Margie’s a wife and mother who’s about to transfer into a four-year school, but she’s not sure she’s got a good enough resume to impress the big boys. Greetings Judge Josh! I have been an avid reader of your site for a while now and have found your candor to be refreshing and many of …
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a damned fine chance you’re in the same spot as Amia: you’re ready to go to college, except you’re broke and so is your family, so paying for college is a giant question mark. And even if “broke” isn’t exactly the right word, you still don’t have anywhere near …
Paying For College: The Broke Family’s 2-Step Guide Read More »
My parents were always good to me when I was growing up, and it’s hard to imagine how differently my life may have turned out if they hadn’t been. They were good to me when I was in college, also. They didn’t have much money to contribute to my tuition, but they called every Sunday …
Lindsay lives in Alaska, and in addition to lacking warmth, daylight and tons of human companionship, she also lacks a wide variety of colleges from which to choose. So she’s doing an online degree program, and her friends’ reaction has got her in a state. Okay, here’s the deal- I am a recent high school …
Every time I get a note from someone like Frances, I’m assured that this site will be in business for a long time. Unfortunately for Frances and the millions like her out there, the process of getting financial aid dollars is difficult to navigate and it seems there’s no good one-stop source for answers to …
Juan is an illegal alien who’s been in the U.S. since age 7. A really, really smart one, apparently, because he’s been accepted to some really tough colleges and been offered big scholarships. Problem is, he can’t take any government money because he’s not an American citizen. Thus, he’s in quite the pickle. Hello Judge …
Can a Brilliant Illegal Alien Go To College in the U.S.? Read More »
Ashley’s off to grad school and is afraid her parents’ high incomes will hurt her when it comes to financial aid. She’s even thinking maybe they should divorce to make them look poorer on paper. Hold your horses, Ashley! There’s an easier solution which allows for, among other things, Mom and Dad to stay hitched. …
Laoi is a girl after my own heart. Or, possibly, a boy after my own heart — the name is not a dead giveaway in terms of gender. Anyhow, Laoi loves foreign languages and wants to study tons of them. I was, and still am, the same way. If you speak foreign languages competently, you’ve …
Honors programs — lots of schools have them, but are they worth the extra work you have to put in for the designation? My answer is the usual — “it depends.” Depends on what you want to do with your life and what you expect the honors programs to actually do for you. Mike’s wondering …
We’ve been talking a lot lately about studying abroad, but I haven’t had anyone ask me about spending two years out of the country until today. Michelle’s eager to spend that second year abroad, but she’s worried that the American college that’s interested in her won’t wait around forever. Dear Mr. Judge Josh, Hello my …
Hello, my good friends. Just a quick note to tell you that I will not be doing my regular post today because I’m home with a sick daughter who’s spiking a 104+ fever. 🙁 Be back at you tomorrow. Study hard, eat your vegetables, etc. Your pal, Judge Josh
Most of the time on this site, I devote a lot of my space to discouraging you guys from taking student loans — at least the ones you don’t really need. On rare occasion, though, I’ll run into a situation where I wholeheartedly advise someone to take out more loans than they’re even considering. For …
It’s a good day for an odd question. Judge Josh, first allow me to indulge in some brief flattery: I love that your humor amplifies the impressions that your insights leave on me in my scholarship pursuits! Oh…go on. Now to the context of my inquiry: I’ll be going away to college (first in my …
Meg Hey there Josh, I’m here to fret about my GPA (shocking, yes?) No! 🙂 I’m about to begin my third year in college and I’ve maintained a pretty decent GPA. After three semesters, I was carried a 3.9. Agreed, that is exceedingly decent. In my fourth semester however, my school work became slightly less …
Should You Risk a Lower GPA For More Outside Activities? Read More »
Rachel’s the kind of girl I started this site for — someone who’s getting rotten advice from the people close to her. And so, loyal fans, today I spring into action on her and your behalf. Behalves. Whatever. Hi Josh, This fall, I’m going to be a Junior in college. My declared major at present …
Of the 200+ scholarship help articles I’ve written in the last year or so, the one that’s gotten me the second-largest amount of hate mail is the one about thrusting your politics and religion upon scholarship judges. (It’s a distant second, mind you — the top spot is still held solidly by the admittedly inflammatory …
After you get past your freshman year of college and you’ve got a good handle on what kind of time demands your coursework is going to require, you may run into this extremely common dilemma about how you should spend your “free” (non-studying) time: Should I use my spare hours for academic pursuits/personal growth, or …
Ah, study abroad — that time-honored tradition of venturing to a faraway land to immerse oneself in its culture, history and tradition. Or, to hole up and get drunk with other Americans in between sleeping with mysterious, sexy foreigners without anyone back home knowing the better. In my experience, it can go either way. Which …
It’s a short one today — doing a favor to all you millennial types who have been writing in and saying, in one way or another, “WRITE SHORTER POSTS.” Today, you get your wish! Phoenicia writes today: Hi Judge Josh! Right now, I am a bit at a loss with what I wish to major …
The most common question I get around here is also the toughest to answer. It’s some variation of this: “I seem to be doing everything right, but I’m not winning any scholarships. Why?” It’s hard to answer because, without access to each person’s scholarship application materials, it’s hard to say what kind of mistakes he/she …
Nontraditional Students: Discriminated Against For Scholarships? Read More »
