Episode 11: National School Counseling Week: School Counselors Helping Students Dream Big
What better way to celebrate National School Counselor Week than to have on Jill Cook, Executive Director of ASCA! This episode is loaded with great information about the following topics:
• 20th Anniversary of the National Model
• New Student-to-School-Counselor Ratio Report
• How school counselors support student mental health
Episode 10: Deepening the Conversation with Students Around Academic Planning
When beginning to think about how we support students through the academic planning process, it’s important that students understand the necessity of learning and exploring key self and college knowledge to build a set of skills and abilities for informed decision making.
We discuss how incorporating the 8 Strengths of College and Career Readiness with the 4 critical factors helps students make the most of their high school experience and prepare them for college. The 4 critical factors are the You Factor, Academic Factor, Career Factor, and Financial Factor.
Episode 9: Supporting Students & Families with FAFSA Completion
Join us as we talk with Julie Shields-Rutyna, the Director of College Planning, Education, and Training at the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA). Julie brings her expertise to talk with College UnMazed about how counselors have dive deeper into the planning, saving, and paying for college for their students and families they serve.
Episode 8: Award Letters Insights for Informed Financial Decisions with TuitionFit
Join us as we talk with Dr. Mark Salisbury, CEO and founder of TuitionFit, to discuss the issues families face around determining the real cost of college prior to students applying and receiving award letters. The TuitionFit program helps families find real pricing information to make more confident, informed decisions when they need it. This was a very informative review of financial aid and scholarship award letters and how to help families navigate the system!
Episode 7: Tuition Exchange Programs & Paying for College
Join us as we talk with Jonathan Gowin from the NE Board of Higher Education about tuition exchange programs that enables thousands of students to enroll at out-of-state public colleges and universities at a discounted tuition rate. This program, and others like it, save families millions of dollars in tuition savings every year, with an average tuition break of $8,600.
Episode 6: Diving into Cost of Attendance versus Net Price: Helping Families Understand the True Cost of College
Join us as we discuss the real cost of college. While 91% of families believe higher education is an investment in a student’s future, only 52% of families say they have a plan on to pay for college. On top of that, the research from Dr. Lapan and Dr. Poynton showed that 60% are scared off by college’s sticker prices and simply won’t apply. Thus, it is important as practitioners to deepen the conversation between cost of attendance versus net price.
Episode 5: The Common Data Set: An Underutilized Resource and How to Use it
Join us as we discuss an important and informative data source called the Common Data Set Initiative. Colleges that participate in the CDS provide useful information about first time in college admissions, including how they review academic and nonacademic factors, ACT/SAT scores, GPA, and class rank. Other information found in the CDS is around class sizes, transfer students, financial aid, and other data that is not found elsewhere.
Episode 4: Being an Informed Consumer on College Visits
Join as we discuss the importance of being an informed consumer on college visits. Utilizing the many different types of college visits, such as formal, informal, fly-ins, virtual, college fairs and high school visits, helps families better explore the colleges they are interested in. But it is easy to fall for the marketing of the school, so join us as we discuss how to help families navigate the process effectively while focusing on each student’s 6 Keys of College Fit.