Did you just assume that you can't qualify for any kind of financial aid, so why should you bother filling out the FAFSA or other applications?

You could be mistaken.

I made this point to a tremendous crowd (North of 16!) in my office last night, at our weekly workshops. 

Non Politically Correct Fact Alert:  Turns out that the majority of aid goes to upper income families, or six-figure earners.

Is that a bad thing?  A good thing?

I don't judge. I'm just reporting on what is. Just the facts, here on Planet Earth.

Although income is super important,  there are more factors that go into the financial aid eligibility stew.  Namely, assets.

But here's the thing...

In Financial Aid, It's Not How Much You've Saved.  It's WHERE.

Some types of savings -- in your kids' names -- penalize you WAY more than others.

Some types -- parent savings accounts -- penalize you far less.

And some types of savings accounts are -- wait for it -- PENALTY FREE.

Totally exempt from the financial a...

10% Off Financial Aid Consulting

It's the month of Halloween and this is for parents of class of 2026 "children of the night:"   

You might feel like you're starring in your own horror movie!

You know how onscreen, when you watch the scared hero or heroine creep slowly in the dark, closer and closer to the threatening noise for some unknown, stupid reason...

...while EVERYONE in the theater screams warnings, because they all know the horrible fate she's about to suffer?

Thats the financial aid process, in a nutshell.

Here's a blunt warning for you:

Deadly landmines and ghoulish traps lay ahead, thanks to the overpriced, rip off colleges who want to suck every last dollar out of you like a thirsty vampire.

I know I'm getting carried away with this analogy, but, hey, it's directionally accurate.

You make one teensy weensy mistake on the FAFSA, CSS Profile, supplemental institutional forms, and you could BURY your chances of getting even a nickel of aid.

Then there's the after...

I have mixed feelings about a recent change to how financial aid works, but I'm clear on one thing:

It's a big, big freakin' deal.  

Gather round and listen up if you've got a youngster headed to college in Fall of 2026 and beyond, and you're hoping to get financial aid.

Background

The rules about borrowing for college are now dramatically different.  The main reason seems to be that the government is losing 19 cents on the dollar, and approximately 10 million borrowers are in default.

Seems like something had to be done.

The New PLUS

The Big Beautiful Bill overhauled the rules about borrowing for college. Specifically, the PLUS Loan, commonly referred to as the Parent Loan.

Up until this year, parents could borrow the entire cost of attendance of their kid's college.  That means tuition, room, board and fees.

And the PLUS loan required very little underwriting.  You could qualify for $60-90K if you had a pulse and could fog a mirror.

I'm exaggerating a smidge, but I've wit...

It's College Fair season, when reps from various colleges make the rounds around the country to promote their colleges and entice kids to apply to their respective colleges.

Are they worth attending?

This might sound crotchety, but my take is that you've seen one, you've seen them all.

They can be chaotic and overwhelming.

On the other hand, you can pick up some cool college merch. Who can't use another stress relieving squeezy thing?

I'm planning to attend next week's event sponsored by my group, the Nassau County Counselor's Association.  If you attend, you might see me wondering around the exhibition, volunteering for some important task, once I get my assignment.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few tips on how to get the most out of any college fair, including but not limited to next week's.

1. Not an Interview. When talking to a rep at their table, you are NOT conducting a college interview or applying.  Ask questions, but you don't have to rattle off your stats and...

The College Essay Lab

If the purpose of the personal statement is to serve as a substitute for an admissions interview, why do many colleges ask for "optional" supplemental essays?

(Side bar:  let's stipulate that  "optional" means "mandatory.")

The main reasons why colleges feature supplemental essays include promoting diversity, showing a different, perhaps fun side of the applicant, and proving to the admissions committee that the applicant has thought carefully about why that college is a good fit for him.

Let's focus on number three.

Interest

There's a good chance that you've heard the term "demonstrated interest," but because my email list has 16,992 lucky guys and gals at various stages of the college "journey,"  I'll describe it in case you're not familiar with this phrase.

Background.  Colleges don't want to admit a bunch of students who decide not to matriculate.   The ratio of admitted students versus matriculated ones is known as the Yield.

The higher the Yield, t...

I'm deep in the weeds with our 2026 kiddos, working with them on their essays and applications.  

Many are confused.

Confused about what makes a "good" or "bad" essay topic.

Example:  Is it ok to address political or hot button issues, or is it best to stay away from them entirely.

Example Deux:  Confusion about what kind of extracurricular activity impresses an admissions officer, and what doesn't.

Side bar: It's not only about "leadership."  

If you read as many applications as I have over the years, your only reasonable conclusion would be that everyone applying to college is a leader.

There are no followers.

(Back in the day it was acceptable for me to describe this as "All chiefs, no indians."  Alas, no more.)

Back to the email.  I'm re-running a webinar from a few weeks ago, that went over what you need to know about writing college essays that help you stand out, and get in.

As well as a very public mistake that one kid made, that kept him out of 12 of 15 colleges.

The College Essay Lab

Last Wednesday, a parent asked a college essay question during a seminar I conducted in our new satellite office in cloudy, rainy Boca Raton:

"How can my kid write anything original?"

Common question.  But the wrong question.

Your goal is not "original."  

It can't possibly be, when you consider that the typical admissions officer reviews 1,000 applications per cycle, and has worked in admissions three, five or more years in many cases.

You're unlikely to come up with something she's never seen before.  But don't worry about it.

Instead of original, focus on "interesting."

The vast majority of essays commit one deadly, unforgivable sin:

They're BORING.

My advice is to look at the act of applying to college as a MARKETING exercise.

A good marketer cuts through the clutter and makes a persuasive case why his audience should want or need his product.

How is that different from the college application process?

Here's what I told a student the other day:...

Print Scholarships on Demand Webinar

If you think your kid's colleges are going to give him or her their highest and best offer out of the gate, you might be in for a rude surprise.

Each year, thousands of parents optimistically open their kids' financial aid and scholarship offers, only to be slapped in the face by the harsh reality of insanely high tuition, but with hardly anything in aid.

Or nothing at all.

Like our client for several years, Fiona. (Not her real name.)

This past August, when Fiona (still not her real name) received the award for her son, a rising junior at an elite, urban Ivy League school, she thought there was a mistake.

In numerical terms, here's what they offered:

BUPKIS.

Fiona was miffed because, two years earlier, her son had received a fairly generous award. But not now.

Fiona got on the phone with us, namely Pearl, who files financial aid applications for 400+ of our clients annually.

"What happened? Why did they give us nothing this year?"

Pea...

UnCommon Application Webinar

Every year in College Application Land, there are shocking and salacious stories along the same themes:

She's valedictorian and didn't get into Princeton!  They hate our high school.

My son had great grades and near-perfect SATs, built homes for low income vacationers in Aruba and cured Covid.  He didn't get anywhere because he's white!

Didja hear about the kid who had a 30 million dollar business, a 4.0 and a 34 ACT, but got denied by 12 of 15 colleges!  

There's never ONE THING that gets an applicant accepted or denied by a college, as far as I'm concerned.

But one of the first places even Frank Drebin (Senior) would look for smoking gun clues is the essay, or personal statement.

It's not necessarily a case of "bad topic" - lessons grandpa taught me, the year I got cut from the team but made it next year and scored the winning goal in the state championship or other cliche topic.

It's usually more nuanced. It's about the message.  And tone.

Adm...

The 529 college savings account has many benefits, including tax-free growth.  Financial services companies introduced it to help parents and grandparents save for college, out of the goodness of their own hearts of course.

You can use 529 funds to pay for qualified expenses, including college tuition, high school tuition, room and board, even tutoring.  (That was self-serving.)

But here's the rarely disclosed, inconvenient truth about saving for college with a 529 account:

It reduces your eligibility for aid!

Yep. The 529 penalizes you in the financial aid formulas.  Which is a clue why responsible parents, who lived below their means, paid their bills and socked away money for college and other future goals, frequently feel sca-rooooood by the financial aid process.

Especially when less responsible families -- who bought/leased fancy-schmancy, late model imported cars, took multiple vacations to Aruba, Croatia and other hot spots, and maxed out their credit cards -- flat out  ...