Big campus, small campus, and everything in between becoming a part of the college community is imperative. Many times students stop talking about their goals once they get into college; goal setting shouldn’t end once you have been accepted. Yes, being accepted into college is a big deal, and spending most of your young adult life preparing for this big …
The College Visit
By Lighthouse Counselor Sean J. Murphy Every summer and spring thousands of soon to be seniors venture out with their families to begin touring colleges and universities across the country. These trips are meant to be fun and educational, yet at times can seem to bring out fear and anxiety in at least one of the participants on the trip. …
Financial Aid Award Letters
By Lighthouse Counselor Brooke Nowak – M.A. Financial Aid Award Letters: After a college accepts you, you’ll receive a letter that outlines how much the school will cost and what kind of financial aid package you’ll receive — including federal, state, and school sources. There’s no standard format for schools’ award letters, but they contain the same overall information. Here …
College Financial-Aid Offers: What Families Need to Know
By Veronica Dagher As students’ college-acceptance letters arrive, their financial-aid award letters usually aren’t far behind. The letters detail the financial assistance each school is offering. However, not every school uses the same format, which often makes the award letters difficult to understand and compare. Here are seven common award-letter mistakes and advice from financial-aid experts on how to avoid …
Survey: Most College Students “financially illiterate”
Group finds widespread cluelessness when it comes to debt and credit By Mark Huffman Colleges are full of smart people. But when it comes to managing debt, there appears to be a huge knowledge gap at our institutions of higher learning. A couple of months ago a student loan site, LendEdu.com, visited a few California colleges and asked students a …
A new way, REPAYE, to get out of college debt
by Erin E. Arvedlund There’s yet another way to pay back student loans without going broke. It’s called REPAYE. In December, the Department of Education launched its eighth college-loan repayment program, dubbed the Revised Pay As You Earn Plan. “Helping student borrowers manage repayments so that loan debt is not a deterrent for pursuing higher education has been a central …
College savings plans to lobby for unlimited investment changes
By Liz Skinner The college savings community is pushing Congress to tweak the 20-year-old legislation that created tax-advantaged 529 plans, to allow for unlimited investment changes. Today account holders can make only two investment adjustments a year to the accounts, which allow investors to accumulate funds that can be tapped for college expenses without owing federal or state taxes on …
Tips on Choosing a College Major
By Lighthouse Counselor Sarah O’Brien – M.A. Choosing a major is a major decision and it can be quite overwhelming especially if you feel as though your entire adult life is riding on that choice. It is true that it is a big decision but with the right preparation you can feel confident that you made the right choice. In …
The ACT: What You Need to Know
An article from collegedata.com- Thinking of taking the ACT? Here’s a quick overview of what to expect. Your scores on the ACT help colleges judge how well you have mastered high school content compared to other applicants. While important, your ACT scores are just one factor in your admissions chances. What’s Tested on the ACT The ACT measures the academic …
Study shows more college admissions officers are checking applicants' social media
By Kayla Strayer TOLEDO – For many high school students, a good chunk of their time is spent preparing and applying to colleges. From taking college prep classes to keeping up GPA’s, it can be a stressful process. In today’s world, college hopefuls have another thing they have to keep track of, what they are posting online. We talked with …