Hidey-ho, we just went L-I-V-E with our encore financial aid "loopholes" and "landmines" webinar.

This Bud's for you if you're you-know-whatting a brick about how you'll possibly afford tuition next year for your kiddo(s)...

...and want to avoid costly, self-inflicted mistakes on the FAFSA and CSS Profile and throughout the process.  Here's where to jump in:

LIVE WEBINAR

See you in class!

-Andy Lockwood

Tutoring | Financial Aid

Early Decision results are in and, like every year, we've seen a mix of great results as well as some disappointments.   

To the untrained eye, the college application process seems arbitrary and unpredictable.  Actually, it's not.  

Most kids and parents don't see the big picture.  Meaning, who else they're competing with  -- all over the country, not from their high school -- and how they stack up. But if you know the competitive landscape, things are much easier to predict.  The more you know, and implement based on that knowhow, the greater your odds of success.  Here's what I mean...

The academic component - GPA, rigor of course load and standardized testing -- equates to approximately 60% of the application.

The other 40% consists of stuff that's in your control -- extracurricular activities, essays, demonstrating interest -- and stuff that's out of your control, such as the high school you...

Tutoring | Webinar

Good morning, quickie reminder that we're running a free session on everything you need to know about financial aid -- specifically, how to comfortably afford college without loading up on debt, cutting back on your lifestyle or feeling like you need to sell a vital organ on the dark web --- but were afraid to ask!

Or didn't even know what questions to ask, because this schnitt is muy complicatedo!

Here's where to sign up. 

(Feel free to rope in any of your pals who are wondering how on god's green earth they'll possibly be able to afford to send their kid(s) to college, too. Just forward this note to them.)

And here's a little more re:  tonight's agenda....

• 10 deadly, self-sabotaging, money-losing mistakes you need to know about BEFORE you send in your FAFSA, CSS Profile or any other financial aid application
• When are the d-mn things due, anyway?
• How six figure-earning families can  qualify for tuition discounts of 56.4% even...

Tutoring | Webinar

Tomorrow night, we're holding an "encore" performance of our Financial Aid Loopholes and Landmines webinar to help you cope with the "seismic", even "tectonic" changes in college  financial aid.

If you have a class of 2025 or younger child who is headed to college, you'll want to join the fun and get this valuable information that you simply cannot get anywhere else.

The Supreme Court and the Department of Education caused major changeroos in college admissions and financial aid, so this tomorrow night we'll be working our way through the ones related to financial aid -- and what they mean for you. Topics on tap:

How six figure-earning families can  qualify for tuition discounts of 56.4% even If their child did not crush the SAT, bribe a proctor or cure a pandemic over the summer

The strange reason an expensive private college can cost LESS than a “cheaper” state university

The 529:  “Friend” or...

This is the time of year when I offer the following thoughts and rants about Early Decision, and, what happens if you don't get in?

First, the whole ED thing is a scam that benefits colleges, not applicants.  How can something that restricts your choices be beneficial?  Not just a trivial choice, obviously.  A choice that can impact the trajectory of a kid's life, not to mention the enormous financial impact of that choice on the whole family.

Here's the dirty little secret:  Early Decision was invented to help colleges lock up their incoming class for the following year. To reduce stress on THEM, not students.

Putting that aside, who cares if you don't get into your top choice college?  Dumb question, except that there is not much evidence to suggest that it matters where you go to college (See Dale and Krueger).  Sure, there's anecdotal evidence that going to an Ivy League or Ivy Plus college can quote unquote open doors.  I don't dismiss that...