Uneven Pavement Ahead

Is Demand for College Education Cooling?

In questioning the affordability of college, more families are asking, “Is the value of a college degree concomitant to the price?” However, despite annually increasing discounts on college tuition, 54.5% in 2021-22, thus improving college affordability for a wider swath of families, college enrollment continues dropping. As previously discussed in our series about the already…

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Biden Erases Default or Delinquency Status with Latest Student Loan Payment Pause

In addition to extending the pause of Federal student loan repayments to August 31, 2022, any borrowers who were in default or delinquency prior to March 2020, will have their status reset when repayment is scheduled to start on September 1, 2022.  ….all borrowers with paused loans to receive a ‘fresh start’ on repayment by…

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College Price Is, Contrary to Popular Opinion, Negotiable 

Warren Buffet famously stated, “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” Thus, in valuing the education at one college in comparison to the education at another college (or even a third campus), contrary to popular belief, families have the advantage.  Families can negotiate college price, known in educational parlance as “Cost of…

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Post College Admissions Decisions Drama Unfolds

In the aftermath of high school seniors receiving their Fall 2022 college admissions decisions, many people are acting as amateur college admissions officers, including applicants’ themselves and their families. Many speculate why someone was denied, yet another (who seems less qualified) was admitted.  In the speculative frenzy, often, urban myths are perpetuated:   MYTH: Out-of-state applicants,…

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The Stages of College Admissions Grieving

“I’ve been rejected” is typically how students translate being denied admissions to a college. (Although, in reality, such a view is not true, many students, who have been trained to seek outward validation from teachers, parents, coaches, club sponsors, tutors etc as the arbiter of being “right”, “smart”, or “capable” thus worthy, lump admissions officers…

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Satisfaction

As the legendary Mick Jagger belted, “I ain’t got no…sa-tis-fac-tion.”  Mick’s words of wisdom can apply to many high school seniors and their families as the college decision making season descends.   Robert Barkley via Rick Clark, seasoned Director of Admissions at Georgia Tech, is confronting the possibility for dissatisfaction regarding outcomes in the expectation laden…

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The High School Course Selection Dilemma

Choosing classes for the upcoming high school year is often fraught with questions, typically prioritizing how to meet and exceed the college admissions eligibility requirements:  What’s the “right” number of Advanced Placement (AP), Honors and/or dual enrollment community college courses during one year to be competitive for college admissions? How do I balance managing the…

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Chart: New York Federal Reserve Commodity Price Change Expectations, July 2021

Cost of College Continues to Outpace Consumer Price Inflation

According to the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Survey of Consumer Expectations, since January 2021, respondents consistently predict rising college education expenses in the coming 12 months: 5.6% increase in January 2021, rising to a 6.1% increase in May 2021, and most recently in July 2021, even higher at a 7.5% rise. Whereas, just a…

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Building healthy money habits

Guest Post: 3 Easy steps to building healthy money habits with your children!

Although intended for families with younger children, Jessica Weaver’s advice to help kids become financially literate applies to teenagers as well. Inherent to financial literacy is defining one’s values, which is an essential tool for teens and families reduce the risk of college malinvestment. The other day I was squeezing in some work while sitting…

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GIFF: Spongebob Prepare to Be written

College applicants take note: life’s a journey not a destination

College essays are not an assignment to “get done.”   College essays are not defined by the word count or format. College essays are not a resume-like listing of a young person’s achievements, hoping the admissions evaluator intuits their potential thus grants admissions. College essays are not bounded by the (mis)interpretation of a prompt.  College essays…

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