Taking a mindful approach to the college application process can help students have a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling high school experience. Rachel Simmons, author of Enough As She Is, which focuses on helping girls move beyond impossible standards of success, joins the show this week to help us take just this approach. In another in our Kindness Matters series, we’ll look at ways in which kindness can have financial benefits to students in the form of merit awards.

Guest Post by Sabrina Manville, Co-Founder of Edmit

College is an investment –and it might be one of the biggest you ever make. Despite those big numbers, the data show it’s probably worth it—but you’ll need to make many decisions along the way that will impact how much the investment pays back.

There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school!

School Spotlight: Willamette University
Salem, OR

There is a scholarship (or many scholarships) out there for everyone.  Every student has some skill, interest, experience, or characteristic that may make them an attractive candidate for one scholarship or another.  And while we often refer to scholarships as “free money,” scholarships don’t actually come for free.  It takes work to thoughtfully consider your strengths and research the scholarships that might be most appropriate for you.  While the effort that goes into finding and winning scholarships may be akin to a part-time job, we at College Coach want to make your job a little easier.  This on-going scholarship series highlights a new scholarship each week.  Check out the below, along with the other posts in the series, and you may discover a funding resource that will make covering that college bill a little (or a lot!) easier.

Each spring, College Coach surveys the high school seniors that we’ve worked with through our private college counseling service to garner their insights on the college application process. We’ve just synthesized the results of our 2019 Senior Survey, and wanted to share the good news with our readers.

Back in March, I wrote a blog post about a friend of mine who dropped out of college and has nonetheless been very successful. College wasn’t for her. While I usually work with students who are very invested in earning, at a minimum, their Bachelor’s degree, I occasionally encounter high school students who, like my friend, see college as a barrier to beginning their professional life rather than an opportunity. Understandably, parents of such high schoolers tend to be very concerned. For a few generations we’ve been told that college is the path to financial security. And this is largely borne out by statistics; census data tells us that the average high school graduate makes $35,000 a year, while a college graduate will take home closer to $54,000 annually.

There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school!

School Spotlight: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY

Owning your own business can impact the financial aid process. Tune in to learn more about how that works. We’ll also help rising seniors evaluate where they are in the testing process and determine whether or not they need to take any more of those tests at this point. Finally, we’re taking a closer look at how institutional priorities can impact admissions decisions.

Guest Post from Jeremy Silverstein, Vice President of Operations and Vehicle Dispatching at Veteran Car Donations

As we celebrate Independence Day this 4^th of July, it’s important to remember the sacrifice that members of the armed forces make willingly in order to serve their country. The impact service can have on soldiers’ lives is far-reaching and takes numerous forms. One of the most significant ways military service can alter a person’s life, for example, is by changing the course of his or her career path. Unlike many civilians, servicepeople may not complete their educations on the usual schedule. Once they finish their active duty, they may lack the formal schooling that would benefit their careers and resumption of their normal lives. If you’re a veteran, education is crucial for getting a job and re-entering the civilian world.

There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school!

School Spotlight: Marlboro College
Marlboro, VT