The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

Are Universities in Canada Worth it?

So you want to study in Canada, eh? You’re not alone. Many U.S. high school students are including at least one Canadian university among their list of prospective colleges. In 2014, the Canadian government formally created an international education strategy to attract more international students, and for a U.S. student wishing to head north, this is most excellent news! Here’s why:

In addition to educational opportunities in the field of game creation and design, there are now scholarships for those who play. Play you say? Yes, you play, it pays! Now, I share a 20^th century parent’s natural concern for my 21^st century children who are engulfed by screens throughout their day. But all those hours spent indoors could be a potential scholarship goldmine. For all the young gamers (and their parents) out there, there are whole crops of college scholarship opportunities, degree programs, and entire gaming institutions that seem to have popped up overnight.

A recent New York Times op-ed shared a controversial view on educational loans: it is fine to borrow and never pay them back. A few days later, a rebuttal piece criticized author Lee Siegel and the New York Times for their “deeply irresponsible op-ed.” At College Coach, we are passionate about providing the best advice available with respect to college aid, and we felt we had to provide our own perspective for those families who might have read Siegel’s original piece.

Families that have the most success paying for college are the ones who approach the process as a family. Most people agree it is important to start talking to your children early about the importance of attending college, but what about talking about how to pay for it?

Many high school seniors and their families selected for financial aid verification are currently wondering “What could the Financial Aid Office possibly want now?” May 1, the national deadline to deposit at your chosen college is looming in the not-so-distant future, and yet some students are still submitting additional information to the aid offices on their college list. “Didn’t we already send them this?” families may wonder as they jump through what they perceive to be another hoop on the road to receiving financial aid. Remember, the financial aid process is an exchange of information for dollars: your financial information for financial aid dollars. Don’t be discouraged! Your financial aid offer is on the way, but you may have a few extra steps to take.

If you are a regular reader of the College Coach blog, you know that students are not required to include information about their non-custodial parent (NCP) on the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). There are institutions, however, that do collect this information. Approximately 400 colleges and universities require students to complete a second application called the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile, and most of these require students to have their NCP submit income and asset information as part of the student’s aid application.

It takes 4 years for a student to complete a typical undergraduate degree, right? Not necessarily. Today, students are taking longer to graduate for a variety of reasons, from a decline in personal and institutional resources to indecision about choice of major at the time of enrollment. If you're currently weighing options for a fifth year (or more) of college, we’ve provided a few things to consider as you manage your college payment plan.

Question: If I've had credit issues in my past, will I still be able to get a loan to pay for my child's college education?

Spend 10 minutes speaking with the parent of a high school senior and I guarantee that I will spend some time dispelling some half truths that have emerged from today’s college financing process. Anecdotal stories – you know the thing you heard that happened to your neighbor’s son’s friend’s cousin – all seem to have these magical happy endings that we desperately want to replicate.