Last spring, along with countless other high school seniors across the country, I was faced with making perhaps the biggest decision of my life: where to go for college. I knew that I wanted to stay in the Midwest and go to a school that was on the bigger side. However, I also knew that I didn’t want the generic “state school” experience. I instead wanted a community where I could feel both nurtured and anonymous, where I could partake in a wide range of activities but would never feel overwhelmed.
With these abstract guides in mind, I set out to find a school that was perfect for me. My mom and I drove to universities all over the Midwest once the initial application process was complete, and I talked to students, stayed in dorms, and went on more campus tours than I could count. Finally, I was ready to make a decision. And, on the April day when I sent in my deposit and withdrew from all my other schools, I felt confident that the decision I made had been the right one.

I chose to attend St. Louis University, from where I will graduate in three years as part of the class of 2015. St. Louis University (or “SLU”) appealed to me for all of the above reasons. Furthermore, on a more concrete level, it surpassed my other college options in several key categories:

• Educational diversity – Like many college freshmen, I don’t yet know exactly what I want to do with my life. SLU offers me an incredible ability to pursue and hone in on my interests. The school is strong in a wide range of disciplines and offers almost 100 different majors.
• Quality of life – You can’t underestimate the importance of a high quality of life when deciding where to spend the next four years of your life. Between its great residential housing programs, numerous extracurricular activates, and location in Midtown St. Louis, I believe that SLU offers this out-of-classroom life quality.
• Financial assistance Considering the high costs of tuition, money is often an important factor when choosing a college these days. I was very appreciative of the financial aid package offered to me by SLU. I furthermore liked that the school was equally generous with most of my freshmen classmates; almost all incoming freshmen were awarded some type of assistance and the average aid package totaled almost $28,000.
• The people – On my visit to SLU, I found everyone that I met to be warm, engaging, and inviting. This welcoming community I found was a far cry from other college visit experiences, and it truly cemented my desire to be in St. Louis this year.

So far I have tremendously enjoyed my time at SLU. Although being a freshman in college certainly carries its challenges and struggles, I have never regretted my decision for a minute. If you’re a high schooler with similar college criteria as I did, you might want to pay me a visit and give SLU a try.

A. This celeb loved performing in musical theater during high school and went to Drake University in Iowa.

B. She says that the first line of her college essay was something like, “Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven. That is what it felt like moving to the States.

C. His favorite activities included golf, tennis, swim team, debate club, and starring in HS musicals. In college, he majored in Journalism at the University of Missouri.

D. She couldn’t wear makeup in high school and later went to Dennison University (in Ohio) where she started as a Chem major but later changed to Drama.

Who they are:
A. Jeremy Piven – Loved musical theater & attended Drake University.

B. Mila Kunis – College essay told the story of moving to the United States as a child

C. Brad Pitt – 3 sport athlete & attended the University of Missouri.

D. Jennifer Garner – Conservative, Chem major who found discovered Drama at Dennison.

If you’re serious about landing some scholarship cash, then follow these three insider tips on how to get a leg up in winning the scholarships that you apply for:

Secret #1: Read the organization’s mission statement

Be sure you understand what they are all about including what is important to them and why. Knowing the mission statement can make a huge difference in how you present yourself in the best way possible.

Secret 2: Try to find the names of the winning students from the last few years

Find out as much as you can about those students, even reach out to them and introduce yourself. If possible, try to find their winning essays and read through them to understand what characteristics lead to winning the organization’s scholarship.

Secret 3: Keep the readers & judges in mind

If the scholarship is judged by organizational staff, you are appealing to a very specific audience. Sometimes, scholarships are judged by families or local and national celebrities. Be sure you are appealing to your audience.

1. Goucher College

Towsond, Maryland, 1481 students

With a 9:1 student to professor ratio are a requirement to study abroad, Goucher offers 31 majors. And 80% of students receive financial assistance.

2. Cornell College

Mount Vernon, Iowa, 1200 students

With 80% of students coming from outside Iowa, Cornell students focus on only one course at a time allowing for almost all students to graduate in less than four years.

3. Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1369 students

Known for nationally recognized study abroad and first-year experience programs and the famous K-Plan (where almost all students study abroad and complete an internship).

4. Hampshire College

Amherst, MA, 1400 students

Students create their own course of study and was also ranked as the #10 Coolest School by Sierra Magazine.

5. St. Olaf College

Northfield, Minnesota, 3099 students

Four year residential college with a faith based education, leading to the #1 involvement in the Peace Corps.

6. Ohio Wesleyan University

Delaware, Ohio, 1850 students

Known for character building, Ohio Wesleyan offers a strong honors program and an impressive summer professor-student program.

7. Austin College

Sherman, TX, 137o students

With a diverse, inclusive community, Austin students typically study abroad (70%) and build close bonds with a 23 student average class size.

8. Marlboro College

Marlboro, Vermont, 300 students

Ideal for independent students who want to plan their own academic plan and join a self governing community.

9. Wabash College

Crawfordsville, Indiana, 917 students

An all male school where 1 out of 8 grads go on to hold the title of “CEO” or “President.” Enough said.

10. Earlham College

West Richmond, Indiana, 1127 students

Rooted in Quaker values of tolerance, equality, justice, and collaboration, students are committed to creating a more just and peaceful world.

1. Duck Tape Prom Dress – Make your prom dress out of Duck tape and you could win up to a $5,000 scholarship.

2. Left Handed Scholarship – Juniata College in Pennsylvania gives out scholarships of $1,000-$1,500 to southpaws that go to school there.

Unusual Scholarships Based on Your Height

3. If You’re Tall – Up to $1,000 for guys 6’2″ and taller and girls 5’10″ and taller.

4. If You’re Short – $250 to $1,000 for guys 6’2″ and taller and girls 5’10″ and taller.

Unusual Scholarships Based on Your Interests

5. Golf Caddies – Evans Scholars not only have a number of residences on college campuses, but also give out scholarships to golf caddies.

6. Do You Speak Klingon? – Hard to believe, but if you speak Klingon then a $500 scholarship may have your name on.

7. Knitting – Jimmy Bean’s Wool offers up scholarships based on items that you’ve knitted.

8. Play marbles? – Compete for a few thousand bucks in scholarships by playing marbles.

9. Vegetarians – Two $5,000 scholarships annually.

10. Water Skiing – Multiple scholarships available for water skiers throughout the US.

11. Welding – Do you spend your free time welding metal? If so, the American Welding Society has scholarships just for you.

Unusual Scholarships Based on Your Last Name & Ancestors

12. Gatlin or Gatling – The Gatlins and Gatlings of the world have some unusual scholarship money available for them at North Carolina State University.

13. Harvard Has Multiple Choices – Descendants of the Harvard class of 1902 and another 5-10 former alumni can earn scholarships.

14. Scarpinato – Apparently the Scarpinatos of the world get a full-ride for tuition at Texas A&M.

15. Van Valkenburg – The Lambert and Annetje Van Valckenburg
Memorial Scholarship sets aside $1,000 annually for the Van Valkenburgs of the world.

16. Zolp – If your last name happens to be Zolp then Loyola University Chicago has some scholarship money set aside for you.

Haley Duncan, a senior at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia was kind enough to answer a few questions to give us a glimpse into her college selection decision. Here’s what she had to say…

How are you deciding which colleges to apply to?

My college decision is based mainly on whether the university has a nursing (my first choice) and a math education (my second choice) major. I also am looking exclusively at in-state colleges because the are more affordable, but I will consider an out of state university if it comes with a hefty scholarship. I must admit, being an only child, I am focusing on colleges on that put me close to family–my parents (here in Virginia), my aunt (in Maryland/DC) or my grandparents (in North Carolina).

So, what’s your top choice?

I have applied to Old Dominion University as my top choice college.

Best of luck to you Haley on getting into ODU!

Growing up, I didn’t read Harry Potter. Something about flying brooms, talking animals and all that nonsense just rubbed me the wrong way. I had one interest and one interest only: Sports. It didn’t matter if it was football, basketball, baseball, boxing, tennis, or even cricket; if it was defined as a sport I was intrigued. How bad was it, you might ask? Well, to paint a quick picture, my most anticipated day of the year was when the next official ESPN Sports Almanac was to be released. So, when people asked me what I wanted to study in college, I responded with the typical, “Uh, I really have no idea,” but the common response to that statement was always, “Well what are you interested in?” Being that the answer to this inquiry was repeatedly, “I’m a sports fanatic,” it seemed clear that Sports Business was where I would find my niche. To be blunt, I was wrong.

Sports Business just sounds fun doesn’t it? The title itself is appealing. You have Sports, who doesn’t love sports, and Business, who doesn’t love making money? Perfect right? Well, yes, but not at all, and here’s why:

Everyone wants to do it. When you have a flooded labor market in a limited industry, even the brightest have the potential to get marginalized. It’s quite simple if you think about it, the more fun it seems, the more people there are that want to be involved. Frankly, I’d much rather do something a little less entertaining in order to obtain a higher sense of security in terms of finding a lucrative job after I graduate.

Next comes the issue of volatility. Obviously there are many different paths one can take within the industry, whether it’s trying to become an agent or a ticket salesman, there is certainly an array of options. Despite this, there is one common denominator throughout them all: immense uncertainty.

Let’s look at becoming an agent. Everyone will tell you that all it takes it one big client to make it. Well, what happens when your one client tears his ACL? It’s game over, just like that. Or even ticket sales, if you’re working on commission, and you don’t meet your quota, what happens next? Not only is the thought frightening, but it also lacks creativity. If you were going to risk financial security, wouldn’t you rather do it trying to start your own business, or something else in that regard?

These two aspects of studying sports business were the most prominent in my decision to switch, and when the time came to decide where I would be transitioning to, it became overwhelmingly clear that Finance was the way to go. To be brief, I’ll just list a few of the numerous doors that choosing Finance as a major opens up.

Whether it’s venture capital, corporate finance, international finance, financial services, public finance or banking, studying this subject gives you the freedom to go many different ways. Yes, I know I said earlier that you also have a wide variety of options with sports business, but the difference is that with finance, in comparison to sports business, the opportunities are much more profitable. The average starting salary for a Finance major is $46,900.

Following that, the creativity and excitement lacking throughout jobs within the sports industry are found in abundance throughout the financial realm. Imagine being that guy that was the first to find LinkedIn, eBay or even a tangible product like UnderArmour. Think about it, your job is to find the next big thing on the market, and betting on it being successful. How much more exciting can it get? You’re using intuition, research and general common sense in order to achieve greatness. Doesn’t get much better than that.

In regards to what I personally plan to do with it, to be honest, any of the previously listed fields would be awesome, however I must say venture capital sounds pretty cool. Searching, discovering and investing in startups, welcome to the good life.

But for today’s post, I want to share some of the more subtle ways of maximizing your Harvard application. Harvard puts a good amount of value in the essay portions of the application. And for Harvard it is actually pretty straightforward. No extra essays or short answers required! But then again, since they give you the ‘Additional Essay’ option, I would go ahead and make use of it!

Here are tips directly from Harvard Admissions on how to rock your application. For the rest of their tips, visit Harvard’s Application Tips.

The Common Application

Short Answer:

We want to hear your focused thoughts and opinions about one activity or two at most…This is a place to focus on the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what.’…Why you’re interested in this particular activity and what you have gained from participating in it.

Personal Essay:

Some of the best essays I’ve read…have been about seemingly insignificant topics. As you write, focus on allowing your voice and personality to come through…I get excited to read an essay that has a great lead…Don’t make your essay sound like a lengthy recitation or a thesaurus…Use the essay to convey more about you and what you value.

The Harvard Supplement

Additional Essays:

The is no ‘extra credit’ for writing this optional piece…Some students send us an essay that they wrote for another school that they thought turned out particularly well; many students leave the space blank.

So there you go. Everything you need to know to get into Harvard!

When it comes to taking out loans to help finance a college education, families now have a new option: fixed student loans.

Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are offering fixed interest rate student loans. This new loan option makes sense for families who want to know exactly what their monthly payments will be, with a stable interest rate. You will qualify within a range of interest rates, depending on your family’s income, total loan amount, and a number of other factors. But once you find out your interest rate, you are guaranteed to keep it for 15 years.

If you are more of the gambling type, you may prefer a variable rate loan. These loans typically begin with a lower interest rate than a fixed loan, but they are tied to the ever changing Prime Rate, which may rise or fall over time. And since it is nearly impossible to predict how this rate will change, your long-term interest rate is difficult to accurately predict.

It is important to remember that federal government loans are often the best deal, with interest rates as low as 3.4%. But with the cost of college increasing, many families are still finding a gap between what the government offers in loans and the cost of college attendance.

As we always like to remind you, do your research before taking on any kind of student or family debt. Be knowledgeable about the varying costs of college and the many ways to finance your education.

Way too many students undervalue the importance of doing well academically. I guess I can see why. Besides your parents and teachers nagging you, maybe you don’t feel a personal motivation for getting good grades. Lets turn this around before it is too late. (scary, right?)

There are two secrets to getting good grades:

#1 Make academics your priority.

It is easy to let so many other things take priority over your studies. Friends, activities and Facebook often seem more fun than homework. But lets face it, your friends wont get you into college. And once you graduate high school, college is the best thing ever to happen to your social life! I promise you it is worth sacrificing a few parties, a band practice, or some time on Farmville  to get the grades you need for college. And I know you can do it. It may not be easy but only takes some time, effort and commitment.

#2 Find your balance.

The term “good” grades means something different for all of us. You need to take a look at your strengths and abilities to figure out what this means for you. Overall, you should aim for a mix of A’s and B’s in a challenging course load. This could range from college prep classes to all AP or IB courses. Figure out your level of challenge and get the right balance to prove both challenge and success.

Why do good grades matter?

FAR too often I meet students who made some poor choices throughout high school and this ends up limiting their college options. Academics are the #1 criteria colleges consider for admissions. The grades you get throughout high school (even starting freshman year) will follow you to college. There is no hiding that D from Algebra I. It is pretty simple – if you want more college choices, get better grades.