MIKE’S MEMOS

The One Place To Get Insider Strategies On College Admissions, Saving Money On Tuition & Much, Much More

The FAFSA Is an Important Step in Paying for College

The FAFSA Is an Important Step in Paying for College

The Federal government allocated $120 billion this year for grants, work-study programs, and  loans to help students pay for college. Yet 47% of this year’s applicants failed to submit the form that entitles them to their fair share of these funds. The...

read more
Federal Pandemic Relief and College Costs

Federal Pandemic Relief and College Costs

Federal laws were enacted in 2020 and 2021 to aid Americans adversely affected by the pandemic and to stimulate economic growth. Among their many provisions, these new laws took steps to alleviate the financial hardship suffered by colleges and students. One of the...

read more
The FAFSA and Federal Student Aid

The FAFSA and Federal Student Aid

An early step in every family’s college admissions campaign is performed by the parents. They forecast the amount of money that can be diverted from the family’s income, savings, and investments to pay for college. Next, they subtract from this amount the expected...

read more

COLLEGE INTERVIEW CHECKLIST INFOGRAPHIC

COLLEGE INTERVIEW CHECKLIST College interviews are a great way to enhance your application. While often not mandatory, they may be right for you. An interview lets the school get to know you a little better, and vice versa. It also shows "demonstrated interest" which...

read more

YODA’S WISDOM ON DEMONSTRATING INTEREST

Colleges "score" students on a lot more than ACT or SAT exam scores and GPA. They often also take into account a campus and/or college fair visit, the time you spend on their website or talking to a regional rep, submitting early action, and more. The name for all...

read more

PERFECT GIFTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADS

It’s here! Graduation (and gift) season 2016. Sure, you can give the most popular and common gift: cash. And, welcome as currency always is, with a little thought, there are many equally valuable and appreciated tokens of your well wishes. We’ve compiled five sure...

read more

COLLEGE-ADMISSIONS COUNSELING: THE GOOD NEWS & BAD

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the counseling your high school student is getting about college. Let’s start with the good news, shall we? Research shows that one of the key determinants (after family) of whether or not a student will even head to...

read more

11 SECRETS TO SLASH THE PRICE OF COLLEGE VISITS

Enjoy your college visits even more by cutting costs for those out-of-town trips.Apply these 11 strategies and save! No one debates the importance of college visits. Only so much can be gained by scanning websites and glossy college brochures. There’s nothing like a...

read more

INFOGRAPHIC: THE COMMON APPLICATION

The new essay prompts were just released by the Common Application (or Common App, for short). Wait. Back up! What’s the Common App, you ask? Nearly 600 colleges and universities have partnered to streamline undergraduate college admission applications. These are both...

read more

TRUE OR FALSE: EVERYONE IS A COLLEGE EXPERT

As you (or your child) approach college, you’ll find everyone is an expert: friends, co-workers, the person behind you in the checkout line. Each person has a particular set of experiences, albeit limited, and is sure their experiences apply to everyone, even if it...

read more

GOT GOALS THAT INCLUDE THE FAFSA? YOU SHOULD.

January 1st marked the opening of the 2016-17 FAFSA season, the government’s way of wishing all parents of college-bound and current college students a Happy New Year! If your goals and resolutions for 2016 include winning the college game, we can help. The College...

read more

A COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENT’S NOTES TO SELF

The college-bound student has so many things to keep in mind during their junior and senior high school years.There are just so many factors to consider, so many choices to make! So, in order to keep the big picture in mind, we’ve collected a few of the smart...

read more

DOING MY HOMEWORK ON COLLEGES: NOTE TO SELF

The junior and senior years of high school are packed. There’s all the academic, athletic and extra-curricular activities any average high school student already has. Plus, there are the added preparations for the transition to college: taking act or sat tests,...

read more

WHAT’S COLLEGE REALLY LIKE?

You may be a high school junior or senior, but you’ve spent most of your life being told what to do, what to think and what to say. Now though, you’re becoming an adult and it’s time to act, think and speak like one. One of the first shifts is to realize that not...

read more

ON KEEPING AN OPEN MIND: NOTES TO SELF

High school juniors and seniors years of learning under their belts, but that doesn’t mean they know much about the everything that’s yet to come. Most of what they do know about college comes from media, family and friends with older siblings. The information may be...

read more

MEDIA ROUNDUP: THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Every day I scour the media for happenings in college and careers. Out of the dozens of articles that cross my desk, one or two is noteworthy enough to share. If you’re not already doing so, you can keep up to date with these resources by following College Planners of...

read more

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR COLLEGE ESSAY

We’re in the thick of the college essay-writing season with our seniors and maybe you are too! There’s an excellent book we recommend to help get the job done: the better college essay by elizabeth stone, phd. One of our favorite distinctions early in the book is that...

read more

HUGE ACT TEST CHANGES IMPLEMENTED

Three days left to register for the october act! And, in case you haven’t heard about the recent changesThat were (almost silently) enacted on portions of the act,Read on! The act has quietly implemented a couple tweeks to the test which will debuted september 12th....

read more

WHO IS CREATING STUDENT DEBT? A MYSTERY NO MORE

Earlier this month, two researchers — adam looney of the treasury department and constantine yannelis of stanford university — released an analysis of a new database of student debt. For years, student debt has been shrouded in mystery. Now, for the first time,...

read more