College planning guides
What to do in each year of high school, and when, with every date and figure linked to where it comes from.
Year by year
The honest 9th-grade college checklist
What a freshman should actually do for college, and what can wait: the right courses, one small experiment a month, and a record that starts now. No résumé padding.
The honest 10th-grade college checklist
What a sophomore should actually be doing this year, and it isn’t résumé padding: narrow the direction, go deeper in fewer things, and take a first honest look at cost.
The honest junior-year college checklist
Junior year, month by month: the PSAT that counts for National Merit, a testing plan built on facts, a first college list with the money attached, and a scholarship runway that starts before senior fall.
The honest senior-year college checklist
Senior year, month by month: lock the list with the money in view, take every deadline from the college’s own page, file the aid forms, keep the essays your student’s own, and read the award letters honestly.
Direction and money
Choosing a major without wasting years: small experiments, not quizzes
Interest quizzes tell you what you already said. Small real-world tests tell you something new. How to narrow a major and a career direction in high school, for the least time and money.
How to read a college award letter, and when to appeal it
Spot loans dressed up as aid, compare offers on the same terms, and write an appeal in your own voice. An honest spring guide for families.