College Coffee Talk, April 24, 2024. (Live 10am EST, Facebook.com/lockwoodcollegeprep): Another blow to test-optional, the latest on student loan "forgiveness" developments.

See LockwoodCollegePrep.com for more information on our college advisory, financial aid consulting, test prep and other programs.

4/1/24 episode of College Coffee Talk (Mondays 10am EST Facebook.com/lockwoodcollegeprep):

1. The FAFSApocalypse - signs of relief?
2. Harvard - Safety School?
3. The first 100K per year college (not a sick April Fool's joke) More!

For 11th graders: Get College Ready Summer Applications and Essays Bootcamp: LockwoodCollegePrep.com/bootcamp

Originally a live webinar on 3/20/24, college consultants Pearl and Andy Lockwood revealed how to comfortably afford college -- without cutting back on your lifestyle or racking up tens of thousands in high rate, high fee college debt (on your kid or you) -- by taking advantage of legal and ethical "loopholes" buried in the financial aid regulations.

Topics included:

• How six figure and seven-figure earning families can qualify for tuition discounts of 56.2% even If their child did not crush the SAT, bribe a proctor or cure a pandemic over the summer
• The strange reason an expensive private college can cost LESS than a “cheaper” state university
• 4 Legal and Ethical Ways to "Hide" Your Money --The Wall Street Journal said it best: In financial aid, it's not how much you've saved, but WHERE
• 7 Deadly Traps to Avoid - Thousands of families each year needlessly "steal from themselves" by committing these costly financial aid errors
• The FAFSApocalpyse - The cluster-you-know-what caused by the Department of Education's efforts to "simplify" the FAFSA financial aid application and how they affect you
• The 529: "Friend" or "Foe?" - What's the deal with the 529 college savings plan that your financial guy or accountant recommended? And what to do about it if you have one.
• Self-Employed Parents - The biggest mistake business owners make. Plus little known "Tax Scholarships" buried in your business that your accountant has never bothered to advise you how to unearth
• Negotiation Secrets: How a mild-mannered college advisor helped his client into a “windfall” of an ​additional $30,022 from an elite college AFTER its “final,” stingy award
• Financial Aid Rules' "Tectonic" Changes for families with siblings in college, business owners, divorced families
• More - webinar attendees had a lot of questions in the chat that we attempted to answer. I bet you have some of the same ones!

Enjoy!

More help available at LockwoodCollegePrep.com/faw

College Coffee Talk (originally aired 3/18/24 - Mondays 10am EST on Facebook.com/lockwoodcollegeprep):

A financial aid "hack" to beat the leprechauns in the financial aid office, another college pulls the plug on test-optional, more!

Resources:

LockwoodTestPrep.com/online

LockwoodCollegePrep.com/bootcamp

Recording of Andy Lockwood's presentation to an intimate group of parents (including one with a First and Third Grader) in March 2024. Lockwood fielded a variety of questions, including:

*How many times should you take the PSAT?

* What are "good" extracurricular activities?

*How long will this presentation last (asked by a 5th grade daughter dragged to the presentation by her mom. Real cute, kid.)

*When should you start working with a college advisor? (Lockwood liked this question, but his answer might surprise you.) *More

For more resources, visit https://www.lockwoodcollegeprep.com/

From the Virtual Mailbag: Can your kid get into Harvard? Probably not. Well, maybe (although their published rate is currently in the 3% range, yikes!) We’ve helped a couple dozen kids get into Harvard over the years, but even we know that there’s no “magic recipe.” But we do know what it takes…

College Coffee Talk 3-11-24 (broadcast live on Facebook.com/lockwoodcollegeprep):

• Feedback on the first digital SAT in the US
• What do do if your FAFSA info doesn't tell the whole truth
• Bombshell reasons for the FAFSA problems (and what to do about them)
• More, from the live Q&A

Join Pearl and Andy Lockwood live, Mondays 10am EST on their Facebook page: Facebook.com/lockwoodcollegeprep.

More info at LockwoodCollegePrep.com

Originally broadcast on College Coffee Talk! [Mondays 10am EST, Facebook.com/lockwoodcollegeprep This live episode covered: *Student Loan Relief Case Study (that sounds too good to be true) *The digital SAT and decline of test optional policies *College essay news *More! Resources mentioned: Student Loan Relief service: https://www.yesterdaysdebt.com/ Summer Bootcamp for class of 2025 https://www.lockwoodcollegeprep.com/bootcamp Common Application Essay Prompts https://www.commonapp.org/blog/common-app-announces-2024-2025-common-app-essay-prompts