Student to Student

Q: I've got my college list and have done some research on the schools. What do I do now?

A: Visit, visit, visit! College tours can surely get redundant, but I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to visit. Not only does it demonstrate interest, which may influence your admissions decision, but you may also realize that the atmosphere is or is not for you. Explore the town or city surrounding your school, too--it’s going to be your home for the next four years!

Our summer intern Laura Card is a sophomore at Colgate University, where she plans to major in Biology and Women's Studies. 

Why Colleges Are Getting More Expensive

A recent survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Filling the Funding Gap," asked college leaders how they plan to keep up with the increased challenges of funding for technology, innovation, and change. 68% said that they would likely raise tuition, 67% would raise student fees including room and board, and 52% planned on reducing staff.   

What Should You Do For a Career?

A recent Pew Research poll found that 34% of Americans would recommend a STEM focus for a high school student seeking career advice. Another third would advise that students follow their passion or pursue something that they love. Among this group, however, younger respondents tended to favor the "do what you love" path, unlike older respondents who favor STEM or technology careers. 

Ask the Consultant: Are Colleges Looking at My Social Media?

Q: Do colleges really check my social media accounts? My mother is convinced that they do and wants me to delete everything! 

A: A recent study by Kaplan Test Prep found that 35% of admission officers say that they check an applicant's social media. Can what they find there sway a decision? Of course!! But it's not always a negative. 

Many college admission officers state that social media can actually have a positive impact on a decision. 

Of the college admission reps that said that they check social media, 47% said that what they found online has had a positive impact on an admission decision. Anecdotally, we've seen the same. One of our seniors last year had a handwritten note on her acceptance letter. It said, "we follow you on Twitter and love your insight and perspective."  In the case of this particular student, she had used her Twitter feed as more of a blog than an encapsulation of or commentary on her daily life. And on the flip side, we had a recruited athlete that was dropped by a college coach because of the insensitive nature of some of his posts with regards to women and LGBTQ individuals. 

Do you need to delete all social media? Of course not. "I might actually wonder why a student didn't have any online presence," said a college rep in our office recently. But if you wouldn't put that post on a billboard -- take it down!

Student Loan Repayment Time

It’s that time of year when the buzz of the holiday season creates both excitement and some stress.  For those recently graduated from college, don’t get swept away in holiday cheer.  For those students with federal student loans, it is around the holiday time that your federal loans’ six-month grace period ends and you must start repayment.

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like -- Loan Repayments

Please keep in mind that it is up to you to understand what debt you have outstanding, what institution is your loan servicer, and what you owe when.  Remember, although the Department of Education disburses federal loans, a loan servicer is a separate company that administers your loan.  The loan servicer should contact you, either by email or direct mail, to let you know about your repayment plan.  However, if you have not heard anything, you are still responsible for seeking out this information.  You can log into your Federal Student Aid account using your FSA ID to gather details about your federal loans. Also, in some cases, your loan may be transferred to a new servicer who will notify you of the change.  Sometimes this notification can look like a piece of “junk mail” so my word of advice is to open all of your mail just in case. If you have private loans outside of the federal student loan program, you must make sure you understand your repayment plan from this third-party lender. 
 
For high school students in the process of applying for financial aid, I recommend that you make sure you save your FSA ID.  You will need it to reapply for financial aid every year anyway, and it is necessary to access information about the federal loans that will eventually enter repayment.  Second, understand the grace period of your loans.  Many loans have a six-month grace period but not all.  It is important to understand how quickly your loans are expected to be repaid.  Finally, be aware of how much you are borrowing and what your monthly payment will look like when your loans enter repayment.
 
While a loan payment may diminish your holiday cheer, remember, a college diploma is a pretty awesome gift.

If You Want Merit Scholarships, Deadlines Could Matter

Over 25 colleges and universities have early deadlines for students wanting to be considered for merit scholarships. The most common priority deadline -- December 1! So don't dilly dally.

Ask the Consultant: I Still Haven't Heard!!

Q: My classmate and I applied to the same college.  They just received an acceptance letter and I haven’t heard.  Does that mean I didn’t get in?

A: Not at all!  Colleges don’t necessarily mail all of the acceptances at the same time, and the communication that trickles out of the admissions office may not be correlated to the geographic area of the applicant. Even for letters that were postmarked on the same day, sometimes the time it takes a letter to get from one place to another varies. So, try not to read too much into whether your classmate already received their acceptance letter.  You may just have a fat envelope waiting for you at home.