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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3 tips for having the college money talk

In our work of helping families navigate the college process. it continually shocks me how few have not had the “money talk,” either between the parents and/or between parents and child. Given the cost of college today, this is highly irresponsible at best, if not downright dangerous. I haven’t heard of many married couples not…

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Insider tips for the week of August 2, 2021

writing college essay

  3 college statistics to know if you want to pay less – Many families only look at college statistics in terms of getting into college, when they are just as important in determining how much they pay for college. DIY College Rankings covers three big ones to understand.   5 best essays – The…

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Podcast: College Planning – Going Beyond the Dollar Signs

your life simplified

College Inside Track’s Cozy Wittman was a guest on the “Your Life, Simplified” podcast sharing her insight on college planning. Cozy goes beyond loans and scholarships for an in-depth discussion on considerations you may not be thinking about. Listen to the podcast here

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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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Top strategies to help grandchildren with college

With the holiday season approaching, there is a terrific way grandparents may want to consider spoiling their grandchildren. Today’s retirees have accumulated wealth at unprecedented levels and combined with the rising cost of college, many now are taking advantage of an opportunity to provide a legacy of education to their grandchildren. However, without understanding the proper…

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Tips on the 6 trickiest FAFSA questions

The FAFSA is a quintessential government form, meaning it isn’t always as easy to understand as it should be. And with over 100 questions to navigate, far too many families make mistakes that are unnecessarily costing them money. Money Magazine compiled the following tips on how to tackle the 6 trickiest questions: Questions 24 and…

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