Common College Admissions and Financing Abbreviations You Should Know

Debbie Schwartz

Debbie Schwartz is a former financial services executive and founder of Road2College and the Paying For College 101 Facebook group. With an expertise in personal finance, analysis, and marketing, she's working to give families the information and tools they need to make smarter financial college decisions.

Articles by Debbie

How Is Your FAFSA EFC Calculated?

August 9, 2019

When you get into the world of college applications, the acronym “EFC” comes up constantly. Mostly you’ll hear parents bemoaning…

Should You Update FAFSA By Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool?

August 3, 2019

Editor’s Note: This article applies to the 2023-24 FAFSA and earlier. The 2024-25 FAFSA, which opened Dec. 31, 2023, has…

College Planning Checklist for 9th & 10th Grade

College Planning Checklist for 9th & 10th Grade

August 1, 2019

9th GRADE COLLEGE PLANNING CHECKLIST Academic and Extra Curriculum Suggestions Get to know your school counselor. Schedule a meeting just…

Junior Year in High School: College Planning Guide

August 1, 2019

The content from this article has been moved to this new link.

College Planning Checklist for 12th Grade

August 1, 2019

Academic and Extra Curriculum Suggestions for 12th Graders First thing to do senior year—ask teachers for recommendations. Many students may…

Worrying About How to Pay for College?

August 1, 2019

When our children were born we thought we were diligent by opening a 529 plan before they turned one and…

How to Find Unique and Unusual Scholarships

August 1, 2019

Scholarships for college can be found in unlikely places, like your jar of peanut butter. Most students see better results searching for local scholarships.

The Great Eight: Start Your Journey With These College Search Websites

The Great Eight: Start Your Journey With These College Search Websites

August 1, 2019

Today’s high schoolers use Google to search for anything and everything. So why would it be any different when it’s…