College Application Tips

We are near the end of the college application process. Here are my best college application tips while they are fresh in my mind. Start thinking about this as soon as your child enters high school and start a 3 ring binder divided by schools/financial aid/scholarships etc.

Check the web site of the schools you child is interested in around July 1st to see if the essay questions for the application are updated and posted for the following year. Print them out and have your child look at them to start formulating ideas.

Have them keep a journal of favorites songs, books they have enjoyed and why, challenges they have overcome, interesting people they have met – you get the idea. When the time comes to write the essays, they will have these notes to fall back on.

If you child will be a senior in the fall, strongly encourage them to work on these essays over the summer. Do not wait until school starts, especially if they play a fall sport or they are  busy with AP classes, etc.

Start collecting information on scholarships. Pay the most attention to the ones the college that you are applying to offer. Also, your child will have a better chance of obtaining a  local scholarships that you might read about in the paper and through your high school guidance office, than a scholarship where they are competing nationally. Look at the essays needed for the scholarships, if applicable. Some of the entrance essays and scholarship essays can be shared, but not as many as you would think.

Keep detailed track of community service hours and experiences. Encourage your child to spend more hours on one or two projects rather than many with few hours involved.

You will most likely be shocked by your expected family contribution after you complete the FAFSA. Brace yourself.

You will need letters of recommendation from teachers for both the applications and for most of the scholarship applications. Be extra kind to these teachers and give them ample time to write these recommendations. Imagine the extra burden this places on them.

My #1 money saving tip for college is to take community college classes while you are still in high school, especially during the summer break. If you can find accredited classes online, start on your general ed classes as soon as you can.

Solutions for saving money, that’s what  More With Less Today is all about. Financial experts tell us to cut our expenses, this site shows you numerous ways to do just that.

The site features practical ways to trim expenses, save money, stretch our resources and to give back from our surplus. It is much more than a “coupon site”, the categories have over 300 ideas that you can access anytime.

The category “Todays Hot Deals” is where you will find the best deals on the web today such as free printable coupons, Amazon 50% off markdowns, restaurant freebies and retail codes.

*SAVE SOME AND SHARE SOME * .

Our churches, charities, food banks and the neighbors down the street need help.  With a small investment of time and a few mouse clicks, you can give back from the money you can save here. There are so many ideas on this site where you can get items for free or practically free. You can donate the ones that your family doesn’t need.

Share the secret that my Mom taught me, “giving blesses the giver.”

Do you have a favorite charity or cause that you would like to share with other readers of  More With Less Today? Send me an email at lorijfelix@gmail.com.



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