Have you been receiving emails about “filing the FAFSA” since October from colleges or your high school counseling office?  Are you wondering what information you need in order to file a FAFSA? What is the FAFSA? The Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form students and parents must complete and submit to the federal

sen·ior·i·tis ˌsēnyəˈrītis/ noun humorous a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance. (Google) Do not let Senioritis get the best of you… Now that your first semester is under your belt, it is tempting to take it easy during your second

  It’s high season for college applications. Students are polishing off college essays, waiting on final test scores, pushing for that last GPA point. Meanwhile, parents are biting their nails and wrestling with financial aid forms. So let’s talk about postponing college. What? Is that insane?! Not at all. This is the perfect moment to

Do you dream about finding the perfect prom dress? Or the perfect hamburgers (In and Out comes to mind)?  How about the perfect college?  How do you know which college is perfect? You need to know what is important to YOU. Here are the Top 10 factors to consider for your “Perfect” college: Academics: How important is

Paying for college is often compared to paying for airline tickets. No two people pay the same price. What will your costs be at college? How much you pay for college depends on so many factors.  Knowing what those factors are, and how college will look at your family’s financial situation, will help you know

SAT Subject tests are based on curriculum you have in class.  It’s an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of a particular subject. According to the College Board, “The SAT Subject Tests offer you an additional opportunity to show colleges what you know and what you know you can do. Many colleges use the SAT Subject

In your Junior, Sophomore and Freshman years of high school is when you need to begin conducting career exploration and thinking about majors. Remember that when completing college applications as a senior, you are asked to select a major.  Here are five ideas to start thinking about the topic… 1. Start early.  It’s never too early

How competitive for admissions will you be? This is based on several factors. Some factors are more measurable in the college applications process than others. The easily measured factors include: Your GPA Your tests scores on ACT, AP, SAT or Subject tests Less measurable, but equally important in your college application process are: How hard

                Throughout your high school years, you will need to make decisions regarding when to take your standardized tests (SAT and ACT) in support of your college admissions process. Here is some information to make you develop a testing schedule that goes according to your personality and interests.

As we get closer to the November 1st college admissions deadline, here are 4 ways for seniors to keep sane during these last few days before the early applications are due!   Set up Application Plans. Know what is needed to make a complete application at each college you are applying to.  Need recommendations? Transcripts?  Essays?

The PSAT has some differences from years past. What are the key changes made to the PSAT? Guessing Penalty eliminated. Feel free to guess an answer. No deductions are taken for incorrect answers on the PSAT.  So guess away! Put away the flashcards.  The ensconced practice of using plausible but obscure vocabulary questions has been

When applying to colleges, which is better? To have the honor of Valedictorian at your high school (perhaps taking less hard classes to make that happen), or taking the hardest classes possible and sacrificing the chance to be valedictorian?  Does GPA trump rigor in your class schedule? Rigor is the Trump Overwhelmingly, the first criteria

You are signed up and ready to take the ACT or SAT test!  Here are 5 tips to make getting ready for the test easy.  Ace the test by starting off on the right foot. Have everything you need ready when you leave to take your test on a Saturday morning. 5 Test Day Tips 1. Get

The first step to getting financial aid is to be sure you apply for as much as possible. What are the forms you need to look for? When can you start submitting the forms? Date Application Opens Financial Aid Form Form Website Oct. 1, 2016 PROFILE https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile CSS / Financial Aid PROFILE – College Board

Who better to learn about a college than from a college representative?  There are two ways to meet representatives from colleges: College visits to your school College fairs in your area College Visits Check your school calendar for dates/times of college visits.  Mark these on your calendar.  Research the college before you go into meet.

The buzz around school right now is all about recommendations.  How do you get the best recommendations for your college applications?  Here are some ideas to receive outstanding recommendations: Before you start asking teachers, counselor or others for a letter of recommendation, do your homework. It will pay off for you in the end with outstanding

With the best host, Lourdes Ubieta! Find the full show here…   First part of the Show:     Second part of the Show:

Just published, here are the essay prompts for the Coalition Application, which will become available this Summer of 2016! Essay Prompts The prompts for the 2016-17 application year are: Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. Describe a time when you made a

The Financial Aid process just had a much needed face-lift! Approved by President Obama recently, colleges will now work with tax information from families not from the year before, but from two years ago, and filing will start on October 1st! Not January 1st, October 1st! What exactly does this mean in numbers? Let’s give

A whole new college application will be launched this fall of 2016, one more change that the class of 2017 will endure! But change is not always bad, in fact, the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success has launched a new Application. More than 90 prestigious higher education institutions have joined in the effort

During the recent conference of the Southern Association for College Admissions Counseling, SACAC, we had the opportunity to discuss athletic recruitment with other counselors who have worked in this area. Here are some of the conclusions we drew from the presentations and discussions: Going to college as an athlete requires a very important commitment, students

First and foremost, congratulations are in order! You have been accepted to college- the hard work has paid off! But if you have received multiple offers, you might now be faced with choosing which college to go to. For some that may the hardest part of the entire application process, but don’t stress! Here are

Nuestra entrevista con Aldea Musical, navegando el tema de la educacion desde la edad temprana hasta la admision a la universidad e inclusive a maestrias. Disfruten! http://aldeamusical.com/claudine-vainrub-eduplan-ven/

Esperamos disfruten de nuestra entrevista con Mario Andres Moreno en Radio Caracol acerca de admisiones universitarias, ayuda financiera y educacion para nuestros hijos! INFORMACION DEL PROGRAMA DE ADMISIONES UNIVERSITARIAS La directora de EduPlan, Claudine Vainrub, comparte informacion importante sobre el proceso de admisión a la universidad. La nota completa la puede consultar en la dirección

Escuchen aqui nuestro nuevo segmento acerca de Ayuda Financiera, en Actualidad Radio 1020 AM con la fabulosa Lourdes Ubieta. Actualidad Radio y Claudine Vainrub – 26 de Enero 2016

Our teens require excellent writing skills for their high school years, for their college admissions process, and most importantly, for life! The sooner they start enjoying to write, the faster they will improve as writers, in support of their career goals. By demand, EduPlan brings you our first group Writing Workshop. The workshop consists of five interactive 90-minute

Join EduPlan and Claudine Vainrub this Sunday, February 21st of 2016 at the Miami National College Fair, sponsored by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling – NACAC. Ms. Vainrub will be discussing Standardized Testing – ACT/SAT/TOEFL among others required for the college admissions process. Students and parents will have the opportunity to learn about

The Financial Aid Application You Need to Fill Out NOW! It’s that time of the year when you need to submit the CSS Profile… Here is some information that you will find useful regarding the financial aid process and this application. The College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile is an application process designed to assess the eligibility

  Remember when you were a kid and summers seemed to last forever?  Now that high school is over and you are heading off to college, this summer probably feels like it’s flown past in the blink of an eye.  In a matter of weeks you will have moved into student digs and started classes,

After months of preparing essays, a resume and the many requirements for your college and graduate school admissions process, you might think all work is done. You’ve sent out your college and financial aid applications, and now the replies are starting to roll in.  All your requests for financial aid have been accepted, but there’s

  We all want to be accepted. Accepted by friends, accepted by family and now, accepted by the colleges where you optimistically sent your applications a few months ago. April 1st, no joke, the envelopes are going to start filling your mailbox, and hopefully many will be big, fat letters of acceptance! While it feels

You are a unique human being with a story to tell.  You are more than just the application forms you have sent out to college admissions offices.  You are you and there is only one real way to separate yourself from the thousands of other college applicants – attend an interview.  Not all colleges offer

By Claudine Vainrub, Principal of EduPlan With the beginning of a new year, we make resolutions, think of our goals towards the future and hope for great things to come. One of the tools to make all things happen is a resume. It is a professional way to present ourselves and help others understand our

Finding the Perfect Match Between Demand, Skill and Interest By Claudine Vainrub, MBA If you are unemployed, a student, or at a time in your life when you are in doubt of your current career path, the time could be right to make a bold move in a new direction. Finding a new career path

By Claudine Vainrub As we approach the end of the year, we consider our resolutions for the next. There are many things we can do in the future to support our career and educational goals. If you have not taken some of these steps, here is my top 20 list of favorite things to consider

‘Tis the time of year when the Florida Bright Futures application becomes available to all Florida seniors. Why is this important? Because this scholarship program can save you a great deal if you are a Floridian, attending a Florida public college or university. Here are the application links and some information on this spectacular scholarship program:

By Claudine Vainrub It’s not too late yet to push that button, and it’s definitely not too early to click “submit” on your Common Application file. With the Regular Decision application deadline of January 1st (11:59pm) just around the corner, you should be wrapping up your college application, checking it twice and preparing to send

At this time of year it’s not just Christmas presents you should be wrapping up, but also your college applications.  Deadlines are looming and it is not advisable to leave it to the last minute to submit your applications.  Ideally, if you are applying Regular Decision, you will have completed all the necessary forms and

They say that practice makes perfect. It makes perfect sense, therefore, that students hoping to get a perfect score on their SAT (and who wouldn’t want a perfect score?) should take the PSAT once or twice to prepare for the real deal. Geared towards high school sophomores and juniors (though you can take it earlier than

Steps in the Admissions Process you Cannot Afford to Miss!   Now that you have submitted your applications, you are in the finish line for college admissions! It is time to work hard to be able to meet all college deadlines in full. The following requirements are essential in the application process and must be addressed in order to successfully

Applying to college is a gamble.  You send your applications and test results off to a handful of universities with no guarantee of which ones will accept you, which one you will choose, or if you’re going to be happy with the end result.  You play your cards and hope to win.  There are a

I’m not meaning to add any pressure at an already stressful time, but as you enter your senior year of high school, the college application clock is ticking.  In just a few months, you will need to complete the application process, so, if you haven’t already settled on your six top college choices, now is

Remember when you were a kid and summers seemed to last forever?  Now that high school is over and you are heading off to college, this summer probably feels like it’s flown past in the blink of an eye.  In a matter of weeks you will have moved into student digs and started classes, so

The future of MIT education on MIT News by Steve Bradt  HERE. Excerpt: “The past few years have brought mounting evidence that higher education stands at a crossroads,” Reif wrote. “As with any disruptive technology, MOOCs have been viewed with enthusiasm in many quarters and skepticism in some. However, the underlying facts are inarguable: that the

  In need of guidance for the beginning steps of the college search? Huffington Post College answers a few questions you might be asking. Jeannie Borin offers valuable advice on Got College Prep Questions? Answers Are Here!  

An interesting interview  about the matter with Michael S. Roth, author of Beyond the University, on NPR:  Amid Rising College Costs, A Defense of the Liberal Arts by NPR Staff. “Higher education in the United States has traditionally functioned as a vehicle for social mobility. And as costs have escalated and financial aid has not kept up with

Forbes has put together the top 100 colleges for 2014, check and see if your favorite school has made the list. To view America’s Top 100 Colleges for the year 2014, click Here 

by: Nancy Griesemer  | DC College Admissions Examiner As hard as folks at the Common Application push to enforce ‘a one-size fits all’ application process, Common App member institutions push back equally forcefully for freedom to individualize applications in ways supporting their various admissions priorities. For example, most super-sized universities don’t need or particularly want essays and some don’t seem too concerned

  Barely a few weeks into your final year of high school and you’ve got some big decisions to make.  Hopefully, by now, you will have decided whether or not you want to go to college, and maybe even where you would like to apply.  The next big decision is when and how to apply

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE US WITH EARLY ACTION (NON-BINDING) ADMISSION DECISION PLANS   This list was compiled by Cigus Vanni   |    [last modified July 22, 2014 at 10:30 AM]   ALABAMA Auburn University Birmingham-Southern College   ARIZONA Arizona Christian University   ARKANSAS Hendrix College Lyon College University of Arkansas   CALIFORNIA Azusa