The Murky View on the Cost of College

Source: www.american.com

Happy Graduation to the collegiate Class of 2013! This weekend is a big one for college graduations and the next few weeks will officially mark the start of 'life in the real world' for over one million young adults. Congratulations to those graduates and we hope you are excited for a brand new and exciting beginning!

Graduation season is also a good time to look at the higher education industry as a whole. One of the hot buttons, as you parents know, is cost. And the blogosphere and journalism world has provided some varying viewpoints recently. Has the cost of college gotten out of control this millennium?  Check out these eight articles that provide different ideas on the matter:

Free Financial Aid Seminar in Cohasset Next Week!

Join Stan Ezekiel and The College Planning Group on April 30 for a free college planning workshop. Local parents and their students are invited to join us for a free get-together to learn about financial aid.

Click here to sign up for free.

Here is what we'll cover:

• Why some private schools cost less than state schools
• How “high” income families can receive financial aid
• Critical deadlines to know when filing for financial aid
• Why filing for financial aid is so difficult
• How to appeal to colleges for a better financial aid package

Here are the details:

Date: Tuesday April 30, 2013
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Kennedy Brothers Physical Therapy
                 828 B Chief Justice Cushing Hwy
                 Cohasset, MA 02025
Price: FREE

Click here to RSVP.

We hope to see you there!

5 Tips for High School Juniors This Spring

1. Prepare for your SAT and SAT II tests. 
Scoring well on standardized tests is one of the most important factors for getting into the schools of your choice. Practice. Practice. Practice. Take tests from previous years and  think about taking SAT prep courses or hiring a tutor for the summer if you are a high school junior.

2. Apply for Scholarships.
There are many local and national scholarships out there for which you may qualify. Check out this list of 59 Scholarship Search engines where you may be able to find great scholarship opportunities.

You Just Received the Financial Aid Award Letter - Now What?

You just received (or will soon receive) your son or daughter’s financial aid award letter. You'll get one from each college you applied to and it will spell out your financial aid package with that institution. Through a combination of grants, loans and other financial instruments, the financial aid award letter is designed to fill the gap between what your family can afford and the cost of the college.

Receive a free analysis of your award letters.

But does it actually tell you what you’ll spend next year? Over 4 years? Financial aid award letters do not typically have a standard format from one college to the next, making it hard for you to compare options. In addition to the lack of standard formatting, there are a few other things to watch out for. See below.

Here are 5 reasons your financial aid award letter doesn't tell the full story:

1. Packages change if a student receives private scholarships on the side
2. Letters rarely list GPA, credit hours or income requirements necessary to keep the money
3. The letter may not list whether the awards increase with tuition hikes
4. Some schools list PLUS loans as an option while others do not, however, PLUS loans are always available no matter the school
5. Listed ‘preferred lenders’ may not be your best option

So before you sign up for a college and its financial aid package, make sure you understand the award letter in and out. For help with that, set up a free consultation and analysis of your letters with Stan Ezekiel, founder of the College Planning Group. Stan has been helping families prepare for college since 1994 and is a Certified College Planning Specialist.

Click here to set up a free consultation to analyze your award letters. 

6 Unwritten Rules of College Life to Prepare For

As parents help their teens prepare for college, there are more than a few things to take care of, from application forms to dorm room necessities. But on top of that, they also need to prep students for college life, social cues and campus culture. As you talk to your teen about what to expect in his or her next four years, make sure to include the unwritten rules of university life. Here are a few:

10 Tasks Coming This Spring for High School Seniors

Spring is right around the corner. For high school seniors, a lot will take place over the next few months. Between academics, sports, social activities like prom, and graduation looming, you have to make sure to stay on track with your college planning. Here are ten tasks that you'll have to complete this upcoming season:

1. Send copies of tax returns to financial aid offices, if required.
2. Apply for private scholarships with spring deadlines.
3. Keep your grades up - colleges will ask for your final transcript.
4. Take AP tests, if you have taken AP courses.
5. Review and open your letters from colleges. Compare financial aid awards.

Is College Worth It?

Courtesy of: Online Degrees

Ahead of the Curve: 3 Ways to Prepare for College Classes

You've taken the PSATs, researched financial aid and started college visits, but your college preparation is just beginning. In an environment that promotes freedom and self-motivation, professors, advisors and peers expect college freshman to hit the ground running. Along with the countless new friendships, college also introduces students to advanced academic standards. Rather than badgering students with reminders and deadlines, professors leave students to hold themselves accountable. Rather than collecting homework, they assign reading that is sure to show up on tests.

The personal freedom can test the best of students, leaving them in an academic hole right off the bat. Prepare for the next level of education with these college-centric strategies.

How to Spend Your High School Spring Break

The Plan For College Guest Blog Post Series:
Kathryn Favaro, is the Plan For College's third guest blogger. Kathryn Favaro is a certified college admissions counselor. She empowers and motivates students and their families. She enjoys helping students learn how to best plan for college applications and guides them throughout the process. You can connect with Favaro College Counseling here.
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Spring Break is right around the corner. The best way to begin your college planning is to actually visit some campuses during your break.

Here are my top 8 tips for visiting colleges during your February or March break:

Top 101 College Planning Twitter Accounts for Parents

Feeling a little stressed about getting your son or daughter into college? From applying for financial aid and scholarships to making lists of reach schools and fall backs, it’s easy to get swamped with information that makes it hard to find the perfect fit for your student (at the right price!). You need a plan to stay organized and informed.


In the old days, getting organized probably consisted of colored folders and some sticky notes. But now you have something better—you have Twitter. With Twitter, you can get all of the up-to-date information you need in one place. And you don't need to fly around to 101 different websites to get it.

So if you are a parent planning for college, here are the top 101 Twitter accounts you should follow. (In ranking these, we took into consideration importance, number of followers, number of tweets, and relevancy of information. Click each button to automatically follow that account.):