It’s a classic story: boy gets good grades in high school, boy gets full-ride scholarship to great engineering school, boy does well in engineering school, boy instead opts for a career of pulling practical jokes on people. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it 1,000 times. Here’s Ren: Hey Josh! I’ve really enjoyed reading …
Isn’t it funny that the main reason you GO to college in the first place is to be exposed to all kinds of different choices — both in what you can study and what you want to pursue as a career — but you only get a short amount of time to experience those choices …
If you’re a college or even a high school student, you have to have been locked away in a cage somewhere if you’ve never been given the advice to “follow your dreams” and/or “do what you love” or “find what you’re passionate about.” But what if you have no dreams, you don’t really love any …
Sometimes you bust your hump in the classroom trying to keep your head above water in a class that’s kicking your ass, and despite your best efforts, you flunked anyway. You’re vanquished. Defeated by (insert malevolent course here). That’s what happened to Meghan — twice. Even worse, one of the classes was required for her …
If you read this blog often, you’d probably think that I’m on the payroll of the American Association of Community Colleges, as strongly and often as I advocate for doing your first two years at a community college. That’s exactly what Nate did, and he’s kept his student loan debt down to $5,000. Now, he …
Does It Really Matter Where You Get Your Master’s? Read More »
Student loan debt is a necessary evil. Problem is, once you understand that it’s a necessary evil, you’re sorta lulled into thinking about the “necessary” part and less about the “evil” part, and then you wake up one day asking yourself how you ended up owing the government somewhere around the GNP of Honduras. Unfortunately …
$85,000 Pharmacy School vs. $250,000 Medical School Read More »
Hi Judge Josh, I love your website and read the articles almost every day. Not only are they fun to read, but they’re interesting and almost always relate directly to some part of my college questions. Thanks! If you have the time, I desperately need some advice (like everyone else): I’m graduating from USC in …
Let’s get all contrarian from the outset today, shall we? Graduate school can be a great idea that expands your knowledge and opens up your career prospects. It can also be a lousy one that multiplies your student loan debt and walls you off from career opportunities that arise while you’re toiling away on your …
Paying for college can be a bitch for anyone, but it’s especially challenging when your family’s broke. Even if you are lucky enough to be the beneficiary of your college financial aid office’s largesse, there’s still an EFC involved if you don’t get a full ride, and even a couple thousand bucks can be far …
Yesterday we featured a younger student, Stephanie, who thought she might be too old for campus life at the ripe old age of 22. Today we feature Leeja, who, at 37, is ready to dive in. Hi Josh, I’m 37 years old and have a son who will be a high school senior in the …
37, Divorced & Turning It All Around With College Read More »
Hi there! I just started reading your blogs and I’m now convinced you’re the perfect person to talk to about my situation! Perfection is a high bar to clear, Steph, but I will give it my level best. 🙂 I read you’re getting a lot more e-mails than before (Congrats!) so I’m hoping you get …
Welcome back, friends. Long time, no speak. I was in hibernation yesterday from five long days at my advertising show in Orlando, and now I’m rested and ready to pummel you with advice until kingdom come. Ready, go. Hi Josh, I’ve read your book and I enjoy your blog very much. Thanks for the work …
Hello again, all. I’m going to make it short and sweet today with a little user-participation experiment that I need your help with. Here’s the problem, although it’s one of those good problems to have. As you know, every day I take one of your emails and turn it into a blog post where I …
Greetings to you all from sunny Orlando, where I’m spending the next few days at the American Advertising Federation national conference surrounded by hundreds of very sharp college students (much like yourself, dear reader) from around the country who are competing in the National Student Advertising Competition. I’m also surrounded by obnoxiously thick, hot, wet …
Hello, amigos. Today’s post comes to you from the cramped little airport cubicle pictured below at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, where I am currently laid up for a couple hours on my way to Orlando to sit in on the National Student Advertising Competition. I had to get up so damn early to fly that when …
Hola, friends. Today, a small change from the usual talk of late about saving money and such. Stephen is a high-achieving guy from Idaho who’s considering taking a shot at big-time scholarship programs like Rhodes and Fulbright. Has he got what it takes to crack the most prestigious gigs in the world? Hey. I’ve just …
Is Boise State Too Small to Produce a Rhodes Scholar? Read More »
Hello again, everyone. Today’s post is gonna be short and sweet, because my heart is heavy today. In a few hours, I have to say goodbye to one of my best pals — my black Lab, Velvet. She’s nearly 17, and after many great years with my family, she’s being put to sleep this morning. …
If you’re a veteran visitor to this site, you know I get a lot of “Choice 1 vs. Choice 2” emails, where the writer asks me which of two options I think is smarter. This one has a twist, though — there are abusive parents in the mix. Because of that, even though he/she didn’t …
Free School Near Abusive Parents vs. Expensive School Far Away Read More »
I had an uncle who was a college professor in Arizona, and he was a champion of low-income, low-SES (socioeconomic status) students. He used to advocate really, really hard for almost all students to go to college. He believed that, above all else, college provided students with CHOICES that they would not otherwise get. Not …
Doctor or Lawyer? Josiah the ICU Guy Needs Help. Read More »
Hi, everybody. As you probably know, this site started out as a site about scholarships and how to get them, but has slowly morphed into an advice site about all things related to college, money, jobs, and occasionally even bigger issues like what you should do with your life and how to be happy. I’m …
Can You Get More Financial Aid If You’re In Debt? Read More »
Welcome back, m’friends. We talk a lot around these parts about extracurricular activities (although we haven’t in a while). And when we do, we’re almost exclusively referring to high school students and the extracurricular activities in which they participate in order to shine up their resume for both the admissions and financial aid offices at …
