How to Pay for College HQ: Paying for College | Fi

Payscale.com has released it's new College ROI report that also forecasts the 20 year ROI for various colleges. The 20 year ROI is calculated by taking the difference between 20 year median pay for a bachelor's graduate from a particular school on the list and the 24 year median for a High School Graduate less the total cost to attend the college. 

Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy, returns to talk about his upcoming Webinar Series to aid in writing a personal statement essay: Using the Secrets of Screenwriting to Write Your College Essay A Five-Part Webinar Series led by Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy July 13-17, 11:30am-1:00pm PST http://www.collegeessayguy.com and click on the blue banner on the top of the page to sign up for the webinar.   

Becky Muldrow of Dual Credit At Home (Dualcreditathome.com) provides a unique method for students to start college differently, which is more affordable and at their own pace. Becky provides a guideline to help students earn college credits from home by earning those credits by exam. The exams are an accredited college level test to prove a student's knowledge of a subject. 

Lauren Gaggioli of Higher Scores Test Prep returns to talk more about the revamped SAT and PSAT. With the release of more official materials, Lauren is now providing a blueprint for students to follow to prepare for the new PSAT in October 2015.  Lauren also clears up some confusion regarding the score verification. When a student scores high enough to become a National Merit Semi-Finalist they must verify that score with a subsequent SAT. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has confirmed that a Qualifying Student can verify their score with EITHER the current SAT or the revamped SAT that will be first seen in January of 2016.     

Huzefa Kapadia has created a Udemy.com course called Power 800 Math that works well to help students prepare for the Math section of the SAT test.  Where to Find Huzefa:  http://www.udemy.com Search for Power 800 SAT Math  Course is $149 Special Code= HUZEFAISALEGEND When using the special code the price is lowered to $31

Robert Schombs is the founder of Reason Prep and has taken the time to take and review the NEW PSAT Practice Test made available on the College Board Website the first part of March. Robert took the test under the same time testing conditions: 60 minutes for the reading section and 35 minutes for math and writing / language sections. YouTube Review by Robert: https://youtu.be/U_u6JwWyUVU Interesting Findings: The new PSAT is structurally the same as the ACT.Whereas in the new PSAT and in theory in the new SAT, is going to be all condensed into one block section, which is exactly like the ACT. The redesigned PSAT moves closer to the ACT in the sense that on the old PSAT and on the old SAT both split the sections. The student would do a reading section for 25 minutes and then a math section for 25 minutes and then a grammar section for 25 minutes and then you go back to reading, so the subjects were all split. The time pressure on the ACT Reading (less than 1 minute per question) is more than the PSAT Reading (70 seconds per question). The PSAT Reading is the most similar to the old PSAT reading and so this section is the most different from the ACT. The PSAT Writing section is very similar to the ACT English section. The PSAT Math is similar to the Math Section of the ACT, but is more trying align with the Common Core Standards.

Lauren Gaggioli of Higher Scores Test Prep returns to talk about the changes that are coming to the ACT.  On the ACT Website is says, "Innovation and continuous improvement without the need for radical change." The improvements have been noticed and it's time to better understand to help the preparation process.  What are some of the new things to expect? Dual Passages in the Reading Section. 40 Questions in 35 minutes where the dual passages add to the time pressure.  Math is getting more challenging too.  60 Questions in 60 minutes and it's still a progression of difficulty, yet seems to have more difficult questions thrown in there.  Starting to mix Trigonometry in at the lower levels.  Students need a handle on a wide range of Math Concepts.  The ACT varies from test date to test date in difficulty. Because of the way the tests are scored and curved a prepared student should hope to take the most difficult test available on test date (not the easiest).  That student would do better than their peers who didn't prepare.  New Writing Test in the form of "Optional Essay" It really isn't optional because there is no way of 100% guaranteeing that the school your student is interested in won't require the Writing Section.  Argument and Reasoning based Prompt for the Essay. Scale will remain 1-36, but there will be subscores that colleges can monitor.  The changes will first be seen for the class of 2017, but remember all the students are in the same boat and the curves will be helpful accordingly.  If your student is in the need of ACT or SAT Test Prep, Higher Scores Test Prep offers a 10% discount to the How to Pay for College HQ Community. Enter COLLEGE10 at checkout to receive the discount. 

Judy Zodda of Zodda College Services lends her expertise to the subject of College Athletic Recruitment.    Judy highlights the importance for excelling Student Athletes to start preparing as early as their Freshman year of High School to be a good college recruit.  (1) Planning a rigorous High School Curriculum with Honors, AP, International Baccalaureate Courses or College Prep Classes.  (2) Ensure that as a Student you will complete the 16 Credits that are required by NCAA. (3) Achieve the Highest Grades possible within that rigorous curriculum & the highest Standardized Test Scores Possible.  (4) Be a Proactive advocate for yourself early on by reaching out to Division III schools and coaches.     (5) Being an accomplished athlete. 

Stacey Howe-Lott of Stellar Scores stops in to gracioiusly gives more clarification around the PSAT for the Class of 2017. It will be the new version in October 2015 and she outlines a game plan for those who might have a chance at National Merit Status and those who would not. Thanks Stacey! 

Alexis Avila from Prepped and Polished stops in to talk about Test Prep for Students with Learning Disabilities.  He gives some tips to help better prepare those students for success on taking the SAT or ACT.

Gregorio Alcantar is a Financial Aid Counselor at a California State University and he wants to help famlies complete the FAFSA for FREE becuase the first word in FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is FREE. He helps to break down the 7 sections for better understanding and so that it doesn't seem so daunting to complete. 

Chelsea Watkins is Founder/CEO of College Application Training. She has 20+ years of experience in the college application process helping students raise test scores, create winning college applications, fund college expenses, and stay safe in college. Chelsea even goes one step beyond to help families on ideas for increasing Net Worth for a comfortable retirement. 

Brett & Tracie Shroyer are the founders of Allowance Academy where their goal is to help parents figure out what is financial literacy for our kids.  They want to help you raise kids who can manage money well, who know how to budget and save for their future.

Two Seniors from Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, AZ who were recently named National Merit Semi-Finalists took time from their very busy college application season to be interviewed for the show and to share their stories of success. Alison Romero & Alex Stoken are both highly driven students who had goals to become National Merit Finalists and share their steps and suggestions for others wanting to follow in their footsteps.  They both were very grateful and thankful for their knowledgeable and helpful Guidance Counselor who has helped guide them down thier AMAZING path of succes. The two sounded like College Planning Experts themselves and provide some amazing tips that rivaled those of the other college experts I have talked to in the past. Thank you Ms. Cassutt for all that you do for our Mountain Pointe Students!      

Stacey Howe-Lott of Stellar Scores SAT Prep is back to give some great tips to the Class of 2017 on completing the SAT versus NEW SAT to be launched in January of 2016. 

Elizabeth Dankoski is unlike any other SAT tutor and college consultant out there. She doesn't just help students achieve their best SAT/ACT scores or write extraordinary essays. She also helps them to build a unique project that truly allows students to stand apart from every other college-bound student out there.  http://www.howtopayforcollegehq.com/57

Reecy Aresty is the founder of Pay Less for College. This is his second time on the show and he wanted to speak directly to the parents of 10th Graders who are cosnidering applying to colleges that require the CSS Profile for Financial Aid. If a current 10th grader has assets in their name then 2014 is the year to reposition so any gains will be on 2014 Tax Returns and Not 2015. For 10th Graders the 2015 Tax year is the Base Year for their freshman year Financial Aid Eligibility.   

Steve & Annette are NY Times Best Selling authors of three books and are recognized internationally as family finance experts. They have appeared on many national TV shows including: Good Morning America, The Today Show, ABC's 20/20, Fox TV's Your World with Neil Cavuto and The Dr. Phil Show. They are regularly quoted on radio, in newspapers and have been featured in magazines such as Good Housekeeping, People and Real Simple as well as profiled on Yahoo and MSNBC. If you follow their advice you’ll experience financial freedom, more money in the bank, debt-free living, better family times and lots more laughter. - See more at: http://moneysmartfamily.com/  

What is the Common App? Online application services make applying to college more convenient. It was originally established in 1975 by 15 private colleges that wished to provide a common, standardized first-year application form for use at any member institution. Today over 1 million students have used the common application to apply to any of the 500 private and public universities who are members of the Common Application. The admissions is for first year undergraduate or transfer students.  For list of the 4 year universities who are members, check out the commonapp.org website. Most top 4 year institutions use the common app.   Only schools that use a holistic selection process are allowed to be members of the common app. By holistic approach they want the selection process to based upon more than just grades and test scores. They expect letters of recommendation and college application essays to also be taken into account when considering a student for admissions.  The common app is a non-profit organization and the common app is offered free to help simplify the process. However, each school may still have their application fees that must be covered.  Since 2013 they are trying to have all the applications submitted electronically through the Common Application website.  The Common App website helps the student keep track of all the application requirements of the schools listed, which can be very helpful.   

Nancy L. Wolf advises parents of young adults with mental health challenges on college planning & in-college struggles.  You can contact her via www.yourbridgeforward.com or on twitter, @_nwolf. Resources mentioned: https://www.jedfoundation.org/ - The Jed Foundation's mission is to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among college and university students. FERPA General Guidance For Students - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Active Minds - Changing the Conversation about Mental Health On College Campuses