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June 28, 2021June 28, 2021

How Should Students Define “Success” When it Comes to the College Search?

For a typical college admissions office, success comes down to a pretty simple equation. Did we enroll enough students, who are paying enough money, to hit our revenue target? Any college or university can answer that question almost as soon as the fall semester kicks in. For college-bound students and families, college admissions success is…

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021

How Demonstrating Interest in a College can Actually Hurt You

For decades, students on the college hunt have been told to “show the love.” Show up early for those campus tours. Respond glowingly to those generic admissions emails. Do whatever it takes to show the colleges on your list that you like them a whole bloomin’ bunch. Why? Because putting extra effort into demonstrating interest…

3 students huddle around a laptop at a comfortable cafe and point at elements of a college finder quiz

May 25, 2021May 25, 2021

3 Reasons to Never Trust a College Finder Quiz

Seriously. Never depend on a college finder quiz or a college matching tool to build your college list. Why? 1. A college finder quiz assumes that students don’t change in college. Does a person change much over four years? Of course they do – likes and dislikes, emotional range and depth, even fundamental shifts in…

May 12, 2021May 12, 2021

A Better Way to Shop for Colleges

The Maddening Mirage of College Pricing Shopping for college is like seeing a mirage adrift in a hall of mirrors. Most of the time, a school’s announced price is totally meaningless, tens of thousands of dollars more than what they ask you to pay. But “most of the time” doesn’t mean all of the time,…

A high school girl leaning over her laptop, her palm pressed to her forehead and her face painted with exasperation

May 4, 2021April 17, 2021

How Do You Simplify Today’s College Search?

Whether you’re a hip gen Z’er browsing college apps on a smartwatch or a crusty cowboy mailing college applications by pony express, the way to get yourself into college still boils down to four steps: Make a shortlist of schools Apply to some of them Get accepted at least once Enroll at the best remaining…

A bright-eyed young boy standing tall in the palm of his father as a skyscraper shoots into the sky in the background

April 20, 2021April 20, 2021

A Dad’s-Eye View: The Emotional Impact of College Financial Aid Offers

Contributed by a TuitionFit parent: If you have looked eagerly forward to the day you may retire comfortably, you know you need to figure out 2 things: What college will the kids get accepted to How is it getting paid for I’ve been anticipating this day for more years than I can count. I got…

A man in a suit and tie sits at the center of a dim lecture hall, surrounded by empty seats

April 6, 2021April 17, 2021

Conned into Buying Something You’ll Never Need

Way too often, people think that the college search is all about where you get in. Sure, some folks are just about the snobbery of it, but most folks genuinely believe that the more “elite” the brand name of the college, the better the network of professional connections that their child gains access to as…