| | | Watch The Recording!
Sorry I'm a little late in sending out the recording. We had some editing glitches. The above recording is from a session I did a few weeks ago. There are timestamps in the description of the video if you want to skip around.
Click below to watch the session in its entirety...
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| | Here are some important topics I discussed:
- College Insights compiles data from multiple sources: IPEDS, Common Data Sets, 3rd party sources, and over 6000 crowdsourced college offers from families
- There are multiple ways to use College Insights:
- Check colleges already on your student's colleges list to review if the colleges offer merit scholarships, and if so how much and what did other students receive.
- Do a reverse-lookup: Enter your student's stats and preferences (major, location, size), select to match students in the 75th percentile and review the results of colleges. Sort the columns of "Avg Merit Amount" and "% of Students without Financial Need" in descending order.
- Look for schools with Early Action and early deadlines for merit scholarships: Believe it or not, some schools have extended early action deadlines so check websites to see the dates. If you find a college where your student can still apply early action, there's NO downside, only an upside of your student getting a merit scholarship and knowing sooner.
Answers to some questions you asked: - Do merit scholarships need a separate application? Sometimes. This varies college by college. Some colleges review every applicant for a merit scholarship. Other colleges require a student to submit a separate application, potentially with an extra essay too. Check the college's website or call the admissions office to get the specific details for how to apply for merit scholarships at each college.
- When is the latest my student can submit test scores and/or an improved GPA to be considered for merit scholarships? Again - it depends on each college. Some colleges will allow students to submit test scores and/or improved GPAs after they have been accepted. Ask the college!
- Is EFC connected to getting merit scholarships? Yes and No. Your EFC determines whether your student is eligible for needs based aid at each school. If your student is eligible for needs based aid, a college will offer this type of institutional aid first (up to whatever percentage need the college meets). If your student has no financial need, the EFC is not considered when reviewing your student for merit scholarship eligibility.
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| | | | Receive a FREE Copy of Who Gets In and Why |
| | We'll be randomly selecting 10 new subscribers to College Insights to receive a free copy of Who Gets In and Why.
If you subscribe between Sunday (11/22) and midnight Wednesday (11/25), you're eligible.
Who Gets In and Why is a great compliment to using College Insights, because it's the inside story of how admissions offices review applications, the history behind all the marketing your student receives, and a peak into when and how finances are considered in the admissions decision.
You might be a little shocked at learning all of this, but it's better to be "in the know" than not.
If you don't hear from me by Thanksgiving about a free book, get a copy of the book anyway. You won't regret it.
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| | | Thanks For All The Lovely Comments
We've already had several hundred families sign up to use College Insights.
Here are what some of them had to say (all of these are unsolicited comments): |
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Read below how this parent is using College Insights to find colleges with merit scholarships for her student and which have early action deadlines. |
| | | My goal is to help families like yours and mine get through college admissions and paying for it with as little pain (emotional and monetary) as possible; and with as much data, tools, and guidance without breaking the bank.
I'm always open for suggestions, so don't be shy to email me with your thoughts on College Insights or anything we do on Road2College and Paying for College 101.
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| | | *For now, College Insights is best used from a desktop or laptop. The mobile version will be available in 2021.
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| | Debbie Schwartz Founder, Road2College I'm a parent, like many of you, navigating college admissions and paying for college. With an expertise in personal finance, analysis, and marketing, I'm working to give families the information and tools to make smarter financial college decisions. |
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