Danny's Recommended Resources

As he mentioned recently on WCBS in New York, Danny has posted some important information on financial aid. 

Financial Aid and Scholarships

www.finaid.org is possibly the best overall site designed to answer your questions about financial aid.

www.fastweb.com is a big database of scholarships that you can search through.

www.fafsa.ed.gov is the place to get and fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the form you need to apply for governmental federal aid.

www.collegeboard.com is a site with a lot of information about a lot of college topics. Most importantly, however, it is where you have to go to fill the CSS PROFILE Financial Aid form that is required by most private colleges and universities.

The book How to Go to College Almost for Free by Ben Kaplan is a good overall book for finding scholarships and maximizing your chances for financial aid.

 

In terms of types of student loans - there are really 6 major types:

Perkins Loans: Given to students with exceptional financial need. Fixed rate of 5%. Undergraduates can borrow $4,000 per year; 10-year repayment period after graduation.

Subsidized Stafford Loans: Fixed rate of 6% for loans in the 2008-2009 school year. Loans granted for a maximum of $3,500 in first year, $4,500 in second year, $5,500 in later years. Repayment begins after student graduates or leaves school.

Unsubsidized Stafford Loans: Fixed rate of 6.8%. Pay only interest while in school or defer payments until after graduation. Loan amounts up to $3,500 in first year, $4,500 in second year, and $5,500 in later years.

For the balance of education costs, parents may consider the following loan alternatives. Terms and conditions of each loan should be evaluated to see which best fits the family's needs:

Parent Plus Loans: Parents can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received. Interest rates are fixed at 7.9% to 8.5%, depending on the lender.

Home equity loans: A homeowner can take out a second mortgage against the value of a home to pay for college bills. These loans may be harder to come by with the housing slump devaluing homes.

Private student loans: Offered by banks and many private lenders. Private loans may require higher credit scores and a cosigner.

 

Finally, if you are having a problem with your federal student loan, contact the FSA Ombusdsman at the US Department of Education by phone at 1-877-557-2575

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Now in terms of college admissions, there is an absolute ton of information out there about schools, online applications, scholarships, and test prep.

What should you use????????

1.  The Admit U. College Acceptance Coaching Program by Danny Ruderman (my shameless plug, but I do believe it’s a great place to start!)

2.  College websites.  From here you can request viewbooks and applications as discussed.

3.  The test prep resources I recommend below.

JUST USING 1, 2, AND 3 WILL BE ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR YOU TO ROCK THE ADMISSIONS WORLD!

However, I will admit that there are some other good resources and time saving web applications that you might want to check out.  So here are some additional resources by subject.

More Info about Colleges

For a list of website links to U.S. Colleges and Universities, click here.

Insider’s Guide to The Colleges is good for detailed college profiles. If there are schools that you do not find in these books, you can get the College Board College Handbook that has every school in the country (but it is a bit overwhelming).

The KW Guide to Colleges for the Learning Disabled by Martha Kravets/Imy Wax.

Guide to Performing Arts Programs by Carole J. Everett & Muriel Topaz.

100 Colleges Where Average Students Can Excel by Joe Anne Adler

Application Resources

The College Board—www.collegeboard.com  This is the place to go to register for the SAT and SAT IIs and the place to make sure that all your schools are receiving your scores.  In addition, it has the policies of how to get extra time for learning disabilities, not to mention a boatload of info on colleges, online applications, and a program that will help you determine your financial aid eligibility. (The learning disability information can also be found on the Resource CD.) Important: This is also the site to request and fill out the CSS PROFILE, a financial aid form required by certain private universities.  I discuss this further in Section 17.

The ACT—www.act.org  This is the place to register and find out about the ACT. They also have procedures for getting extra time for learning disabilities.  (This information can also be found on the Resource CD.)

The Common Application Site—www.commonapp.org  Pretty self-explanatory, ain’t it?  Print the Common App. or use their program to type in all your info. and then print it out.  (I like sending paper copies rather than applying online.) I’ll walk you through filling out this application in Chapter 7.

Embark—www.embark.com This is one of the best-known sites that you can use to submit your applications to schools online and it has a bunch of information like The College Board.  Again, I like to go through the schools directly and fill out actual paper applications, but I recommend this one if you want use the web.

Art Schools—www.artschools.com Good beginning list of two and four year art schools.

Another Great  Resource

Your school counselor.  You may be surprised just how much he or she can help you, even if you have never spoken more than two words to him or her.  Really make an effort to make an appointment and seek him or her out with questions you have. Counselors have to fill out a form about you for each school, so it’s generally a pretty good idea to get to know them a bit.  True, some counselors are biased, may not have a lot of time for you, and/or give you bad advice.  But many of the counselors I know generally know their stuff, so go find out!

Test Prep Materials

Books for the SAT and ACT

Up Your Score:  The Underground Guide to the SAT.  Abalauk, Berger, Colton...
Must Get. Funny as all Hell.

The Official SAT Study Guide  The College Board.
Must Get. Boring as all Hell—But Necessary.

SAT Prep.  Kaplan.
Basically says the same thing as many of the other companies, but their layout is easy to follow.

The Real ACT Prep Guide.  The ACT.
Must Get. The Best Practice Book for the ACT because it has Real Tests.

ACT Prep.  Sparknotes.
Sparknotes is the newer kid on the block.Good overall review of strategies, but practice tests aren’t exactly the same as real thing.

Books for the SAT IIs

 Please note:  Most of these publishers update every couple of years, so you should sit down with 3-4 and flip through them to see which ones you like. I will include here the latest of what I recommend.

Real SAT IIs The Subject Tests.  The College Board.
Only 1 real practice test for each subject, but worth picking up for that reason alone.

Princeton Review: They have books on each of the SAT II subjects.
Clear, easy to follow. Not the most thorough, but not too dense, either. I specifically like their SAT II Literature Book.

Kaplan: They also have books on each of the SAT II subjects.
Similar to Princeton Review except their latest revisions are quite good for most subjects.  Good general overview.  Easy to read.

Sparknotes: They are often prominently featured in Barnes and Noble stores.
I like Sparknotes because they have written books with extra tests in them for practice. Specifically, their SAT II Math books are good because they come the closest to writing questions that look like the real thing. Be careful, however, because in my opinion, their questions can actually be harder than the real thing and their answer explanations can be a bit complicated for my taste.

Companies and Courses

Kaplan—Along with Princeton Review, known for their classes of about 15-20 students.  Classes are generally 3 hours long, once per week.  Their content is good and it does work, but you have no real choice of who your instructor is, and you have to be ready to do a lot of work on your own. Be prepared to share time with other students for your questions.  Kaplan does also offer one-on-one, it’s just a lot more expensive.  It may be worth it if you need someone to crack the whip on you.  Kaplan may offer classes through your school.  This can be good because you know the people in your class, but it can be bad because you know the people in your class (if you know what I mean).

Princeton Review—Offers a similar program to Kaplan.  Again, they have a very good curriculum.  If you want to see the differences in philosophies between Princeton Review and Kaplan, pick up their SAT or ACT books and flip through them.  Either way, you’re gonna learn the same general skills and practice your butt off.

Ivy West (In California)—This is a very popular choice in California because you get one-on-one help from 2 different tutors (at least for the SAT—one tutor for math, one tutor for verbal). They also come to your house, so it’s very convenient.  I have had many students find success with Ivy West.  Again, because you have no choice of who you’re going to get as a tutor, some students have reported that they have one really good tutor and one less than good. Students also report that there seemed to be a lot of “busy work” exercises that they put off until something like 1 hour before their tutor showed up.  I have seen their curriculum and again, it’s a bit dry and consists of many rules to remember, like the others.  But, put in the time (especially in combination with practicing Real SATs), and their system will work wonders.

Local Companies in Your Area & Private SAT Tutors—In every town, there are small companies and lone hired guns like me who teach the tests.  Some of these people are great, funny, and flexible—meaning they can focus on your needs rather than stick to a rigid curriculum.  But, make sure you meet them, get references, and check to see they have been doing it for at least a few years.  The bottom line is you want results—not just a buddy. I believe you can get both, but ask questions, because some people aren’t that great.

Remember that you will have to put in the time to practice, no matter what method you choose. It is this practice of the strategies over and over again that will improve your score!