A Mother's Perspective II - Weathering the Storm

Weathering the Storm: The Best Laid Plans and all that….

If you’ll pardon the pun, there was an awful lot of upheaval on the East Coast this past week with earthquakes and a hurricane, not to mention all the parents preparing to launch their children off to college. Everything we’d been working toward all summer, let alone all year, started changing moment by moment.

For the most part the earthquake served as a wakeup call that things can change in a heartbeat, that the world is unpredictable. Understandably, even the most unflappable teenager would be a little shaken at that realization, and my daughter was already overcome with the emotions of leaving everything she knows behind. 

College Planning – A Mother’s Perspective I

Libby Kozak is sending her oldest daughter off to college in a few weeks. With another daughter in her junior year of high school, Libby is becoming experienced in the college planning process and has offered to write a series of blog posts from "A Mother's Perspective." As a client of The College Planning Group, here is Libby's first article:

107 Things to Pack for College

It's the middle of August, and school is just around the corner. For new college students and even returning ones, the question of "what to pack for college" is a typical one. Below is our full list of things you'll need to bring to college for your dorm room, but make sure to discuss with your roommates before packing. You won't want 3 microwaves. Ones with the * mark next to them are either not essential or should definitely be discussed with your roommates before purchasing. So here is our ultimate list of things to pack and bring to college:

FAFSA for Divorced or Separated Parents

If Parents Are Divorced, Whose Information Needs To Be Used On The FAFSA?

Normally it is the parent that the student lives with the most during the year.  It does not make a difference which parent claims the student as a dependent for tax purposes. If the student doesn’t live with either parent or lived equally with each parent, the parental information must be provided for the parent from whom the student receives the most financial support or the parent from whom the student receives the most support the last time support was given.

How to Get Ready for Freshman Year of College

We're into August: the last month of summer and the first month of college for many of you soon-to-be freshmen. For many, making the transition from high school to college will be your biggest life change thus far. Today, the Plan For College team wants to make that transition a bit easier by helping you get ready for your freshman year of college.