Last night I had the privilege of attending commencement ceremonies for the Xceed Preparatory Class of 2023! And I’m not gonna lie, I got a little emotional. You see, we’ve been advising Xceed families since the school’s inception 6 years ago and we were so thrilled to celebrate with the students, to help shine a […]

In 17 years of helping students and parents navigate the college admissions and financial aid landscape, I have personally prepared and submitted around 4,000 financial aid applications. During that time, there have been a few, relatively minor tweaks to the main financial aid application – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Well that’s about […]

Today is ‘Decision Day’ for our college-bound high school seniors  (and the parents who love them). May 1 is the day that the deposits are due, and let’s just say it can be an equal parts anxiety-inducing and euphoric day. Mostly euphoric we hope, but the day can be anxiety-inducing for many because this year has been yet another record-setting year […]

Faced with what The Wall Street Journal once called a ‘mind-numbingly complex’ process of evaluating 4000 universities and determining which are the ‘best’, families often turn to independently produced and widely-touted but rather dubious indices and rankings systems (yes, US News, I’m talking ’bout you). I have so many students who, when they’re first building […]

Here’s a little something that many of our newer readers are surprised (in a good way) to learn. Unlike typical admissions decisions, the financial aid offers that accompany your admissions letters are far less final. With financial aid, you have more room to maneuver, to appeal, even (gasp!) to negotiate a stingy offer than you […]

March Madness is around the corner, and with it comes my 15th annual University Generosity Bracketology. So I’m going to get right to the point. Some colleges are generous. Some colleges have strong basketball programs… …and some colleges are both generous AND have strong basketball programs. Why does all of this matter? There are two […]

With Valentine’s Day only a week away, I’m asking all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade college-bound students NOT to fall in love. With any particular college, that is. But before getting into all of that, I must confess that I’m a hopeless romantic. I married my college sweetheart, entranced by her beautiful blue eyes, Cheshire […]

If you know me outside my “College Pete” work persona, you may know that I am a die-hard sports fan, specifically for the Miami Dolphins. I was sitting on my couch with my daughter last Sunday, tirelessly watching (and screaming at the TV) the Miami Dolphins struggle against and lose to the Los Angeles Chargers […]

When you attend a live concert (assuming of course that you could get tickets –  hello, Swifties);  or even when you watch someone give a motivational Ted Talk on YouTube, you can bet those presenters probably had a ‘realistic’ rehearsal with a sound check. You know: “Testing, testing,1, 2, 3. Am I coming in loud and […]

‘Tis definitely the season – and no, I’m not referring to the fact that Home Depot has Christmas decorations for sale. For me, my colleagues and our college-bound families, we’re plowing through this year’s admissions/applications season. (We spent the weekend wishing the best to all our Florida applicants as they submitted their FSU applications this […]