3 things to consider before making your college decision

  May 1 is National College Decision Day, the deadline for students to make deposits to attend the college of their choice. But before you send in that check, here are three important things to consider:   1. Affordability is part of fit   Many students choose their college based on academic and social fit…

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Understanding the College Financial Aid Award Letter

  College Inside Track’s Cozy Wittman was featured in the Journal of Financial Planning, discussing ways to create transparency for families in the college funding process and better understanding the college financial aid award letter. Cozy explains in detail the college financial aid award letter, tips after receiving it, elements of good and bad letters…

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What’s in a Name? Names and College Documents

This article is written by Heather McCowen, Ph.D., CIT Consultant. There are many reasons why students may not have all their naming ducks in a row. While working in both public schools and in independent consulting, I’ve encountered countless situations in which the sort of name issues have arisen that can cause the college admissions…

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FAFSA changes for financial advisors

  Check out the following video from College Inside Track President Chris Wills providing a helpful overview of the new changes to the FAFSA that financial advisors need to know about, as they will require new planning strategies for many clients

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Insider tips for the week of August 8, 2022

Important financial aid info – College Inside Track’s Jay Benanav provides answers to important financial aid questions. Take a few minutes to read his advice. Test optional update – CIT Consultant Tiffany Kolb discusses what families need to know now about the test optional path in college admissions: Important takeaways from the most recent application…

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Scholarship reduction – The dirty little college secret

Would you ever consider a scenario where the scholarships your student won actually resulted in a scholarship reduction elsewhere? One of the students we work with, whom we’ll call Caitlyn, was a dream that every parent (and counselor) hopes for: kind, bright, studious and incredibly engaged in the college process. In addition to having nearly…

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Insider tips for the week of September 6, 2021

admission road map

  Mission drives admission – Rick Clark writes a wonderful piece explaining why certain students get admitted when others don’t, and encourages students to consider what their mission in admission is before applying anywhere. An important read to share and discuss with your student.   Why undecided is a great college major – Dr. Deborah…

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FAFSA change for families with multiple students

multiple students

  At first glance, the recent changes to the FAFSA appear to be a good thing: A simpler form with far fewer questions, increased financial aid eligibility for low income families, and a formula change reducing any penalty for grandparents who contribute to college. But another formula change could prove to be extremely painful to…

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4 last-chance financial aid strategies for parents

Now that the FAFSA uses tax return information from two years before a student’s high school graduation year, families of current HS juniors (2022 grads) will use tax information from 2020 when they complete their first FAFSA in the 2021-2022 school year. This is a huge deal because whatever those families are doing (or not…

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