Tutoring | Financial Aid Apps Prep

I want to tell you about our guaranteed SAT and ACT prep courses, but first, I'd like to address a commonly asked question:

Should My Kid Bother to Take the SAT or ACT?

Let me lay it out for you, because I seriously doubt you'll get this information from your guidance counselor or any other "expert."

60% of a college application is based on academic credentials:

*GPA

*Rigor of course load

*Standardized testing

(I'll cover the 40% some other time.)

If you take away one of the Big Three academic components, then the other two take on more weight.  Simple logic.

So my first point is that there's a difference between applying test-optional and GETTING ACCEPTED test-optional.  If your scores are too low to submit, AND your GPA and rigor is also lacking, you're not competitive and merely wasting your application fee.

What about the "High GPA, Bad Test Taker Phenomenon?"

Not that unusual, thanks in large part to rampant grade...

Tutoring | Financial Aid Consulting

Average ACT and SAT scores dropped in 2024 compared to 2023.  What does this mean for 11th grade and younger kids who are headed to college?

1.4 million kids took the ACT in 2024, the average score:  19.4, down from 19.5 in 2023.  Big whoop.

1.97 million kids took the SAT or PSAT in 2024, the average score:  1024, down from 1028 the previous year.  Big whoop number two.

The party line among test professionals is not that our kids are dumber, but that more kids are taking the tests.

My hunch is the opposite, lower scores are part of the overall decline in education, achievement and accountability that keeps me up at night.  A topic for another day, or never (publicly).

Let's turn to some specific advice for college-bound 11th graders and younger.

Prep hard and take the tests, either the SAT or ACT.  Start before you're "ready," so you don't run out of time.

Take a diagnostic exam first, to determine...

From the desk of Renfield
Personal assistant to Count Andrew Von Fafsala Lockwuud 

Hello. I don’t have much time so I’ll cut to the chase while Count Von Fafsala and Countess Pearlticia are slumbering in their coffins. The sun will set shortly and I’ll be busy tending to their gruesome needs..

Let me be brutally honest:  I didn’t see your name (or even your soul) on the list of victims, um, “people” signing up for the $304.50 off Financial Aid Consulting promo that ended at midnight last night, and I was shocked!  And not in the good way.

But come a little closer, so I can whisper something in your ear (sorry in advance about the insect breath):

I can still get you in for the same deal that expired yesterday.  All you have to do is sign up before the Count and Countess rise again, and nobody gets hurt.  

The Lockwuuds won’t know anything about my evil scheme, so they won’t punish me (which is a bit...

Good morning!

We're hitting the airwaves this morning -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Here's what's on tap for today:

Does applying Early Decision or Early Action hurt your chances of financial aid and scholarships?

Tune In!

Grab a cup of joe and we'll see you at 10am EST (recorded if you can't make it)

- Andy Lockwood

Good eeeeeve-a-ning (I know it’s morning but let’s not split hairs),

I'll be quick and off the cuff, I didn't have time to reHEARSE this -- only a few short hours remain!

At midnight tonight, our offer expires as abruptly and savagely as a stake through a heart:  

$304.50 off our Financial Aid Warrior, financial aid consulting service (plus a wicked awesome, just-added fast-action bonus worth $497 - see below). 

Financial Aid Warrior is our financial aid consulting and applications prep (FAFSA, CSS Profile) service that gets you every last bloody dollar that you deserve to get, possibly even more…

…steering you clear of the horrible, blood-sucking monstrous mistakes that lie, lurking in the shadows for poor, sweet unsuspecting you…

…ready to POUNCE and rob you blind of the financial aid and scholarship money you otherwise should have won! 

This limited-time sale allows you to enroll for an instant,...

I’ll make this quick like little Chuckie scampering around your attic - you have less than 2 days to take advantage of our “Halloween” special.

Until midnight Eastern time, Sunday night, you get 10% off ( $304.50)  our Financial Aid Warrior financial aid consulting program  (and a $497 Early Action BONE-us that we just released from the crypt :)

When you enroll, you will instantly be saved from the ghouls and goblins lurking in the FAFSA, CSS Profile and other modern-day torture devices that stand in the way of you being able to comfortably afford college!

To get your double discount (on our service  and on college tuition!), simply go here right now.

Oh, I have some great news!  We just added ta payment plan to fit your budget, discounted as well. 

You can get started for less than 700 donuts:

<<<< BUDGET-FRIENDLY-PAYMENT-PLAN >>>>>

But both deals will vanish without a trace,...

Good eeeeeve-a-ning...

(I know it’s morning but just go along with it.) 

“Pearlticia” and I have never done anything like this, but right now, you can have us in your corner to help you conquer the FAFSA, CSS Profile and all other financial aid demons for 10% - or $304.50 off  - AND claim a big fat bonus (see below)! 

We felt that you deserve a break and wanted to “treat” (not trick) you, to the tune of $304.50 off!

Our Financial Aid Warrior financial aid consulting program helps you avoid deadly, aid-losing mistakes...

...not to mention all the stress, hassle and all unpleasant, ghoulish dealings with the bloodthirsty zombies in the financial aid office, government websites, figuring out what to file, when to file them, tax returns, remembering your passwords, PINs, the  FSA ID (know what that is?), wondering if you filed properly…

...and all the other things that can go “bump” in the night!

...

Good morning!

At 10am EST this morning, we're tackling one of the biggest decisions college applicants struggle with every year:

Should you apply Early Decision, Early Action or Regular Decision?

I'll run you through the various and sundry considerations to help you determine the optimal way to apply, to give you (your kiddo) the best shot at getting accepted to his or her top choice college!  Yay.

It all goes down in a few minutes:  10:00am EST --  on College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

(Recorded if you can't make it live).

Here's where to tune in:

College Coffee Talk

See you in a bit!

- Andy "French Roast" Lockwood

Hidey ho,

I'm thigh-deep reviewing applications for Class of 2025 college applicants, and one question keeps coming up:

Should I submit my SAT or ACT scores?

The answer is a school-by-school, case-by-case, "it depends" kind of answer.  Give me two minutes, and I'll show you exactly how to figure it out in this short video, using the University of South Carolina as an example (that you can follow for any test-optional college):

VIDEO:  To Submit or Not to Submit

Have a great rest of your weekend!

-Andy "2 Minute Drill" Lockwood

P.S.  Feel free to pass this along to anyone who could use this information.

Tutoring | Financial Aid Consulting

Big news in California, where Governor Gavin signed a law that bans the consideration of legacy In college admissions for all colleges in Cali, whether public or private.  The law is slated to go into effect in Fall 2025.

It's clearly a reaction to the Varsity Blues scandal of 2017, which featured celebrity and wealthy parents bending and breaking rules to get their kids into California colleges USC and Stanford, among others. But how much will change?

I was interviewed on NewsNation in the wee small hours of the morning today and, as usual, didn't have time to spit out all my talking points that I'd like you to know. So here's an abridged version:

How big a "problem" is legacy admissions?.  At Stanford and USC, approximately 14% of the class admitted in 2024 were legacies.  Apparently most of them were within the academic range of the entire admitted class.

Point #2.  There are no...