You're a senior. You've got 5-6 worthwhile college acceptances you're considering. College A gave you $35,000 in merit aid. College B gave you $40,000 in merit aid. College C gave you $25,000 in merit aid. Chat, we're going to College B, right? No brainer. But.... the reality is not so clear. You have to look deeper. College A charges $ 67,000 tuition and averages at $13,000 room and board, for a total cost of $80,000. College B charges $ 73,000 tuition and averages $14,500

tools for evaluating colleges for high school juniors and seniors

My college seniors and I are currently in the middle of the "hurry up and wait" part of the college application process. The applications are in. Most of the Early Action results are in. But it's too early to start deciding between schools because, in addition to the regular decisions, the complete financial aid letters are still coming in. It's hard to evaluate your options when you don't have a clear sense of how much those options will cost. A couple of my students, howev

Our kids chase so many things: an A in this class and that one, a spot on this team, a role in that play. Choose the right top, thrift the right shoes, collect the right number of likes. Even friendships at this age can feel like a scoreboard. Too often, adding college admissions to the mix only amplifies this stress-inducing way of life. Thinking about college becomes yet another scorecard -- apply to 10, no 15, no 20 colleges; getting into this one gets you ten (imaginary)

It's November. Seniors have submitted their early action or early decision applications. Some even have started getting their acceptances. Now comes the really fun part -- figuring out where they've gotten in, which school might be the best fit; what their freshman year of college will look like. As they -- and I -- begin that work, we're also looking back at the lessons of this application season. I had a good crop of hard-working, motivated, brilliant seniors -- what I cal

Your kiddo has just started high school. They're getting used to new teachers, a new building, a new way of doing things. Surely, it is too early to send them to a college counselor. They haven't had a chance to settle into high school yet -- there will be plenty of time to stress them out about college later. Why subject your child to all that now? And it's true. There will be time later. But getting started NOW will make things smoother, less stressful right out of the gate