http://www.zinchparents.com Reliable, Practical Advice For College Bound Families Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:43:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en January is financial wellness month, so we thought it would be good to talk about paying for college. There are so many resources available to you, so here are some helpful sites to get you started.   CollegeBoard.com: This site is a one stop shot for all things college planning. On ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2010/01/financial-planning-for-college/ Your high school student is probably always preparing for some sort of test. Whether it’s a mid-term or final, or the SAT, there are things that you can do to help ease their stress. Collegeboard.com has put together the following list of tips for parents of test takers. Give it ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2010/01/testprep/ Between now and January 15, 2010 your student is eligible to apply for the Chegg Textbook Scholarship. It is as easy as one-click apply and your student could have their textbooks paid for by Chegg this semester. Remind your student to apply.  College freshman click here. Upperclassmen click here. Students on over ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/12/help-save-your-student-money-on-textbooks-this-semester/ Odds are, you’re going to take the SAT’s (or ACT’s.) Most “selective” colleges require them. True, more and more really good colleges – yes, selective ones! – are making the SAT’s optional. But the vast majority of schools still require them. Three Questions are commonly asked: First, do SAT prep courses work? ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/11/the-sat/ Question:  Does it make a difference which standardized test my daughter takes?  All of her friends are taking the SAT’s and she is hesitating, thinking she’d do better on the ACT. - Joanne, Boston Answer:  The biggest difference between these two long-established, and widely-used standardized tests is where they are “most popular.”  Simply for historical reasons, ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/11/you-ask-we-answer-2/ Two questions are typically asked: First, do colleges give extra weight to grades earned in honors or Advanced Placement (AP) courses? The answer is usually – either by formally recalculating the student’s grade-point average, or by informally “inflating” the grades earned the more advanced classes. Second, is it better to earn a ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/11/ap-vs-honors-courses/ More than 100,000 college freshmen will play on NCAA teams next year, and about 30% of those kids will receive athletic scholarships. Does your child hope to be among them? And do you hope to see an athletic scholarship? Or are you just hoping that your kid’s athletic prowess will ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/11/the-truth-about-college-sports-scholarships/ It’s that time of year again: publications of every description are coming out with their college rankings. Some are insightful; others are fun; a few are meaningless. The real question is how can they help you? The granddaddy of all college rankings is the U.S. News annual rankings of “America’s Best ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/11/should-a-college%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%9cranking%e2%80%9d-matter-to-you/ College is one of the best times in a student’s life.   It is a time to discover your interests, make new friends, go to football games, and spend long nights studying.  However, the economy is at a low, the cost of tuition keeps rising every year, and students have to ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/07/cheggcom-can-help-save-your-student-on-textbooks/ Question: We visited several colleges over spring break.  My son hated the tour guide at one of the schools we (and his guidance counselor) thought would be a perfect fit.  Now what? Jane K, Burlington, Vt. Answer: Welcome to the bizarre world of college visits.   The college ... http://www.zinchparents.com/2009/07/you-ask-we-answer/