of scores. For example, the MCAT is largely based on specific subject matter and plenty of organizations offer test prep for it, including Kaplan and Princeton Review.

Online Degrees: Are They Worth the Money?

2008-10-07T11:11:00.008-04:00

For many, getting a degree at a traditional 4-year college or 2-year community college is not an option. You may have kids to take care of so 9am classes aren't realistic. You may be holding down a job and need the flexibility of an online degree program. How do you decide if an online degree program is worth the money?

Here are a few steps that may help you determine if getting an online degree is a good way to spend your hard-earned dollars (or a good reason to take on some student loan debt).

1. Will the online degree give you access to new career opportunities?

Do you need a specific skill set to advance in your current job? Do you need training to transition to a new career path? Before you decide you want a degree for a degree's sake, you need to understand what doors an online degree will open.

A good way to do this is contact companies that are in your desired field and talk with someone involved in hiring. Ask them how they view candidates who have received a degree from an online program and which programs and schools they consider the strongest. Find out whether getting more formal training through an online degree program will improve your chances of breaking into the field or advancing in your job.

You may also want to talk with graduates who have received online degrees from the schools you are considering. Learn whether the program was a valuable experience for them and if it helped improve their marketability to potential employers.

2. Is the online degree program a reputable one?

If you've done some of the work answering question #1, you have probably already started the process of evaluating a specific online degree program.

Another good way to determine if an online degree program is legitimate and reputable is to research their accreditation status. The U.S. Department of Education provides a way for you to search for accredited postsecondary institutions. This is probably a good starting place. For specific programs, there may be other sources. For example, the AACSB and ACBSP provide accreditation for business programs.

3. Do they participate in federal financial aid programs?

Paying for your online degree program is likely going to be a concern. As we always say, you should do your best to find scholarships and grants first since they are essentially "free money" for college. After that, federal financial aid programs are typically your best, most affordable options. You should check whether you'll be able to get Stafford loans to pay for an online degree program. These are essentially schools that participate in the federal government's Title IV program.

We hope these tips help you determine whether an online degree program is worth the investment of time, effort, and money. Start your search for online degree programs now!

College Admissions Officers May Be Checking Your Facebook Profile, But You Don't Need to Panic

2008-10-03T10:32:00.008-04:00

You may want to be more careful what you post on your Facebook or MySpace profile, it could come back to haunt you. According to a Kaplan survey of 320 admissions officers, 1 in 10 had visited the profile of an applicant on a social networking process as part of their evaluation process for admissions.

The trend is not only present at the undergraduate level. Admissions officers at some business, law, and medical schools have also taken a look at social networking profiles in their decision-making process.

What Can You Do

While some may say, don't use these sites or don't post anything that you wouldn't want on your admissions application, that's probably an unrealistic demand. These sites can be great tools for connecting with friends, meeting new people, posting photos, or just having fun. Some of you probably check Facebook more often than you check e-mail.

However, there are a few steps that you may want to consider so that your profile does not come back to bite you.

Set Your Profile to Private

Most of the social networking sites, including Facebook and MySpace, have a way for you to adjust your privacy settings. It's probably a good idea to give full access to your profile only to friends. This will help you avoid having to decide every time you upload a picture, add an application, or post on a wall whether it's something you'd want an admissions officer to see.

Don't Mix Business and Pleasure

For those of you who may be artists, directors, or musicians, Facebook and MySpace can often be great places to showcase your work and share it with friends, family, and others. However, you're probably using the site for social reasons as well and everything may not be intended for the eyes of admission officers. If you want to send links to your portfolio to admissions officers, you should think about posting your work elsewhere as well. You may want to create a Flickr or YouTube account solely for your work and share links to these accounts as part of your college application.

Use a Little Judgment

We know that your Facebook profile may not be intended for viewing by admissions officers, or even your parents for that matter, but a little judgment may help you avoid some heartache down the road. If you're under 21, you probably should think twice about setting the photo of you with a beer in each hand and drool on your face as your profile picture. Illegal activity is probably not something you want to be highlighting for all to see. In fact, even if you're over 21, this photo may not be your best choice as a profile picture.

How Much is Your College Degree Worth? Salaries from Top Colleges

2008-07-31T09:36:00.007-04:00

Dartmouth comes in at #1 for all schools and the University of California - Berkeley tops the list for public schools when it comes to salary potential. According to the PayScale College Salary Report, Dartmouth graduates (with only a bachelor's degree) have a median mid-career salary of $134,000 while Berkeley graduates earn $112,000.

When it comes to starting salaries, the top engineering schools offer the best short-term return on your education investment. Cal Tech and MIT had the highest median starting salaries at $75,500 and $72,200 respectively.

We've included the top 25 schools from the PayScale Salary Report as well as a list of the top 25 paying degrees.

Top 25 Schools - Median Mid-Career Salary

Dartmouth College - $134,000
Princeton University - $131,000
Stanford University - $129,000
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - $126,000
Yale University - $126,000
Harvard University - $124,000
California Institute of Technology (CIT) - $123,000
Harvey Mudd College - $122,000
University of Pennsylvania - $120,000
University of Notre Dame - $116,000
Polytechnic University of New York, Brooklyn - $114,000
Cooper Union - $114,000
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) - $114,000
University of Chicago - $113,000
University of California, Berkeley - $112,000
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) - $111,000
Rice University - $110,000
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - $110,000
Cornell University - $110,000
Georgetown University - $110,000
Bucknell University - $110,000
Brown University - $109,000
Colgate University - $108,000
Columbia University - $107,000
Amherst College - $107,000

Top 25 Bachelor Degrees - Median Mid-Career Salary

Chemical Engineering - $107,000
Computer Engineering - $105,000
Electrical Engineering - $103,000
Aerospace Engineering - $101,000
Economics - $98,600
Physics - $97,300
Computer Science - $95,500
Industrial Engineering - $94,700
Mechanical Engineering - $93,600
Math - $92,400
Physician Assistant - $91,700
Civil Engineering - $90,500
Construction - $88,900
Finance - $88,300
Management Information Systems (MIS) - $82,300
Philosophy - $81,200
International Relations - $80,900
Chemistry - $79,900
Marketing - $79,600
Geology - $79,500
Political Science - $78,200
Accounting - $77,100
Architecture - $76,800
Information Technology (IT) - $74,800
Business Management - $72,100

Source: Payscale.com College Salary Report

High School Students Will Be Able to Choose Which SAT Scores Colleges Receive

2008-06-26T11:23:00.007-04:00

The College Board just announced a change in its score reporting policy. In the past, a school received all of a student's SAT Scores. If you took the test 3 times, a college received all 3 scores. The new policy will allow test takers to select which SAT scores a college receives.

Reduced Stress from Taking the SAT

The shift in policy was intended to "reduce student stress and improve the test-day experience", according to the College Board. With the new policy, you would know going in that if you screwed up royally on the SAT, you could always take it again and the college would never see your poor score.

Is the New SAT Policy Unfair?

Some people worry that this new policy may help higher-income families disproportionately. They have the money to cover the cost of the multiple SAT exams. If you could afford to, you could keep on taking the SAT until you got a score that you liked and only show that score to colleges.

More about the New SAT Score Reporting Policy

The policy does not kick in until the March 2009 test date. However, once it's in effect, it will apply retroactively, meaning you could choose to send your March 2009 score to a school and not your November 2008 score (even though the November 2008 test date was before the start date of the policy).

The new score reporting policy is "opt-in". You will need to actively choose this score reporting option or all of your test scores will be sent to colleges and universities.

In-State Colleges versus Out-of-State Colleges

2008-06-10T15:00:00.008-04:00

The age-old dilemma of in-state vs. out-of-state... stay close to home or venture off away from your family... save some money or go to the best college possible.

Many of you are going to grapple with this question, and it's not always an easy one to answer. We're going to share a few thoughts on the benefits of both staying close to home at an in-state college and going off to an out-of-state college.

The Benefits of In-State Colleges

In-State Colleges Make Financial Sense

So the main reason most high school students opt for an in-state college is the cost. You typically get a really good deal on tuition when you go to a public school in your home state.

Easier to Get Into In-State Colleges

You'll typically have an easier time getting into the state schools in your home state. For example, the bar is much higher for a New Yorker to get into the University of California, Berkeley than a Californian.

There May Be Money In It For You

A number of scholarship opportunities at public colleges and universities are reserved for in-state students. Many states want to encourage top high school students to stay close to home, figuring that they are much more likely to work in that state after graduation.

The Benefits of Out-of-State Colleges

See a New Place

One of the biggest benefits of venturing off to a college far from home is your newfound independence. You'll experience a new place that may open your eyes to new ways of looking at things. Going to college in Massachusetts is likely a very different experience than going to college in Florida (if nothing else, the weather will be dramatically different).

Meet New People

You'll also meet a whole new set of people. That was a big draw for me as I looked at colleges. I lived within a 2-mile radius my entire life and I wanted to meet people from all over the place. That's not to say there won't be a diverse crowd at most in-state schools, but it's likely that the majority of students will be from that state.

Go to the Best College Possible

You may have to venture out of state to find the college that has the best program for you. If you're an engineer, you probably can't beat MIT or Cal Tech. If you want to study visual or performing arts, Juilliard or RISD may be the best colleges for you.

Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters

2008-04-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

As the cost of college continues to rise (tuition at George Washington is closing in on $40,000), the financial award letter can often be just as important as the college acceptance letter in determining where you plan on going to college. Understanding the financial aid award letter will help you and your parents make a well-informed decision about your college future.

We like to refer to the tuition rates you see published on a school's website or in college guidebooks as the "sticker price." As with cars, most people don't end up paying the "sticker price." Colleges offer "discounts" off the "sticker price" in the form of scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans. The financial aid award letter lays out these "discounts". It's not just the size of the "discounts", but the make-up of these "discounts" that's important.

Check out a sample financial aid award letter.

What you want to look for on your financial aid award letter

Financial Aid Letter Part #1: Cost of Attendance

First off, take a look at the make-up of the cost of attendance. Some colleges will break out the expenses into categories like tuition, room and board, travel, and personal expenses. Colleges may differ on what they include in the cost of attendance. You want to be confident you are comparing apples to apples throughout this process. Make sure you are clear on what has been factored into the cost of attendance and, more importantly, what has not been incorporated into the cost of attendance.

Financial Aid Letter Part #2: Expected Family Contribution

Secondly, you want to locate what the school is expecting you and your parents to contribute out of pocket based on the financial aid office's assessment of your and your parents' financial situations. Some schools will provide a single "Expected Family Contribution" while others may break this amount into a Student's Contribution and Parents' Contribution. This is the school basically saying "We looked at your finances, and we think you and your parents can afford to pay $___ toward college."

Financial Aid Letter Part #3: Financial Aid Offered - Amount and Mix

Now, we get to the real guts of the financial aid award letter where the school lays out what types of aid they are offering and how much of each type. This is where you really want to take a good hard look and make sure you understand what's going on. The mix of the financial aid is as important (if not more important) than the amount. Free money (that means scholarships and grants) is the best type of financial aid. Federal loans such as Perkins Loans and Subsidized Stafford Loans are better than private loans, but they still need to be repaid. It's also important to remember that you don't just get federal work-study money. You're going to have to get a job on campus and actually earn that money. The federal work-study amount on your letter is the maximum amount you can receive, not a guaranteed amount. So to recap, here are the financial aid types from best to worst:

"Free Money"... that's scholarships and grants (renewable scholarships are better than one-time awards)
Federal loans (Perkins, subsidized Stafford, unsubsidized Stafford)
Private loans

Financial Aid Letter Part #4: Unmet Need

Okay, so now you understand how much financial aid the school is offering and what types of aid are included in your package. The next step is determining if there is any unmet need. You can determine the unmet need by taking the cost of attendance and subtracting the expected family contribution (what the school said you can afford to pay) and the financial aid package (what the school has offered you to meet your financial need).

In mathematical terms:
COA - (EFC + Financial Aid) = Unmet Need.

Typically the lower the unmet need, the better. However, as we said before, a school may be offering less aid and leaving you with more unmet need, but may actually still be a better deal if their financial aid package contains mostly "free money" and fewer loans.

Questions You Should Ask

How will my financial aid package change over time?

The package you receive your sophomore year may look different than the one you receive for freshman year. Find out whether scholarships are renewable or one-time awards. See if there are certain requirements for keeping scholarships (e.g., maintaining a 3.0 GPA).

How do outside scholarships affect my financial aid package?

If have done a great job searching for scholarships and have won a few awards, make sure you understand how these scholarships will impact your package. Some colleges will reduce the loan component to offset these outside scholarships, while others will unfortunately reduce the scholarship / grant component of your financial aid package. Colleges will usually spell out this information in their Outside Scholarship Policy.

Some Help Comparing Financial Aid Packages

So now you know what to look out for when comparing financial aid packages, and all you need is a tool to help you compare them. Well, you are in luck. We've developed a Financial Aid Award Evaluator so you can view side-by-side comparisons of your financial aid award letters for up to 4 colleges.

We also offer a tool to help you compare student loans. Our Student Loan Marketplace enables you to dig into the guts of a student loan and really understand how all the parts of a loan (interest rate, up-front fees, borrower benefits) come together to impact how much you actually have to pay.

Finding and Comparing Student Loans

2008-04-08T15:30:00.000-04:00

For many of you, taking out student loans is a necessary part of going to college. You're probably already receiving letters and e-mails from student lenders, highlighting the "benefits" of their student loan program. It's no easy task sorting through all your options.

Which Student Loan is Best

Navigating your way through the maze of private student loan options can be difficult, even if you're a math genius. One lender is offering you money back when you graduate. Another lender lowers your interest rate if you set up bill payment by auto-debiting your bank account. How do you decide which student loan is best for you?

Student Loan Marketplace

It just so happens that CollegeToolkit.com now has a tool to help you make apples-to-apples comparisons of Stafford, PLUS, and Private loans. It can be difficult to compare loans that may have different interest rates, origination fees, and borrower benefits. Student loans have lots of moving parts and figuring out which option is better for you can be a dizzying task.

Our Student Loan Marketplace makes it easy for you to find a whole bunch of loan options in one place and then compare them side-by-side. We even help you make sense of all the ins and outs by providing a single number called a Loan Cost Index that you can use to make comparisons about which loan may be the best for you.

What is the Loan Cost Index?

Our Loan Cost Index gives you a quick sense of how costly a loan is (in today's dollars). Think of it as kind of like a price tag for a student loan, the lower the number the better. We want to help you become a bargain hunter when it comes to student loans.

Let's walk you through a quick example. You select a student loan with a Loan Cost Index of 125. That means that for every $100 in student loans that you take out, you will be repaying $125 (in today's dollars). Our Loan Cost Index takes into account the interest rate of the loan, any borrower benefits for the student loan, and any upfront fees as well as other factors like in-school and grace periods.

The Loan Marketplace also lets you customize the results. If you want to exclude all borrower benefits, you can. If you plan on making interest payments for your private loan while in school, that's possible, too.

The Loan Marketplace is intended to help you make good decisions when it comes to picking the best student loan for you and your parents.

A Word of Advice about Student Loans

One thing we hope you keep in mind before you start your search for private loans, make sure you take advantage of more affordable funding options first. That includes, searching for scholarships and taking advantage of federal loan programs like Stafford loans. Once you've done that, you're ready to turn your attention to private loans.

Making the Most of Your Summers

2008-02-20T21:00:00.006-05:00

It may still be winter, but it's probably not too early to start thinking about what you want to do this summer. If you wait too long, you may find yourself sitting on the couch all summer or working at a job you don't really like. A little research and some planning ahead could help you make your summer a really valuable experience... and a big plus on your college application.

First off, it's important to take some time to consider what you want to get out of the summer. Do you want to make some money so you can put a little aside for college? Do you want to look for an exciting internship, getting a taste of the working world and exploring your career options? Do you want to take summer classes at a college campus, feeling out what university life is like?

For many of you, a summer academic program may be on your radar screen. No, we're not talking about summer school, where kids retake classes they may have failed the previous year. We're talking about hands-on academic experiences where you're likely to learn inside and outside the classroom. These summer programs can be a great option and offer some major benefits.

A Taste of College

Summer academic programs can be a great way to see what college life is like before you set foot on campus as a freshman. Many take place on major college campuses, have you living in actual college dorms, and taking classes from real college professors. It's almost like you get to take a test drive of college. You'll likely be tackling challenging academic topics and gaining a much better sense of the additional demands placed on college students. It's also a great way to really delve into an academic area like biology, photography, or business that you are passionate about.

A Real Plus on Your College Application

High school transcripts, admissions essays, SAT scores... they are all used by college admissions committees to determine if you will be a student who will excel at their college. But what better way is there to show you can do well in a college academic setting than by doing well in a college academic setting? Taking on the challenge of a college summer program may help you overcome an SAT score that is on the low end of the scale for a college or a little stumble on your high school transcript.

Actual College Credit

Not only could a summer program help you get into college, it may give you a head start once you get there. Many summer programs offer academic credit at the host college. You will need to check with whatever college you end up attending to see if you are able to transfer this credit.

Cost Can Be an Issue

Cost can vary pretty significantly from program to program. A summer college program can often cost thousands of dollars. But don't be discouraged if you can't afford that price tag. Many programs offer need-based scholarships. You might also take a look at Governor's Schools that many states have. These are typically free or very affordable summer residential programs for high-achieving students. Upward Bound programs might also be great options for lower-income students.

Summer Program Resources

We've provided links to a few sites that may be helpful in your search for some great summer programs:

We've also included links to summer programs at some of the top colleges:

Northwestern
http://scs.northwestern.edu/collegeprep/
UCLA
http://www.summer.ucla.edu/
Harvard
http://www.dce.harvard.edu/ssp/
Michigan
http://www.umich.edu/summer_prog.php
University of Virginia
http://www.virginia.edu/summer/
Cornell
http://www.sce.cornell.edu/sc/
Yale
http://www.yale.edu/summer/
University of Maryland
http://www.summer.umd.edu/s/ysp/

Your College Search... Reach Colleges, Safety Schools, and Good Matches

2008-01-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

So you're wondering how many colleges you should apply to? How do you decide when you've filled out enough applications? Much of this decision depends on what type of colleges you are applying to. When doing your college search, it's important that you have a sense of which of the following three categories each of the colleges you are considering falls into.

Reach Colleges

Are there certain colleges on your list of colleges where you think to yourself "You never know... they may love my admissions essay" or "I don't have an 1800 SAT score, but I really would love to go to college there"? You've probably identified a reach college for you. Reach colleges are schools that may be a stretch given your high school "resume." For these colleges, your SAT scores may be on the low end of the range or your GPA may not be quite up to snuff.

You can probably come up with a dozen reasons not to apply to a reach college: it's one more application to complete, the application requires an additional essay, or it's going to cost another $50 to apply. If it's a college you really want to go to, and you think you've got a shot (even if it may be a long shot), why not apply? What do you have to lose? For these colleges, you're likely going to need to put some extra work in on the essays to really knock them out of the park. If they offer admissions interviews, definitely take advantage of the opportunity. It's these additional factors that are going to help the admissions committee make a case for admitting you even though your academic stats may be on the low end.

Safety Schools

Is this whole college admissions process making you nervous? Are you really stressing out about where you are going to get in? Applying to one or two safety schools can really help calm the nerves. Safety schools are colleges where you are going to be at or near the top end of the applicant pool and your chances of admission are extremely high. State colleges can often serve as really good safety schools since they usually offer preferential admissions for in-state students. It's even better if your safety school has rolling admissions or non-binding early action admissions so you can find out early on whether you got in somewhere. It will be a huge relief to know you got into a college you'll be happy at, even if it may not be one of your top choices. And, at the very least, you'll know you're headed off to college next year.

Safety schools can also serve another purpose. They can give you options when it comes to financial aid packages. If you can avoid it, you don't want to leave yourself evaluating just one financial aid award package. The cost of college can often be a major factor in the college decision and having a few choices certainly can't hurt. Often times, you may be eligible for honors scholarships at your safety school, meaning that it may end up being significantly more affordable than your other options. In a worst-case scenario, you may even be able to use a financial aid award package from one school to highlight shortcomings of a package from another school.

You can use our Financial Aid Award Evaluator to compare packages side-by-side.

Good Matches

So good matches are the middle ground between reach colleges and safety schools. These are colleges where you likely fall toward the middle of the applicant pool. Checking out the profile for last year's freshman class can often help you make a call on whether a college is a good match for you (at least academically). You're likely not a shoo-in at a good match school, but you also won't be surprised if an acceptance letter comes your way.

Planning Your College Applications

Once you have some sense of where the colleges you are considering fall within these categories, you can take this knowledge and use it to craft your own college admissions strategy. Your ultimate goal is to get into a school you'll be happy at. A mix of colleges in each of these categories can help ensure you receive a fat admissions envelope from a few colleges, while also allowing you to take a chance applying to a few long shots.

If you are looking to apply to 5-7 colleges, it might be a good idea to shoot for the following mix of colleges:

1-2 safety schools
2-3 good matches
2-3 reach colleges

A little bit of strategy can help make the whole process a little less stressful and may even end with you receiving an acceptance letter from a college you considered a real reach.

College Admissions: Put Your Best Foot Forward

2007-12-24T12:41:00.000-05:00

You put so much effort into your admissions essay... you've been working hard to maintain a strong GPA... you've spent countless hours participating in extracurricular activities... and you've done tons of research in your college search... so don't hurt your chances of admission by committing one of these easy-to-avoid mistakes.

Use an Appropriate E-mail Address throughout the College Admissions Process

Feel free to use partygurl_45@yahoo.com or sexyman877@hotmail.com with your friends, but it's not a good idea to put this down on your admissions application or to use it when corresponding with college admissions officers. You want to come across as a responsible young adult... and QTGirl90@gmail.com does not send that message to a college. We'd recommend simply signing up for an e-mail address with your first and last name (plus a number or middle initial, if necessary) and using it for college admissions and scholarship-related e-mails. Sure, JohnSmith454@aol.com may not be as fun, but it definitely won't leave the college admissions staff questioning your judgment.

Avoid IM Jargon

While I'm sure that college admissions officers can figure out that "ur" stands for "you are" and that "OMG" means "Oh My God", we'd probably avoid using them in your e-mails to admissions offices. It may take you an extra two seconds to spell out a word, but it's worth taking those two seconds to put together complete sentences.

It's also a good idea to take a second to re-read any e-mail you send to a college before you send it. It will help you catch typos, notice spelling mistakes, or see that you accidentally left out a word. Many e-mail programs have built-in spell-checks. It probably wouldn't hurt to run it on e-mails to college admissions officers.

Set an Appropriate Voicemail Message

If you plan on sharing your cell phone number with colleges (on your admissions application, in e-mails, or in voicemails), make sure that you don't have a 10-second clip from a pop song playing on your voicemail message. A simple "You've reached Sara Martinez. Sorry I missed your call. Please leave me a message" will work much better than a "What up, peeps? Give me the 411."

Consider Making your Facebook / MySpace Profile Private or Keeping it PG-rated

We recognize that most high school students are going to have a Facebook or MySpace profile and that you're probably using it for social reasons... maybe to keep your friends up to date on what's going on with you, to share photos from the party you were at on Friday night, or just to leave your buddy a funny wall post. We also recognize that college admissions officers are not the target audience for your profile.

However, it might be a good idea to set your profile to private and to make sure that your profile picture is rated PG not R. We'd recommend a better-safe-than-sorry approach for your profiles. It may be true that most admissions offices won't look you up on Facebook or MySpace, but you don't want to find out that they do look at your profile the hard way.

You're a Smart Person... Just Use Your Head

In general, we recommend using common sense and good judgment. It would be a shame if a small, avoidable mistake took attention away from four years of hard work and a stellar college admissions application or scholarship application.

Minority Scholarships... Sometimes it pays to be in the minority

2007-12-10T21:00:00.000-05:00

When you are searching for scholarships, it's important to consider all the ways you may be eligible for scholarship money. Are you majoring in accounting? There are scholarships for that. Considering a career in journalism? There are scholarships for that. One area where there are a number of scholarship award opportunities is for minority students. Minority scholarships may target African-American students, Hispanic students, Asian-American students, Native American students, or all of the above.

To help you get started on your scholarship search, we've highlighted a number of scholarship awards aimed at minority students.

Gates Millennium Scholars Program

Bill Gates gave $1 billion to start this incredible scholarship program. It's open to all minority students and will basically fund college so you can graduate debt-free. This scholarship isn't for all minority students, though... you need to have significant financial need to be eligible and good grades (3.3 GPA or higher).

Don't wait too long to apply. The Gates Millennium Scholarship has a fairly substantial application process, which even requires you to be nominated and to get recommendations.

More info: Gates Millennium Scholarship

Ron Brown Scholarship

The Ron Brown Scholarship seeks to identify African-American high school seniors who will be the leaders of tomorrow and make contributions to society. There are no restrictions on a recipient's major or school choices. This isn't just a scholarship, though... even if $10,000 a year for 4 years is a lot of money. The Ron Brown Scholarship Program makes a big effort to build a network of program alumni that encourages mentorship and collaboration. Again, academic achievement is an important factor in winning this scholarship.

More info: Ron Brown Scholarship

Hispanic Scholarship Fund

If you are Hispanic, you should make sure not to miss the deadline for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. The Fund has worked with a number of companies to create scholarships for Hispanic high school, college, and community college students. What's great is that a number of programs also feed into internship programs... so you not only get scholarship money for college, you can get great work experience as well.

More info: Hispanic Scholarship Fund

Hispanic College Fund Scholarship Program

Another great scholarship program for Hispanic students is the Hispanic College Fund Scholarship Program. They've partnered with top-notch companies including Google, Lockheed Martin, and Hilton to provide these scholarship opportunities and to help Hispanic students gain access to careers in business, finance, engineering and the sciences. In 2006, they gave away $2.4 million to more than 600 students.

More info: Hispanic College Fund Scholarship Program

Accenture Undergraduate Scholarships

Accenture has partnered with the American Indian Graduate Center to fund scholarships for Native American students. These scholarships are awarded to the very brightest American Indian and Alaska Native students who are attaining a professional, teaching, social services, high technology or business degree.

More info: Accenture Undergraduate Scholarships

APIASF Scholarships

For Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) could be a great place to start your scholarship efforts. Founded in 2003, the organization has awarded over $1 million in scholarships to hundreds of college-bound students.

More info: APIASF Scholarships

More Minority Scholarships

These are just a few of the great award opportunities out there for minority students. Try searching for scholarships on College Toolkit to uncover additional award opportunities.

Value of a College Education — What's a College Degree Worth?

2007-11-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

We've talked a lot about the cost of college in previous blog entries, but we don't want you to forget about the value of a college education. Unless you happen to be Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg and develop a billion dollar company in your dorm room at Harvard, getting a college degree is likely a good investment.

College Graduates make more money

For those of you focused on dollars and cents, we won't mince words about the value of college. In pure financial terms, college graduates make nearly 80% more money per year than high school graduates. According to the U.S. Census, adults 25 and over with a college degree earned an average of $56,740 in 2006 compared to only $31,664 for those with only a high school degree. If you're thinking about getting even more education than a bachelor's degree, adults 25 and older with an advanced degree (Masters, Professional, or Doctorate) earned an average of $80,417. That's pretty good money.

Take a look at the Value of College Calculator on the College Toolkit website to run some of your own numbers and calculate the value of a college degree.

A College Degree Leads to More Than Just Money

For some of you, it may not be all about the money (although you may not be against a well-paying job). That's fine. In fact, we think that's great that you're thinking about more than just the bottom line. As it turns out, getting a college degree carries with it a number of additional benefits as well.

1. Lower Unemployment Rates

You're less likely to find yourself unemployed if you have a college degree. According the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for college graduates was 2.3%. For high school graduates, the unemployment rate was 4.3%. So a college degree doesn't just mean more money, it means you are less likely to be without a paycheck.

2. Better Benefits

A college degree tends to lead to jobs with better benefits, including better health coverage and pension plans. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that employees with bachelors degrees were more likely to be covered by employer-provided health insurance than high school graduates (67% of college graduates were covered compared to 51% for high school graduates). And this gap has been growing over the last few decades.

The numbers are pretty much the same when you look at pension plans. About two-thirds of employees with college degrees are offered employee-sponsored pension plans while just over half with a high school degree receive this same benefit. This may make life more difficult for high school graduates when they retire (or it may mean they need to work longer before they can retire).

3. Greater Job Mobility

Spend some time looking at job postings in your local newspaper. We bet a lot of them require a college degree to be considered. I doubt you'll find any that say high school graduates only... no college graduates considered. College graduates tend to have more career opportunities available to them, meaning they are less likely to be locked into a job they don't like. Don't underestimate the importance of having this ability to transition to a new job or even a new career.

These are just a few of the benefits of a college degree. College graduates are more likely to have better working conditions (e.g, indoors with air conditioning and heating). They're children are more likely to go to college as well. They are even more likely to have leisure activities and hobbies like playing sports or going to museums.

So what are you waiting for? Start your college search!

Private Student Loans a Larger Share of Education Finance Pie

2007-11-16T10:00:00.002-05:00

So, by now, you know all too well that college costs are growing at a pretty rapid clip... by over 6% at both public and private 4-year colleges this year. So how have college-bound students and their parents been dealing with this increase in tuition. It turns out that the most common method has been private loans. Unfortunately, taking out a private student loan is the most costly way to finance a college education (except for credit cards, but we hope none of you are putting your tuition bill on your credit card).

Over the last 10 years, federal aid programs for undergraduates have grown by an average of 5.6% a year, according to the College Board. Not too bad... the federal government seems to have been chipping in some extra dough for students to go to college over the last decade. However, over that same period, private loans used to finance a college education have grown at a rate of more than 25% a year, according to the College Board.

We don't want to harp on the negatives too much, but some of the most generous federal programs have actually taken major hits the past 2 years. Pell grants and Perkins Loans, which are targeted at the lowest-income students, have actually been declining since 2005. The most recent student loan legislation will help reverse some of these trends, though, by providing significant increases in Pell grant funding over the next 5 years.

Private student loan debt is still going to be a reality for most college-bound students and their parents (unless you attend one of the handful of schools moving toward no-loan aid packages).

How to Minimize Private Loan Debt

1. Recognize that not all loans are created equal
You want to make sure you take advantage of all the federal and state loan programs before you venture into the world of private student loans. These government-sponsored programs almost always offer better interest rates and more favorable terms than private lenders. For Perkins and subsidized Stafford loans, the government covers the interest payments while you're in school, which can make a big difference.

Learn more about the effects of interest and capitalization on your monthly loan payments using our Loan Capitalization Calculator.

2. Exhaust other financing options
Make sure that you take advantage of all the other financing opportunities out there. Don't forget to do a scholarship search to uncover relevant awards. You might also want to consider a part-time job while you're in school to help reduce your private student loan burden.

3. Create a realistic budget and stick to it
We know that you want to have fun while you're in school, but make sure your spending isn't getting out of hand. While a private lender will let you take out a student loan to help cover tuition and additional college-related expenses, remember that you're going to have to pay this money back down the road... with interest. You should consider ways that you can lower your expenses. For example, living on campus may be an option worth considering since you will likely only pay 9 months of rent (vs. committing to a 12-month lease for an off-campus apartment).

4. Be an educated consumer
Don't just go with the private lender that sends you the best brochure. Take the time to see what options are available to you. We offer a free tool to help you compare student loans. Some lenders will tell you about all the great borrower benefits that they have. Take a step back, read the fine print, and ask questions. Sure, a private lender may offer an interest rate reduction after 36 on-time payments, but find out what percentage of borrowers actually make that many on-time payments. What happens if you miss a payment or two? What are the origination and application fees? What happens if you need a deferment?

While we hope you are able to finance your education without private loans, your education is an investment in your future and it may be necessary to take out private student loans as part of this investment. Keep in mind that private student loans are not free money. Make sure you are responsible and do your homework.

2008 U.S News College Rankings: The Great Debate Rages On

2007-11-09T11:32:00.001-05:00

A few months back, the 2008 U.S. News College Rankings were released. Princeton topped this year's list, edging out Harvard and Yale. As usual, the release of the U.S. News rankings sparked considerable debate about whether they help or hurt students' efforts to find colleges that are a good fit.

Some argue that high school seniors get caught up worrying about where a college is ranked rather than focusing on their own preferences and finding a college that matches these preferences.

Proponents counter that the U.S. News college rankings can be used as one of many tools to help high school seniors and their parents assess the quality of colleges.

How You Can Effectively Use College Rankings

We do not recommend basing your college decision solely on the U.S. News College Rankings or any other ranking system (unless you've devised your own personal ranking system). However, these rankings can often have significant value for you in your research. If you take some time to look beyond the actual ranking of a college and look into the underlying data, you can uncover some very useful information.

First, these rankings can often serve as a quick barometer for how competitive a college will be to get into. The top colleges on the list will generally be the most selective colleges in the U.S. Colleges further down are generally a little easier to get into. That can be a huge help as you start narrowing down the list of colleges you want to apply to. You should be thinking about whether a college is a reach, a good fit, or a safety school. You ideally want to have a school or two in each of these categories when you are applying to colleges.

Second, the U.S. News College Rankings, as well as other rankings, often provide quick snippets of data in a single location on a number of colleges. The U.S. News College Rankings can be a useful place to go to find SAT Scores for the 25th and 75th percentiles of the incoming freshman class. The Washington Monthly does their own college ranking, scoring colleges on what they are "doing for the country". These rankings provide interesting data for students who might be interested in ROTC or public service. You can find out which colleges have the most graduates go on to serve in the Peace Corps or which university work-study programs have the most money going to community-service efforts.

Finally, a major bi-product of rankings efforts is that they encourage colleges to share information. The Common Data Set, an effort to standardize data reporting and data sharing by colleges, was largely a result of the proliferation of college rankings. All college-bound students have benefited from this data being more readily available.

Create Your Own College Ranking System

We've created a tool that allows you to come up with your own college ranking system. Our College Scorecard lets you to decide what criteria are important to you and then allows you to rank up to 4 colleges using these criteria. You'll end up with your own personal college rankings... which are the best college rankings of all!

U.S. News College Rankings - Top 50 Colleges with Links to their College Profiles

Amherst Joins Princeton and Davidson on List of No Loan Colleges

2007-10-27T19:00:00.000-04:00

Graduating college debt-free... that sounds pretty incredible, doesn't it? No student loan debt seems too good to be true. Well, Amherst joined Princeton and Davidson this summer as the only colleges whose financial aid packages do not include any student loan component... that's right. Any student can graduate Amherst, Davidson, or Princeton without a penny in student loans. These three colleges do not put any limitation on income levels that qualify for their programs.

At these three colleges, your financial aid package will be made up entirely of work-study and grant aid. The way these programs basically work is this... You complete the financial aid forms and receive an assessment of your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). The difference between your EFC and the Cost of Attendance is your financial need. These colleges are basically promising that the financial aid package used to cover your financial need will not include any student loans. You and your parents will still be responsible for covering the EFC portion and may choose to take out student loans to cover some of your expected family contribution. That's up to you, but the Amherst and Princeton are doing what they can to make it feasible for you to graduate debt-free.

The programs at Amherst, Davidson, and Princeton are the most generous of a new wave of financial aid initiatives aimed at eliminating or minimizing student loan debt. Several colleges and universitites, (including Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Penn, and Emory) eliminate student loans for low-income students. Some state schools (such as Michigan State, Indiana, and UNC-Chapel Hill) offer similar programs for low-income students from within their respective states.

If you want to see a fairly comprehensive list of U.S. colleges and universities who have created programs to help students graduate debt-free, take a look at the Project on Student Debt's website.

Scholarship Etiquette - Application Request Letters, Thank You Notes, and More

2007-10-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Every interaction you have with a scholarship committee is an opportunity to impress or a chance to show just how little you care. How do you want to present yourself to potential scholarship judges? Make sure you put your best foot forward during the scholarship application process. Not only may it help you set yourself apart and demonstrate your merits as a quality scholarship candidate, but it's also good practice for down the road when you are applying for jobs and cultivating professional relationships. Good scholarship etiquette does not take a lot of time and may help you win scholarships.

The Scholarship Application Request Letter

It's likely your first interaction with the organization offering the scholarship... it's your scholarship application request letter. This letter does not need to be fancy. You should not spend hours crafting a scholarship application request letter, but taking a minute or two may help you avoid some pitfalls.

First off, make sure you get the name of the organization right! We ran our own scholarship here at CollegeToolkit.com and received countless letters thanking us for the opportunity to apply for a scholarship and requesting an application... many had a major problem, though. They were requesting an application for a different scholarship. Sure, most organizations will ignore it, send you an application, and forget about your error. But there may be a few who consider it a sign that you are not genuinely interested in their scholarship.

Second, we don't recommend using form letters from scholarship search sites, where the first line says something like... "While using the scholarship search features on [insert scholarship search engine name here], I learned about your award opportunity." These types of letters make it sound like this is the 1,000th letter you've sent off and that you may not have even read the eligibility requirements for the scholarship. (They also increase the likelihood that you will make mistake #1 above and include the wrong organization name.)

Finally, if you are requesting an organization send you a hard copy of the scholarship application form, it's often a good idea to include a self-addressed stamped envelope. (You might want to check and make sure the scholarship does not have an online application form before doing so.)

Want a little help? Check out our Sample Scholarship Application Request Letter.

Scholarship Thank-You Notes

If you are fortunate enough to win a scholarship, don't forget that some foundation, some person, or some college has generously provided the funding for your scholarship award. As we've stated before, the beauty of scholarships is that they are essentially free money for your education. The organization offering the scholarship is not looking for anything back from you... except maybe a thank-you. So take this opportunity and give them the thanks they deserve. It won't take you a lot of time and may help make someone's day (That good feeling may encourage a donor to give more money toward scholarships down the line).

We recommend either typing up your thank-you letter on a word-processing program or penning a hand-written note on nice stationary (assuming your hand-writing is legible). It may sound old fashioned, but a hard copy note signed by you will feel much more personal than an e-mail.

A few things you want to include in your letter:

The name of the donor(s) behind the scholarship. If there are multiple donors, you should send a letter to each, if possible.
The name of the person being honored, if the scholarship is a memorial scholarship (e.g., Ron Brown Scholarship). It is often good to make reference to the ideals of this person (presumably the person did some good stuff to have a scholarship named after them).
A little about your future plans. The scholarship committee wants to know they gave their money to someone who is going places and making a positive contribution. If you are about to be a freshmen, tell them where you are going to school and what you plan on studying. Are you going to be a teacher and tutor local students? Do you plan on volunteering at a local hospital near campus while you study pre-med?

Try and be prompt sending off your thank-you letter. Don't wait six months before you send them a letter. Also, if it's a renewable scholarship, we recommend sending a short thank-you note every year, keeping the scholarship committee up to date on how you are progressing at school and reaching your goals.

Take a look at our Sample Scholarship Thank-You Letter if you need some guidance.

Don't Forget All the People that Helped You with the Scholarship Process

You might also want to consider thank-you notes (or a verbal thank-you, at the very least) for all the school counselors, advisors, and teachers that helped you with your scholarship applications. Whether they edited scholarship essays, sent off transcripts, or helped uncover relevant scholarship awards, it is a good idea for you to show that their time and effort was appreciated.

A Little Kindness Never Hurts

It doesn't take a lot to express that you are genuinely interested in a scholarship and are genuinely thankful for winning a scholarship. It won't cost you more than the price of a stamp, an envelope, and a sheet of paper. And it's a good skill to start developing for later in life. So what's stopping you... show some scholarship etiquette.

Don't Let the Small Scholarships Get Away

2007-10-15T13:41:00.001-04:00

We did a survey a while back about the smallest scholarship amount that our users would apply for. What we found surprised us a little. More than a quarter of respondents wouldn't apply for a scholarship worth less than $5,000, and more than two-thirds wouldn't apply for a scholarship worth only $100.

Hey, we hope you all win your share of $5,000+ scholarships. We, at CollegeToolkit.com, chipped in, offering own $10,000 scholarship. Unfortunately, there aren't as many of those out there as we'd like to see. So why turn your nose up at that $100 book scholarship?

First off, any money you win in scholarships likely means less money you have to take out in education loans or pay out of pocket for college. Sure, it can be a lot of work to apply for a scholarship. Let's break it down, though. Let's say you spend 5 hours to apply for a $500 scholarship. If you win, that equates to $100 an hour. I doubt you'd be able to find a job that pays you $100 an hour... especially if you don't have a college degree. Spending 5 hours to win $100 is still a good deal (that's $20 an hour).

Secondly, the smaller scholarships tend to be much less competitive. Just like you, most high school students are enamored with the idea of winning one big $10,000 scholarship, often neglecting to apply for that $100 scholarship. We wanted to find out for ourselves just how competitive some of the large national scholarships are... so we called one up and asked. The Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards 250 scholarships every year and each award ranges from $10,000 to $20,000. In total, they are giving away $3 million this year in scholarships. Don't get me wrong... that's a lot of money. However, they told us they receive over 100,000 applicants a year, meaning that fewer than 1 in 400 applicants actually wins a Coca Cola Scholarship. That's 0.25 percent of applicants. Compare that with Harvard, which received 22,955 applicants for its Class of 2011 and accepted 2,058, just under 9 percent.

Finally, winning a scholarship isn't just about the money. It's a great achievement and looks really good on your resume. This is especially true when you apply for that internship after your freshman year and are a little short on work experience. When you win a scholarship, the scholarship committee is identifying you as a student with promise. Organizations want to give their money to students who will take advantage of the opportunities that come with the entire college experience.

We're not saying you shouldn't go for that Coca Cola Scholars Award. You should if you believe you have a shot at it. Just don't miss your chance to scoop up those $100, $250, and $500 scholarships along the way.

Decoding Financial Aid: Making Sense of All the Financial Aid Jargon

2007-10-12T14:30:00.003-04:00

If you've started down the path of figuring out how to pay for college, you've probably been bombarded with words like EFC, COA, Unmet Need, and more. Is the assortment of financial aid acronyms and terms making your head spin? Well, hopefully we can help shed some light on all the alphabet soup of financial aid lingo and show you how all these financial aid terms fits together.

First, let's start off with the least enjoyable aspect of the college process... paying the bill. The COA, or Cost of Attendance, represents the total amount it will cost you to attend college. This number is expressed as a yearly figure. The COA includes:

Tuition and fees
On-campus room and board or a housing and food allowance for off-campus students
Allowances for books, supplies, transportation, and loan fees

In addition to the above, cost of attendance may include the following (if applicable):

Dependent care (this may be for students who have children)
Costs related to a disability
Miscellaneous expenses, including an allowance for the rental or purchase of a personal computer
Reasonable costs for eligible study-abroad programs

Fortunately, most students and parents are not expected to pay the entire Cost of Attendance right away out of their own pockets. The federal government uses the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and many schools use the CSS Profile to determine the Expected Family Contribution (or EFC). The EFC is basically an assessment of how much money you and your family can contribute toward paying for college. The FAFSA and CSS Profile take into account your income and assets and, if you are a dependent, the income and assets of your parent(s).

Your financial need is the difference between the COA and the EFC. It's the help that you need to fill the gap between what you can afford and what college actually costs.

	Cost of Attendance
—	Expected Family Contribution

	Financial Need

This brings us to financial aid. Financial aid is typically focused on addressing your financial need, helping you and your family bridge this gap between the cost of going to college and your family's ability to pay.

Financial aid can be broken down into 3 main categories.

Scholarships / Grants
Scholarships are the most attractive form of financial aid. Scholarships are essentially financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Scholarships are sometimes referred to as gift-based aid.
Loans
Loans are basically financial aid which must be repaid with interest over a period of time. Loans help you spread the cost of college over a more manageable time frame. Government sponsored loans, which include Perkins, Stafford, and PLUS loans, are typically the lowest cost loans for you and your parents.
Employment / Work Study
Work study is financial aid which requires you to work while attending school to contribute toward the cost of education. While, yes, it does requires you to work, work study or other employment may offer additional benefits to you over other forms of financial aid. You will likely develop improved time-management skills and build up good experience for your resume.

Now that leads us to the last term we're going to cover... Unmet Need. This is the leftover portion of your financial need after your financial aid package is factored in.

	Financial Need
—	Financial Aid

	Unmet Need

Some schools will try to cover all your financial need leaving you with no unmet need. A few colleges that make this effort include Harvard, Bucknell, and Franklin and Marshall. However, the financial realities of most colleges make it difficult for them to meet all your financial need. In this case, you might need to resort to private loans to cover your unmet need. We recommend that you consider all available options, including searching for scholarships and getting a part-time job, before you take on significant student loan debt. Remember, loans aren't free. You'll have to pay this money back (with interest) when you graduate.

We hope we've helped bring a little clarity to the jumble of terms you're running across as you look into ways to finance your college education.

Scholarship Spotlight: Gates Millennium Scholars Program

2007-10-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

Gates Millennium Scholarship Program listing

The Games Millennium Scholars Program is one of the largest scholarship programs available. This scholarship was initially created through a one billion dollar grant (yes, you read that right, $1 billion!) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The scholarship program's goal is to help minority students with significant financial need gain access to higher education.

The eligibility criteria for this scholarship are extremely broad, but the application process is definitely one of the more rigorous ones for a scholarship. Don't let that scare you off, though, since they give out thousands of scholarships every year, paying your entire tuition bill.

The great thing about the Gates Millennium Scholarship is that it essentially provides you with a free education. It covers all unmet need and self-help funding (that means you won't have any loans or work-study aid). You essentially get to go to college for free. It is renewable for up to five years for an undergraduate degree in any discipline, and up to six years for graduate study in specific fields. The Gates Millennium Scholarship could potentially pay for you to get both a bachelors and PhD. How incredible is that?

Who can win the Gates Millennium Scholarship?

The scholarship is available to minority students. More specifically, you must belong to one of the following minority groups:

African-American
American Indian / Alaska Native
Asian Pacific Islander American
Hispanic American

Scholarship applicants must be a citizen, national, or legal resident of the United States.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship program is targeted at students with a lot of academic potential. As a result, you must have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher (on a 4.0 scale). GED students are eligible to apply for the scholarship as well.

The scholarship is for minority students who will be first-time freshmen. If you are already in college, you are not eligible for the Gates Millennium Scholarship.

The scholarship program is intended to help students meet their full potential. As a result, the scholarship committee is looking for students who will have a real impact and take full advantage of this full-tuition scholarship. Scholarship applicants should be able to demonstrate leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular, or other activities.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship program is a need-based scholarship. In order to qualify for the scholarship, you must meet the federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship is meant to be used for full-time study at a U.S. college or university.

The Scholarship Application Process for the Gates Millennium Scholarship

The application process is a little bit different for the Gates Millennium Scholarship. You don't just apply for the scholarship. You actually need someone to nominate you for the Gates Millennium Scholarship as well. In order for someone to nominate you for the scholarship, they must be an educator. Some examples include principals, teachers, guidance counselors, or higher education representatives. You cannot be related to the person who nominates you for the Gates Millennium Scholarship. The nominator should be familiar with your academic achievements.

Ah... but the process doesn't stop there. You also need a recommender. Your recommender serves a specific purpose in the selection process for the Gates Millennium Scholarship. The recommender should have knowledge about your community service and leadership activities. Your recommender can be the same person as your nominator, if he or she can speak about your leadership qualities.

So to recap, here's what you need to do to apply for the Gates Millennium Scholarship program:

Complete the Nominee Personal Information Form
Select a Nominator and have them complete the Nominator Form
Select a Recommender and have them complete the Recommender Form

If you are selected as a finalist for the Gates Millennium Scholarship, you will likely be asked to submit additional information, including official transcripts, a college or university admission letter, student aid report, and financial aid award details.

Facts & Figures about the Gates Millennium Scholars Program for 2006

12,000+ Application Received
1,000 Gates Scholars Selected
822 different high schools represented among the recipients
47 states represented
331 different colleges and universities attended

Source: Gates Millennium Scholars Annual Report 2006-07