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Financial Aid & College Timeline

The financial aid process is often considered overwhelming. And while that may be the case, starting early and staying on top of the process of planning for college is essential to your future success. We can’t remind students enough, when preparing for college, the importance of applying early and applying often for financial aid opportunities. Much of that funding is already distributed by the end of your senior year, and college-based awards are often given on a first-come, first-served basis. You don’t want to find out too late in the process that you won’t be able to attend your top school because you missed a financial aid deadline and as a result won’t be able to afford that long-anticipated freshman year. So, whether you’re a student or a parent, the following timelines will keep you on track and in the know throughout high school.

Latest College & Financial Aid News

$100 Million Grainger Gift Garners New School Name at U of I

April 17, 2019

by Susan Dutca

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's engineering school will soon be called the "Grainger College of Engineering" after receiving another $100 million gift from The Grainger Foundation. The Grainger donation is the largest amount ever gifted to a public university to rename a college. [...]

Essay Mills Providing a "Side Door" for College Students

April 9, 2019

by Susan Dutca

Thirteen parents and one coach charged in the "Operation Varsity Blues" college cheating scandal will plead guilty in accordance with plea agreements. While elite parents implicated in the admissions scandal cheated to help their children get into college, there is a growing concern about how students, in general, may be cheating their way through college; specifically by buying ghostwritten essays online. [...]

Auctioning Off College Admissions Seats?

April 2, 2019

by Susan Dutca

Why not have schools auction off college seats to the highest bidder? The question was posed by a senior vice president at the Harvard Management Company on his public LinkedIn page amid the recent national college admissions cheating scandal. According to Michael Cappucci, it is simply "an honest question." He goes on to ask, "Why do we have a system where wealthy parents have to make shady payments to even more shady intermediaries to get their kids into college?" The post, which has since been removed but still drew much online anger was authored by Cappucci who is "not a top official" at the company; many people still presumed Harvard is connected to his idea, according to Inside Higher Ed, but Harvard was quick to distance itself from the LinkedIn post. [...]

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