How to Decide on a College After You’re Admitted
Cue confetti cannons—you got accepted! But now comes the real challenge: choosing the right college from all those acceptance letters sitting proudly on the kitchen table. Don’t worry—you’re not alone in feeling a little (or a lot) overwhelmed. Here’s how to break it down and make the best decision for you: List Your Priorities Academics? Campus life? Location? Cost? Think about what actually matters most in your day-to-day life. If you can’t imagine being far from home, that’s a factor. If research opportunities make your heart sing—flag it. Compare Financial Aid Packages Not all aid is created equal. Look beyond [...]
How to Read College Financial Aid Letters
So, your student got into college—congrats! But now you’re staring at a financial aid letter that looks more like a puzzle missing a few pieces. Grants, loans, work-study… and where exactly is the part that tells you how much you are actually paying? You’re not alone. Colleges aren’t exactly known for making financial aid letters easy to read. But don’t worry—we’re here to help you decode them like a pro. Start With the Total Cost of Attendance (COA) First things first: Find the college’s Cost of Attendance (COA). This includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, and sometimes a generous [...]
How Parents Can Manage Anxiety During their Teen’s College Admissions Process
Let’s be honest—watching your teen navigate the college decision process can be stressful. It’s a whirlwind of acceptance letters, financial aid offers, campus visits, and “What if they don’t pick the right school?” swirling in your mind. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. The college decision phase is one of the most emotionally charged moments for parents. But here’s the good news—you can survive it (and so can your teen) with a little perspective and a few solid strategies. Recognize That Anxiety Is Normal First, cut yourself some slack. It’s completely normal to feel anxious when your child is making a [...]
Why Liberal Arts Colleges Deserve a Spot on Your College List
When most families think “college,” their minds jump to big-name universities with sprawling campuses, packed football stadiums, and thousands of students. But here’s the thing—those aren’t the only options, and for many students, they aren’t even the best options. Enter the small liberal arts college. If you’re picturing old brick buildings, tiny lecture halls, and maybe a Shakespeare festival or two… well, you’re not entirely wrong. But there’s so much more to these schools, and for the right student, they can be an academic and personal game-changer. Let’s dive into why you might want to give liberal arts colleges a [...]
How to Use Social Media to Research Colleges
Let’s face it—official college brochures are basically the Instagram highlight reel of higher education: perfectly staged, heavily edited, and not always the full picture. If your student really wants to know what life on campus is like—beyond the glossy brochures and carefully scripted tours—social media is the secret weapon to research colleges. Students are already using platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube to give authentic glimpses into their campus life, and you can tap into that. Here’s how to use social media for smart, insightful college research. Instagram: A Window Into Campus Life Instagram isn’t just for food pics [...]
College Tours for College Admissions: Why Do the Prospective Applicants Look So Miserable?
When I went to tour McGill last summer with my two kids, ages 15 and 11, I had two very different experiences. While waiting for the tour to start, my eleven-year-old son read the course catalog, picked his major, and decided on his dormitory. My fifteen-year-old avoided sitting next to me, seemed very unhappy, and repeatedly glared at me whenever she thought I might ask a question. It wasn’t just me–another mother was struggling with her own seventeen-year-old daughter. Because this was her oldest child and their first college visit, the mother was shocked at her daughter’s behavior and kept [...]