ROI

Don't pass up a full ride

Don't pass up a full ride

Let's be clear: getting a full scholarship is very rare. Fewer than one percent of college applicants end up getting to go for free. It takes more than just being a good student who wrote a good application essay. But still, one percent is still thousands of students a year, so you may want to do some thinking and planning, just in case.

Here's a simple rule to help you know how to think about full scholarships: you should not pass up a full ride. If you apply to a school and they offer you a full scholarship, go to that school.

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What if you get a full ride?

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What if you get a full ride?

Let's be clear: getting a full scholarship is very rare. Fewer than one percent of college applicants end up getting to go for free. It takes more than just being a good student who wrote a good application essay. But still, one percent is still thousands of students a year, so you may want to do some thinking and planning, just in case.

Here's a simple rule to help you know how to think about full scholarships: you should not pass up a full ride. If you apply to a school and they offer you a full scholarship, go to that school.

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Thinking about Return on Investment

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Thinking about Return on Investment

As seniors work through their final weeks of deciding where they'll go to college before the May 1 deadline, I want to acknowledge that money probably plays a big role in the decision and write some posts about financial matters.

First: Return On Investment, or ROI. ROI estimates how much money alumni from different schools earn compared to how much they paid to go to college. The idea is that some colleges can give you "more bang for your buck," and those types of comparisons are really compelling. 

There are some things to know.