35. When You Are Accepted, Share That Good News!

When you are accepted to a college, you may share that good news by posting your name, high school, and the university on our Facebook Wall at MVCAP Financial-Aid Friends: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=126580419181

34. "Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 1"

The Dean of Admissions at Harvard discusses the selection process in this blog from The New York Times at this link:

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/

33. "The Envelope, Please"

Read the blogs of 6 students on their college admission decisions at this link from The New York Times:

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/category/the-envelope-please/

32. "Average Debt for Graduating College Seniors Rises to $23,200"

Here's an article from The New York Times on college student loan debt at this link:

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/debt/?src=twt&twt=NYTimesCollege

31. "College Dropouts Cite Low Money and High Stress"

Here's an article of importance on why college students drop out from The New York Times at this link:

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/agenda/?src=twt&twt=NYTimesCollege

30. MVCAP 16-Point Advising Plan

Financial-aid advisors from the Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP) can assist high school students and their parents/grandparents/guardians to do any of the following--if and as they and school district personnel desire:

1) Undertake a career exploration to identify matches between a student's strengths/interests and various fields/occupations, emphasizing preparation required and job-opportunities, perhaps via post 100 “Going To College: Step-by-Step” on the MVCAP blog website at http://mvcap.blogspot.com/

2) Begin a college search by determining which schools may best suit desired areas of study and academic programs as well as family finances, again via post 100 on the MVCAP blog website at http://mvcap.blogspot.com/

3) Provide students with information about preparation, fee-waivers (if applicable), and registration, either online or mailing by deadlines, for the ACT and/or SAT.

4) Use an online estimator, like that on the website of the ACT (www.act.org/fane/) to determine financial need by calculating the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for the first year of college.

5) Compare EFC to costs of any colleges of interest, via a website like the link on the ACT site.

6) Search local resources, college viewbooks, and Internet sites to identify scholarships, tuition-discounts, and gift-aid.

7) Consider the advantage of Early-Decision and Early-Action options vs. regular admissions.

8) Select 3-6 colleges to apply to, based on the following student data:
a. strengths and interests;
b. desired career fields and corresponding academic programs;
c. high school curriculum completed;
d. grade-point average;
e. ACT/SAT scores; and
f. opportunity for financial aid, related to need (EFC) and merit (GPA, ACT/SAT score.)

9) Schedule a campus visit; have student evaluate his/her visit to consider “goodness of fit.”

10) Complete and submit online or paper applications for admission by deadlines.

11) After assisting a student and parent in the online PIN application process, complete and submit, by priority deadlines for financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the web (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/).

12) Interpret the Student Aid Report (SAR), received after submitting the FAFSA, to determine EFC and financial need.

13) Interpret and compare Financial-Aid Award Offer letters from colleges to figure the “bottom line” (i.e., out-of-pocket expenses), monthly payments, and loan-debt.

14) Assist students and parents in “verification” or in requesting “reconsiderations” of financial-aid packages.

15) Decide a college to attend and which financial-aid package component(s) to accept.

16) If eligible, complete and submit an MVCAP Last-Dollar Scholarship Application by June 1.

29. Get Daily MVCAP Updates--Free!

Now, you can receive free information on college admission and financial aid daily from the MVCAP. Become an MVCAP follower on Twitter at this link:

http://twitter.com/rottenbornj

Or join our Facebook group, MVCAP Financial-Aid Friends, at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=126580419181&ref=nf

Bookmark one of these two MVCAP sites on your computer and check daily for new info: it's free!

28. "College Applicants Forego 'Dream Schools' in Recession"

Here's a link to this article of interest from the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera:

http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_13604363

To read a summary of the various guides that "rank" colleges, click on the post "Which College Rankings Set Should You Use," by Danielle Wiener-Bronner on The Huffington Post of 9/14/10, at this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-wienerbronner/which-college-rankings-se_b_716526.html

27. "Do Colleges Favor Male Applicants?"

Read or listen to a podcast of this story by Claudio Sanchez of NPR at this link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120300342&sc=emaf

26. John Stossel, "Is College Worth It?" 20/20 ABC News

What do you think of the video "Is College Worth It?"
by John Stossel for 20/20 ABC News at this link?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_24uSPedM

25. "Stimulus Bill Offers Tax Credit for College Tuition, Textbooks, Fees"

Here's a column from USA Today on tax credits in 2009-2010:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2009-10-26-eonomic-stimulus-tuition-tax-credit_N.htm

24. "529 Savings Plan for College"

Check out a column on saving for college at this link:

http://www.minyanville.com/articles/college+costs-+saving/index/a/24201#

To read Lynn O'Shaughnessy's post on how much 529 plan savings will affect your expected family contribution (EFC), derived from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), click this link:

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/college-solution/the-no-1-fear-of-529-plan-investors/2164/?tag=col1;blog-river

For a list at FinAid.org entitled "State Tax Deductions for 529 Contributions," check out this link:

http://www.finaid.org/savings/state529deductions.phtml

23. "Survey Finds That Many Families Don't Borrow for College"

See an article from The New York Times at this link:

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/survey-finds-that-many-families-dont-borrow-for-college/

22. "College: More Expensive than Ever"

Read the article from Money at this link:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/19/pf/college_costs/index.htm