How is your student feeling about being stuck at home due to COVID-19? Stressed? Lonely? Bored? To learn about ways that virtual volunteering can help alleviate those feelings, read our blog post “Virtual Volunteering: How to Stay Engaged from Home” on the College Coach Insider Blog at blog.getintocollege.com.
Planning to borrow a Federal student or Federal parent loan this coming school year? The interest rates for those loans have just been announced and they are much lower than the previous year. For loans borrowed between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, the interest rates are as follows: Undergraduate students borrowing the Federal Direct loan (both subsidized and unsubsidized) will have a fixed interest rate of 2.75%. Graduate students borrowing the unsubsidized Federal Direct loan will have a fixed interest rate of 4.3%. Parents and graduate students borrowing the Direct PLUS loan will have a fixed interest rate of 5.3%. For more details, see the special College Coach Breaking News blog post at blog.getintocollege.com.
by Kara Courtois, former admissions officer at Barnard College
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King
As we settle into another week of trying to slow the spread of this virus nationwide, I’m having more conversations with students who have started to adopt a routine with schoolwork and accept a “new normal” for learning. But this will continue to be an emotionally taxing time for everyone, so it’s important to look for ways to relieve anxiety—and giving back can be a great way to do that. Way before COVID-19, research showed that stepping outside of ourselves to help someone else is a great way to stave off loneliness, boredom, and stress. As an educator for the past 25 years, I can truly say that I have never met a student who didn’t feel better after volunteering.
Continue reading
by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University
In a welcome reprieve from the sea of bad news we’ve been drowning in lately, today we have some good news for student loan borrowers. We now know what federal student loan interest rates will be for the 2020/21 school year, and… drum roll, please… those interest rates have dropped to historic lows!
Continue reading
About Us
The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts is where College Coach experts weigh in on the latest college admissions topics. We cover everything from application timelines and strategies to tips on financing your child's education.
Categories
Contact Us
Subscribe to Our Blog
Tags
ACT
applying from abroad
choosing a major
choosing the right college
college admissions advice
college admissions consulting
college admissions process
college applications
college lists
college loans
college visits
common app
common application
common application help
coronavirus
covid-19
deciding on a college
early action
early decision
educational consultant
essay prompts
essays
FAFSA
financial aid
financial aid award
getting in
high school resume
how to get into an ivy league school
international students
ivy league
mba
mba programs
parenting
paying for college
SAT
saving for college
scholarships
scholarship search
standardized testing
standardized tests
summer activities
summer planning
transition to college
tuition
writing college essays
Latest Tweets
-
With the imminent beginning of the new semester, a question on the minds of many new #collegestudents is, “What do… https://t.co/5iKwr6qEZN
-
We had a great conversation with @warnermusic employees today about #savingforcollege & how #grandparents can help.… https://t.co/BBpMNojUhI
-
Tune in in 10 minutes for a new episode of #gettinginradio. Today we discuss college admissions bloopers to avoid a… https://t.co/xAlq41AnGg