While evaluating your options, we recommend placing colleges into three different broad categories:

• Reach: Colleges that will be difficult to get into

• Likely: Colleges you have a good chance of getting into

• Safety: Colleges that will almost definitely admit you

A good rule of thumb is to apply to at least two to three colleges in each of the groups mentioned above. It is important to remember that you should be ready to attend any of the colleges in each category if you are admitted. To determine whether or not a college is affordable and within your reach, you should consider the following:

• What percentages of applicants are offered admission each year?

• What is the average SAT or ACT score for admitted students?

• What is the average financial aid package, and does it include books and travel to and from campus

• Will the college meet 100% of my demonstrated financial need?

When preparing to apply through regular admissions, you should visit the colleges’ websites to learn what materials you will need to submit by each admissions office’s deadline. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to apply to a range of colleges that offer an excellent education and generous financial assistance.

You should apply to between 6-8 schools; safety, target, and reach

WHEN APPLYING TO MULTIPLE SCHOOLS: You should always apply to at least 2 or 3 schools that are rated somewhat equally.  This way, if your child gets accepted to all of them, you may be able to play one against the other when negotiating to get a better financial aid package.  Even if your son or daughter is set on one particular college, putting at least 2 or 3 schools on the FAFSA form is always a good strategy.

Your child should apply to at least 2 likely (schools they are aligned to get into according to scores and grades), 2 target (schools where grades and scores fit into the school’s averages for acceptance) and 2 reach schools (schools where scores and grades are a bit below what the school’s average accepted student has). It is also important to check each school’s acceptance rate, as if the school accepts less than 40% of their applicants it would automatically be a reach since they turn away many more students than they accept.

Memorization Techniques are helpful in many situations.  For high school and college students, learning these techniques will help you to get ahead and stay ahead in your class work and studies.

Learning a new skill, language or even trying to remember a grocery list does not have to be difficult when you use these tips and techniques that are used to commit something to memory. Easily committing terms to memory can be achieved, if only you are using the proper techniques to learn terms and other aspects of lists and information.

Here are some of the most popular memorization techniques that can be used when trying to commit anything to memory.

Create an acronym for the list
Associating a list or a concept with a certain word that can be used as an acronym to remember the terms which must be recalled is an effective way to commit something to memory. Chances are that once you have associated a certain word with the list to be memorized; you will be able to recall this list for years to come.

Sing it
As silly as this may sound, signing something that you have to remember is an essential way to learn a set of words, phone numbers and even a grocery list. The song can be silly and funny – as the sillier and funnier the song, the more likely that you are going to remember it.

Practice, Practice and Practice some more
This is one of the oldest techniques of memorization which will include practice and repetition to remember the items which are on the list or the concepts which are an effective way to commit these terms to memory. If you are able to spend up to fifteen minutes practicing these items, saying them aloud and reading over the items it can be simple to remember the items in the case that they need to be recalled.

Remember by Using flash cards
Flash cards are an effective way to learn a large amount of information in a short period of time. Flash cards can be used to learn complex concepts by developing words which are associated with the concepts. Flash cards are also known to improve the memory and learn concepts as they can be used to learn terms which are associated with learning a new language, or learning something new in class. Flash cards are cheap and effective and can be used whenever you have five minutes to learn. Studies have shown that the majority of students use this method to learn information for classes.

Creating sentences with the terms
Create sentences with the terms that are required to commit to memory with new words, using the first letter of each word. This way, when you are trying to remember a list of terms, the sentence can be used to remember all of the terms and easily recall what can be remembered.

Chunking
Chunking is used most often to remember long term groups of numbers. This way, the memorizer can remember from five to eight numbers at one time, which can be completed in three to four sets of a longer number which must be recalled through the memory.

Use Patterns to remember sets of words or numbers
Are there any patterns within the words that are being memorized? Finding these patterns can help to remember more, as well as help to associated words with another. This way, rather than focusing on remembering one word – the person trying to remember can make use of remembering one word, rather than remember three to four words. The first word can jog the memory and remind the person trying to remember the other three terms which are associated with the first.

Using these tips, it can be simple to recall everything that you need to. Finding the right method for you can enable you to determine which methods work best for your learning style. Whether you are a visual learner and auditory learner or a tactile learner – there are memory techniques which have been developed for you. One of the best apart about these techniques is they can be adapted for each learning style, so it doesn’t matter which type of learner that you are.

On College Applications make sure that you watch out for the following:

1. Students do not read the directions carefully to make sure they understand what items are needed in order to complete their application. (Recommendation:  Before beginning the application read through it for understanding.)

2. Students write the wrong social security number or use different numbers on different pieces of information. (Recommendation: Carefully copy your social security number from your card.)

3. Students use the wrong college address labels.

4. Students use the online application but fail to request information from their high school counselor.

5. Students have questionable remarks and photos of themselves on social network sites, like MySpace, FaceBook and others (a recent problem).

6. In the college essay students exceed the number of words required. Recommendation: If you need to write a 500 words essay it must be 500, not 500+. Colleges test your ability to communicate your thoughts with clarity and concision. They want to see that your writing flows and is methodical.

7. Students miss the application deadline. (Recommendation: After choosing which institutions you would like to apply to, write down the application deadline dates on a calendar or in a personal planner. Cross off the names of the colleges as you submit your application.)

8. Students send in application but do not send high school transcripts. (Recommendation: Make a check list of documents that will accompany your application.)

9. The student’s parent fills out the application. (Recommendation: You are the one seeking admission into college, not your parents. Therefore, you should be the one to complete the application.)

10. Students expect long list of activities to overshadow actual academic work. (Recommendation: Instead of joining an array of clubs, extensively participate in one or two activities. Admissions officers are not looking to see how many activities you sign up for as much as your role in each extracurricular.)

11. Students are careless in filling out the application and make typos, grammatical errors or have sloppy handwriting. (Recommendation: Illegibility/poor penmanship can create problems, especially handwritten essays. Do not handwrite essays unless the application specifically requests you to. Otherwise, type them on a computer and attach the printed page to your application. If your handwriting is poor, consider applying online.)

12. Some applications ask for County and/or Country. (Recommendation: Read carefully! Do not mix these up.)

13. Many students who have jobs do not mention them on applications. (Recommendation: Often, these jobs impact the time students have available for activities. Include this information to paint a full picture of your out-of-school activities.)

14. Students do not address the essay question / topic. (Recommendation: If you are not sure, ask your counselor for clarification.)

15. Students turn in essays with numerous misspellings and grammatical errors. (Recommendation: Proofread and ask your counselor or teacher to read it over. Remember that sometimes computers do not pick up errors that are spelled incorrectly.)

16. Students do not inform their high school counselor that they are applying to colleges x, y, and z. Students fail to mention the necessity of submitting required forms by the certain deadlines. (Recommendation: Tell your counselor which colleges you are applying to for admission.)

17. Students do not send SAT or ACTs, OR assume later test scores will automatically be sent to same institutions as indicated in earlier tests. (Recommendation: Each time taking the SAT or ACT, request the scores be sent to your institution of choice.)

18. Many colleges that use the Common Application also have supplements. Students forget to complete the supplement.

19. Students list e-mail address that are in bad taste or vulgar. (Recommendation: Be aware of the impression your e-mail address makes. Create a “professional” e-mail address for college and job applications. Offensive e-mail addresses make a bad impression.)

20. Students do not ask a teacher or advisor to review their application before submission. (Recommendation: After completing your application, ask your parent or your high school counselor to proofread it for you. Always have a fresh eye look at your application. Doing so will help eliminate the above mistakes.)

TIP OF THE WEEK – December 14, 2009

10 Financial Tips for College and “Soon-to-Be” College Students

1. Use Credit Cards Sparingly

Use credit cards wisely because this is a chance to establish a solid credit history. Watch the interest rates. Don’t be suckered by low introductory rates. Expect the interest rate, or annual percentage rate (APR), to climb above 20% in three to six months. Don’t use the card for routine living expenses or a night on the town.

2. Pay all Credit Card Balances in Full

Remember: Credit is a loan–and it doesn’t come from The Bank of Dad. That means any balance on the credit card must be repaid. Get a card with a low limit. Shop around for the best deal and read the fine print before signing up. If you move, inform the bank of your new address. Guard your credit card number and close unused accounts.

3. Get the Best Deal on a Checking Account

Shop around before opening a checking account. Smaller banks may offer a better deal. Compare fees. Ask if there’s a fee for dealing with a teller, including deposits or withdrawals. Ask if there’s a fee to use a debit card. Ask about ATM fees. Ask if overdraft protection is part of the student package. If not, ask about linking such coverage to a bank-issued credit card.

4. Keep Track of your Spending

Use cash whenever possible because counting out the bills underscores the connection between the purchased item and money leaving your wallet. Use a debit card before a credit card for the same reason. Keep track of spending because a budget means nothing without accurate accounting

5. Set a Limit on Entertaining

Mad money should be sane and sober. Set a limit for walking-around money and stick to it. Hitting up the ATM for another fistful of crisp twenties is easy–and guaranteed to deplete your bank account.

6. Keep an Eye out for Free Money

Apply for scholarships. This requires digging and persistence. See what’s available. Don’t be bashful. If you have a shot, apply. If it’s a long shot, how can you go wrong for the price of a stamp?

7. Get a Part-Time Job

Check out college work-study programs. A few jobs may be related to your studies. Otherwise, look for a job with tips such as waiting tables, parking cars or delivering pizza. If you hustle, tips will exceed the hourly wage. Summer work is a necessity for many students, but don’t overlook internships–they’re a good way to get a taste of what you may make a career and establish contacts in the field.

8. Avoid taxes on Stupidity

Avoid unnecessary expenses at all costs. Parking fines are a tax on stupidity or laziness. Read the signs and follow the rules. This goes for little things like returning library books or videos. Pay your bills on time or you’ll get stuck with a late fee.

9. Don’t Eat Out All the Time

Pack a lunch. This will save you big bucks. Don’t eat regularly at fast-food restaurants because it will reduce your bank account while bloating your belly. At the supermarket, buy the house brand and increase your savings. Never shop on an empty stomach.

10. Look for Student Discounts

Clip coupons. Many businesses give students discounts in an effort to establish a relationship that will continue when they enter the real world and start earning a paycheck. Take advantage of the perks. Be on the lookout for deals on plane tickets, pizza, books, clothes–everything. The student newspaper is a good place to start. The Internet can be a gold mine of discounts.

Your Friends At The College Funding Advisors

If you are setting aside money for college savings in an ETF participating in gold or precious metals-beware of a potential tax trap when you exit!

“Warning: You May Not be Making as Much on Gold as You Think

By Keith Fitz-Gerald
Chief Investment Strategist
Money Morning/The Money Map Report

Millions of investors who bought gold in the last 12 months are undoubtedly very happy at the moment – considering that the yellow metal has risen 60% since last November to a recent close of $1,138.60 an ounce on Monday.

But chances are good that many won’t be smiling when they discover just what the taxman has planned for their gains.

Unbeknown to most investors, gold is considered a collectible not a capital asset. In plain English, this means that despite the fact that many people believe they are investing in gold, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) believes that they are collecting it.

This is no small distinction and hurts investors because it means that gold does not qualify for the 15% maximum tax bite that most of us employ as a matter of routine when we mentally calculate profits earned on investments held for more than a year. That 15% cut for Uncle Sam is the long-term capital gains tax rate that applies to most stock or mutual fund investments.

Precious metals are a completely different story. Profits from these “investments” can be subject to a 28% maximum tax rate if held for more than 12 months. And if they are sold in less than a year, the
profits count as ordinary income.

The long and the short of it “is that as a result of gold’s spectacular run-up, many investors may have a tax problem they haven’t counted on when they go to sell,” said Gary E. Ham Jr., of the Oregon-based accounting firm of Jones & Ham PC.

This may be especially true for investors who have piled into such asset-backed, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD), the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) and the iShares COMEX
Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU), for example, because precious-metals ETFs are set up as something called a “grantor trust.” According to Barron’s, ETF investors are treated as owning undivided interests in the actual metal that’s owned by the fund. Therefore, when an investor sells shares in the ETF, the tax code treats that investor as having sold a share of the metal backing the fund.

Adding insult to injury,  if the ETF sells some of its hard assets to pay expenses or management fees – as many have done recently, the resultant gains (or losses) flow directly through to investors and shareholders even if those investors don’t receive any distribution or cash whatsoever.

And the net results can be mighty startling. For example, Doug Fabian, president of Fabian Wealth Strategies, a California-based investment advisor, noted several painful examples in an article on his
firm’s Web site about the tax traps of commodity ETFs, including:

• An investor who experienced a trading loss of $741 in the
  United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE: USO) – with no interest received – but
  a K-1 tax form reporting a taxable profit of $9,136 and interest of
  $210.

• Another who had actual trading profits in the United States
  Natural Gas Fund LP (NYSE: UNG) of $1,900, with no interest received,
  and a K-1 reporting taxable profits of $4,319 and $120 in interest.

• An investor who had an enviable trading profit of $4,335 in the
  PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSE: DBA), without receiving any interest
  – activity that triggered a K-1 form that reported profits of $6,963
  and interest of $207.

• Finally, an investor who notched trading profits of $337
  and no interest in the PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund
  (NYSE: DBC) triggered a K-1 listing profits of $3,406 and interest of
  $195.

• K-1’s, in case you are not familiar with them, are tax forms used
  by partnerships, corporations and ETFs to report a partner or a
  shareholder’s share of distributed profits and income. If you own one
  of the ETFs I’ve just mentioned, chances are you’ll be getting one just
  after the New Year to file with your taxes.

Here’s how this works.

Because the XYZ ETF does not pay income taxes itself, its profits are passed through to the actual
owners – in this case, the shareholders, who must claim those profits as their own. If you own 50% of XYZ ETF, and XYZ files for a $100,000 profit in 2009, you’ll receive a K-1 for 50% of the net profits – or
$50,000 – which you then will have to claim on your personal 2009 income-tax return.

By the way, conventional gold and metals stocks – gold producers are a good potential example of what we mean – are treated “normally,” so investors who have chosen to buy these more-traditional investment vehicles will escape these “unexpected” tax consequences.

If there is a moral to the story, it’s that nothing is what it seems anymore – not even gold.”

University of California officials are extending the admissions application deadline after a computer slowdown blocked some students from filing their applications on time.

A university admissions official says the glitch prevented some filers from submitting their applications by Monday night’s deadline.

The new deadline is 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.

Susan Wilbur, UC’s director of undergraduate admissions, doesn’t know how many students might have been blocked by the slowdown, but says about two-thirds of the applicants wait until a week before the deadline to file.

Wilbur says through Tuesday evening about 129,000 applications for freshman and transfer students had been received. That’s up from last year’s 126,700 applications.

TIP OF THE WEEK – November 30, 2009

College Scholarships

Scholarships For College

College gets more expensive every year. Scholarships are a great way to help reduce the costs of attending a college or university. College scholarships are typically awarded based on some type of achievement or success and may contain clauses that require the student to maintain a specific grade point average.

College Scholarship Tips

Your best scholarship research sources include:  The internet (try a free scholarship search engine such as:  www.fastweb.com, your local community (contact your local chamber of commerce), and your high school guidance counselor and/or college financial aid officer.

It is also important to reach out to everyone you know to ask if they know of any organizations or companies that give out college scholarships. Once you have your list make sure to keep note of all of the deadlines and requirements to be eligible. This will help you stay focused and make sure you get all your scholarship applications in on time.

You can start applying for scholarships as early as your freshman year in high school.  If you win a scholarship before you know which college you’ll attend, the scholarship organization usually will either write you a check, or simply give you the money when you decide where to attend college.

Create a successful scholarship application by setting yourself apart from the other applicants. Try to think what you would be looking for if you were reviewing scholarship applications. Always be honest and never bend the truth, make sure you can back up everything you say in your college scholarship application or essay.

After you are awarded your college scholarship, write a thank you note! Someone spent a lot of time reading all the college scholarship applications, and they selected you. Write a sincere thank you note to the person who saved you money on your college tuition. This will also help your chances of winning the scholarship again the following year if you are still eligible.

Types of college scholarships

• Institutional – Awarded by the college or university to a current or future student
• Merit – Usually the largest scholarships. Given for a student’s academic, artistic, or athletic abilities
• Need – Given to distinguished students who are in need of help financially
• Sociology – Only given to students that meet a certain criteria for religion race, or national origin
• General – Any other type such as scholarships given to students based on their parents affiliation with organizations or corporations (parent’s employer may offer scholarships)

Your Friends At The College Funding Advisors

Here is your College Funding “Tip of the Week”.

TIP OF THE WEEK – November 23, 2009

Can You Get a Student Loan Bailout?

This article was reported by Amanda Becker for The Big Money.

A new program links payments on federal student loans to income and forgives balances after 25 years. Those working in public service could have their debts erased after 10 years.

If you’ve got a diploma hanging on your wall, chances are it didn’t come cheap. About two-thirds of the 3 million or so college seniors who donned a cap and gown this year took on an average debt of $22,500 for the privilege of earning that diploma. The debt graduate and professional students incur is often tens of thousands more.

As graduates struggle to find jobs during the worst economic crisis of their lifetime, an adviser to the secretary of education expects a rise in the default rate on student loans, which cannot be easily renegotiated or discharged in bankruptcy.

But a provision of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 that reduces monthly payments for hundreds of thousands of borrowers who qualify for the new Income-Based Repayment plan took effect July 1.

Borrowers who work in certain public service jobs could also have the balance of their loan erased after making qualifying payments for 10 years. (Supposedly, this costs the government nothing, since it will now change the way it subsidizes student-loan lenders.)

So, will your student loan be bailed out? In a word: maybe.

At the very least, the IBR program will lower the monthly payments of people who accumulated significant federal student loan debt but don’t have the income to make the payments on the standard 10-year repayment plan. This relief may reach as many as 1 million people, according to the Project on Student Debt. And despite lower payments, the former students won’t be paying off their loans indefinitely — any remaining balance will be forgiven after payments are made for 25 years.

Basing loan payments on income isn’t a new concept. For years, graduates with federal student loans had options to reduce or eliminate their payments, depending on how much money they made. But IBR is intended to be more generous.

IBR caps monthly payments at 15% of earnings above 150% of the poverty line, or $10,830 for a single-person household. Online calculators at the free public service site FinAid.org can help you compare what your income-based payments, income-contingent payments and income-sensitive payments would be.

There are situations in which an IBR payment would be zero. If your payment is so low it doesn’t cover the interest accruing on your loan, the government will pay the interest for three years on subsidized Stafford loans, which are government-backed loans given to financially needy students that do not accrue interest while the borrower is in school.

After that period, and for all of the other kinds of unsubsidized federal loans, unpaid interest will accrue but will not compound. In other words, you won’t be charged interest on top of interest.

Borrowers who think they could benefit from IBR should contact their lender and ask for an application that will authorize the release of their adjusted gross income from the Internal Revenue Service each year.

Student loans can have a big influence on career decisions. Even former students with good jobs say their monthly loan payments make it hard to buy a home, start a family or save for a rainy day.

The news is even more promising for people working in public service jobs: government employees, teachers in public schools and universities, workers at public hospitals and anyone working for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit would qualify. Anyone working in a qualifying job who borrowed from the Direct Loan Program is eligible for loan forgiveness after 10 years, down from 25.

To qualify for forgiveness, borrowers who work in a public-interest position must either have an existing Direct Loan or consolidate a federal loan with a private lender into the Direct Loan Program and make 120 payments after Oct. 1, 2007. The payments do not have to be consecutive, can be made while at different eligible positions and must be made on the income-based or standard repayment plans.

At this point, the burden is on borrowers to document where they were working during their repayment period. The Department of Education is planning to develop a more definitive system to confirm eligibility, but right now borrowers should keep pay stubs and tax documents that verify their work history.

IBR and public-loan forgiveness won’t be the best options for every borrower. Some borrowers — those able to make higher monthly payments — would be better served by sticking with a traditional payment plan to avoid accruing years of additional interest.

Graduates who financed their education with private loans are ineligible entirely.  But for an MBA grad who borrowed $150,000 planning to be an investment banker but ended up in government service, IBR will result in payments that are affordable on a civil servant salary.

Hope you found our “Tip of the Week” to be informative and helpful.

Your Friends At The College Funding Advisors

PS.  As always, if you have any questions on how you’re going to pay the upcoming astronomical costs of college, please do not hesitate to contact your College Funding Advisor.  They can walk you through several different payment options to help determine the right one for you.

This is a must view video for all parents and their children!