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It is really important to know the school’s deadline and to have everything submitted at least 10 days in advance

Applicants should not wait until the last moment to begin the process and then expect every other step to become others’ emergency

The purpose of the supplement is to answer questions specifically about the school and what you see yourself adding to the community

students should take a personal inventory of the things that are most important to them, as this will help determine what schools will be a good fit

it should be the student who takes the initiative in building a relationship with each school

people will typically help where and when they can, as long as students take the initiative and ask

consider the optional items as a way to showcase your achievements, but generally it is not a good idea to provide materials beyond what the college describes in their ‘optional’ list

Affordability is a conversation to have with your kids before they apply,

To get your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number, you can use the EFC calculator on the College Board site.

he kids who get the full ride with merit scholarships are a tiny minority; they are generally kids with great potential and no money.

Only Divisions I and II schools offer athletic scholarships; Division III teams do not.

Excluding the glamour sports of football and basketball, the average NCAA athletic scholarship is about $8,700 -- nowhere near a full ride. For track or baseball, it's generally about $2,000.

As for scholarships in general, thinking local tends to yield more money. Better to try your local civic organizations where there is less competition for money. Remember, it takes a village.

The good news is that at most state and private colleges and universities, the equity in your primary home is a non-issue,

There are, however, roughly 260 schools, nearly all private, that are quite interested in the value of your house and how these schools treat home equity varies dramatically,

These colleges use an additional financial aid form called the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE.

Sometimes, schools don't identify loans as loans but insist on calling it "financial aid."

For some, it may be.

Why do most private colleges price and discount this way? Most colleges believe that the public relates the sticker price with the quality of the institution and that the higher the price the higher the perceived quality. Second, many colleges believe that students and their families like getting scholarships. Families resonate to scholarships and take it as an indication that the institution wants their child. Third, the larger the difference between the sticker price and the net price the more colleges can charge different net prices to different students; this gives the schools more opportunity to discriminate in their pricing in favor of students who are most desirable to the college. Fourth, many schools are unable to get the enrollment that they need to fill up their classrooms at their sticker price because students and their families are either unable or unwilling to pay the price and thus they must discount the price to get the enrollment that they need for financial equilibrium.

f money is a factor in your college search and it will impact your final choice, you should make sure to apply to colleges where you are clearly in the top third to top quarter of the applicant pool.

your Additional Information must be substantive, personal, and inform the admissions officer of the lessons you’ve learned about yourself from the experience, how it shaped you, or how it changed you. What will you do with this new knowledge about yourself? How will you use the learned information or behavior in college and beyond to be a more productive, positive, active and engaged member of the community?

To sum up, I am saying that test-optional policies are of little help to those students who underperform a little on their SATs. However, they can help if you underperform a lot.

Class of 2016 seeking a 4-year college but otherwise undecided: prep for SAT Math, Critical Reading, and perhaps Writing. Prep when you have the most time; consider 3 – 4 weeks in the summer as a “part time job” doing SAT Prep.   Summer SAT Prep may be better than Spring prep, especially if you have SAT Subject tests to take or if you have a crowded spring schedule. Be prepared to prep for Writing. Take the SAT in the fall if your target colleges change “upward” or if the same colleges alter their standards for the class of 2016. Take SAT Subject Tests or AP tests in the subjects where you are strongest.

However, there is a catch: What you pay your freshman year isn’t necessarily what you’ll pay every year. “A school may be able to guarantee you a scholarship or give you a great deal in year one, but you don’t know what’s going to happen in year two or three,” Schneider explains.

59% of undergraduates in a four-year program actually graduate within six years.

If you’re dead-set on an occupation that doesn’t pay very well, consider enrolling in a lower-cost college for a better ROI, suggests Kantrowitz.

You should request recommendations from those who have taught, mentored, or counseled you within the past two years.

Give adequate information.

If a college requires two letters of recommendation, submit no more than three.