Early Summer
Financial Aid Action Plan
Early Preparations
and Research
Congratulations on making it to your senior year! This is a
very exciting time--not only for you, but for your family, too. While it
is important to savor the year and its memories, it is also important to
begin planning for your future. It is never too late to consider college
and the opportunities available to you in pursuit of your education. This
month, you will be researching and gathering information about colleges
you may want to attend. You will be taking a serious look at different
areas of study and majors that are available. Visiting campuses will help
you narrow down a list of prospective schools that you would like to
attend.
How much Financial Aid planning have you done so far?
The best time to start is during the summer leading up to your senior
year. During this time, begin to consider which area of study or degree
interests you. This is important because not all schools offer degrees in
all fields. A good place to start researching top schools in your desired
field is U.S. News
Magazine. They release an issue every year with some of the best
information about US colleges and universities. If you miss this issue of
the magazine, you can access the same information on their website, (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college). The “Education”
tab will lead you to important facts about different colleges.
If you are unsure of what career you would like to pursue,
there are many resources you can use to help. Talk to your counselor
about taking a career assessment test. High schools usually issue these
tests for students to take during their sophomore or junior year. Perhaps
you have already taken such a test and remember which field your
strengths match to. If you don’t remember your scores, or if your
counselor doesn’t offer a career assessment test, you can take one online
through many sites.
Suggested Tests:
Free Test - This is a good
test as it uses the MAPP test, which is pretty comprehensive. You
get partial results free. While there, take the free personality
test like Myers Briggs.
Paid Test - reasonable prices
for a good test. The sites will ask you a series of questions in
order to assess your interests, and then match you with a college major
or career choice based on your answers. Keep in mind that this is just a
starting point to offer suggestions on what careers are available and
which majors coincide with them.
Now that you have a career in mind,
start thinking about the type of school you will want to attend. There
are many factors to consider when choosing a school. Do you want to...
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Choosing a College
- 10 Factors to Weigh
Choosing a college can be daunting. By now you have realized
there are a lot of colleges out there. In fact, there are more than 3,000
colleges across the country and it may feel like everyone has sent you a
brochure. How do you decide which college is for you?
How do you choose the one that's right for you? Here are 10
factors to consider as you decide which school will give you your ideal
college experience.
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Master
Standardized Tests
The months preceding college or grad
school might sometimes seem like they’re filled with one test after
another…PSAT, ACT, SAT, GRE…
The subject matter might be different for each of them, but
there are some general strategies that can help you conquer any one of
them.
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The Good News and
the Bad News About AP Programs
AP programs have long been considered a stepping stone to
college — a very big stepping stone since they enable high-performing
students to skip ahead by earning early credits, registering for
higher-level courses in their first year, and saving money on tuition.
Here we will highlight the good news and bad news about taking AP
classes.
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More
More Help
Make sure you are following our free "Scholarship of
the Day". Every day we post a new scholarship that just might
be the right one for you. Not all will apply, but many are less
competitive which gives you a better chance of winning. Find it at www.scholarships.financialaidtips.com. You can also
now follow on Facebook by becoming a fan of our FinancialAidTips.com
page!
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