Paying for college: Test Prep Is The Best Part Time Job For Paying for College

SAT-ACT Test Prep and Merit Aid For College

Some good news and bad news about your income.  If you are a Connecticut parent -particularly in areas like Shoreline Connecticut that contain leafy small towns like Guilford, Madison, Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, Essex, East Lyme etc., you likely make far more money than most Americans.  The US household median income is $51,000.  My guess is that most every family reading this article earns more.  Congratulations!

And, sorry to tell you, you probably won’t get much financial aid.

However, good news, bad news, followed by good news:

Your child’s test scores might earn you merit aid. And, merit aid can be quite substantial.  Schools battle over getting students with high test scores because of the perceived correlation between the college’s median test scores and the college’s strength of student body.   I’m not debating the validity of the correlation.  I’m merely describing perception.  One glance at US News & World Report’s rankings will illustrate a near lock-step correlation between rank of school and median test scores.  Colleges are outstanding marketers and do what they can to shift their ranking by enticing students with the highest test scores to attend their college.  The most definite way to do this:

Offer merit aid for high SAT or ACT test takers.  Our students and parents report ranges of $40-120,000 over four years based largely on their high SAT-ACT scores.  And, many note: that “your SAT-ACT seminar was the best part time job I ever had.”