Got College
Comparing Student Loan Programs: What option is best for you?
Imagine it - your child applies and gets accepted to their dream school AND is...
Beginner’s Guide to Federal Loan Options – What Works Best for You?
Many college-bound families look to federal student loan options provided by the U.S. Department of...
Student Loans – Discover the Smart Way to Borrow for College
The Current State of Student Loan Debt in America As of 2022, there was $1.6 trillion...
How to Prepare for College: What my High Schooler Should be Doing this Summer
Ah summer. The sun is shining, you’re spending more time out and about, getting in...
Federal Direct Student Loan Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Notes
How Do I Finalize My Federal Direct Student Loan? At College Aid Pro™, we believe...
The New Digital SAT- What You Need to Know
Do you have a love-hate relationship with the SAT like many college bound students and...
Tuition Reciprocity Programs – Can You Get A Better Deal Out of State?
Cost of tuition is a major factor into many families’ final decision of where to...
College Planning For the International Student – An Interview With Kristi Steele
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kristi Steele of KC360, who specializes in...
Pre-paid Tuition Plans – Is it Smart to Buy In?
What is A Pre-Paid Tuition Plan? A pre-paid tuition plan is an account to save to...
College Aid Pro’s $1,000 No Essay Scholarship And Award Analyzer Update
We wanted to share a quick update with our families on our $1,000 No Essay...
13 Ways To Successfully Pay Your College Bill
So your student has been accepted to college - Congrats! Celebrate their accomplishments and then...
What is A Financial Safety School? Should You Have at Least One on Your College List?
A “financial safety” school is a college that you know your family can afford. It...
Are Summer Programs at Universities Worth it for High Schoolers?
Every parent wants their high schooler to have a smooth transition to college. They want...
Acceptance Letters VS Financial Aid Letters
What's the Difference Between an Acceptance Letter and a Financial Aid Letter? https://youtu.be/wAZJZKREB4w Acceptance Letters An acceptance letter...
Decoding Dual Enrollment and AP Classes for High Schoolers – Is There an Ideal Option for You?
Students are increasingly being given the opportunity to take advantage of advanced courses in high...
Weighted and Unweighted GPAs – Let’s Clarify Their Impact on Merit Money
Merit Scholarships: How do Colleges look at Weighted and Unweighted GPAs? Merit scholarships are a great...
How to Use MyCAP’s Award Analyzer – Is Your Financial Aid Offer Worth Appealing?
https://youtu.be/xp4mSKmRo1s Hey Seniors! Congrats on making it to the last semester of high school! You're almost...
Creating Your Senior Year Class Schedule – What Do You Really Need to Take?
Many high school juniors, preparing to determine their senior year class schedule, are asking: “What classes...
Financial Aid Guidance for Divorced or Separated Families
https://youtu.be/9BqeeULhB4Q What Constitutes a "Divorced or Separated Family" for College Financial Aid? Colleges don't see a difference...
College Aid Pro Reviews
College Aid Pro Reviews Our mission is to end the student debt crisis. We aim to...
Will Saving For College Hurt My Financial Aid?
https://youtu.be/uPtAdmQ7XZg Is Saving for College a Bad Idea? NO! Saving for college is a good idea- and...
Confused by the Appeals Process? A Step By Step Guide for High School Seniors
Congratulations Class of 2023 - you’re on the home stretch! High school graduation is right...
MyCAP Award Analyzer- Did YOU get a Fair Financial Aid Offer?
https://youtu.be/rpxjE84I1kQ CAP's new Financial Aid Award Analyzer in the Evaluate & Appeal module allows you to...
Keep Your Sanity While Planning For College – Our Top 5 Tips for Success
This one’s for all you parents out there starting the college planning and application process...
Financial Aid Appeals – Evaluate Your Options with our New Awards Analyzer
“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” – Herbert Spencer We created the...
What Is Appealing? Can I Get More Money?
https://youtu.be/m8zZndLlGHw Appealing- Can you really go back and ask a college to give you more money...
Senioritis – Is it Really A Big Deal?
Senioritis. Parents across the country have heard of it. High school teachers dread it. It's a...
Federal Student Loans – Are They a Good Choice for You?
https://youtu.be/Eni29XqVAco What are Federal Student Loans? These are loans given out by the federal government. It's the...
CAP Projections: A Deep Dive into College Aid Pro’s Data Collection
At College Aid Pro, we pride ourselves on creating sound data sets that power easy-to-use...
7 Simple Tips for International Students Looking at US Colleges
In the US, we take for granted the quality of many of our higher education...
Create your College Budget – Understanding what YOU can Afford
https://youtu.be/9bSwtaktfDA Do you find this article helpful? Imagine what you could learn from Peg, along with...
College Aid Pro’s FREE College Winter Bootcamp for High Schoolers and Their Families
Click Here to Register Do you have a high schooler, particularly one who is in the...
6 Steps to Great Recommendation Letters
If you have an upperclassmen high school student who will be working on college applications...
Free Money for College: Understanding Grants and Scholarships
Free Money for College: Understanding Grants and Scholarships All schools offer free money, or "gift aid"...
Grades Really Do Matter – Junior Year of High School Is Important!
As a former high schooler and the mom to two current high schoolers, I’ve heard...
Can You Ask A College For More Free Scholarship Money?
What happens when you receive a scholarship award – but it’s still not enough to...
Demonstrated Interest and How It Affects College Admissions
Demonstrated Interest and How It Affects College Admissions In this video, we'll explore how demonstrated interest...
“My College Budget” Makes Paying For College Easy For Your Student
Everyone has heard "paying for college" horror stories. Families spend a full summer (sometimes longer)...
What is an EFC and What Does it Mean For You?
In this video, we're going to take a look at what is an EFC and...
Does Appealing For More Financial Aid Affect Admissions
Are you unsure if appealing for more financial aid affects your admissions decision? Watch this...
What is a 529 Plan?
What is a 529 Plan? In this video, we'll explain what a 529 is and how...
What is the Data Retrieval Tool in FAFSA?
In this video, we'll discuss what to know about the Data Retrieval Tool and how...
Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters And How To Compare Them
College admissions can start to roll in in the month of December every year and...
Student Loan Forgiveness Update 12/1/2022
For those waiting on federal student loan forgiveness, there have been some bumps in the...
The FAFSA Simplification Act – Upcoming FAFSA Changes
With the FAFSA Simplification Act comes a host of changes to the way federal student...
Video: How to Complete the IDOC Financial Aid Verification Process
How to Complete the IDOC Financial Aid Verification Process The college financial aid application process is...
How Home Equity Affects The CSS Profile
The CSS Profile and the FAFSA have very different requirements and how they calculate your...
CAP Report Card – Merit Scholarship Transparency Rankings
The Importance of Transparency College Aid Pro’s (CAP) Mission is to End the Student Debt Crisis...
Pros and Cons of FAFSA’s Data Retrieval Tool
The FAFSA leverages a tool called the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) to make...
College Applications and Financial Aid for Transgender Students
A Transgender Student’s Guide to Shopping, Applying And Paying For College While more and more students...
IDOC and FAFSA Verification
Getting all of your financial aid forms completed and submitted is a major milestone. A...
Net Price Calculators: Part of the Problem, Not the Solution
Our core belief at CAP is that students and families can make smart, fiscally sound...
FAFSA Changes 2023-24: What You Need To Know
The Federal Student Aid office recently announced FAFSA changes that will go into effect for...
2023-2024 CSS Profile Dos, Don’ts, and Updates
The 2023-2024 CSS Profile is available on October 1, 2022. Before you dive headfirst into...
CAP Data Update! Admissions, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
“Have you started looking at colleges yet?” I remember asking my daughter this question 3...
How to Make a College Education Affordable
Flip or scroll through the news, and it won't take you long to find some...
What you Need to Know About Completing the CSS Profile or FAFSA with Divorced or Separated Parents or Two-Household Families
Financial aid forms can seem tricky for any household, but this is especially true for...
How Much Can I Borrow? Student Loan Tips to not Borrow Too Much
For most families, student loans must be part of the college-funding conversation. Through careful planning...
How to Write a Letter of Appeal for Financial Aid
Was your expected family contribution (EFC) too high and now you’re left with a too-little...
How To Navigate Financial Aid Appeals With Your College-Bound Student
Negotiation is an art. Lawyers negotiate contracts, deals, and settlements on behalf of their clients, real...
What College Should I Go To? 12 Important Things to Consider
As we get close to May 1, National College Decision Day, deciding where to go...
FAFSA Verification – What It Is, How to Handle It, and Why Parents Shouldn’t Freak Out
When applying for financial aid, you are submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid...
Can High SAT Scores Help Your College Admission Chances?
High SAT scores can be very advantageous in your student’s college search process. They can...
Student Loan Forgiveness: What You Need To Know
President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, that a student loan forgiveness plan...
Parents and Dependents: Clarifying Relationships in Financial Aid Reporting
When dependent students apply for financial aid whether through the FAFSA or CSS Profile, they...
The 3 Different Types of Expected Family Contribution Explained
Do you find this article helpful? Imagine what you could learn from Matt, along with...
FAFSA Mistakes To Avoid
Every October 1st, the FAFSA onslaught begins. Articles and social media posts pop up about...
Quirks of the Financial Aid Application: Answers to Some Common FAFSA Questions
When you think about financial aid, “quirky” might not be the first word that comes...
Applying for Financial Aid: FAFSA and CSS Profile
Today we’re talking about applying for financial aid. Not the most exciting topic, but we...
Getting a Division 1 Athletic Scholarship
Getting a Division 1 athletic scholarship is not an easy task. However, if your student...
Athletic Scholarships 101
Athletic scholarships for college are often misunderstood and assumed to be more available than they...
What are National Merit Scholarships?
Most families in the college application process have heard the term "National Merit Scholarship" float...
Do National Merit Finalists Get Full-Ride Scholarships?
Do National Merit finalists get full-ride scholarships? In some cases, yes! Previously, we wrote about what ACT...
Can My Kid Get a Full-Ride Scholarship?
I was listening to a financial call-in program the other day and the topic of...
What Are Talent Merit Scholarships?
Does your student have a special skill they have developed for years? Have they practiced...
What Are Competitive Merit Scholarships?
When most people think about merit scholarships, they think of a competitive elimination process where...
A National Merit Scholarship Success Story
I always love when parents share a merit scholarship success story! This one is from...
How to Find Full Ride Scholarships
Full-ride scholarships pay the full price of attending a college. This usually includes tuition, fees,...
Top Two Resources for Finding Automatic Merit Scholarships
With the cost of college continuously on the rise, many college-bound students and their parents...
When Your Expected Family Contribution is (EFC) is Too High
Are you left scrambling after filling out the FAFSA to see the number you’re expected...
5 Things Parents Need to Know About Private Scholarships
This was originally written for and published by Saving For College, adapted and expanded for...
The Pros and Cons of Being Waitlisted From a College Funding Perspective
Every year, countless students are waitlisted at major colleges and universities across the country. When...
Pros and Cons Of Test-Optional College Admissions
Pros and Cons Of Test-Optional College Admissions For years, students and parents have railed against the...
All About the Money: 3 Important Financial Questions You Should be Asking When Picking a College
College is an investment. And like all other investments, you should expect to get a great...
Research and Compare 529 Plans
Browse 529 plans by state A 529 Plan is a college savings account that is funded...
What Expenses Can Be Paid from a 529 Plan?
Up to this point, parents have SAVED for college and SHOPPED for college. Suddenly, you...
Grandparents and 529 College Savings Plans: What You Need to Know
Grandparents want to help. They see the expense ahead for their kids to pay for...
What’s a 529 Plan? 5 Easy Ways to Start Saving For College
It’s no secret that college tuition is continuing to increase dramatically year over year. For...
The 3 Best Free Online Resources for Athletic Recruiting
The best resources for athletic recruiting vary from athletic recruiting service websites to school sites...
Ways to Pay for College: 5 Types of Merit-Based Scholarships
Merit scholarships can be one of the best ways to pay for college, especially if...
How to Get a Full-Ride Scholarship from Your ACT or SAT Score
Wanting to get your student a free college education? Who doesn’t! The fact is, there...
How Will I Know If I Qualify For Need-Based Financial Aid?
Will we qualify for need-based financial aid for college? – A question on the minds...
The 5 Types of Need-Based Financial Aid for College-Bound Families
Types of Need-Based Financial Aid When you receive a need-based financial aid package from a college,...
What is the FSA ID? Why do you need one?
Thank you for joining us for this brief video with our very own Fairy Godmother...
Prior-Prior Year (PPY) : What It Is and Why It Matters to College Financial Aid
It seems like in the world of financial aid there's always one question that bubbles...
Expected Family Contribution (FAFSA): Explained
Have you heard the term Expected Family Contribution on TV or social media and wondered...
How The Class of 2023 Can Pave An Affordable Path To College
If you’re the parent of a rising high school junior or senior, this blog is...
Does Saving for College Reduce Financial Aid?
Parents regularly express frustration to me, for having been penalized for saving for their child’s...
What You Need to Know About College Application Season
The fall 2023 enrollment season is here! This time brings a flurry of excitement, nerves,...
Winning the College Finance Game: Maximize Your Family’s Financial Aid Package
First thing's first – don’t feel ashamed if you’re more than a little intimidated by...
Do You Still Need Strong Standardized Test Scores for College?
How much do your standardized test scores matter? The short answer: A lot. But it’s complicated. SAT...