LEONARD ANDREW CONSULTING - College Prep and Athletic Recruiting Blog

Introducing: The Xs and Os Newsletter

4/17/2021

For high school student-athletes, their parents, as well as consultants, coaches and trainers >>

Our office has created a bi-weekly email newsletter which features insight and news on the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) legislation as well as athletic recruiting and college admissions. With this, we aim to:

- keep student-athletes updated on the NIL legislation; how they can benefit, how they should approach it, etc.
- how student-athletes can best market themselves to coaches, recruiters and teams.
- we'll include interviews with alums of various programs as well as athletic departments and the NCAA.
- provide information on college admissions tips and tactics.
- there will also be a mix of nutritional information, fitness and wellness content, and even discounts, promotions and giveaways!

Interested in this newsletter? Send an email to chad@leonardandrew.com for additional details and to register!

Know a student-athlete or family that would benefit from this information? Be sure to share this blog with them or have them send an email!

Tactics to Reduce Student Loan Costs

4/9/2021

What should students who need to borrow money do to reduce their loan costs?
There are a few things that students could do to reduce loan costs, and they are actually quite easy to do!

Many lenders will offer an automatic payment option – with that enabled, students will receive a reduction of the loan’s interest rate. This can often lessen the rate by around .25% and is certainly helpful in another way – you won’t have to worry about missing a payment!

Another step to consider taking is to make payments while in school! While deferring payments may be a great option if you cannot make any payments, the deferment will be increasing the total cost of the loan over time. Of course, paying a full installment while taking classes will result in the lowest overall cost, but some may find it difficult while being a full-time student. Keep in mind though: something is better than nothing! Even making minor payments will help.

Any questions? Be sure to contact us today and we'll set you up with our financial aid experts!

Manage and Organize Your Time with the Shovel App

3/9/2021

We had a great opportunity to connect with How To Study In College recently to learn about their tremendous Shovel App!

This app is a calendar, to-do list, planner, and time calculator ALL IN ONE! It was built to help students get better grades with a smile on their face and we're excited to introduce it to our clients of past, present and future! In Shovel, you have all your tasks organized right next to your calendar, and you can plan exactly what task you will work on, when, and for how long. You can plan each task into multiple study times, and if you don’t work on a task when you planned to, Shovel will remind you to re-plan!

By planning in Shovel, a student will:
Mentally commit to getting a task done at a specific time
Know you’ll have enough time to get it done
Eliminate procrastination and anxiety

We look forward to collaborating with the team and we're going to be working with students, families and schools to grab their Shovels and dig into that pile of assignments, sports and homework!
For details or to download the app, click here.

FAFSA Changes to Come for 2023-24

3/2/2021

The FAFSA is being changed for the 2023-24 year (with the application opening of October 1, 2022). There are FIVE main changes to pay close attention to.

In summary, they are:

(1) The FAFSA will be shorter...MUCH shorter!
- It will now be 36 questions (instead of 108)
- 2 pages only (instead of 6)
- It will now better align with Federal Income Tax
- There will be less opportunity for error or fraud
- The simplicity of it should benefit low income families

(2) The Expected Family Contribution - or EFC - is being renamed.
- The EFC was what a family should expect to pay (at minimum)
- This will now be the SAI, or Student Aid Index
- Note that this will not make the overall task easier to complete or make college more affordable, but it does help to make the terminology less confusing and misleading

(3) Changes for if parent are divorced or separated.
- The FAFSA used to be completed by the parent household where the student spent most of his/her time
- Now it will be completed by the parent who provides greater financial support for the student.

(4) Changes for families with multiple students enrolled at the same time.
- FAFSA used to divide the parent assessment by the number of family members attending college
- Two in college, a 50% reduction. Three, a 66% reduction.
- The old way of FAFSA had focused on cash flow, not wealth and income protection allowance based on the size of the family.
- The new FAFSA removes both -- the FAFSA will NOT divide the parent assessment by the number of family in college. In turn, there will be less aid for multi-student families.

(5) The income protection levels will increase.
- PIPA (Parental Income Protection Allowance) increases by 20%
- SIPA (Student Income Protection Allowance) increases by 35%
- This increase could very well end up as thousands more in aid!
- The asset protection will remain unchanged

Any questions? Be sure to contact us today and we'll set you up with our financial aid experts!

Continue the Scholarship Search!

2/10/2021

A tactic that college students often forget - or neglect - once they get into the school: continue to search for and apply for scholarships throughout your college experience!

In fact, there's a number of scholarships available that are specifically for college students! Students will have gained experience and knowledge and will now have work and skills they've developed to showcase -- and with that, it often makes for an optimized time and opportunity to apply for the scholarships!

Questions on scholarships? On the college admissions process? Be sure to contact us!

Considering College Size

1/31/2021

When considering the size and population of a school, remember this: you can make a large school feel small, but you cannot make a small school any bigger.

College is a time to explore, try new things, follow your passions, and build on knowledge and experiences – a smaller community, even one within the fabric of the population at-large, can be much more conducive to your growth and development.

That said, don’t look at the number of students, instead look at the students and the individuals themselves, the quality of people and the type of community in which you will call home.  Is that an atmosphere you want to learn in? An environment that will enable your success?

With any questions on colleges or the admissions process, do not hesitate to contact us today!

What Happens to 529 Plans if College Eventually Becomes Free?

1/13/2021

529 plans are certainly a fantastic option in the effort to save for college!

Even if each state is able to enact a free college program of sorts, you can still put your 529 plan to work as 'free college' would presumably cover tuition and fees. Items like room and board, food, textbooks, etc. would not be covered and that is where the 529 plan would come in.

Any money not utilized from the 529 plan could be put towards graduate school and certificate programs, or even transferred to a family member for their use!

Questions on the financial aspect of college? On the admissions process? Don't hesitate to contact us!

College Essay Trends (In the Age of the Pandemic)

1/3/2021

Essay Trend #1: Look at silver linings! While it is certainly fine to write about the pandemic in your college essay, we stress to our students to not make it the core of the work. The trend is to instead leverage the virus to lead into something else that a student has learned, tried, experienced, or attempted during this time. Being authentic, being real, and being uncommon will stand out -- we have all dealt with the pandemic in our own ways, what is your story? What impacted you? Are you closer to family? Did you learn to cook? There are positives, lessons learned, and silver linings built into the fabrics of our lives here in 2020 -- elaborate on those!

Essay Trend #2: Focus on storytelling more than ever. With limited resume-boosters – like community service, clubs, or even athletics - admissions counselors are left with less in getting a sense of a student’s character. The essay becomes one of the few vehicles which enable the candidate to connect on a more personal level. Students should aim to focus on a story or personal anecdote that is not only meaningful to them, but can be meaningful – and pull at the heart-strings – to the reader. Students who really pull back the curtain on who they are, showing personality and character, will allow the admissions team great insight into their core, and how they’d fit in the school community.

Essay Trend #3: Focus forward. Students should not just repeat and recycle what is already showcases on their transcripts and in the other parts of the application (like the activities list). Inform the school of not just what you’re looking for in a school but let them know of your goals and dreams and how college will be the vehicle to get them to where they want to be. In addition, you’ll certainly be adding to the campus, community, and atmosphere, so depict how you’ll do that! How will you be as a roommate, classmate, teammate, friend, and citizen? Be authentic, real, and explain how you will leave your mark on the college in the years to come.

Questions on your essay? On your college applications? Do not hesitate to contact us!

Look to Your Community in Your Scholarship Search!

12/28/2020

A tip that we urge students to utilize when looking to obtain scholarship monies: Stay local and community-based!

Your town and neighbors want to see their own succeed – students will find a number of local opportunities via small businesses, community clubs, and town organizations. We find that the odds of winning community scholarships is elevated as there is a smaller pool of students applying for them.

Questions on scholarships? On college prep? Don't hesitate to contact us today by clicking here.

LAC Partners with Juno!

12/13/2020

We are happy to announce a partnership with Juno (formerly LeverEdge), an awesome organization that uses the power of group buying to help families get lower interest rates on new student loans and student loan refinancing.

The initiative was started by a group of millennials who realized young people were drowning in student debt and wanted to do something about it. They realized that if they got a bunch of people together, they could use the power of group buying (similar to a Groupon or Hotels.com) to negotiate a better deal for everyone.

A free resource, Juno gives power back to borrowers and allows people to take ownership of their financial future.

Check it out and get started by clicking here!

Questions? Contact us today -- click here!