Good Test Scores Equals $$$Thousands In College Savings

By College Advice

I enjoy this season because I hear wonderful news from past students about their college acceptances.  In the last few years, I have been receiving an increasing number of kind notes from parents who were delighted about the merit aid that their children received.

The combination of soaring college costs and the Great Recession has created tremendous financial pressure on Connecticut parents who are doing everything possible to save for college tuition.

I have had more than a few college counseling sessions with parents who have been in tears at the prospect of not being able to help their children as much as they desired.

Some of those tears have become tears of joy when hearing that the great news of college acceptance has come along with a sizable merit scholarship. In the last month, past SAT and ACT students have written to me about $10,000/yearly scholarships (some more, some less) and have joked that their test prep with The Learning Consultants was the best summer job they ever had.

I have written elsewhere why colleges are using test scores as a way to award merit aid (among other reasons, it is definitely the easiest way to separate admitted students). Regardless, it “is what it is”.  And if your child can save you thousands of dollars in tuition by doing better on the SATs (or ACTs), then it will make your stress decrease substantially.