I read a recent NY Times article that prominently featured Florida’s higher education system –  for all the wrong reasons.    Worst In The Nation:  Since 2008, our legislature has decreased by 24% the amount of funding for Florida universities.  We are now at the same funding levels that we were at in 2003.  That’s so […]

Just a few weeks till Spring Break (not like I’m counting)… And while the break is a time to enjoy some well-earned down time, it’s also a great time to make college visits. For starters, it is much better to visit colleges while they’re in session, when you can sit in on classes, eat in […]

It’s almost March, and that means there are only two months left before parents of 2012 high school seniors will have to plunk down a deposit at Top Choice U.   And with skyrocketing tuition, a sluggish economy, and record-level college debt, many will use this time to hunt down private scholarships.  Unfortunately, they’ll be […]

In the coming week, admissions counselors from around the country will invade South Florida, attending various high school college fairs and then culminating on Sunday, February 19 with the NACAC College Fair at the Miami Airport Convention Center.  This free event will feature 170 colleges and universities from all over the nation, and most representatives […]

A few years back, a frustrated Arne Duncan (our Secretary of Education) told Congress, “You basically need a Ph.D to figure that thing out!” . Mr. Duncan was referring to the 106 question Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or “FAFSA.” And he’s a Harvard guy! A little closer to home: One mom at last […]

Many people spend the first couple of weeks of the New Year slowly easing back into to their routine.  Not so me.  Once the ball drops, I get buried in FAFSAs.  I’ve prepared quite a few already and I’ve got good news and bad news.  First the good news:  it’s exactly the same form as […]

I’ve been receiving more than the usual inquiries about the upcoming financial aid deadlines, and I can hear more than the usual panic in peoples’ voices. It appears as if there’s some confusion not only about the various financial aid forms but also the Florida Bright Futures application. Many folks are under the mistaken impression […]

This Saturday (Dec 3rd) is the last time this year that a student can sit for the SAT; and next Saturday (Dec 10) will offer the last 2011 bite of the ACT apple.  With this in mind, I’ve got a message for all students who are bright and talented, and worried that their test scores […]

Although financial aid is by far the largest source of grants and scholarships, there are other ways to cut your college costs.  One oft-overlooked source of savings is, brace yourself , the IRS.  In 1997, Congress enacted two separate tax credits —  ‘The American Opportunity’ Tax Credit (or the credit formerly known as the ‘HOPE […]

I just finished reading a fantastic book.  It’s a children’s book, titled The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, and it’s about…well…you get the idea. Beatrice is the ‘perfect’ girl with a simply stellar life until she almost makes a mistake.  She doesn’t actually make a mistake, but just the thought, the fear, of missing the […]