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The financial aid process is confusing at best and for many college-bound students and their parents, it can be incomprehensible. MyCollegeCalendar.org provides a simple, user-friendly flowchart of the entire process showing the types of aid, when to apply, and when students should be notified of scholarship and grant awards.
College-bound high school juniors should begin thinking about a college major they would like to study. Students should consider not only their interests, but their skills, talents, and personality. MyCollegeCalendar.org provides advice and links to help students research and select a major.
While the “sticker price” for attending college continues to climb, the net cost — after taking into account grants and discounts — is actually lower now than five years ago, according to Sandy Baum, a former professor at Skidmore College and an economist at the College Board.
College-bound students who have submitted their application for admission should send a cover letter and a copy of their résumé to college representatives. Sending a letter and student résumé to college representatives will make an excellent impression and may prompt them to contact the admissions office on behalf of the student.
MyCollegeCalendar.org provides an example admission advocate cover letter.
Sometimes parents encourage students to apply to all available scholarships to increase the chances of winning scholarship money. This cannot be done effectively. MyCollegeCalendar.org advises to avoid this pitfall.
University of California regents are about to consider raising - or, in some cases, initiating - surcharges on certain graduate programs. This plan, while inevitable in the face of shrinking state support, is regrettable in many ways.
In 24 of those programs, the increases will violate UC policy and a long-standing source of pride and opportunity for Californians: The notion that admission to a top-flight public university was a relative bargain here. In-state graduate students now pay a baseline fee of about $10,000, with higher fees on certain professional schools.
It seems that community college enrollment is way up across the country. How are these institutions doing financially? What portion of their funding comes from the federal vs state vs local levels?
College-bound students using the Regular Admission process will soon be requesting letters of recommendation from teachers and counselor(s). MyCollegeCalendar.org offers great advice for requesting recommendations, including an example cover letter.
Students need to clean-up any questionable personal information they (or their friends - if friends’ information includes them) have posted on Facebook, MySpace, or other social network sites. Many colleges and universities review information and photographs posted on the internet by student applicants to see the personal side of students.
Also, if there is information and/or photographs students don’t want college admission officers to see on a social network site and students can’t remove the information (for whatever the reason), then they must set privacy settings so admission officers trying to find them online can’t view information that could cause their application for admission to be denied.
