Chip Law, Author at Educational Avenues | College Planning | Boarding Schools

About Chip Law

Chip Law is an IECA Professional Member and an Educational Consultant located in Charleston, South Carolina. He helps students and adults define their career path and refine their approach to the job market.

CSS Profile Form

CSS Profile Form Required By Highly Selective Colleges.

Elite colleges and universities require parents to file the CSS Profile form in addition to FAFSA. In this article, I’ll review the CSS Profile form and the formulas behind it that drive up the costs.

In fall and winter, I often receive calls from frantic parents who are worried and confused about how to file the CSS Profile. They fear losing financial aid if they don’t file it correctly and provide additional financial information through iDocs. I just heard from one parent who wondered why must they upload their W2 when they already sent […]

CSS Profile Form

Control Your College Costs!

College planning means knowing which strategies will work for you. Control your College Costs instead of college costs controlling you!

Learn the key terms in the college financial aid alphabet soup! For example, the Cost Of Attendance, COA, is like the MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) of a car. Unfortunately, colleges don’t announce the upcoming academic year’s costs until the summer before the student starts, so many parents are paying for college not knowing the sticker price until just a few months before the new academic year.

In a discussion with the Associate Director of Admissions at Boston University, said if parents […]

Control Your College Costs!

The New SAT: What did we do to deserve this?

The new SAT will soon become the standard bearer for the College Board’s standardized test. It faced an enormous amount of criticism when it first surfaced in sample form last year and the CB spokespeople had a difficult time explaining their reasoning and why the drastic change was being implemented.

A couple of answers to this appeared to make a lot of sense: the old SAT had some biases, it was not based on current educational standards and higher predictive outcomes were seen as favoring the “haves” while disenfranchising the “have nots”. While the specific changes are now clearly evident, as many […]

The New SAT: What did we do to deserve this?

Student Loans: Income based repayment (IBR) 10/27 Update

To stem the tide of overwhelming student debt, the Federal Government has come up with a number of programs that can ameliorate the borrower’s level of pain. Some entail public service based efforts which when a stipulated period of service is completed, the balance of the loan is forgiven. Another attractive offering is the IBR or income based repayment.

This program, which was established in 2012, allows the borrower to pay a percentage of their discretionary income to meet their monthly payment obligation and can reduce the budget squeeze of a much larger payment as per the original loan agreement. On […]

Student Loans: Income based repayment (IBR) 10/27 Update

College Admissions: It’s All About ADD

It’s February and time for the annual pandemic of ADD!

Aha, if you are thinking this story is either wacko or just another rant about Attention Deficit Disorder you are incorrect. This seasonal event starts in late December and can last until April and in some cases even into the summer. This ADD has to do with college admissions and only students truly immune from this syndrome are those that have had the joy of receiving an offer of admission from the college to which they applied via the Early Decision process.

The ADD in this case is Admitted, Deferred or Denied. For the […]

College Admissions: It’s All About ADD