You Don’t Need a GPS to Find the Road to Free College

You can use your computer, tablet or smartphone instead. There are several onramps to this road. If you prefer watching videos over reading, you can find the Road to Free College channel on YouTube. Just go to YouTube.com, and type Channel Road to Free College in the search bar. This onramp is new, and more videos will be added weekly. Each will contain a tip to help you and your child learn how to earn more free cash for college.

If you prefer Facebook, then visit the Road to Free College there. This onramp leads to motivational posters families can use as wallpaper, or just enjoy as they're posted. Teachers can use them in the classroom for free too. There are also interchanges (links) to articles rich in information necessary for raising the ideal college scholarship applicant. Just type Road to Free College in the search bar on your own Facebook page to merge­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­.

The third choice is a major highway, RoadToFreeCollege.com. This blog is updated often. There’s lots of traffic here, but picking your lane is easy. One contains lesson plans and teacher tips. Another will help students learn how to maneuver. A third includes news about education to enjoy while en route. There are plenty of motivational quotes to use in the classroom as posters or writing prompts. The most popular lane on this thoroughfare is Free Money for College. This is the fast lane on the Road to Free College. It will lead you to your destination the quickest. The easiest way to reach this onramp, is to Click Here.

All of these onramps to the Road to Free College include helpful tips for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and others in the lives of preschool through high school students. The most efficient tool of all is my book, Free College. It contains the sixteen defining habits of successful scholarship winners. You can find it by taking any of the onramps above, or use the toll road, (Amazon). You can go directly to the book and take a peek inside, Click Here, then buy a copy for your family.

I hope you enjoy the ride, no matter which onramp you select.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Simple Tips to Encourage Your Child to Love Reading

Kids who love to read are happier, do better in school and win more college scholarships. If this sounds good to you, then fill your home with books. Start with yourself, because you’re your child’s first role model. It’s pretty simple. Find an author you enjoy. See if he or she wrote a series. I love the Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly. For the first novel in the series, CLICK HERE (ad). I found a list of these books online, and started reading from the top. I’ve done the same for several other authors too. You can buy books online or in a book store, pick them up at the public library or do as I do, download them from the library for free. Your children will see you enjoying yourself as you read through your list of books.

Next determine which books your child might like. This will depend upon age, of course. When my daughter was little, I read to her daily. She loved Peter Rabbit, so I bought her a set of Beatrix Potter books, CLICK HERE (ad). I continued giving her books as gifts and reading to and later with her as she grew. Our home was full of books. She’s a mother of teenagers now, and they’re readers too. If you don’t know where to start, ask your child’s teacher for a suggestion. Look online for popular titles by age, or ask for a recommendation from an employee at your local bookstore, or the librarian in your neighborhood library.

I continue this book giving tradition with my grandsons. Each birthday and Christmas, I give them a book on a subject I know they enjoy. My oldest loves science fiction, so I give him books from classic science fiction authors starting with Jules Verne. He loves them all. The younger boy enjoyed the Wimpy Kid series of books. As he grew older, he joined his school track team, so I gave him an autobiography of Louis Zamparini, track star and WWII hero, for his birthday. He told me it was fantastic, so I bought him an autobiography of Jesse Owens for Christmas this year. You get my point? Feed your kids and grandkids books in subjects they love, and they’ll learn to appreciate reading.

Readers do well in English, History and Foreign Language classes in school. They’re at an advantage, since the act of reading is one they relish. You have time to start this tradition in your house. You’re already online, just slip over to your favorite search engine and type in “Most popular books for ____ year old children”. Order a few books, and when they arrive, write a sweet message inside. My daughter told me my grandkids love the little notes I write in the books I give them. Yours will love them too.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

How Students Can Be Happy for the Rest of Their Lives

Parents and school counselors often encourage students to take advanced classes in every subject. This might look like good on a transcript, but how does it make students feel? Are they overwhelmed, or inspired? Be careful to avoid the first emotion while boosting the second.

I’m a perfect example. In my case, I have loved words and grammar CLICK HERE (ad) since I was little. Numbers, however, seem to slip through the cracks in my mind, especially zeroes. I don’t know why, perhaps it's cultural. When I grew up, girls were told they were bad in math and good in storytelling. I guess I fulfilled this prophesy. 

In the ninth grade we were told to pick a foreign language class. I chose French and continued studying it through college. In the tenth grade I was instructed to select an advanced math class, since I had completed the required courses already. My reply was, “Can I take another language instead?” Lucky for me, the answer was yes. I added German to my schedule and continued studying it happily through college. 

I kept adding languages and avoiding courses I did not enjoy. The result was happiness. I liked my classes, even when they became complex, and competition from foreign students grew intense. I graduated college with a degree in German, French and English, and taught them for over 40 years. If I had been forced to take advanced math instead of the extra languages, what would have been the result? I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a successful career teaching languages. There were times where my abilities in multiple languages even granted me a job over someone with fewer language skills.

Apply my example to any student. Take the required classes in every subject, but push harder in courses you enjoy. Go to summer school or the local community college to eliminate required subjects of lower interest. Then, there will be room for more classes in your strength. Not everyone is into words. Some students love music, math or science. Whatever the strength, talent or interest, feed it, and watch it grow. Imagine having a career in something you love. As they say, it won’t feel like work. 

Picking the right courses will help students be happier and more successful in secondary school and earn far more scholarship money for college. 

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Thanksgiving Holiday Scholarship Challenge

Although many students want to go to college, few have the financial resources to do so without scholarships, grants or loans. I’m completely against loans, since they often destroy a graduate’s future. That leaves grants and scholarships, but they don’t magically appear. Someone has to apply for them.

When writing my book, Free College, I realized I didn’t complete many chapters without having a specific goal, including a time limit. Once I set this up, the chapters almost seemed to write themselves. This could be true for scholarship and grant applications too. I suggest setting up a routine for finding, filling out, and submitting college scholarship and grant forms.

To this end, I propose a challenge over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. For most students, this means four days. For others, it may be five days. Whichever is the case for you, pick the number of applications you wish to submit during this time. They will all be completed online, of course, so you don’t have to worry about offices being closed. My suggestion is a minimum of one per day, better yet would be to double or triple that number.

You’ll still have time for visiting with family and friends, watching football or the Twilight Zone Marathon, and eating lots of turkey or ham. Discuss your family’s travel plans with your parents in advance. Block this time out on a calendar (you can print templates online for free). Then block out your sleep schedule. You’ll do a terrible job if you’re sleep deprived.

You now know when you have free time for meeting this scholarship/grant application challenge. Use a red pen to outline the times you are allotting to find, complete and submit your applications. If you have already filed at least one, you know how much time you’ll need for each. The average student takes about an hour, after the first one.

Sure, vacations should be fun, but wouldn’t you dedicate ten hours of the 120 over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday if doing so might result in being awarded thousands of dollars for college? Go ahead and do it. I dare you. 

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

How to Develop Good Habits

Doing well in school, being accepted to college, earning scholarships, becoming fit, eating healthy and getting enough sleep all have something in common. They will happen automatically for those who develop the right habits. I’ve read it takes 21 days to acquire or change a habit. Breaking this down into small steps makes doing so fairly easy.

I’ll use healthy eating as an example. The way I tackled this is the way I tackle anything I want to improve in my life. Biting off too much at once never works. So I take it slow. Several years ago I read an article about a study on the health benefit of eating nuts. I decided I wanted those benefits, so I made a plan to increase how many nuts I ate.

That is step one in creating a new habit, begin with the end in mind (like Stephen Covey recommends). The article ranked a large number of varieties of nuts by how many nutrients they contained. I started from the top, and wrote down five I enjoy eating. I didn’t bother writing down the ones I don’t like, since I know I won’t eat them anyway.

The article mentioned nuts stay fresh longer if refrigerated. I bought several glass Mason jars, and the five varieties of nuts I selected. I washed and dried the jars and filled each with one variety of nuts. I’ve refilled the jars many times since I made the decision to eat more nuts. I eat them on salads, cereal, and oatmeal and as a snack. Eating nuts is a habit now.

Let’s look at eliminating a bad habit. Many people are on their phones instead of chatting with family face to face, reading books, studying for a test, completing homework, applying for a college scholarship, etc. This is an easy habit to acquire, and some think it’s difficult to break. I disagree. Once you’ve made the decision, the rest is just details. Decide when you want to be on your phone, instead of everything else there is to do in the world.

Write those times down, take a look and reassess. Is this the best use of your time? If not, make changes to the schedule. If it is, then go on the next step. Let’s say you only want to be on your phone for two hours after coming home after work or school. When you enter the house, take out your phone and turn it off, not to mute or vibrate, but off. Put the phone on a table or in a drawer near the front door.

Now do whatever else you want to do. When the time you’ve allotted for phone use arrives, go to the table, take out your phone and turn it on. Then set an alarm for two hours. When the alarm sounds, turn the alarm and your phone off, and replace it where you’re keeping it. After a few days, this will become a habit. I keep my phone in a bowl on the table in my foyer. It’s there now, while I’m here, in my office, writing this blog post. It’s just what I do. It’s a habit.

Getting fit is simple too. This week someone I follow on Twitter posted a graphic of several ab exercises that won’t hurt your back. I printed it and will add one of these exercises to my already established workout routine. After about three weeks it will be a habit, so I’ll add another from the list. I’ll repeat this process until all the ones I want to do are part of my routine. Doing them will be habitual.

I look at goals like the old joke about eating an elephant. How do you eat one, or tackle acquiring good habits? Take one bite or one step at a time. You can do better in school, be accepted to college, earn scholarships, become fit, eat healthy and get enough sleep by making the decision and taking the first step. Repeat until what you need to do to reach your goal has become a habit.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Summer Reading for Parents and Grandparents

This blog shares information which will help students earn more money from scholarships and grants in order to pay for college and graduate debt free. I think college should be tuition free, but I’m not in charge. I can only share information I've gathered that can help reduce or eliminate the cost or college for families. If they do what others do to earn full-ride scholarships, perhaps they too will pay nothing out of pocket for college.

This post title, however, doesn’t look like it applies. That’s an illusion. Anything parents or grandparents do can end up helping students graduate from college debt free. The three books I'm recommending can make a dramatic difference for parents and grandparents, and for the success of students in their lives.

The first book is Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Blue Zones. They're five areas in the world where people routinely live happy, healthy, fit lives well beyond 100. The National Geographic is behind this research into longevity. As the researchers isolated areas in the world where people live the longest lives, they circled them on a map with a blue marker, hence the name the Blue Zones.

I’ve read all of the books published by Dan Buettner in conjunction with the National Geographic. I give them as gifts to loved ones. I’ve signed up for their monthly newsletter and follow them on Twitter. I’m a fan. But the reason I’m suggesting you read Blue Zones Solution over summer is your children will benefit from your doing so. Too many children are eating junk. Too many are sedentary and unhappy. Following the suggestions in this book could reverse these negative trends. You, your children and grandchildren would benefit.

The second book you should check out from the library or buy is Factfulness by Hans Rosling. I don’t know how I ended up on Bill Gates’ email list, but I did. He recommended I read this book. I’m glad I did. It has helped me see the world as it is, and not as the network news tells me it is. I realized years ago that the news can only show a sliver of what happens in the world. It doesn’t show us a balanced view, but only what’s sensational. Good news is boring. Bad news gets our attention. Attention equals ratings. Ratings equal money. But it also makes us carry around a negative view of the world. This book gives us facts, real facts, about the world in which we live.

I think parents should read this book because their fears and negative feelings about the future rub off on their kids. It’s hard to motivate students to do well in school, if they think the world is going to hell in a handbasket. I knew some of the information in this book, but not very much. Read Factfulness and you’ll feel better about the world, and so will your children.

The third book I suggest you read this summer is mine, Free College. It contains researched information as do the previous two. But the subject of my book is what parents of successful scholarship winners do while raising their children that results in them winning full-ride scholarships for college. It horrifies me that the cost of college tuition is so high, and that thousands of students end up with huge college loan debt. I know senior citizens who are still paying off college loans. My book provides a step-by-step guide, so your kids and grandkids can develop the habits of the ideal scholarship and grant applicants.

What better way to spend your summer than helping your children get ahead and live happier, healthier lives?

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Summer Scholarship Challenge for High School Students

Although many students want to go to college, few have the financial resources to do so without scholarships, grants or loans. I’m completely against loans, since they have a tendency to destroy a graduate’s future. That leaves grants and scholarships, but they don’t magically appear. Someone has to apply for them.

When writing my book, Free College, I realized I didn’t complete many chapters without having a specific goal, with a time limit. Once I set this up, the chapters almost seemed to write themselves. This could be true for scholarship and grant applications too. I suggest setting up a routine for finding, filling out, and submitting college scholarship and grant forms.

To this end, I propose a challenge over the summer. For most students, this means eight weeks. For others, it may be more. Whichever is the case for you, pick the number of applications you wish to submit during this time. They will all be completed online, of course, so you don’t have to worry about offices being closed. My suggestion is a minimum of three per week, better yet, set your goal at four or five.

You’ll still have time for visiting with family and friends, watching baseball or going to the movies, and eating lots of hotdogs or pizza. Discuss your family’s travel plans with your parents in advance. Block this time out on a calendar (you can print templates online for free). Then block out your sleep schedule. You’ll do a terrible job if you’re sleep deprived.

You now know when you have free time for meeting this scholarship/grant application challenge. Use a red pen to outline the times you are allotting to find, complete and submit your applications. If you have already filed at least one, you know how much time you’ll need for each. The average student takes about an hour, after the first one.

Sure, vacations should be fun, but wouldn’t you dedicate a few hours of the 1344+ you have over your summer vacation if doing so might result in being awarded thousands of dollars for college? Go ahead and do it. I dare you.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

Photo Credit: Google Images

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Winter Break Scholarship Challenge for High School Students

Although many students want to go to college, few have the financial resources to do so without scholarships, grants or loans. I’m completely against loans, since they have a tendency to destroy a graduate’s future. That leaves grants and scholarships, but they don’t magically appear. Someone has to apply for them.

When writing my book, Free College, I realized I didn’t complete many chapters without having a specific goal, with a time limit. Once I set this up, the chapters almost seemed to write themselves. This could be true for scholarship and grant applications too. I suggest setting up a routine for finding, filling out, and submitting college scholarship and grant forms.

To this end, I propose a challenge over the upcoming Winter Break. For most students, this means two weeks. For others, it may be three. Whichever is the case for you, pick the number of applications you wish to submit during this time. They will all be completed online, of course, so you don’t have to worry about offices being closed. My suggestion is a minimum of one per day, better yet would be two or three.

You’ll still have time for visiting with family and friends, watching football or parades, opening presents, and eating lots of turkey or ham. Discuss your family’s travel plans with your parents in advance. Block out this time on a calendar (you can print templates online for free). Then block out your sleep schedule. You’ll do a terrible job if you’re sleep deprived.

You now know when you have free time for meeting this scholarship/grant application challenge. Use a red pen to outline the times you are allotting to find, complete and submit your applications. If you have already filed at least one, you know how much time you’ll need for each. The average student takes about an hour, after the first one.

Sure, vacations should be fun, but why not dedicate 20 hours of the 500 over the upcoming Winter Break to applying for scholarships? Doing so might result in you being awarded thousands of dollars for college. Go ahead and do it. I dare you.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images 

Gifts That Help Students Earn Scholarships

I’m sure parents would like their children to earn lots of scholarship money for college. Even people with good paychecks would rather save their money for retirement than put it towards college tuition. Yet, most parents are not aware they can help their children earn more scholarship money while giving them presents for Christmas, Hanukkah, or birthdays. This is, however, 100% the case.

Anything that improves the odds of earning scholarships and grants is a benefit to the family. Why not dedicate money that would be spent on gifts anyway to help reach this goal? For children 13 and over, buy, wrap up and give them a copy of Sean Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, CLICK HERE (ad). If you can find it, also give them the workbook that accompanies the book. I kept 20 copies in my French classroom for students to read. Many borrowed the book. After doing so, 100% went out and bought a copy to keep at home and suggested their friends do the same. Pretty good results.

For students in the 11th or 12th grade, give them a copy of Free Cash for College for Dummies, CLICK HERE (ad). You know the Dummies series. This one is well done like the others. It contains step by step instructions students need to follow to find, qualify, and apply for scholarships and grants. It’s a valuable resource.

For children in middle or high school, find a large, laminated wall calendar for their room. It will help them become and stay organized. This is a necessary tool for success in secondary school and will make it easier to fulfill requirements and meet deadlines. These calendars are everywhere this time of year. You can find them online, in malls, as well as in big box and office supply stores. Buy packages of multi-colored erasable markers and a couple of erasers at the same time.

The last resource you need is my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. The book contains 16 strategies used by families of successful Full Ride scholarship applicants. These students were awarded such large scholarships, that their college education was essentially free. These tips worked for them, and could work for your children too.  

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Thanksgiving Scholarship Challenge

Although many students want to go to college, few have the financial resources to do so without scholarships, grants or loans. I’m completely against loans, since they have a tendency to destroy a graduate’s future. That leaves grants and scholarships, but they don’t magically appear. Someone has to apply for them.

When writing my book, Free College, CLICK HERE I realized I didn’t complete many chapters without having a specific goal, with a time limit. Once I set this up, the chapters almost seemed to write themselves. This is true for scholarship and grant applications too. I suggest setting up a routine for finding, filling out, and submitting college scholarship and grant forms.

To this end, I propose a challenge over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. For most students, this means four days. For others, it may be five days. Whichever is the case for you, pick the number of applications you wish to submit during this time. They will all be completed online, of course, so you don’t have to worry about offices being closed. My suggestion is a minimum of one per day, better yet would be two or three.

You’ll still have time for visiting with family and friends, watching football or the Twilight Zone Marathon, and eating lots of turkey or ham. Discuss your family’s travel plans with your parents in advance. Block this time out on a calendar (you can print templates online for free). Then block out your sleep schedule. You’ll do a terrible job if you’re sleep deprived.

You now know when you have free time for meeting this scholarship/grant application challenge. Use a red pen to outline the times you are allotting to find, complete and submit your applications. If you have already filed at least one, you know how much time you’ll need for each. The average student takes about an hour, after the first one.

Sure, vacations should be fun, but wouldn’t you dedicate ten hours of the 120 over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday if doing so might result in being awarded thousands of dollars for college? Go ahead and do it. I dare you. 

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Thanksgiving Scholarship Challenge for High School Students

Although many students want to go to college, few have the financial resources to do so without scholarships, grants or loans. I’m completely against loans, since they have a tendency to destroy a graduate’s future. That leaves grants and scholarships, but they don’t magically appear. Someone has to apply for them.

When writing my book, Free College CLICK HERE, I realized I didn’t complete many chapters without having a specific goal, with a time limit. Once I set this up, the chapters almost seemed to write themselves. This could be true for scholarship and grant applications too. I suggest setting up a routine for finding, filling out, and submitting college scholarship and grant forms.

To this end, I propose a challenge over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. For most students, this means four days. For others, it may be five days. Whichever is the case for you, pick the number of applications you wish to submit during this time. They will all be completed online, of course, so you don’t have to worry about offices being closed. My suggestion is a minimum of one per day, better yet, set your goal at two or three.

You’ll still have time for visiting with family and friends, watching football or the Twilight Zone Marathon, and eating lots of turkey or ham. Discuss your family’s travel plans with your parents in advance. Block this time out on a calendar (you can print templates online for free). Then block out your sleep schedule. You’ll do a terrible job if you’re sleep deprived.

You now know when you have free time for meeting this scholarship/grant application challenge. Use a red pen to outline the times you are allotting to find, complete and submit your applications. If you have already filed at least one, you know how much time you’ll need for each. The average student takes about an hour, after the first one.

Sure, vacations should be fun, but wouldn’t you dedicate ten hours of the 120 over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday if doing so might result in being awarded thousands of dollars for college? Go ahead and do it. I dare you.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images