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If you want to be desired by colleges, then be a desirable applicant.

Bowdoin College, Sacred Heart Univ., Bates College, Franklin & Marshall,

Fairfield Univ., Drexel Univ., Middlebury College, Drexel, Calif. State Universities

And the list goes on several hundred deep.

These colleges don't require students to submit their SAT/ ACT scores on their application. Obviously, they don't value those test scores. They likely don't think SAT's or ACT's are relevant any longer. Right? That's what 75% of people now believe. All those schools are living proof they say. I say they are flat wrong!

Why then don't they require SAT or ACT scores? You have to look closely into the college perspective to see the BIG BUSINESS MACHINE OF COLLEGE at work here.

The colleges want you to believe test scores are not important. Why? Because it drives up the number of applicants. Imagine a policy that increases applicants by 5,000 resulting in $400,000 additional fee income. Imagine a policy that increases applications resulting in a lower acceptance rate and improved "selectivity" rating. That's a pretty good policy! Oh, what do you think is the average acceptance rate for those students not submitting test scores?

Learn more about it along with details on our top ten strategies for saving college costs in our new book- 

     Dissecting the Big Business of College

For saving college costs, here's our Strategy # 4-

Have a complete application for receiving preferred acceptances and higher scholarships

College admission counselors from colleges across America report to me that they look quickly (within 5 minutes) to disqualify a student applicant. They report that too many applicants have a weak application, although they may have strong credentials. Weak applications show themselves quickly in a number of ways that render unnecessary denials. That’s just the cold hard truth…5 minutes and out.

Therefore, a key component to building college credentials is having a complete application, one that yields great value to the prospective student. Many students rush through applications, just trying to get them done and submitted for which the admissions counselor can quickly spot. Those don’t usually get serious consideration, and why should they? 

Our students have complete applications, including SAT/ ACT test scores, quality essays, insightful responses to supplemental questions, a Personal Statement, and all related information provided timely. They win preferred admissions and higher scholarships. It's that simple, yet that elusive. Seems college-logical to me!

Don't just talk about. Live it!

The BIG BUSINESS OF COLLEGE is an industry built around an educational environment. It is centered on the academic community of the college where learning, research, study-abroad, internships, and community projects go on every day. No offense to Best Buy, but college is not centered around computer and television sales. You can walk into Best Buy oblivious to the environment you enter and still get a good deal on your purchase. You can't be oblivious to the academic community when entering a college campus and expect a deal to be worked in your favor. That doesn't happen. However, most student-families arrive on college campuses every day oblivious to the environment they enter.

Not our CollegeLogic-students and parents. Gone are the days when a college visit entailed just walking around campus on a tour being led by a graduate student. Those visits come up empty in creating advantages with Admissions. Rather, it is important to connect in a meaningful way with the people who will decide upon your application and scholarship award. What do you need to do? You should plan on meeting the admissions people and in doing so, not just talk about your interests but show that you are living it.

It's all described in detail here in our new book- 

     Dissecting the Big Business of College

To continue on with our ten strategies for saving thousands on college costs, we have- 

Strategy # 3- Build unique credentials beyond grades for increasing scholarship awards

How have things changed over the past ten years? For one, students today have an abundance of credentials. Admission acceptances and scholarship awards were traditionally based on the academic record of the applicant. The new norm is for high GPA and SAT/ ACT scores to be a given. The new norm is for a list of volunteer assignments and minor leadership roles to be a given. The new qualifiers for distinguishing students from the pack calls on them to do extraordinary things, such as-

• Start a new club
• Create a blog site
• Have real leadership achievement
• Have genuine community service
• Have specific mission-driven work
• Expand cultural diversity with study abroad or cultural immersion trips
• Be knowledgeable and aware of current events and important national issues 

This is how students distinguish themselves from others for winning admission acceptances and increasing scholarship awards. Sure seems college-logical to me.

The BIG BUSINESS OF COLLEGE is a debt-fueled industry, that's scary. Students will borrow $70 billion from the Federal Government with its Stafford Loan. That's the student-loan which caps out at $27,000 over four years and it's the only loan the student can sign for themselves. Parents are estimated to take out on average three times that amount, bringing the projected loan total for this years high school graduating class to $280 billion. That means over 50% of college costs ($500 billion industry) will be paid through loans. That's debt-fueled and that's astounding. What do you need to do? You need to understand the implications of the business transaction you are about to encounter.

We have the implications here in our new book, available only in digital form for the next week or so-

     Dissecting the Big Business of College

This book exposes the college interests. It exposes the parent's weak tendencies. It teaches parents the college perspective. And it gives parents my Top 10 Strategies that's proven for saving thousands on college costs. Upon learning, implementing, and executing, parents will advance their position of strength in dealing with colleges.

To continue on with our ten strategies for saving thousands on college costs, we have- 

Strategy # 2- Be knowledgeable of the authority, influences, policy, and numbers

This game belongs to the college. They set the rules by which you play. You don’t have to like the rules, but you should know the rules if you want to have any chance of winning the game.

For starters, know who controls the dollars, that would be the authority. For merit scholarships, the authority is the Admission Office. For athletic scholarships, the authority is the Athletic Office. For financial aid, the authority is the Financial Aid office. It’s your job to understand how each college works in regard to its financial awards. It begins in the office of authority.

You must get to know what influences the awards. For merit awards, the influences are twofold, one being the student’s credentials which are awarded upfront upon acceptance; and two being the strategy of the admission office to use merit scholarships as a tool for incentivizing students to enroll which are awarded on the backend of the process upon appeal. The goal is to maximize the upfront scholarship while creating leverage for backend negotiations.

Through your early college visits, you will have the opportunity to learn the policy for which drives financial awards. Every college has a policy for scholarships and it’s your job to know it by asking the right questions.

Through your personal homework and research on the college, you have the opportunity to learn the numbers that result from the policy. The numbers reflect in the results of the college policies. It's college-logical to me.

The BIG BUSINESS OF COLLEGE is a $500 billion industry, that's big. It's a buzz-saw in which you're headed. What do you need to do? Avoid it! How do you do that?

You need to become aware of it's force on you and your family. You need to be cognizant that you are the buyer in this purchasing arrangement. That makes you the customer and them the service provider. But not for a minute will they allow you to feel like a customer. That would only serve to weaken their position and they won't let that happen. So it's up to you to learn all about it. Everything you need to know about how colleges do business is now available, only in digital form for the next week or so-

     Dissecting the Big Business of College

This book exposes the college interests. It exposes the parent's weak tendencies. It teaches parents the college perspective. And it gives parents my Top 10 Strategies that's proven for saving thousands on college costs. Upon learning, implementing, and executing, parents will advance their position of strength in dealing with colleges.

Here we begin with the rollout of our ten strategies for saving thousands on college costs. Strategy # 1- Connect with colleges early for saving on college costs later

The college admission and scholarship decisions are all made by human beings, not by computers or robots. Bigger scholarships are received by applicants who are well known to the decision-makers, that being the counselors in the admissions office. To maximize your scholarship, you need to become well known to the admission counselor who will decide upon your award. This requires the student-applicant to contact and connect with colleges early, as early as in 10th grade.

Contacting means to broadcast your interest in their college by sending them an introductory email, complete with a student-profile sheet attached and a brief video embedded. This gets the student in the college system for tracking and begins the process of becoming a known applicant, leaving “Stealth Status” to others.

“Stealth Applicants” are those applicants who remain unknown to the counselors in the admission office; accordingly, they receive both lower acceptance rates and lesser scholarship amounts.

Connecting means to meet them in person. Meeting the people who will decide upon your admission and scholarship fate serves to personalize your application and admission process. Admission counselors will make their most favorable decisions on the students who they know best. Keep in mind that the authority over merit scholarships rests in the hands of admission counselors.

Our parents save thousands on college costs. And you can too. All you have to do is ask.

# 1- "Colleges are masters at molding their interests into the behaviors of society."

Our # 1 Top Quote related to College

The BIG BUSINESS OF COLLEGE is always at work. It's a massive machine that's fully aware of the parent's vulnerability and they've mastered the process to seize on their advantage!  

Where else in America do people apply to be a customer, anxiously await to be approved, be willing to pay the full asking price of the seller, automatically accept the sellers future price increases, then be left worrying about how to pay.

Only in the world of college does that happen and it will  cost unsuspecting parents tens of thousands of dollars. It will unnecessarily cost you too unless you know how to combat it otherwise.

The force behind the business of college will always prevail. Why? Because they are masters at getting parents to do what they want you to do. Make no mistake about it, they are not there to support your best interests. Rather, you have to be a savvy parent, aware of their intentions, and able to manage the process according to the rules of their game. Don't be oblivious, know that it's their game. They set the rules and they don't ask for your approval when doing so.

But let's be honest here. No one is forcing you to accept their terms and pay their bills. That's purely on you. If you are desperate to send your child to a particular college, then be prepared to fall prey to their tactics. No disrespect to the colleges intended here. They are just conducting business. We are not going to change that, rather, we have to be much smarter consumers in our approach. We can help you with that. You don't have to be left out in the dark.

Our parents save thousands on college costs and you can too. Just ask how we do it.