College dreaming will soon become a reality as your high school years give way to your freshmen year on campus.

College Countdown — One Year Left!

High school seniors are returning to school this year with mixed feelings: on the one hand they’ll really enjoy being at the top of the academic heap for the whole year, but on the other hand they’ll be getting themselves prepared to apply for college and say good-bye to their friends. A lifetime of memories will be made, good thoughts, which can carry students through for the rest of their lives.

Let’s take a look at what you can do now to make heading off to college as worry free as possible.

College Planning And Your Family

Preparing for college isn’t a solitary endeavor. Parents get involved as they are the ones providing the bulk of the financing while offering guidance on which schools to visit, what scholarships are being offered, and which financing options are applicable. Yes, even your siblings cannot be left out as whatever family decisions are made will affect them.

College Tracking Tools To Help You Stay Organized

As you will soon find out, your last year of high school won’t be as carefree as you may think that it will be. High school seniors still must finish up course work, complete college entrance exams, and deal with constant change. The thought of planning the next four years of life while handling today’s problems can seem overwhelming which is why we have developed free tracking tools to help take the edge off of college preparation.

Four tracking tools for college planning:

1. Student aid tracking worksheet — a worksheet to record and track your financial aid information (excel file).
2. College budgeting worksheet — an automated file to plan and budget college aid and costs (excel file).
3. College cost comparison worksheet — compare colleges by cost and amount of aid awarded (excel file).
4. College spending sheets — use these spending sheets to track daily - weekly - monthly spend (PDF).

Please visit this page to find the four tracking sheets and related planning tools.

Starting Your College Search

At the same time you are taking a look at your financial condition, you’ll want to begin your college search. Chances are you spent some time last summer visiting some college campuses, but narrowing that list down to a manageable three or four schools will make college planning a whole lot easier.

Use a financial aid checklist to balance college search with student financial aid options for a clearer picture of your schooling options. Parents need to remember that Stafford loans and private student loans are two forms of student aid that have opened up educational opportunities for millions of students.

Almost Done, But Not Quite!

With the tracking tools at your disposal, college planning becomes less of a stress and much more of an enjoyable experience. You still need to consider your college major and meet with your guidance counselor, so plan wisely now to take the edge off the coming crunch time!

Tags: 529 college savings, College Financial Aid, college freshmen, college planning steps, college planning tools, college search, financial aid, high school, high school senior, private student loans, Student Loans

The state of Minnesota is offering a unique program for high school students: free college credits are being given to those who take (and pass) certain state-approved tests. Unfortunately, the response from high school students has been disappointing as the program is being underutilized. With more than $5 million earmarked by the state through 2009 to cover the tests, only $43,000 has been spent so far.

Save Thousands On Tuition Costs 

Minnesota’s “Get Ready, Get Credit” program is unique in that it is the only state to pay the test fees to help students get college credit. Although still responsible for administrative fees of $15 to $25 per test, Minnesotans are passing up the opportunity to receive free college credit and the opportunity to save thousands of dollars in tuition costs.

Lack of Publicity Hurts

Part of the problem with the program is that it hasn’t been receiving the publicity necessary to catch the attention of students. Some are saying that the college-level exam program is being passed by in favor of more popular choices for college credit, including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. Additionally, many guidance counselors and teachers just aren’t that familiar with the state-paid exams. As a result, the state is planning to publicize the program and is hoping more students take the tests this Spring.

Students May Take Up To Six Exams

Students are allowed to take as many as six of the tests which include Algebra, Spanish, and U.S. History. Credits are accepted by member schools of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system however the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities is only accepting a handful of the 34 exams that students may take, as their admittance requirements are stricter than the state system.

For more information about Minnesota’s CLEP program, please visit the state’s Department of Education for details. Please visit the following links for aid charts and planning tools to help you prepare for college.

Source: Department of Education, State of Minnesota

Tags: CLEP, college aid charts, college credit, college planning tools, Department of Education, Minnesota, University of Minnesota