collegeparent

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“My Young Adult is F.I.N.E.”

How we can ask more specific questions to ensure that our young adults aren’t struggling in silence and be honest about what they’re experiencing in higher education. When asking “How are you?” to your young adult, have you ever wondered if there’s something more behind the curtains of their “I’m fine” answer?  I wish I […]

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Habits Build Student 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 with resource information that hits home wherever you live.One of those key resource areas involves the question of academic preparation for college, not just what it takes to get in to school, but what it takes to succeed.
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The Cost of Tuition-Free Public College

  pic (cc-license) from flickr user John Cooper With the arrival of the new year, it's great to think big... and big ideas already abound in this still-young year. Multiple colleges have announced that they will slash tuition. UC Davis is trying to showcase unique student achievements through a 'badging' system. Gallup and Purdue University are teaming up to measure student outcomes post-graduation. And a senate bill seeks more college accountability for student loans. But here's a big idea you may not have heard about: making public college tuition free for all students.
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The Importance of Filing the FAFSA Early and Honestly

Money. Money for college. Those are always topics we aim to discuss in a clear and transparent way for college parents. First, financial aid isn't always as simple as qualifying according to need--when you file also matters. Also, defrauding the government with regard to financial aid is a terrible idea.
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Tufts’ new strategy for encouraging students to take a gap year

  Approximately 55,000 students took a gap year before their freshman college year to volunteer, intern, travel and work. For those who would like to supplement their collegiate academic experience with a cross-cultural experience, this is a welcome statistic. And gap years seem to pay off in the long run, as gap years seem to correlate with increased employability, higher GPA, higher wages, higher motivation and much more (see the American Gap Association's list here). For some families, though, the reaction to a gap year is likely to be: that sounds great, but who has the extra money for that? And that’s what makes what Tufts has recently announced so appealing.