tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59644822011-04-21T15:46:25.546-07:00homeschool2collegeHelping homeschooled students choose a college, gain admission, and find Financial Aid and Scholarships to help with the high costs of education.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-77700507604989151372007-10-08T14:18:00.000-07:002007-10-08T14:26:53.957-07:00I came across the 2006 Report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The report, titled "Measuring Up: The National Report Card on Higher Education", gives the percentage of annual family income needed to pay net college costs at public 4 year institutions. Ohio 42% New Jersey 37% Iowa 30% Oregon 36% Washington 31% Illinois 35%The states wereLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-44386691527441920642007-08-02T14:41:00.000-07:002007-08-02T14:50:45.861-07:00Summer is winding down quickly, and for the recent high school grad, that means time to begin packing for college! For us, we packed carefully and tried to think of everything our student would need, but there will always be those last minute Wal-Mart runs to get all the little incidentals that you didn't think about. To help you prepare, we have a packing list on our website that may help you Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-29118798597480365732007-06-13T13:51:00.000-07:002007-06-13T14:07:33.184-07:00Not happy with the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) that was sent to you on your FAFSA? Frequently when families recieve the Student Aid Report from their filed FAFSA, they are amazed at how high the EFC has been set. If this has happened to you, don't despair---you can file an appeal!If you feel that your EFC is unreasonably high, write a letter to the financial aid administrator of the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-46245355204670919442007-06-08T13:43:00.000-07:002007-06-08T13:53:52.921-07:00Your child has worked hard at putting some money into his savings account---tucking this away for future college expenses. That is an excellent habit for a young person to get into; however, for college savings, it could be costly!Colleges generally expect a student to pay about 35% of savings accounts in his name whereas they only expect parents to pay somewhere closer to 6% of total savings forLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-15699552815999993262007-04-24T13:40:00.000-07:002007-04-24T14:11:50.231-07:00Teens and volunteeringOur community sustained heavy damage from a tornado last weekend, so on Monday I volunteered to help with some clean up. As I was working in a yard, a group of teenage boys came by to help. They were so pleasant and enthusiastic and got the job done in a hurry! Several of them commented that they wished they could be out of school for several more days, saying, "I'm learningLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-29689219279563545662007-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:002007-04-09T18:30:56.483-07:00Big Scholarships vs Small ScholarshipsWhen searching for scholarship money, you will discover that there are many sources for scholarships. The local scholarships that we found were generally smaller amounts of money (anywhere from $250 to $1,000) and were only good for one year. We thought this was very helpful in getting into a college, but then what to do for the other years of required Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-12075405580569553122007-04-03T19:07:00.000-07:002007-04-03T19:12:54.872-07:00Here's a quick idea when you make college visits:If you are taking or planning on taking some courses at a local community college, there is always a concern that your hours may not transfer to the university you plan to attend. Next time you make a college visit, simply bring along a copy of your community college's catalog and ask the admissions office if hours from that school will transfer. Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-38405416266155283232007-03-27T18:59:00.000-07:002007-03-27T19:21:55.388-07:00Scholarship SeasonIt is now officially spring and it is also the height of scholarship season. Many, many scholarships are due before the end of April, so seniors have plenty to do!Hopefully if you are a future graduate, you have not put off scholarship searching until now! It is so much more effective to begin looking toward scholarships during the Sophomore and Junior years. That way, when Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-2777133596585394262007-03-11T19:37:00.000-07:002007-03-11T19:43:57.642-07:00It is March---have you filed your FAFSA yet? If you will be a college student next fall, you need to get your FAFSA filed now. This is probably one of the most important things you can do to help you find student aid. It is the beginning point for all Stafford loans and many, many colleges use the figures from this report to decide what financial aid a student needs. Get your taxes done ASAP and Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-53625505117154276142007-02-27T15:51:00.000-08:002007-02-27T15:53:03.064-08:00The cost of college continues to escalate.The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has released its 2006 report. It states that the percentage of annual family income needed to pay net college costs at public 4-year instutitions has gone up again this year. Some of the highest are:Ohio at 42%New Jersey at 37%Oregon at 36%Illinois at 35%Washington at 31%Iowa at 30%The rest of theLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1169477235114755062007-01-22T06:41:00.000-08:002007-01-22T06:47:15.130-08:00Here is a great example of finding a scholarship. This Sunday in the coupon section of the newspaper, I found an ad for a college scholarship from Sharpie. With this scholarship, all you have to do is log onto Sharpie.com and enter for a chance to win a $25,000 college scholarship. This would probably be an outside chance for getting money, but one of those things that won't cost you to enter--Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1169047096558881562007-01-17T07:07:00.001-08:002007-01-17T07:18:49.230-08:00Good morning!There could be great news coming out of Washington---they are considering lowering the interest rate on school loans. Right now, Congress is debating lowering the interest from around 8.6% to about 3.4%---this could mean huge savings for students that have to borrow money to pay for education. The downside looks like the money the government would loose would be covered by making theLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1167960490541264622007-01-04T17:18:00.000-08:002007-01-04T17:28:10.553-08:00It's been some time now since I have added to this blog. With this new year, I will try to blog occasionally and keep you up to date on college admission and scholarship information.If you have a student that will be heading to college next fall, NOW is the time to begin your financial aid search. It is time to begin working on getting your taxes done so that you can file your FAFSA (Free Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1113240697693020122005-04-11T10:20:00.000-07:002005-04-11T10:31:37.696-07:00Today let's explore some possible interview questions. These are a few questions that might come up during a college interview. There are many more, but these are very possible questions to prepare for.1. What recent experience has changed your life?2. What is your worst quality?3. If you could read the evaluations of a teacher, what would it say about you?4. Are your test scores an accurate Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1112129477502214442005-03-29T12:36:00.000-08:002005-03-29T12:51:17.506-08:00As you probably know, the March SAT test was the first test where there was a writing portion. Following are the three writing prompts that were used on the March 12-13 test dates. You may want to use these with your student as a way to practice for the exam.Prompt 1 from the March 12th test dateWe must seriously question the idea of majority rule. The majority grinned and jeered when Columbus Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1109107724004418962005-02-22T13:26:00.000-08:002005-02-22T13:28:44.006-08:00We are up and running with a new website. Come visit us at www.homeschoolscholarships.comI think the new site will be helpful. I'd love some feedback on the site---I'd love to hear from you. I will try to answer any questions that are not addressed online. Hope to hear from you soon.LindaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1103127966928999582004-12-15T08:22:00.000-08:002004-12-15T08:26:06.926-08:00My blog has been silent for a long time now. We've been busy making changes to our website and will soon have it up and running. For those of you that are heading to college next fall, your busiest scholarship season is just around the corner. Most scholarships are awarded during the spring, so be sure to keep your eyes open for scholarship opportunities. Pick up applications when you find them Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1093879554945123042004-08-30T08:16:00.000-07:002004-08-30T08:25:54.946-07:00Well, school is back in session for most folks or will be within the next week or so. If you have a high school Junior this year, be sure to have him take the PSAT in October. This is a sort of "practice" test for the SAT and is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship program. It is a great way to get in a practice test prior to taking the SAT for real. This fall's test will Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1086789836483948892004-06-09T06:59:00.000-07:002004-06-09T07:03:56.483-07:00Well, it's been a while since I added to my blog. Been busy getting ready for a homeschool event where I will be giving a presentation on college prep and financial aid. For those of you preparing for homeschool classes next fall, if you have junior high or high school students, please consider adding some mythology and Shakespeare to your reading for next year. These are areas that they will Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1083159414738480012004-04-28T06:36:00.000-07:002004-04-28T06:41:10.093-07:00Found a great link this week! www.securityoncampus.org You can type in the name of a college and it will do a search for that school. Then click on the college you want and you can get all kinds of crime statistics for that school---everything from burglary and rape to hate crimes. Also if you check at the bottom of the page for the school you are checking, you can click on the NCES IPEDS COOL Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1082124834273368072004-04-16T07:13:00.000-07:002004-04-16T07:17:53.450-07:00Well, I haven't added anything in a long time. I've been busy getting my website redone and working on a presentation that I will be doing at some homeschool bookfairs this summer. Seniors should be waiting to hear the results of scholarship applications! Usually late April and early May are pretty exciting times! If you are a Junior, it would be good to begin looking for scholarships for next Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1077549447373184742004-02-23T07:17:00.000-08:002004-02-23T07:20:13.810-08:00Scholarship season is here! If you have a senior homeschooler, NOW is the time to be diligently looking for scholarship opportunities! Many scholarship applications are due during March and April. Begin looking everywhere for these opportunities. Check your local newspaper, your employer, your student's employer, local clubs and civic groups, anywhere you can think of. I have full info on findingLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1077159976566633192004-02-18T19:06:00.000-08:002004-02-18T19:08:56.966-08:00Well, it's done---time to celebrate! We got our taxes done the end of last week and submitted the girls' taxes today and filed a FAFSA for each of them. It is a chore that I dread every year, and when it is done I often wonder why I dreaded it so much! Just the thought of getting everything together, I guess. If you have a homeschooler that is a senior this year or is continuing on in college or Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1075905797315451952004-02-04T06:43:00.000-08:002004-02-04T06:45:37.186-08:00Let's talk today about helping your child in career choices. Some children seem to quickly figure out what they would like to do with their lives, but for others, the decision is one they struggle with for years. Homeschoolers have an opportunity to explore the fields they love, and this can be very helpful in deciding what to do with their lives. Encourage your child in the subjects/topics they Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1074784643336909912004-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:002004-01-22T07:19:25.716-08:00Well, this month has flown past! I've been busy getting my taxes together and will be ready to send them off to my accountant by the first of Feb. It always seems like I get the last of my info from banks, etc the first day of Feb, so I can't send off my taxes til after that. Accountants are usually not very busy through Feb, so ours can get our taxes done very quickly and I can then file the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1072973462319230112004-01-01T08:11:00.000-08:002004-01-01T08:11:20.493-08:00Happy New Year to all! Wow, 2003 sure went by in a hurry and now we have a new year to work with! If you have a Senior that will be graduating this spring and heading to college in the fall, now is the time to begin working on her financial aid for school. Financial aid begins with filing your FAFSA. This must be done as soon as possible after Jan lst. We have found that it is best to file it Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1072114447378128112003-12-22T09:34:00.000-08:002003-12-22T09:34:22.616-08:00Merry Christmas to each of you! I hope that you were able to finish up your semester so that you have some time to enjoy the holidays! If you have a high school student, make sure that you have a valid social security number for him. You must have one for all college applications and for registering for the SAT and/or ACT exams. Also, most scholarship forms require the Social Security Number forLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1071506673577407572003-12-15T08:44:00.000-08:002003-12-15T08:44:46.816-08:00For those of you with high school students, be sure to get your transcript in order at the end of the semester. You will need it for college applications and also for many scholarship applications. Each semester, you need to figure GPA for that semester and also cumulative GPA. If you do this at the end of each semester during high school, it will be easy to have it ready to go for the end of Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1071077546039811082003-12-10T09:32:00.000-08:002003-12-10T09:32:38.263-08:00For those of you that have high school seniors, be aware that the busiest scholarship season is just around the corner. Many scholarship applications have due dates during March and April. Now is the time to seriously begin looking for scholarships to apply for. If you haven't registered with some web based scholarship search engines, now is the time to do that. For full info come visit my Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1070897717388116032003-12-08T07:35:00.000-08:002003-12-08T07:35:28.893-08:00Hope your holiday season is going well! Seems like time just flies by during the holiday season! If you have a Junior this year, it is time for that student to be taking her first SAT and/or ACT college entrance exam. Deciding which test to take can be a challenge unless you have a pretty good idea which colleges your student is planning on attending. Generally a school will require one of the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1070294827526330122003-12-01T08:07:00.000-08:002003-12-01T08:07:17.656-08:00Hope all had a great Thanksgiving! I guess we need to be ready for a very busy Christmas season! With the holidays approaching, there may be good community service opportunities availabe for your students. Many scholarships are based on some community service, so getting some of that done each year during high school may improve your chances for receiving scholarships. Check with a local food Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1069861407430648692003-11-26T07:43:00.000-08:002003-11-26T07:43:35.890-08:00I want to wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving! Hope you get to spend the day with family and friends. For any of you that have children interested in the military, you need to know that there are some great ROTC scholarships available. These scholarships pay tuition, books and up to $200 per month for up to 4 years. A scholarship recipient can even use the scholarship duringLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-106934234590907202003-11-20T07:32:00.000-08:002003-11-20T07:32:32.863-08:00Today I want to again stress the importance of keeping records of your students' activities for scholarship purposes. If you wait until your child is a senior and then begin to pick up scholarship forms, you will quickly find that you don't remember all the neat stuff they did during those early high school years. You might forget some great community service projects or other things. Be sure Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1069172605307477992003-11-18T08:23:00.000-08:002003-11-18T08:23:31.756-08:00Be sure to record each text you use every year--some colleges require this information from homeschooled applicants. It would be a good idea to simply make a copy of the title page and the table of contents. Do this each year--you may never need it, but if you do, you will have it! We did not need this for either of our girls; however, when your child is 15-16 years old, you probably have no ideaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1069081556924897522003-11-17T07:05:00.000-08:002003-11-17T07:06:03.420-08:00For high school juniors, if you took the PSAT in October, you can expect to be getting your test scores back late this month or early next month. If your scores are exceptionally high, you may qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. This could mean some great financial help with college as there are many colleges around the country that offer free tuition for National Merit Scholars. Come Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1068846363800227182003-11-14T13:46:00.000-08:002003-11-14T13:46:08.980-08:00Well, we are in our new home and things are beginning to take shape. I will be back to the routine next Monday, November 17 and will continue with daily additions. See you next week.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1067871312169225702003-11-03T06:55:00.000-08:002003-11-03T06:55:14.396-08:00If you have a senior this fall, be sure to have her SAT/ACT scores available for scholarship applications. You can still have your student take the exams for the first time or for a repeat time in the next few months, if necessary. Most scholarship applications request the scores, so be sure that you have some to report. For more information on scholarships or college entrance exams, come by our Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1067522407270590442003-10-30T06:00:00.000-08:002003-10-30T05:59:59.473-08:00So, how do you decide which test to take? The best advice is to check with the colleges you are thinking about attending. Many schools will actually accept either the SAT or the ACT, but some prefer one over the other. If all your possible schools accept the same test, you can spend your time preparing for only that exam. The tests are similar, so studying for one will help in your prep for the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-106743858791401272003-10-29T06:43:00.000-08:002003-10-29T06:43:08.980-08:00SAT, ACT, PSAT, SAT II, CLEP, PLAN----all this alphabet soup! How do you decide which test to take? Let's start with the SAT group. The SAT is a college entrance exam that is typically taken during the spring of the Junior year and again in the fall of the Senior year. The PSAT is sort of a practice exam for the SAT and is taken by Juniors each October (Freshmen and Sophomores can also take the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1067354806411149962003-10-28T07:26:00.000-08:002003-10-28T07:26:47.430-08:00For those of you that are homeschooling a senior this fall, it is time to think about taking those SAT and/or ACT exams. If your student has not taken one yet, now is the time to get registered for them. Remember that these can be taken more than once, and scores tend to improve with each testing (up to about 3 or 4 tests). You still have time to register to take it now this fall and repeat it Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1067030261723317922003-10-24T14:17:00.000-07:002003-10-24T14:17:40.820-07:00I just read the article on the New SAT in the most recent TIME magazine. The article was written by a man who has been allowed to watch the process of getting this new test up and running. It is a very informative story and should be of interest to homeschoolers planning on heading to college. The New SAT will replace the current SAT in the spring of 2005 so we still have some time to learn moreLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1066930985001968772003-10-23T10:43:00.000-07:002003-10-23T10:43:04.706-07:00Well, the PSAT is a done deal for this year! This test is a pre SAT exam that is traditionally taken by high school Juniors in October every year. For this group of students, it is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Those students scoring in the top 1-2% of for their state will go on for competition in the National Merit Scholarship program. This could mean some Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1066832847426189322003-10-22T07:27:00.000-07:002003-10-22T07:27:27.180-07:00If you are homeschooling a Sophomore this year, you might want to remember to save a few samples of his work in each subject during the year. Some colleges require a portfolio of work from homeschoolers. Most colleges do not require this, but it is easier to save some things as you go---at least you will have them if you ever need them! This is from the HomeSchooler's College Guide Calendar Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1066749172233995232003-10-21T08:12:00.000-07:002003-10-21T08:12:52.840-07:00Let's talk about college prep for your homeschooled teen. If you are homeschooling a freshman this year, during the month of October, you might consider looking for some great places for your child to get involved. Community service work done consistently over the high school years could produce some great scholarship opportunities as your student approaches college age. There are many Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5964482.post-1066658929713123442003-10-20T07:08:00.000-07:002003-10-20T07:08:49.780-07:00College costs continue to rise---how will your family find the financial aid you need for secondary education? We homeschooled our two daughters from K-12. Both girls are now in the colleges of their choice on some really great scholarships. In fact, betweeen the two, they have used $79,000 in scholarships up to this point with more coming over the next 2-3 years. We learned so much as we worked Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15331126213594369356noreply@blogger.com