What You Should Do, If Your High School Doesn’t Have a College Counselor

Every high school where I’ve taught has had at least one counselor who was an expert in “all things college”. What do you do if your high school doesn’t have such a person? I recommend you take a look at Free $ For College For Dummies by David Rosen and Caryn Mladen. Click HERE  to get a copy.

It won’t help you become the ideal college scholarship applicant, like my book, Free College. It will, however, help you through the process of finding and applying for scholarships. It consists of twenty-four chapters containing important details you need to know. I wasn’t sure if my grandson’s high school in another state had an expert on campus to help him, so I sent him a copy of this book when he started his junior year.

The book is like having a mentor walk you through the process. It can’t nag you to complete forms on time, of course, but it does give you a timeline to follow. The first four chapters include an overview of the process of finding free money. It explains what you can expect and how to avoid scams, (yes, as we have seen on the news lately, there are con men out there).

The second section of the book helps you optimize what you can receive from the federal government. Although there’s more than $46 billion in grants and scholarships available annually, over $2.9 billion in free college federal grant money went unclaimed last year. Read these chapters carefully, so you don’t miss out. This section also helps you avoid problems with the Internal Revenue Service. There’s a right way and a wrong way to report money received, do it right, so you don’t have problems.

Section three goes into finding money from the state in which you live. Like with the feds, there are grants and scholarships available. Free cash for college exists on a local level too. This part of the book helps you go after this money.

Next, you’ll learn how to negotiate with colleges for a lower tuition. Just like with cars, it's possible to pay less than the sticker price. Plus, you can apply for merit, athletic and even international scholarships from the college itself. All of these, naturally, must be appropriate for your student. As with the recent college admission scandal, students and parents who try to scam the system end up in trouble, and might even go to jail.

Lots more scholarships can be unearthed from private and public organizations. The next section of the book explains how to find them. Some are obvious, like charitable and fraternal organizations, unions, and the military. The last section of this chapter includes a resource guide for finding more obscure scholarships.

The final four chapters of Free $ For College For Dummies explains what else you can do, as well as what you should avoid while looking for ways to pay for college. Whatever you do, avoid taking out student loans. They can't be forgiven in bankruptcy, will follow you everywhere, and often grow so large, you’ll never be able to pay them off. I know people in their seventies who have student loan repayments taken involuntarily from their monthly social security benefits. Whether you buy this book, or mine, do whatever you can to avoid student loan debt.

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

Why You Should Know Your Child’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Everyone is good at something, and not so good at something else. It’s part of being human. I know in which areas I excel and in which I still need work. This has helped me get ahead, and find help when I’m stuck. It’s important for parents to know the strengths and weaknesses of their children. This knowledge will allow parents to direct each child down the right path, and provide support where it is needed.

Students who take Honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes earn more scholarship money for college. When parents become aware of the talents and abilities of one of their children, they can help select more advanced classes in the areas in which they will likely become successful. Likewise, when a required course is too difficult, they can find a tutor or outside expert to provide support.

To make space in the high school schedule for more advanced courses, students might consider taking a required class during the summer. I took health, biology and driver’s education during the summer to make room for a second foreign language during high school. I knew none of these courses would become my major in college, so by taking them in the summer, there was no negative consequence for me. 

Deciding which courses to use to accomplish this goal will depend upon a student’s interests and the school’s summer offerings. Sometimes community colleges offer courses that can be used to fulfill high school requirements. Be sure to check with the college counselor and one at the high school to be sure this is allowed.

When students and parents are aware of a child’s strengths, talents and interests, they can work as a team to take advantage of them. This is also valuable knowledge in the case of weaknesses. By knowing where a particular subject falls, disastrous choices can be avoided. 

It’s a waste of time and effort to require a child to take advanced courses in an area of weakness. It is also disheartening for the child, and looks terrible on a transcript. I always think of a strength or talent like the accelerator on a car, it creates forward motion. Weaknesses are like the brakes. They make the car or student stop.

Picking the right courses will help students be 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

Actions Really Are More Valuable than Words

Challenging Times Require Action

Be Careful Where You Go to College

Many students and families are unaware of the possible consequences of students going away to college. There are many benefits to studying away from home, fewer distractions, becoming more independent, etc. There are also some negative factors to consider, more expense, lack of family support, etc. But one long term negative is rarely discussed.

Students often end up living where they went to college after they graduate. Local businesses set up job fairs on campus, and graduates are offered jobs. New graduates settle into life in the community where they spent four or five years studying and found a job. They don’t want to leave.

This can be heartbreaking and/or financially devastating for aging parents. Families with several children often see them living in different states, far from “home”. New graduates don’t have the funds to fly back to visit family on holidays. It is an expensive matter for parents to travel all over the country to see their scattered offspring and later grandchildren. 

Grandkids are less likely to spend quality time with grandparents who don’t live nearby. This has a negative effect on grandparents and grandchildren alike. Distance may make the heart grow fonder, but it also keeps loved ones apart, which can be painful.

Although attending college where the cost is lowest or scholarships are offered is practical, after graduation plans should be discussed in advance of applying to colleges far away from home. I have advised my own grandchildren to make sure they like the area where they plan to attend college, because they may end up living there. Lucky for me, they want to go to colleges in my state. That’s not too lucky for their parents, however, since they don’t live here. And so it goes.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Publish Student Work Online

The school district where I worked gave each teacher a website. After designing mine, I realized it was great not only for making sure students and parents knew classroom procedures and assignments, but also for showcasing student work.

Each week I picked one writing assignment to use for this purpose. The length ranged from one paragraph for first year French students to much longer compositions for more advanced classes. After students finished their work, they exchanged papers for proofreading. They took the work home that night for editing. The next day, each row exchanged papers and read them all. They selected the top work for each row. Then, each side of the room picked the best from these and submitted it to me.

This meant I was given two essays. I picked the one to publish on the class web site. But before it was placed there, I proofread it myself and allowed the student to make further corrections. Then the composition was emailed to me. When I placed it on our site, I identified it only by the student’s initials, plus the class section, (such as V. T. French 2, Period 3). This allowed the student to be “published” while his/her identity was kept confidential from the general public. Of course, the students in the class knew whose work it was, giving the student bragging rights.

Not only was this a terrific way to encourage quality work, it also lifted up class morale to see one of their papers published on the Internet. It was wonderful PR for the language program as well. People could see the level of work students were producing and also watched as it improved throughout the school year.


For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College Awareness, coming soon from Griffin Publishing and Watering Seeds. How to avoid needing college loans; available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Show Students, Don't Just Tell Them

Important Tip to Reach Your Goals

How to Reach Your Goals

Enjoy Life

Throw Yourself into Your Work

Good Things Require Effort

Full Ride Colleges and Universities Still Exist – Harvard

While the cost of obtaining a college degree in the U.S. has continued to climb, some colleges and universities offer enough financial support to make them virtually free to attend. Most of these institutions are private, and about two-thirds are liberal arts, according to a recent U.S. News and World Report survey. Half base how much they provide a student by the financial need of the family (as determined by the FAFSA form). The others base their contribution on merit alone.

One university where a Full Ride is possible is Harvard University, for more details on Harvard University, CLICK HERE (ad), ranked number 2 in the nation by U.S. News. Harvard is located in an urban setting in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1636, making it the oldest university in the country. The campus covers 5076 acres. The current undergraduate student population is 6,699. It’s a world renown university which provides a world class education.

The application deadline at Harvard is January first. The deadline for early action is November first. ACT or SAT scores are due on the sixth of March. The fee to apply is $75. The acceptance rate is only 6%, but no worthy applicant should be scared away. The average freshman retention rate is a whopping 97%.

The cost of tuition and fees for a year at Harvard is $47,074, (2016-2017). But with a Full Ride, this doesn’t matter. Most colleges that provide a Full Ride do so by combining student loans, scholarships, grants and a work-study program. The most important aspect of planning to go to any such university is to make sure that the amount of student loan required is zero, or close to it. The rest of the aid is free money. It never has to be paid back. It’s prudent to attend college somewhere that provides a suitable education without leaving the graduate with a mountain of student loan debt.

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 additional cost to you.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Enjoy Life, Proverb Pun

Take Control of Your Future

Full Ride Colleges and Universities Still Exist - Princeton

While the cost of obtaining a college degree in the U.S. has continued to climb, some colleges and universities offer enough financial support to make them virtually free to attend. Most of these institutions are private, and about two-thirds are liberal arts, according to a recent U.S. News and World Report survey. Half base how much they provide a student by the financial need of the family (as determined by the FAFSA form). The others base their contribution on merit alone.

One university where a Full Ride is possible is Princeton University, ranked number 1 in the nation by U.S. News. Princeton is located in a suburb in New Jersey. It was founded in 1746, making it the fourth oldest university in the nation. The campus covers 600 acres. The current undergrad population is 5,402 students. It’s a world class institution which provides an excellent education.

The application deadline at Princeton is the first of January. The early action deadline is November first. There’s a $65 fee to apply to the university. ACT and SAT test scores are due on January first. While it’s difficult to be selected to attend with an acceptance rate of only 7 percent, there’s an early acceptance rate of 19.9 percent.

The cost of tuition and fees for a year at Princeton is $45,320, (2016-2017). But with a Full Ride, this doesn’t matter. Most colleges that provide a Full Ride do so by combining student loans, scholarships, grants and a work-study program. The most important aspect of planning to go to any such university is to make sure that the amount of student loan required is zero, or close to it. The rest of the aid is free money. It never has to be paid back. It’s advantageous to attend college somewhere that provides a suitable education without leaving the graduate with a mountain of student loan debt.

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 additional cost to you.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Give Yourself a Break

Controlling Your Fate

Persistence

Growth in Children