Please don’t think from the title of this post that I’m suggesting that your participation in a March Madness bracket, and winning, is the answer to paying for college.

But keep reading, and I’ll explain the intersection between Bracketology and getting money for college.

Both exercises––paying for college and completing a winning bracket––are extremely difficult. With March upon us, I get super-excited for March Madness (more formally known as the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Tournament) and my own geeky, silly dissection of the tournament bracket I refer to as #UniversityGenerosityBracketology.

(Side note: Years ago, Wake Forest University asked all applicants as part of its supplement, “Give us a hashtag you wish were trending.” Well, mine would be #UniversityGenerosityBracketology. Think it has a chance?)

What’s the point in completing a bracket using financial aid generosity as a measure?

Because it’s important for families to know that not all colleges are equally generous. When 68 colleges and universities are assembled into a tournament bracket (and this year, all teams will be assembled into an Indiana bubble to play basketball), it’s fodder for comparison.

It’s also important to know how to identify:

• whether, and to what degree, a school is generous, and
• whether a school will be generous to you.

With the greatest annual sporting event returning this month, and one that invites 68 different colleges and universities to participate and thereby linking my two loves of college and basketball, I’m doing something a bit different this year…

For 14 years, I’ve been selecting teams in the bracket using my intricately scientific #UniversityGenerosityBracketology.

Rather than select teams based on basketball talent (that rarely works, right?), I choose teams based on a measure of financial aid generosity.

You see, not all colleges award financial aid the same. In fact, some schools will award merit awards to lure middle- and upper-income students from other schools, even if those students don’t demonstrate any financial need.

To explain all of this, and to maximize your chances of qualifying for both need-based and merit aid, I’m inviting you to a special, #UniversityGenerosityBracketology 5-Day Challenge this March 8-12.

What is it?

It’s simple: it’s 5 days of college guidance from me, delivered to you in a short video, with a downloadable guide offered each day.

It’s free: I’ll send it to you over email.

It’s useful: I’ll cover the key things you need to know (especially 10th and 11th graders).

Plus, there are BONUS benefits: For those who complete the challenge, I’ll take your requests to analyze 3 colleges of your choice, and offer a Generosity Analysis based on your specific situation.

For this upcoming 5-Day Challenge, we’ll be addressing 5 most critical areas to consider when applying to college, and we’ll have some fun by wrapping it around the idea of University Generosity and March Madness.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn:

• How to choose colleges that maximize your chances of need-based and merit aid.
• How to build an “optimal” college list so your teen can make a plan to get into the college of their dreams (and not waste time applying to dozens)
• How to show interest in schools so that you stand out from the pack
• How to “work on your game” during the summer months so that you can improve your chances as an applicant

…and more!

It’s an easy way to understand what you need to know, over 5 days, and have the information organized and delivered to you so you can stay on top of it.

Join me?

Sign up here for the 5 Day University Generosity Bracketology Challenge for this March 8 – 12:

https://www.UniversityGenerosityBracketology.com

Let’s make the college application experience a SLAM DUNK in 2021!