App Tuesday, organization

Free Apps for College-Prep Organization

 

College-bound students have so many tasks to complete and remember during the college-prep process. Luckily, there are apps for college-prep organization. This is great news because teens live and die with their smartphones. Having these tools at their disposal should help.

Here are five apps that will help your college-bound teen stay organized during those labor-intensive college-prep years.

1. Evernote

college prep organization

Free online tools like Evernote can also help your student keep things organized. This downloadable tool can be easily accessed, so you can access and edit your college application notes whenever you need to. Soon-to-be college students can use Evernote to create virtual notebooks for each school, organize important deadlines and track key documents such as transcripts, test stores and recommendations.Sound complicated? Don’t let its complexity turn you off. Mashable created a beginner’s guide to using the app.

2. GoogleDrive

organization app

GoogleDrive gives students the tools to get things done. Create new documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on your own or share and collaborate with others in real time. You can access your documents anytime, making them always available. All your changes are saved automatically in Drive. There isn’t even a save button. Connect with others by chatting right inside Docs, Sheets, and Slides, or leave comments on files and images. Add a + in front of an email address in a comment and Drive will send them an email so they know to follow up.

3. Naviance

college prep organizationStudents can now take Naviance on the go with the Naviance Student mobile App. Improve collaboration and help students stay organized with an easy-to-use college research tool. Students can also see upcoming deadlines and set reminders to stay on track. Naviance Student is fully synced with the Family Connection so students will have all of their most important information wherever they may be—at school, at home, or on their phone.

4. Remember the Milk

college prep organizationTake your to-do list anywhere with this feature-packed app; never forget the milk (or anything else) again. Remember The Milk (RTM) for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad connects with the popular online service of the same name. With millions of users worldwide, Remember The Milk is everywhere you are: from mobile to the web to apps including Outlook, iCal, Gmail, Google Calendar, Twitter, and more. Key features allow you to add and complete tasks; sync with your online account; organize the way you want to with priorities, due dates, time estimates, repeating, lists, tags and more; get reminded via email, SMS, and instant messenger.

 

admissions, mom approved tips

Mom-Approved Tips: Know When to Hold’em; Know When to Fold’em

 

making college decisionsIt’s coming down to the wire for making college decisions and you and your teen have to decide on a college by the May 1st deadline. For some families, it’s easy. For others, it’s emotional and gut wrenching. If your student got into their dream college and the money is there, congratulations. If your student was waitlisted, or there’s a financial issue, or they didn’t get an offer of admission to their first choice college it’s time to examine the deck. By doing this, you can help your teen make the best decision.

The wait list card

If your teen gets waitlisted, it’s time to fold. Even though some students do get off the waitlist, it’s too much of a gamble to take; especially if other colleges are offering admission. The risk you take is not worth the reward. Toss in the card and move on to the next hand.

The rejection card

Nobody likes this card. It’s a deal-breaker and you have no choice but to fold and move on. It’s disappointing but there is a better card in the deck.

The admission card

This is the payoff. With these cards you have a full house. Hold on to them and treat them as they are—winners. There are no losers with admission cards and even if they weren’t the cards you wanted they will reward you in the end. It’s from these cards that your teen will pick the college they attend. Evaluate their worth and look deeper into their face value. Your teen might discover a wild card in the bunch that trumps all the other cards in their hand.

The financial aid card

This is the high card, or the ace, because it improves your hand and increases your winnings. When colleges send this card to accepted students, the amount on the card is a direct indication of how much a college wants you to accept their offer of admission.

When your student mailed off their college applications, it was a gamble. They were all in and now it’s time to claim the winnings. The right college for the right price is a jackpot.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Top 10 Scholarship Posts

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top 10Today I’m sharing my top 10 posts about specific scholarships, the scholarship application process, and scholarship tips. If you haven’t looked at them before, this is a good time to check them out. Sit down with a cup of coffee and be prepared to be informed!

1. Scholarships for special groups

This is a recap of some previous posts about college scholarships for special groups. If your college-bound teen fits into any of these groups these posts should help you find scholarships.

Read more . . .

2. Minority scholarships

Your cultural heritage, your sex, and your sexual orientation could end up paying for your college education. There are scholarships and grants that are reserved for specific minority groups. You don’t need to be a first generation immigrant to qualify for these scholarships; you just have to prove that you are indeed a member of the minority to qualify for the awards.

Read more . . .

3. How to apply for scholarships

There are many scholarship opportunities that anyone can apply for. Some are merit based, meaning you need to meet particular standards, some are based on financial need, and there are many for having a certain background. They can be awards of a few hundred dollars or can cover all of your tuition costs, but whatever the amount, they will decrease the price of your education. How do you apply for scholarships?

Read more . . .

4. Go local

Consider going local. Unearth local scholarships in your own community. The applicant pools for these scholarships are smaller and your chances of winning them increases. You will be surprised at the local scholarships that are often overlooked and no scholarship money is dispersed.

Check out these resources and add them to your scholarship search criteria:

Read more . . .

5. Merit Aid

Financial aid is always on the minds of parents and students, especially when they begin to research college costs and their financial aid statistics. The terms can be a bit confusing and today I want to discuss merit aid and answer a few questions about what it is, how do you find it, and how do you apply for it.

Read more . . .

6. What are the odds?

Most students hope for some sort of scholarship for college. Few are able to pay for the entire four years. Parents dream of getting that letter in the mail that says, “Congratulations, you have won a full ride for four years.” It happens, but it’s not the norm. The students who receive scholarships work hard and spend time searching and applying.

Read more . . .

7. Ask an expert

My commitment has always been to provide parents with the best information available to help with the college process. I recently listened to two podcasts on How to Pay for College HQ about scholarships. The guest was Elizabeth Hartley, owner of Scholarship Gold Consulting. I thought the information was so valuable, I wanted to share some of the excerpts with you. Make a point to listen to both complete interviews (you won’t regret it and you will save money paying for college) via the podcasts.

Read more . . .

8. 10 Scholarship summer prep tips

For students, summer vacation usually means sun, beaches, and fun.  For parents of the college-bound, however, summer means one step closer to college tuition bills and students loans.  There are a number of things students can do to get a jump-start in the college scholarship process during the summer, while at the same time saving time for fun in the sun.

Read more . . .

9. 10 Easy Scholarships

What could be easier than winning a scholarship and you didn’t even have to write an essay and/or fill out a long application? There isn’t. The rewards may not be as big as those long, involved essay scholarships, but 10 $1000 scholarships add up to $10,000. That’s not chump change! Most of them just take a few minutes to enter:

Read more . . .

10. Should your college-bound student apply for scholarships?

There is great discussion among parents about whether or not scholarship applications are worth it. I happen to be one who believes they are. My daughter attended an expensive private university based on the scholarships she won from outside sources and from the university itself. Those scholarships allowed her to attend a school that was financially out of reach. Hence, I’m a firm believer in the value of scholarships.

Read more . . .

admissions, Zinch posts

Making the Final College Decision

 

college decision
photo from Zinch at MoreThanATestScore.com

May is quickly approaching. In just 20 short days your student will be required to choose which college they will be attending. For many, the choice is easy–they received an offer of admission from their first choice college. Or is it? Are there things you should consider? And what if your student didn’t receive an offer of admission from her first choice college? What are her options? How can she choose the right school for her and be happy? And here’s a kicker–what if she received an offer of admission to her dream college, but the money to pay for it just isn’t there?

All these questions, and more are answered in an article I wrote for Zinch about weighing your college options before making your final college decision. Following are the topics covered:

    1. Compare the financial differences
    2. Discuss the decision with others
    3. Ask questions
    4. Consider factors unrelated to the education
    5. Delve further into academics
    6. Explore the campus
    7. Make a pro/con list

The college your student attends is an important decision. Before you mail off that card to a college or accept online, you should weigh your options.

Read all the tips in Zinch’s article:

Weighing Your College Options

 

parenting, Uncategorized, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: Obey the Rules

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Sign up for my FREE parent tips email and get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Suzanne and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from pocsmom.com to parentingforcollege and vice versa.

 ______________________________

obey the rulesIt’s the never ending battle that ensues during those teenage years: who’s in charge? Teens feel that since they are growing toward independence, they should be in charge. Parents, knowing that the teens aren’t quite adults and fearing the fact that they will eventually leave, clamp down on the rules, and rightly so. To a teenager however, rules are made to be broken. Unfortunately, the rules of college prep will have negative consequences if they are not obeyed.

Here are just a few rules that your teen may be tempted to break during the college prep process that could hurt their college chances:

Study before play

Believe it or not, the most important bargaining tool your student has is his grades. It’s not the SAT’s or the extracurriculars. It’s his grades and the courses he takes during high school. Colleges look first and foremost at the grades and the quality of the courses he took. Allowing him to break this rule could have negative affect on his college application. Enforce this rule before all other: study before play.

Money matters

As the college prep process proceeds to senior year, your student will react like a kid in a candy store. Because of their peers, they will be looking at the most expensive colleges, with the prestigious names and the most infamous reputations. For most, those price tags don’t fit into the family college budget. And if your teen isn’t the best of the best, don’t expect merit aid or scholarships from those colleges. In this case, money matters and you should communicate this to your teen before he takes the college to the cash register.

Behave yourself

Colleges pay attention to behavior. They are looking for respectful students who have leadership qualities and take academics seriously. What they aren’t looking for is a student who shoots his mouth off on Twitter, posts pictures of his naked body on Instagram, and complains about parents and school on Facebook. One of the easiest ways students can impress college admission officers is to behave themselves.

Respect deadlines

Deadlines are like lines in the sand. Once drawn, you can’t cross them. Missing those deadlines will have harsh consequences. There’s no room for procrastination in the college prep process. Colleges expect your student to respect their deadlines. No respect means no admission.

Work hard

There’s no room for a slacker in the college prep process. Only those students who work hard are going to reap the benefits. Hard work always pays off when it comes to the rewards of college admissions. Hard work results in the best offers of admission and the best financial aid packages, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing that the work paid off.

This is the time for parents to remind their student that obeying the rules protects him from negative consequences and ensures positive outcomes. The simple rule we started when they were toddlers, pays off during college prep. Obey the rules!

Read Wendy’s blog: Rules to Follow and Rules to Break

admissions, App Tuesday

7 College Search Apps for Parents and Students

 

college search appsEach Tuesday, I’m going to be providing parents and students with information on apps available for the college prep process. While this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, these college search apps should help you and your student start and organize their college search.

1. Find Colleges-FREE

The Find Colleges search application makes it easy to search for information about U.S. colleges and universities. Developed by ThinkEducationUSA.com, this innovative app enables browsing by video, majors, size and tuition, or by state. This unique multimedia app features video profiles for some schools. It also provides web links as well as the ability to request more information directly from a school.

2. College Search Guide-FREE

This application is for anyone across the world looking to enroll in a college or university in the United States. Foreign students, high school students, current college students looking to transfer, parents, the working professional looking to go to grad school will find this application very useful. All information are 100% authentic from the US Department of Education.

This app is also available for android devices.

3. Campus Guide-College & University-$1.99

Powered by results from Foursquare, Campus Guide is the ideal student app to take with you to College or University. Find your way around College campuses, check-in with Foursquare and update your friends, family and other students via Twitter and Facebook. Visiting friends at a different College or University? With Campus guide there is no need to get lost or arrive late. Search for campus buildings, find address details and plan your route using the in-built map.

4. College Confidential-FREE

Read and interact with other users on topics like Financial Aid, College Life, Test Preparation, and more. Check messages, search topics and exchange private messages with other members. With access to millions of posts from students, parents, and experts in 700+ forums, you’ll find answers to all of your college-bound questions.

5. College-Bound-FREE

College-Bound eliminates the college stress by providing both students and parents with useful, every day, and up-to-the-minute, information on and about the entire college process. Professionals in all areas of the college planning and preparation process provide expert information on the following topics: Athletes and Recruiting, College Admissions, College Essays, College Travel, Financial Aid, Internships, NCAA Eligibility, SAT & ACT Preparation, SAT Essays, SAT Vocabulary and Scholarships.

The app is also available for android devices.

6. Fiske Interactive College Guide-$19.99

FISKE GUIDE TO COLLEGES has been the most trusted source of information for parents, counselors, and college-bound students. Now, the Fiske Interactive College Guide brings you every aspect of the book—plus much more—in an app! You’ll find the Fiske Interactive College Guide useful throughout the hectic, often stressful college search and selection process.

7. Peterson’s College Guide-FREE

Trying to find a college in the United States that matches your academic, social, and financial preferences? Mapping a college trip? Taking a college campus walking tour? Looking for university financial aid and tuition information? Seeking higher education statistics? This application includes over 60 official data points on over 4,000 two- and four-year colleges in the United States. From Harvard and UCLA to a community college near you, this application contains data on thousands of accredited institutions.

mom approved tips, Uncategorized

Mom-Approved Tips: Are the Ivies “All That”?

 

iviesPardon the improper grammar and slang; but seriously–are the Ivies all that? This past week the news media was enamored with the praise of a young man that was accepted to all eight Ivy League colleges. Don’t get me wrong–the young man is to be commended for his efforts. But as usual, the focus was on the fact that it was the Ivies, not the fact that he was offered admission to eight colleges.

Why are the Ivies the “be all and end all” of college acceptance?

From the time my son was little, he said he wanted to go to Harvard. I have no idea why, but he said it so much we bought him a Harvard sweatshirt. If he had applied himself in high school, he would have applied. Instead, he went into the Marines. Did I feel like he had failed, or I had failed, absolutely not. The Ivies would never have been for him.

A recent study showed that only 0.4 percent of undergraduates attend an Ivy League school. However, you can go to any parent meeting about college and the discussion inevitably heads toward the Ivies. “My son is applying to Harvard”, my daughter is applying to “Brown”. And the parents whose students aren’t candidates for these schools immediately start feeling like they have failed their kids–along with a tinge of jealousy.

What should the conversation be about?

Instead of focusing on WHERE the student gets into college, the conversation should be about whether or not a/did they apply and receive an offer of admission (from ANY college) and b/are the colleges they applied to a good fit for their academic, financial and social needs. There are thousands of good colleges across the country, even some that might not be well-known, that offer students and excellent education at an affordable price.

What are we communicating to our kids?

All this hype around the Ivies gives our kids the impression that if you don’t attend an Ivy League college, your life and your future are doomed. You’re destined to work at a mediocre job with a mediocre salary. In addition, we are also communicating that all the kids that get into Harvard or Yale are the best of the best: the smartest, the elite, the successful. When the media puts such focus on college names and the importance of the name, our kids begin to feel pressure to attend these schools.

How can we change the conversation and the overall view of college and success?

It’s not about where you go, or the college name. It’s about what you do with the education your receive and how you leverage the education to move you toward success. A state college student is just as likely to become a CEO, and a Harvard graduate. If the education you receive lands you in a career you love, it matters very little where you got that education. Our kids need to know this and embrace the fact that exclusiveness is never a measure of success.

In a recent article in the New York Times by Frank Gruni, “Our Crazy College Crossroads“, makes an excellent point:

Corner offices in this country teem with C.E.O.s who didn’t do their undergraduate work in the Ivy League. Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin went to the University of Alabama. John Mackey of Whole Foods studied at the University of Texas, never finishing.

Your diploma is, or should be, the least of what defines you. Show me someone whose identity is rooted in where he or she went to college. I’ll show you someone you really, really don’t want at your Super Bowl party.

And your diploma will have infinitely less relevance to your fulfillment than so much else: the wisdom with which you choose your romantic partners; your interactions with the community you inhabit; your generosity toward the family that you inherited or the family that you’ve made.

It’s time that parents start making this “college game” less of a competition and more of journey to find a college where their kid will flourish.

parenting

The Teenage Drinking Culture

 

It’s party season again and unfortunately that means underage teenage drinking and possibly driving. Before your teen leaves for college, have a chat with him/her about the dangers of alcohol. I know you’re thinking: they won’t listen to me. But kids will tell you that they actually listen more than we think. And after you have the conversation, show them this video!

Video Graphic by 12 Keys Rehab

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: 5 Scholarship Apps

1 Comment

 

scholarship appsIn today’s world of smartphones and tablets, parents and students are doing more on more with mobile applications. Recognizing the need to access easy information, app creators are designing scholarship apps to help with the scholarship search and application process.

Scholarship Advisor – FREE

Finding the right scholarships can be overwhelming. This exclusive Scholarship Search (powered by StudentAdvisor.com) is a mobile app designed to make it easier to find money for college. Browse their hand-picked lists on topics including academic, athletic, health care, military and more. Discover unique, relevant scholarships you never knew existed. You can easily search, find and even apply for millions of dollars in scholarships right from your device. Easily add important dates to your calendar – never miss a scholarship deadline again!

Scholarships.com – FREE

Whether you’re just starting your financial aid search or have already enrolled at your dream school, Scholarships.com can help you wherever you are in your academic journey. Search their database of 2.7 million local, state and national college scholarships and grants worth over $1.9 billion. And since college is expensive enough, all of Scholarships.com’s tools are free for you to use.

Scholly – .99

Scholly is an easy way to find scholarships for high school seniors, current undergraduates, and graduate students. Designed to ease the scholarship search process, Scholly’s adaptive matching engine promises to deliver smarter, targeted lists of scholarships. Scholly seeks to fix the current outdated process that requires students to fill out long, tiresome forms and then fail to deliver relevant results.

Scholly gives students a curated list of scholarships. We don’t waste student’s time with random scholarships that they do not qualify for nor do we give them a list of things that are not even scholarships like loans, internships, and advertisements. Deadlines are updated as soon as they are available and scholarships that no longer exist will be removed from our database. Scholly’s goal is to make the scholarship search process as simple as possible.

This app receives high ratings in the app store.

SAIL Scholarships – .99

(Also available on GooglePlay)

This app was created by college graduates to help students find scholarships. Their goal was to dramatically decrease the amount of debt students have after graduation by creating this app to help students search for scholarships. A quick glance at the app says that it’s easy to use and sort awards. It hasn’t been rated yet by iTunes or GooglePlay and I’m not sure how extensive their database is. It’s up to you whether you want to risk the .99.

RecruitU – FREE

If you are searching for athletic scholarships, this is app can help. Whether you’re a boy or girl, RecruitU is designed by experienced college coaching experts to direct your search to your ideal college sports programs. With our comprehensive U.S. college database, RecruitU will match you (or your child) with the perfect college based on your academic (GPA and Standardized test scores) and athletic skills (level of play). Once RecruitU generates your best college matches, you can immediately send an email to the coaching staffs at these schools with your athletic and academic profile (including a link to your game video). The app also connects you to their online recruiting sports network.

Do you know of any other apps available? Leave a comment below to share with our readers.

Guest Posts, how to

How to Help Your College-Bound Teen Find the Right Job

 

find the right jobFrom high school on, employment will be a constant consideration for your son or daughter. This can elicit mixed feelings among parents. Your child probably already has a daily schedule packed to the brim with studies and extracurricular activities. There’s often barely enough time for what’s already on his or her plate.

Even if financial considerations make securing a job a necessity to defray hefty college costs, you may be skeptical. Could a job take away from, not add to, your child’s ability to earn admission to and succeed in college?

Not if you help your child find the right job. Follow these four simple tips to help your son or daughter find a job that not only puts money in their pockets, but also helps them get into college.

1. Benefits and Bummers
At this point, we have roughly two decades of data showing that students with part-time jobs actually perform better than their unemployed counterparts in school. There’s a caveat, however: 15-20 hours per week is the max at which that benefit shows up. Students without jobs at all follow in academic performance, and students who work more than 20 hours per week fare worst of all.

Make sure any job requires a maximum of 15-20 hours in a week. More demanding jobs will likely do more harm than good.

2. Resumes Rock
Helping your child create a resume may seem odd, especially if he or she has minimal work experience. While many entry-level jobs don’t require a resume, putting one together is a great exercise and lifelong skill. Simply put, it’s training for the real world.

Can your child type quickly and accurately? What about knowledge of office programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint? Does your child have knowledge of HTML, Java or C+? Have they held leadership positions at school, on teams or for a charitable organization?

Taking time to organize and document these things is perfect practice for when college applications or new job opportunities roll around. In addition, it will instill a, “What’s the value of this?” mentality that helps your son or daughter understand how work ultimately impacts their lives.

3. Ask Around
Even in the Internet age, many great jobs still aren’t posted online. Leverage your personal network and encourage your child to reach out to his or her own contacts when seeking work. Teachers, school advisors, volunteer coordinators and group leaders may know of unpublicized opportunities that could turn into perfect-fit jobs for the right person.

4. Fantastic Fast Food
I hear groans and see heads shaking already; hear me out, though! Salary, health, and perception issues typically make fast food a less-than-coveted employment option. Don’t immediately dismiss those jobs, however. Quick-service restaurants usually have flexible hours, ideal for already-packed schedules. Such franchises also often help ambitious employees advance quickly, providing rare chances for management experience. Finally, some large chains offer scholarships exclusively to their employees.

To help your child secure a great early-life job, take time to guide him or in assessing skill sets, reviewing relevant options, and ultimately making a deliberate decision. This can provide a huge boost in confidence when it comes time for other job and college interviews. And don’t forget that a part-time job is the perfect opportunity to help your child begin practicing good financial habits that last through and beyond college.

_____________

Today’s guest post is from Ryan Hickey, the Managing Editor of Peterson’s & EssayEdge and an expert in many aspects of college, graduate, and professional admissions. A graduate of Yale University, Ryan has worked in various admissions capacities for nearly a decade, including writing test-prep material for the SAT, AP exams, and TOEFL, editing essays and personal statements, and consulting directly with applicants.

Helping parents with all aspects of college prep