Last week, I mentioned that the summer is the perfect time to set up college campus visits. It’s a good idea to schedule your trips to a wide variety of campuses — large and small, urban and suburban, private liberal arts colleges and public research institutions. The more places you visit, the better you will be able to assess what you really want in a college or university. As you plan your college visit schedule, you may not be sure what to expect. Here are five tips for making the most out of your college visits. 1. Take the Guided Tour When you call the Admissions Office to set up your campus visit, be sure to schedule a guided tour of the campus. Typically, these tours are led by an undergraduate volunteer, who takes groups of students and parents through the main parts...

TGIF, Scholarship Seekers. Remember last week I challenged you to apply to at least one scholarship a day for the rest of the summer? Did any of you take me up on that challenge? How’s it going so far? If you are still need to find one or two more scholarships to apply for, I’ve got three great possibilities with upcoming deadlines for you. There is a $3,000 video competition, a $10,000 scholarship lottery (no essays, no letters of recommendation), and a $2,500 scholarship for outstanding Hispanic students studying business or engineering. If you want to find other scholarships, your best bet is to use a free scholarship search engine. Not sure which sites are reputable and which are scams? Check out article on scholarship searches. Our scholarship section also has plenty of ...

Are you about to start your senior year of high school? If so, you may be wondering whether you are on track for college next year. To make sure that you are organized, read through the following checklist — AKA the Summer Action Plan for high school seniors. (And, if you need even more help with getting organized, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the Fall Action Plan for High School Seniors coming in September!) 1. Take the ACT or SAT Hopefully you already did this last spring, but if not, there is still time. Sign up now, and start studying. The next SAT test is October 10, 2009, but you must register by September 9. The next ACT test is September 12, with a registration deadline of August 7.  If you’re not sure which test to take (or whether you need to take both of t...

Are you searching for college scholarships? You may be wondering how to distinguish yourself from your competition. While every scholarship has it’s own list of eligibility requirements, applicants need to go above and beyond the bare minimum to impress the committee — and win the award. Not sure how to do that? Here are four qualities almost every scholarship committee is looking for: 1. Strong Academics You don’t have to be the valedictorian, but most scholarship committees will take into consideration your overall commitment to academics. For some scholarships, you will need to have a minimum GPA. But if you aren’t required to be a better-than-average student, a strong GPA indicates that you take your studies seriously — and that’s something that ev...

Another week has come and gone. How many scholarships did you apply for this week? If you are still on the hunt for one or two more scholarships, I have three great possibilities for you this week. As you know, each Friday at the Financial Aid Finder, I post about three hot scholarship opportunities with upcoming deadlines. This week, I have $1,000 for students studying transportation, $3,000 for students interested in pursuing a career in parapsychology, and a $1,000 scholarship lottery sponsored by Scholarships.com. If you want to search for even more scholarships, your best bet is to use a free scholarship search page. But first, check out our own scholarship searches so you can be sure to avoid a scam! Our scholarship section also has plenty of helpful articles on everything from the...

If you are already attending college or are about to start in the fall, you no doubt realize just how expensive getting a higher education really is. Even if you choose a more frugal option such as attending your local community college and living at home with mom and dad, there are all sorts of little expenses that really pile up. The average cost of text books is $1,000 per year, for example. And college fees aren’t cheap either. One of the best ways to ensure that you graduate college without having to charge your way through is to apply for as many scholarships as possible. Whether you need an extra $2,000 or $20,000, the more scholarships you apply for, the better your chances of winning enough to cover your bills. Not sure where to find out about scholarships you might be qua...

A number of important changes are looming for federal student aid, which may save you some serious cash. Here’s a quick look at the most significant developments: Interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans are dropping — This year, they will go from a 6% to 5.6% (fixed). Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of ‘07, the rate will continue to drop until 2011-2012, when it will reach an all-time low of 3.4%. Unfortunately, the lower rate only applies to loans taken out — or consolidated — in that academic year. Remember, with a subsidized loan, the federal government pays your interest while you are in school. Income-based loan repayment — I won’t bother rehashing the details, since I’ve covered them extensively in earlier posts. ...

TFIF, all you scholarship seekers! What a lightening fast week this has been. What are you doing to stay busy this summer? Work? Internship? Summer school? Whatever is filling up your schedule, I hope you will make some time to apply for scholarships as well. In fact, why not set a goal for yourself: 100 days of summer, 100 scholarship applications. You won’t get all of them. You won’t even get half of them. But even if you win jut 5 percent of the scholarships you apply for, that could translate into tens of thousands of dollars to apply toward your tuition bill next fall. As you know, every week, I make it easier for you to apply for free money for college by posting about three scholarships with upcoming deadlines. I only search out those scholarships that have wide, natio...

It looks like the last two weeks have unintentionally turned in to the “Student Loan Hour” here at the Financial Aid Finder. Earlier this week, I covered the New York Times piece on student loan debt. Five experts sounded off on the question, “How much student loan debt is too much?” (Did you answer that question for our student debt poll on Tuesday? Please do that now if you haven’t already!) You might also want to check out the Times’ follow-up to their student debt piece, appropriately titled Student Debt, Fool’s Gold? There are hundreds of reader comments that painfully, at times, illustrate the naivety with which so many students take out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. If nothing else, it’s an eye opening read. *** I ha...

Did you read my post yesterday How Much Student Debt Is Too Much? If you haven’t yet, give it a read. Then I’d love to get your opinion on that question. <br /> <a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1709860/” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1709860/”>How much student loan debt do/would you feel comfortable taking out?</a><span style=”font-size:9px;” mce_style=”font-size:9px;”>(<a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com”>opinion</a>)</span><br /> Feel free to explain yourself in the comments section! I’d love to hear from you. ...