Create a free account at Insights.Road2College.com. Then use Power Search and filter colleges by where your students ACT/SAT scores are at or above the 75th percentile. Sort the results by Avg. Merit Aid - this will show you a list of schools where your student is most likely to get merit scholarships.

Yes - you can borrow less then what the school suggests. If you borrow an amount that covers the full year, you only start accruing interest when money is dispersed. The school will request what they need for each semester. So interest will only start accruing on the amount that is dispersed, not the full amount of the loan, until all the money is dispersed.

It's better to apply for a loan to cover the full year so you know you have funds for both semester. The interest will only start on the amount that is dispersed.

Great suggestion. Thanks for sharing.

Yes - Any parent can take out a parent plus loan, even if they aren't the parent who filled out FAFSA. In this case, the parent just needs to create an FSA Id and they can apply for the Plus loan. If you have more questions, email us at [email protected].

Thank you!

Thank you so much!!

We know. We're trying to get this information in front of families at the beginning of high school so they can plan, as opposed to the end of high school when all they can do is react.

If you need more help or have questions, email us at [email protected]

Thank you!

Please email us at [email protected]. We need the email address that you're using to try to sign up and we can check what's going on. Please tell us if you're using your cell phone or desktop. We haven't had any issues with people creating free accounts. Sorry for this inconvenience.

The link to the templates is in the middle of this article - www.road2college.com/write-successful-financial-aid-appeal-letter/

The link to the templates is in the middle of this article - www.road2college.com/write-successful-financial-aid-appeal-letter/

I personally put the slides together and I try to get as much data for each year. I can't remember specifically, but if that year is missing it's because the Common App, which was the source of that data, probably didn't share it for that year. Actually, I remember it now - the Common App doesn't keep all their past reports on their website and I couldn't find a copy for that year's report. I reached out to them but never heard back. Now, I'm saving the data myself so I don't have to search for past reports.

We responded to your email to us. Please check.

We don't have that stat. Some schools that offer automatic merit disclose the criteria on their website and some schools who offer automatic merit do not disclose it. In addition to checking college websites for any public charts or tables, you can check their common data set. This will tell you what % of students without financial need, are being offered merit. You'll have to calculate you this number (it's not hard) from a few different boxes of data on the CDS. We have that info in our Insights tool - insights.road2college.com. You can also filter colleges in our tool by how much average merit aid they offer and by what percent of students receive aid.

We agree!! Humanities are so important. The best approach for those interested in humanities is to also build some "in-demand" skills (analytics, project management, etc. that were talked about in the recording) to complement and humanities skills.

Agree. It really bothers me how high schools are so heavily focused on science and engineering. Humanities matter too.

Absolutely!

The CSS and FAFSA helplines are not expected to provide financial advice. You can Google UTMA and UGMA for FAFSA and CSS Profile and see numerous references where the UTMA and UGMA accounts are listed as a student asset on both FAFSA and CSS Profile. The parent is the custodian, and the student is the owner. These accounts provide tax benefits but they will be assessed on financial aid at the much higher student calculation instead of the parent percentage. For many families, it won't make a difference depending on the parents income.

Great pick-up and I apologize for the confusion. I should have clarified the home equity line and not a home equity loan. Many parents have an open equity line and think they have to include that open line.

You're not misunderstanding. I think to some extent both response are valid. There is not one, 100% accurate answer because every school can do what they want and not every school is transparent about what they do. Results also swing year to year. I think it also depends on how popular and how selective a school is as to how they will choose to use their merit dollars. We crowdsource student offers and I just looked at a few colleges to see trends from actual offers. Less selective schools (50% admissions and higher) seem to be giving out merit as part of early action acceptances. One school I checked (Susquehanna University), which has ED and EA, only gave money to EA acceptances, but not to ED acceptances (this is based on the offers we've collected). I saw the same patter for the College of Wooster and Muhlenberg. Here's a different example - University of Richmond, which is more selective, did not give out merit scholarship money to EA admits so far this year and in previous years they gave it out in EA sparingly. So the important factor at play is selectivity.

@@Road2College This is great info. Thx for this! I suppose there is some nuance with this, like anything else.

No, the grandparents information is not used unless they adopted the child. Does the Mom also live with the student and her parents (the grandparents)? Does the Dad have joint custody and provides other support such as housing, food, etc., in addition to child support? If Dad is only paying minimal child support and doesn't see the child, it could be possible it is Mom who provides more financial support. I can't give an answer without knowing all of the details.

@@Road2College mom also lives with student and her parents. Dad pays child support and rarely sees the child, but mom is unemployed.

Did you file a FAFSA last year? Did you use the DRT or did you input your income manually? -Road2College

This should help you enter that info in the FAFSA: studentaid.gov/help/foreign-tax-return

No - you do not split the shares. Each FAFSA for each of your twins is a separate submission. You report the full company shares for each student/FAFSA. Feel free to join our Facebook group - Paying for College 101 for further guidance - facebook.com/groups/PayingForCollege101/

Yes - We definitely can. Email us at [email protected]. You can also check our essay coaching here - www.road2college.com/shop/

Fair enough - it wasn't my best session being concise. Here's an AI summary of the session, which I thought captured the major points: Meeting summary for Debbie Schwartz's Personal Meeting Room (12/18/2023) Quick recap Debbie and Luanne discussed the surge in college application numbers, with over three million applications submitted by November, a 65% increase compared to 2019 and an 18% increase from the previous year. They noted trends such as more students applying early, an increase in applications to public universities over private ones, and a rise in deferrals from early action to regular decision. They also discussed the impact of switching from the Coalition application to the Common App by several universities on the increase in applications. Summary College Application Surge: Three Million Submitted Debbie reported a significant increase in college application numbers, with over three million applications submitted as of November, marking a 65% increase compared to 2019 and an 18% increase from the previous year. They suggested that this surge could be attributed to more students applying early, and predicted that the total number of applications could be higher than previous years. Luanne added that the switch from the Coalition application to the Common App by several universities could have contributed to the increase. Both noted a trend of students sending more applications and a rise in deferrals from early action to regular decision. A more comprehensive update was promised for January. College Application Trends and Cost Considerations Debbie and Luanne discussed trends in college applications, noting that a higher percentage of families with income below the national median are applying early, but the majority of applications still come from families with above-median income. They also observed an increase in applications to public universities over private ones, suggesting that cost may be a factor. Debbie and Luanne suggested that families should research potential costs and benefits of different institutions before making a decision, as private universities might offer merit scholarships or other advantages that could make them more affordable than public institutions. College Application Trends Shifting Debbie and Luanne discussed the trends in college applications. Debbie noted that while the number of high school students graduating and going to college has remained steady or slightly decreased, there has been an increase in applications from underrepresented minorities and first-generation students. They also pointed out that students are applying to more schools, potentially as a safety net, and that there has been a significant increase in international student applications. Luanne expressed concern over students applying to schools they have no intention of attending and the potential for qualified students to be turned away due to the sheer volume of applications. Both agreed that the next few years would be interesting due to these shifting trends. Test Scores and College Admissions Trends Debbie shared information about the number of schools that are test optional and the percentage of students reporting their scores. They encouraged everyone to look at a school's common data set to get a better understanding of a school's preference for test scores. Luanne and Debbie also discussed the trend of schools reverting to test-required, especially for expensive schools and technical majors. Debbie mentioned an article about the financial implications of early decision and how it affects a school's yield. The importance of test scores, especially for merit scholarships and certain majors, was emphasized. Early Decision Acceptance Rates Trends Debbie discussed the trends in early decision acceptance rates at various colleges and universities. They highlighted that schools like Tulane and Boston College have significantly increased their early decision acceptance rates, making it more challenging for regular decision applicants to get accepted. They also mentioned that Cornell University announced a policy change on early decision acceptance rates after the deadline, which could impact future applications. Debbie encouraged understanding the underlying numbers behind the acceptance rates and noted that some schools, like Harvard and the University of Georgia, saw decreasing application numbers despite increasing acceptance rates. They concluded by discussing the impact of test-optional policies and the elimination of supplemental essays on college applications. Early Decision vs. Regular Decision: Pros and Cons Debbie and Luanne discussed the benefits and drawbacks of early decision and early action applications for college admissions. They agreed that applying early can help reduce pressure and ensure applications are completed before the holiday season, but noted that regular decision is not detrimental and can be a good option for students who procrastinate. They also discussed potential changes to the early decision process, such as eliminating legacy admissions, which could increase competition for non-legacy students. The conversation also emphasized the financial considerations that often come into play when applying for college, with Debbie and Luanne noting that applying for early decision can be risky due to the potential financial burden. Towards the end, they discussed the college application process for the class of 2025, highlighting the introduction of a new digital SAT and changes to early decision. They stressed the importance of considering all aspects of the financial situation before making such a decision. Fafsa Changes and Impact on College Costs Debbie and Luanne discussed the upcoming changes to the Fafsa and its potential impact on college costs, particularly for families with two students attending college simultaneously. They clarified that submitting the Css profile might not directly affect admission but could influence financial aid and scholarship opportunities. They announced plans for an "Ask Us Anything" session on January fourth to address any questions or concerns about the new Fafsa. They also emphasized that the FAFSA should not be a priority for students in lower income brackets, especially those who depend on state aid, and advised them to apply for state aid directly. They also discussed potential delays in the dissemination of FAFSA information to colleges, which could impact the May first decision day. Next steps • Debbie will research and share the demographic trends of high school graduates going to college. • Luanne and Debbie will host an "Ask Us Anything" session on January 4th after the FAFSA opens.