Preparing

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8 Steps to Filing your FAFSA

Our newest guide on filling out the FAFSA, updated in 2023 by student financial aid expert Max Fees.
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Helping Your Child Transition to College

As you settle into your new role as a College Parent , take a few minutes to read the article Helping Your Child Transition to College . The Article originally appeared on Jody Michael Associate’s blog. It is very rare that we re- print an entire article but we felt the article was perfect reading […]
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Four Easy Steps To College Application Sanity

One peek in your son's room confirms that he's in the midst of the college application process. His floor is littered with school viewbooks, post-it notes obscure his computer screen, and his test score summary has gone AWOL. One thing is certain: if colleges are looking for well-organized students, he'll be getting mostly thin envelopes. You wonder how he'll ever pull it all together!
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Why You Should Attend a College Family Orientation

Gathering information about family college orientation
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Do increases in federal student loan limits cause college price increases?

Keeping Tuition Costs Low
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Should My College Student Have a Car on Campus?

Deciding Whether to Have a Car On Campus
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Helping Your College Student Select a Meal Plan

Choosing Among Meal Plan Choices
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Eight Points For Parents Speaking With Students About Alcohol

Alcohol Talking Points for Families
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FERPA: The Form to Access Your Student’s Academic Records

What Parent Need to Know about FERPA
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What About an Online Class for Your College Student?

There is a good chance that at some point in your student’s college career he will have the opportunity to take an online class.  The question is, should he?   There are many appeals to online classes – especially convenience.  Students can complete their entire class without having to go to a classroom or sit through a lecture, and very often, students can complete the work at their own pace and at whatever time of the day or night is convenient.
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College Credit Without Taking a Course?

Did you know that it is possible for students to get college credit for what they already know by taking a CLEP exam?
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What I Read Over my Winter Vacation

While many of you were catching up on your pleasure reading over the recent holidays, I took a different route.Call me a martyr, but one of the many higher-ed-related tomes I tackled by the fire on those dark late December nights was Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much , published by Harvard University Press and written by Ronald G. Ehrenberg, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at Cornell University. I really welcomed the nearby fire, because Prof. Ehrenreich's conclusions were rather chilling.
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Words to Know

Academic Probation – A student can receive this if they fail to keep up with their school’s academic minimums. Those who are unable to improve their grades after receiving this warning can possibly face dismissal.Beer Pong / Beirut – A drinking game with numerous cups of beer arranged in a particular pattern on each side of a table. The goal is to get a ping pong ball into one of the opponent’s cups by throwing the ball or hitting it with a paddle. If the ball lands in a cup, the opponent is required to drink the beer.
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Four Easy Steps To Application Sanity

One peek in your son's room confirms that he's in the midst of the college application process. His floor is littered with school viewbooks, post-it notes obscure his computer screen, and his test score summary has gone AWOL. One thing is certain: if colleges are looking for well-organized students, he'll be getting mostly thin envelopes. You wonder how he'll ever pull it all together!
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Is the SAT Obsolete?

Until recently, it would have been heresy, and just plain bad practical advice, to tell a high school junior or senior with college aspirations not to take the SAT, especially if he or she lived on either coast of the United States.This ritual college admissions test, owned and operated by The College Board and administered by Pearsons, has hit some rocky times though, and now, more than ever, families of college-bound students may want to consider the SAT alternative or not take an admissions test at all.What happened to cause the mighty SAT to wobble?
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Teens Reap Many Benefits from Mentor Relationships

Teens who identify at least one influential, "natural" mentor in their life - a person not assigned by a formal mentoring program - report that they have a higher sense of self and are more likely to take risks that affect their lives positively, according to data recently released by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual.
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Administrator Promoting Parental Involvement

The times they are a changin may be a song from the baby-boom era, but it is also a phrase that aptly describes how colleges are beginning to treat parents.Until the beginning of the 1990s, it was rare for any college or university to think of parents as anything other than good targets for fundraising. A typical pattern for schools was mail tuition bill, receive tuition payment, and send solicitation for annual fund.
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THE GROUND RULES FOR NEED-BASED AID? AT LEAST THERE ARE SOME

The provision of need-based financial aid, at a need-blind school, may be frustrating sometimes in its outcome, but at least it is fairly easy to understand for parents and straightforward to administer for the college or university.
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Understanding University Success

At College Parents of America, we strive to provide valuable resource information to our members, as well as vigorous advocacy. While many of my recent columns have centered around some of the key advocacy issues that we are focusing on – to serve you – here in Washington, DC, we also work to benefit you […]
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Financial Literacy for Parents and Students

Dear Parents:When your children leave home for college, they will face a host of new experiences and responsibilities. As a parent, you recognize that now they will be "on their own" to tackle life's basic functions - at the same time that they are adjusting to a new environment and new freedoms. To help your student in this transition, he/she should know the "financial facts of life" before opening that first checking account or making that first purchase on credit.
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2019 College Humor – Helicopter Parents Are Useful After All

The tenth comic in the College Parents of America Humor series is now available on collegeparents.org. This comic, made in a collaborative act between College Parents of America and Hector Curriel, is a nod to helicopter parents everywhere. 

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State Insurance Commissioners Recommend Renters Insurance for College Students

Nearly twice as many state insurance commissioners recommend renters insurance to college students in 2016 as did in 2013. In fact, the latest trend builds on an earlier report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) that recommended college students consider the benefits of purchasing renters insurance. NAIC recommends that “college students renting an off-campus apartment or house while away at school should consider purchasing renters insurance to protect their personal property, such as a computer, electronics, bicycle or furniture, in the event that it is damaged, destroyed or stolen.”
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Insights & Tips for Considering A Gap Year

We often discuss the types of productive conversations parents can have with their children.  We spend enormous time and energy discussing where students should attend college and the importance of “fit” for students and their families. College Parents of America long-held position is to suggest all families explore not just where your student wants to […]
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College Waitlist: Should Your Student Just Wait?

The college application process is a stressful time for both students and their parents: college visits, narrowing down the choices, SAT or ACT exams, applications, essays, recommendations, and then – finally – your child finds that she has been put on the waiting list for her first choice college.  Yes, it may be discouraging, but all may not be lost.  There are some things that your “almost” college student should – an
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FAFSA Tips – Do it Early & Honestly

FAFSA can equal money for college parents. However it is best if you file early and take care to answer honestly. Those are always topics we aim to discuss in a clear and transparent way for college parents.