Comments for CollegePete.com

Comment on 2012 Admissions Results (and Lessons Learned) by College Acceptance Results – Class of 2017 | CollegePete.com

College Acceptance Results – Class of 2017 | CollegePete.com — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:03:20 +0000

[...] Click here to see admissions for College Pete’s Class of 2016. [...]

Comment on A Note about Florida Bright Futures by College Acceptance Results – Class of 2017 | CollegePete.com

College Acceptance Results – Class of 2017 | CollegePete.com — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:03:14 +0000

[...] I know that in my articles, on my blog and in my classes I hammer the concept of ‘early planning’ to yield the best results (see below), but it has been brought to my attention that the concept of early planning for college can mean very different things to different people. Some families, for example, hear me say early college plan, and they purchase ‘FL pre-paid’, and then pray that their kids will get accepted to and want to attend a Florida public university and qualify for a ’Bright Futures’ scholarship. To be clear, this is not what I mean when I discuss planning. It works for some, but… to me, this is hope – not a strategy — and quite frankly, given the current college landscape, false-hope at that. Not only will a FL pre-paid program only cover a fraction of the total cost of attendance (about $4000 towards a $20,000 nut per year), but Bright Futures’ future as a need-blind ‘merit’ entitlement is not so bright. (I’ve written extensively about both so I won’t belabor either point here – you can read more about my opinion about the Future of Bright Futures). [...]

Comment on May 1 DECISION DAY – First Look At Lessons from the 2013 ‘Trenches’ by Angeles

Angeles — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:53:52 +0000

Hi there! This article couldn’t be written much better! Looking through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I’ll forward
this post to him. Pretty sure he’ll have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!

Comment on May 1 DECISION DAY – First Look At Lessons from the 2013 ‘Trenches’ by Pat

Pat — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:59:03 +0000

Hi Pete, I’m not talking so much sports vs big cities, I’m speaking to the name recognition that can get you in the door in the working world. All things being equal, if our child was accepted at Amherst & Muhlenberg & the bottom line cost was the same, we would have advised him to go to Amherst. I think employers value certain “name” colleges & if that can help my child get a foot up in employment. I’d counsel him to do it. I agree that of the 4000 US colleges, only about 100-200 are typically even on the radar of most folks – I’m sure they do a good, maybe even great job, but the name does count. On another note, just read an article about US teens heading to Canada ( McGill- see, theres the “name”) due to the much lower cost of a Canadian college education – which begs the question – WHY is an American college education SO darn expensive????

Comment on May 1 DECISION DAY – First Look At Lessons from the 2013 ‘Trenches’ by Peter Ratzan

Peter Ratzan — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:14:20 +0000

I can understand and appreciate the desire for “name consciousness”, however there are plenty of great colleges out there that may not be as well known in your particular part of the country, but they can still be terrific colleges that do a fantastic job in positioning students for graduate school or the working world. Unfortunately, many students and families restrict their search to the well-known schools who either play Division I football or basketball (thank you, media exposure), or Ivy League schools or the schools in the big cities. Believe me, I’m a big sports fan, and I love the city, but students need to consider the right fit. The point is for applicants (and their parents) to keep an open mind, and to start researching and investigating the options 11th, or even 10th grade. Thanks for reading!

Comment on May 1 DECISION DAY – First Look At Lessons from the 2013 ‘Trenches’ by Pat

Pat — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:48:05 +0000

Hi Pete, we will be deciding within the next week which of 3 colleges our son will attend. I do agree with some of what you say but not all. Yes, there are schools that will give more money than others , depending on your students academic record, etc but they may be “no name schools”. We in the US ( & I count myself among them) are too “name conscious” , maybe rightly so as the “name” college degree may open more doors than the no-name. We are becomning too elitist & thats why many of us are paying “too” much for college. We will be turning down a very generous merit aid offer in favor of a lower need-based offer because of which school is a better fit ( for lots of reasons) for our student. It kills me to look that gift horse in the mouth but we’ll bite the bullet & do it. Shame on us.

Comment on ‘Spring’ in Grand Rapids: First Stop on the College Pete College Tour by Omar Azan

Omar Azan — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:11:16 +0000

Great video Peter and it is a great school.

Comment on Tips For Appealing Your Financial Aid Award by Peter Ratzan

Peter Ratzan — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:42:16 +0000

A great resource is the College Board, http://www.collegeboard.com, where you can get this information on most schools.

Comment on Tips For Appealing Your Financial Aid Award by Pat

Pat — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:39:58 +0000

Pete, pls tell where you get this information: “The next step is researching how much need the college historically meets. Perhaps it’s a generous school, and meets 90% – $27,000, leaving only $3,000 unmet.”

Comment on Tips For Appealing Your Financial Aid Award by How To Ask For A Tuition Break | CollegePete.com

How To Ask For A Tuition Break | CollegePete.com — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:45:52 +0000

[...] Last Spring, I posted a piece on my blog where I share some tips on how to determine if a financial aid award is fair, and what you can do to ‘appeal’ to the school for more money if it is not. Last year, we were successful in more than 75% of the appeals we filed. If you or someone you know is unhappy with what their child’s dream school has offered in the way of financial aid and scholarships, please read/share this article with them — http://collegepete.com/2011/03/29/tips-for-appealing-your-financial-aid-award/. [...]