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U.S. News & World Report-Best Colleges

This is not a commercial plug for this publication. It is however, an explanation of why I believe this is a MUST read for any college-bound teen. There are three options available for your use:

  • The print edition for $9.95
  • The online edition for $14.95
  • The combo package (print and online) for $19.95

If you don’t want to fork over the cost for either of these, you can browse their website and find a wealth of information.

It is my recommendation that you invest in at least the print version of this publication. If you’re in the process of choosing a college or even widdling down some choices, this publication will give you the needed information to make the right choice.

What does it provide?

  1. It is packed with articles about how to choose a college, how to prepare, how to get in, and how to pay for the education.
  2. It provides information about the best colleges concerning tuition, aid packages, student body, room and board cost, email addresses and website information.
  3. There is also explanation on how they determine their rankings based on several key measures of quality: academic reputation, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving rate.
  4. It is an invaluable tool for determining past financial aid packages and will help you gauge if applying to a top-tiered college will be affordable based on alumni giving.
  5. Schools vie for the prestige of being in this publication. If a school makes the list, you can be assured that the quality of the education you receive is worth every penny you spend.

And…Since this is such an invaluable tool for college-bound teens and their parents, here’s what I’m going to do:

To qualify for a giveaway of the U.S. News and World Report 2009 Best Colleges, simply sign up for my College Tips Email and post this on Twitter:

@suzanneshaffer is giving away a FREE U.S. News and World Report-Best Colleges 2009 http://tinyurl.com/kk6zg4

I will be choosing a random winner on June 15th. Spread the word to all your friends who have teens heading off to college !

admissions, college costs, financial aid

Choices. Choices. Choices.

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The college acceptance letters arrive. You would think it would be easy after that. Your teen has gotten into their 1st choice school and it’s simple; you fire off the acceptance letter to that school and the deposit and it’s a done deal.

But wait. What if some of the other schools offer financial aid packages that are just too good to be true? Like for instance: a full ride, numerous academic scholarships and grants, along with other incentives like reduced housing for the freshman year. Since the college market is highly competitive, it’s possible that you could be faced with an even more difficult dilemma: attend your 1st choice school OR attend a school offering a better financial aid package.

That’s exactly what happened to us. Through a series of events out of our control, the high school neglected to send my daughter’s mid-year transcript to Boston University.  Because we neglected to follow up, we did not know that was the case. When her financial aid package arrived from BU, it was completely defunct of ANY aid, except a small Stafford Loan. All the other colleges offered her multiple academic scholarships based on her mid-term transcript. One phone call ascertained the reason behind it and since the tuition was incredibly high, it knocked out her 1st choice school immediately.

Here are some lessons we learned:

Always follow up on important submissions to colleges–it’s your responsibility to verify they received ALL documentation prior to the financial aid decision

When your acceptances and financial aid packages arrive, compare them carefully. It’s highly possible that an aid package from an expensive private university will outshine the aid package from a state funded public university

Remember that there are many factors to take into consideration when making the final choice: aid package, course offerings, size, location, and don’t exclude your “gut” feeling.

Be sure when you apply that every school in your application pool is one you would like to attend. If you are offered a free ride to a school that was bottom on your list, but you put it there for a reason, you want to be able to seriously consider choosing it.

And…my personal final thought:

Everything happens for a reason. Although my daughter was not able to attend Boston University, another Boston college was in her pool of schools and it turned out was a much better fit for her in the long run.

If you do your homework in advance, the choices, although they might be difficult, will end up being the right ones in the long run and your teen will enjoy a wonderfully exciting and academically challenging college experience.