In a recent discussion with the father of a high school freshman, he told me they had done an online calculation for how much a specific school would cost their family. When looking at an Ivy League school that costs $60,000+ per year, they could expect to get about $2...

A recent study by Personal Capital found that 70% of wealthy Millennial families are putting college savings ahead of retirement. That is a classic “heart vs. head” mistake for the simple reason that students can get loans and scholarships for college, but parents will...

As parents, we want to put our children on a path toward a better future. Plus, society tells us that the colleges our children get accepted to are a measure of success as parents… making our college choice a very emotional one.

The problem with this perspective is that...

One New Year’s resolution I make on behalf of all the parents I meet is to help them become better consumers of higher education.  It’s so hard to be logical and practical when it comes to helping our kids get on their path toward a better future, but we owe it to them...

As a mother, it is only natural that I want to give my son every opportunity to become the best version of himself. It’s just the way we parents are wired, and that’s why we’re focused on getting our kids into a great college.

However, we would all do well to remember t...

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, How 529s Affect Financial Aid, I answer some questions that readers have about their 529s, such as what to do about leftover 529 funds and whether a summer college program for rising juniors would count as an allowable expense.

Y...

A survey of college admissions directors by Inside Higher Ed found that only 34% of colleges met new student enrollments by May 1 when schools like to have their incoming class set. And that is down from 37% in 2016 and 42% in 2017.

For most schools, tuition is their pr...

On Mack’s 15th birthday, we found ourselves at the Department of Motor Vehicles to get his driver’s permit. Everything about the driver's permit was a life lesson: the preparation and testing involved; the mind-numbing inefficiency of our time at the DMV; the 50 hours...

Colleges use a lot of factors to determine who gets an acceptance letter. Most parents are aware of GPA, SAT/ACT test scores, essays and extracurricular activities. However, one that is often overlooked is something colleges call demonstrated interest.

Parents are often...

The Atlantic article titled The Bursting of the College Bubble discussed how enrollments are down at colleges. Some of the reasons include fewer teenagers in the US and more adults staying in the workforce (many went back to school during the Great Recession).

On a prac...