Preparing for college requires the same amount of work as taking an extra class, or picking up a second job. Students must save money, organize paperwork and transcripts, continue to excel in academics and extra circulars, and prepare for standardized tests. When the application process begins, the work load increases with filling out the Common Application, writing essays, and filing for financial aid packages. Fortunately, these organization skills will simplify your next round of decisions, like choosing a major and maintaining academic excellence throughout your career.
Start Planning Early
We cannot stress enough the importance of scholarships and grants. College-based awards are given on a first-come, first-served basis. Still, most students need to supplement their financial aid package. If possible, apply for early admission so you can compare awards and determine if you need to apply for other scholarships.
Major Decisions
Some students already know their intended major, and others wait to make that decision. Regardless of when you choose your major, and what major you choose, consider taking classes outside your field of study. Having experience outside your major will make you a more marketable job applicant. Being versatile will also make changing career paths an easy task.
The Education Department will rewrite its overhaul of a 2016 Obama Loan Rule - most likely by dropping the "most restrictive provisions" of an earlier attempt to replace the borrower-defense rule. The loan rule outlines how borrowers who were defrauded or misled by their college can seek loan forgiveness. [...]
Despite evidence that transfer students from community colleges are highly likely to succeed academically and bring diversity to more competitive colleges, a new study reveals that elite colleges are less likely to admit them. [...]
Across the nation, nearly 20 states offer statewide free college programs in an effort to increase the number of students attending college. The hope is that "five years from now, we would expect that a majority of the states in the country would have free college tuition, and that would be a tipping point." States including Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon and Rhode Island have already rolled out statewide free community-college programs, "and more are expected to follow." [...]
