The College Planning Blog

Well it has finally happened. The unsustainable Texas Top 10% rule has finally been changed. With top state universities like the University of Texas now forced to automatically accept 86% of their incoming class under the Top 10% rule it was time for a change.

Having helped literally hundereds of students I think that this is a huge step forward. Why? Because it just might cause many high school students to actually research what colleges will be the best fit for them. Far too many top students apply to only one or two colleges as a result of the Top 10% rule.

Why do SO many students do so little work researching their best choices for college? Simply put because they are guranteed admission.

So the new rule will guarantee that starting with the class of 2011, the top 8% of high school graduates will automatically be admitted to the University of Texas. This change is expected to limit the number of students automatically admitted to approximately 75%. I wouldn’t call this a perfect change, but a necessary change.

What should a family do? Get busy researching what your student wants to study, what schools offer what they want, and what schools will they have a chance to get into?

A great option for sophomores and juniors is to come to one of our upcoming college planning workshops. Click here.

Do you have a senior student that needs guidance with their college applications? We’ll they have about a month to complete their applications. For the first time we are offering our “College Application Bootcamp” to the public. For more information click here: 

Here’s what your student will learn by attending this AWESOME workshop:

-5 secrets to completing each university application perfectly - in 50 minutes or less!

-The ’secret’ formula schools use to grade your college applications - revealed! And how to improve your chances of getting in - even at the last minute;

-10 steps to planning your perfect career;

-SAT & ACT myths dispelled, as well as how to improve your score by at least 100 points without studying;  Also, how to take the SAT & ACT for ‘free’.

-How to decide which school is right for you. We’ll give you our 7 step evaluation process that works every time. We’ve never had a student that used it drop out or decide to switch colleges;

-The top 9 admissions resume tips that your guidance counselor doesn’t have the time to tell you;

-Essay writing tips from Ernest Hemingway, Larry the Cable Guy, and Harvard Admissions Officers;

-How to get a killer letter of recommendation, and have the teacher thank you for asking them to write it;

 USA Today ran a brief paragraph on an upsetting story.  Eight student lenders, including some of the biggest (Nelnet, GMAC bank, among others), coughed up $1,400,000.00 dollars to settle NY Attorney General Cuomo’s probe in their alleged unfair and deceptive marketing practices.

Some of the companies sent solicitations to students that looked as if they had come from the federal government, according to the attorney general’s office.

He added, “It is unconscionable for lenders to entice students into loans that are not best for them.”

“Numerous vendors do millions of dollars of business on college campuses, and we have found that they often pay to play,” Mr. Lawsky said. “The question then becomes, are students getting the best deals or, as we found in the student loan industry, are universities entering into financial arrangements that benefit them at the expense of students?”

Others advertised interest rates not available to most borrowers. Some offered prizes and ran contests to lure student borrowers.

How does this affect you? This might be a little shocking.

For one thing, if a college financial aid office recommends a particular student lender, you can now feel a little relieved because they can no longer receive a “kickback” from that lender.

Yep, you read it right.  College financial aid offices used to get ‘referral fees’ for recommending loans.  Nice, right?  Betcha didn’t know that!

But here’s a bigger issue - because most families are baffled by the financial aid process (there are approximately 1,100 pages of regulations promulgated by the Department of Education, after all), they needlessly ‘default’ into obtaining student loans when they might otherwise qualify for free grants and scholarships.

What kind of aid would you like, free money or a loan?  (Need I ask?…)

How do you find the free stuff?  Some colleges have more generous financial aid packages than others.  There is a VAST range among America’s colleges. Not every school is created equal (in aid!)

Don’t you think it’s a good idea to get a handle on the potential costs of college BEFORE you even think about applying?

One great resource to kick-start your research is our free workshop, “How to Pay for College Without Going Broke.”   Click the link Free Workshop RSVP  button on the right and register today.

Our motto “Know before you go!”

Pictured from the left: Jeff Farmer, Jeremy Farmer, and Brannon Lloyd

Hey Guys,

Join us for our incredible new college planning radio show every Sunday at 5PM on 1070AM. You can also listen live on their website: www.KNTH.com.

College insiders to start new radio show, give parents priceless advice to help them save thousands.While they’ve saved thousands of families too much money to count, local college planning experts say that’s not going nearly far enough. After speaking in front of tens of thousands of parents over the last five years local college planning experts will begin broadcasting their message using 10,000 watts of power since, as Jeff Farmer says, “One man can only shout so loudly, we need to get the word out that people can save more on college.”"We have the perfect storm brewing right now, skyrocketing gas prices, a tanking stock market, and an economy in a recession. However, for millions of families the need to send a student to college is not going away. It’s shocking that so many parents won’t even be able to afford for their kids to go to school in the next few years, so many good students won’t be able to go, and many students will have to drop out, unless they know the inside information that the colleges don’t want given out,” says Jeremy Farmer. He then adds, “It’s not even a matter of affording the best school….it’s being able to have ANY money left at all these days. Brannon Lloyd was astonished when he first started talking to parents and realized how much bad information was floating around-some of it in the media, “It’s amazing how many parents are desperate for this kind of information. I really don’t know what to say, except that I’m totally blown away.”

The College Planning Power Hour will be broadcast Live on KNTH AM 1070 Sundays from 5-6pm beginning August 17th, 2008.

I’m extremely ticked off so I’ll be quick like a bunny with this email.

I see why so many parents never even bother to apply for financial aid! They’re being told that they make too much money by the so-called experts - this is why I call ‘em “schmexperts”!

Check out this clip. Some well-intentioned “friend” of mine sent me a video from Kiplingers about college financial aid.

This woman, Janet Bodnar, does a decent job explaining why you may want to save in your name, not your child’s, but then she lets lose a colossal, “gi-normous” 100% false statement: If you make a lot of money, like more than a hundred grand, you probably wont’ qualify for aid!

Sweet mother of all things holy! How dumb is she?

This video appeared in an article on MSN.com. The article talks about how Harvard and Yale are giving away money for parents making up to 180K and 200K, respectively!!!

Hello?

This is what Jeff, Brannon, and I are talking about when we tell you, don’t listen to the “schmexperts,” listen to US. Our advice is frequently 180 degrees opposite to your typical trusted advisors, CPAs, guidance counselors, BRACE Advisors, and now, Kiplingers!

Our advice: EVERYONE should apply for financial aid! Case in point - you can go to Harvard (a $50,000 per year school,) for $18,000!

OK, I’m done with my rant.

I’ve gotta calm down. I’m doing a workshop tonight on scholarships for student-athletes.
It would be better if I’m not foaming at the mouth.

Later.

- Jeremy

In the past few months, largely in response to the credit crunch precipitated by the subprime mortgage crisis, some homeowners have been receiving letters from their lenders indicating that their home equity lines of credit have been frozen. In some cases, these freezes may be the result of missed payments (even missed payments on other debts) or declining home values in the area, but that’s not always the case. Many freezes are happening to homeowners with homes that have not declined in value, and who have impeccable payment histories and credit records. (more…)

Hey Guys,

I ran across this article in the Austin Statesman. Most people assume great scores is all you need to get into a great school. Unfortunately, much more is involved and that’s what we are here for.

We have the experience and know what it takes to get your student in.

Here’s the article:

Perfect college entrance exam scores don’t help student who dreamt of the Ivy Leagues
Despite perfect scores on the SAT and ACT, a LBJ Liberal Arts Academy student failed to make it into his dream schools.

By Laura Heinauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, April 19, 2008

Things were going, well, perfectly for Navonil Ghosh up until several weeks ago.

The college-bound LBJ High School Liberal Arts and Science Academy senior racked up more than 400 hours volunteering in local hospitals and libraries. He plays the piano, is a first-degree black belt in Kung Fu and got a perfect score on both the SAT and ACT college entrance exams. Ghosh had mailed out all of his college applications and was just waiting for the acceptance letters to come pouring in.

But the letters that began filling his mailbox were of a different kind.

The first rejection came from Stanford University in California, but the hits kept coming. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From Ivy League institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale, where he was wait-listed. But the biggest disappointment came from Harvard University, which Ghosh had chosen as his “dream school” based on the course offerings. Even the Plan II honors program at the University of Texas turned him down.

(more…)

Hey Guys,

Here’s a great article. Aren’t you glad you have help with this?

Bad News U:
Colleges Reject Record Numbers

Policies at Harvard, Princeton Create Uncertainty at Elites; Financial-Aid Picture Improves

By ANJALI ATHAVALEY
April 3, 2008; Page B11

The college-admissions season set records this year — both in the number of students who applied, as well as the number of students who were rejected.

Harvard University has a record applicant pool of 27,462 and an admissions rate of 7.1%, meaning that 1,948 students were accepted — the lowest number in the school’s history and a drop from last year’s 8.9%. Yale University received 22,813 applications and accepted only 8.2%, down from 9.6% last year. And at Princeton University, of the 21,369 applications, 9.3% were accepted, down from 9.5% last year.

State schools, too, are reporting a tough admissions season, with acceptance rates down at the University of Texas and the University of North Carolina, among others.

On the positive side for some students this season, schools are having a hard time predicting their all-important “yields” — the percentage of students admitted who will actually attend. And high-school counselors are hoping that ambiguity will result in more acceptances for students who are on waiting lists — a strategy schools use to reach enrollment targets.

(more…)