The College Admissions Edge

In this live, unscripted webinar, Pearl and Andy answered more than 70 college admissions, financial aid, scholarship and test prep questions, including:   How to negotiate with a college Should we file a FAFSA (financial aid application) if we’re not going to qualify Do colleges rank high schools? How to motivate my 10th grader working…

Frequently, students who kick butt on practice ACT or SATs sh-t the bed on the “real,” actual test.   Obviously this is extremely frustrating, and only ratchets up college-related stress, as if there isn’t enough already!   On this episode, I interviewed a psychotherapist, mom and client, Sandy Woods, about how to cope with anxiety…

All business owners have several “loopholes’ that can help them qualify for more financial aid, or lower their tax burdens (or both).   In this episode, Andy interviews his personal CPA, Randall Rogg, about topics such as:   Sheltering personal assets in a corporation S Corp vs C Corp vs LLC Deducting your home office…

We see it all too often, kids fall in love with a college, manage to get into that college, GO to that college, and then…   …Come home?   Sadly, many kids come home with their tails between their legs days, or weeks after they make it to their “Dream Schools.”   Listen to this…

How to figure out which financial aid applications you must file, WHEN to file and how to avoid costly mistakes!   Covered topics: Which colleges require the CSS Profile (and why you should care) What happens if you make a mistake on the financial aid applications Which kinds of savings accounts penalize you more than…

This episode walks you through all the various and sundry ways to apply to college… …and whether applying early makes sense for you!   Topics include: Does EA help you get money? How much does ED really help you get into college, anyway? Does ED hurt your chances of getting money? More!   Thanks for…

“Secrets” of Paying Wholesale Prices for College…No Matter What You Earn Originally a live webinar,  topics included: *How six-figure-earning families can qualify for tuition discounts of 49.1% or more * How the financial aid formulas punish you if you saved for college, live below your means and pay your bills…AND how you can level the…

“Secrets” of Paying Wholesale Prices for College…No Matter What You Earn Originally a live webinar,  topics included: *How six-figure-earning families can qualify for tuition discounts of 49.1% or more * How the financial aid formulas punish you if you saved for college, live below your means and pay your bills…AND how you can level the…

Gather round the podcast fire and I’ll tell you the sad tale of a parent – actually, two different parents — who shot themselves in the collected feet by committing two EASILY avoidable, silly mistakes.   I’m not judging, because I and, if you’re honest, you can relate to the case studies in this episode.…

So there I was, driving around the North Shore of Long Island, when it dawned on me why so many kids have such huge angst over their college essays!   As I came to a stop near the historic William Cullen Bryant Homestead, I snickered at the irony (he was a publisher, hello?), then whipped…

I recorded this episode at a marketing conference in San Diego, which prompted several brain “poofs” that I thought I’d pass along.   The most important idea is about recognizing opportunities, and taking advantage of them.   For college students and recent grads, this is critically important because it’s incredibly easy to go to college…

This episode was originally recorded on our weekly show, College Talk Tuesday (www. CollegeTalkTuesday.live) when we discussed what Andy learned at a national college planners conference in Charleston the previous week.   Topics included: The counter-intuitive, yet obvious reason colleges don’t publish a “recipe” of what it takes to win a merit award The biggest issue…

I recorded this on March 28th, a/k/a “Ivy Day,” when college acceptance decisions from Ivy League colleges come out.   Thus far this cycle, our client have been admitted to top colleges such as Stanford, Yale, Cornell and Amherst College, to name a few….and been deferred or rejected from similarly competitive colleges.   It’s hard…

This recording was originally a last minute broadcast to my Facebook page, cooked up because a Nor’Easter caused a live workshop at local library to be cancelled.   I took a bunch of questions from parents, I bet you have some of them yourself 🙂   Prior to Q&A, I ran through the following agenda:…

This time of year (March) is when many HS seniors have heard back from most of their colleges.   Frequently, kids and parents are at odds about which college to attend.  More often than not, the kid wants to attend the expensive “rah rah” school, while the parents (OK, Dad!) don’t always see the value…

This was a fun event – we went on our Facebook page and spent an hour answering questions, many of which were pre-submitted, but a ton came in on the fly.   There was zero presentation, script, slides or costumes – just me, your questions and a microphone (OK, and a laptop, Facebook feed, and…

OK, this is one of the most important episodes that I will ever record.  It’s chock full of advice that I wish I received in high school.   I interviewed a friend who is a financial planner and author, Chris Jones, who has been teaching a class to students at a local parochial high school…

In this episode, I interview our all-star tutor, Marissa, about the differences between the SAT and ACT, and how to figure out which test is best.   Marissa has been working with Lockwood Test Prep for about a year and a half now, I met her through a few mutual clients who raved about her…

Newsflash:  colleges are BUSINESSES That means that they don’t always give their highest and best offers, even if you ‘deserve’ more. Listen to this episode where we walk through some successful college negotiations. For more info about how to improve a lousy financial aid offer,  see my training class – which includes sample appeal letters…

In this episode I talk/rant about the sleeping elephant in the room: Going to college and learning NOTHING that an employer wants or values. The big picture here is that there’s a major problemo: Student debt is at all-time high (and seems to increase each time stats are released) 80% of kids change majors If…

If you get rejected from your top choice, “Dream College?” Yes. Your life is over, and you’re a loser. Go find the nearest dumpster, because you’d better get used to your future home and source of food. OK, perhaps I’m overreacting a smidgeon. 🙂 Check out this episode to hear some (slightly) better advice about…