Like pet health insurance, travel insurance, or renters insurance, tuition insurance is just another insurance policy that you don’t think about until you need it. Tuition refund insurance, commonly referred to as tuition insurance, comes in mighty handy if your child needs to withdraw from college suddenly.

One of the most common reasons students withdraw from college is due to medical issues. If your son or daughter has a serious or chronic illness, tuition insurance might be worth looking into. Be forewarned though, that some pre-existing conditions require a 6-12 month “waiting period” before coverage kicks in, possibly negating the point of having a policy. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: College Tuition Insurance, Tuition Insurance
Posted in Just for Parents | 4 Comments »

With prom season underway, spring fever in full swing, graduation parties to plan, and senioritis firmly settled in for the duration of the school year, it is really easy to let stuff slide. To keep you on track with all things college-related, we’ve put together a college checklist for you. I know, not the most exciting thing in the world, but, with so many distractions right now, it is absolutely vital that you don’t let anything slip between the cracks. Not filing paperwork in a timely manner could result in a lost scholarship, grant, work-study program, housing, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: college acceptance, college enrollment, graduating high school
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It seems as though everyone is wired for the latest breaking news via text message, Facebook, iPad, etc. So, today I’m going off our usual college planning path to share with you this interesting study that I found:

How much time do you spend every day on the computer, using social media (like Facebook and Twitter), and on your cell phone?  Think you can forgo all of them for 24 hours?  The thought of being disconnected to friends and family…well, it’s not a pretty one.  The mere idea of it probably fills you with emotions resembling dread, horror, and disbelief, among others.  I mean, you might as well be living in a cave if it comes to that.  Even astronauts can email and text while in orbit. (I know they are close to the communication satellites—just go with it!) Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Facebook, social media addiction, social media and college
Posted in Life at College | 4 Comments »

As you well know—or are about to find out—trying to figure out which colleges suit your personality and academic and extra-curricular interests is not easy.  With thousands of colleges and universities to choose from and only enough time to visit a handful or two, it can be a little like searching for a ring in the sand on the beach in the pitch dark.

We really want to help you find that “ring,” so here’s our shameless plug. . .

WiseChoice can definitely make it easier.  Think of us as the eHarmony^® of the college search process.  We don’t just give you a list of colleges with relevant stats, we also give you reviews and ratings from over 110,000 current college students to help you make a more informed choice about where to apply.

Sign up and check out some of our useful features: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: College Search, find a college, find the right college
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You have spent countless hours visiting various schools, narrowing down your choices to a handful of top picks, filling out and agonizing over applications, and waiting impatiently for the acceptance letters to arrive. Now comes the hard part.

Because you don’t want to graduate from college saddled with crushing debt, much of your decision on where to attend college may be based on the size of the financial aid packages you were offered. If your top choice(s) did not open up their wallets wide enough, and you still have time to meet your award letter deadlines, all is not lost!

Under certain circumstances, you may be able to appeal the award: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: appealing award letters, college award letters, negotiating award letters
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Tired of the academic grind?  Have you been rejected, deferred, or are uncertain of where to attend college in the fall?  Need to make money to pay for college?  Crave job and travel experiences? Maybe you’re just not ready for college yet?  If any of these questions are lingering in your head, then maybe you should consider taking a gap year.

No, a gap year has nothing to do with the classic clothing company.  A gap year is simply a productive year off from school, typically in between the transition from high school to college.  Amongst students, gap years are becoming increasingly more popular. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: college deferment, college deferral, Gap Year
Posted in College Admissions | 1 Comment »

School’s out for summer….or is it?  Summer typically marks the beginning of a welcome break from high school. Instead of using that break to hone your video game skills and get a killer tan, why not use the summertime to beef up your college application? Welcome to summer school, the productive way to spend your summer.

I imagine you just read that sentence, and thought to yourself, what is Whitney thinking?  But hear me out.  Regardless of whether you want to catch up, stay on track or get ahead, your summer break is a prime time to dedicate toward setting yourself apart from the rest of the college applicant pool.  So get it out of your mind that summer school is for losers. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: improve grades for college, summer school
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Seth Godin is considered by many people to be a marketing genius.  He is a best-selling author, an entertaining and in-demand speaker, and a self-described “agent of change.”  Seth is also a prolific blogger; his posts are thought-provoking, insightful, funny, and always worth reading.

Last week, one of his posts was titled “The coming meltdown in higher education (as seen by a marketer).”   He argued that most colleges, even the top ones, are homogeneous and therefore interchangeable; that they all game the system to appear more selective rather than just focusing on improving their schools’ curriculum; that it doesn’t matter where, or if, you go to college, and that the college experience is more important than the actual college education. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: best college, college admissions, college rankings, find the right college
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