Taking high school AP courses can help you stand out in the eyes of College Admissions departments and can help you prepare for the type of course work you will encounter in college. So should you jump in and apply for AP classes? Well, yes — but only if (more…)

College is just around the corner for many kids and most will have questions about how to fund this endeavor. Savings, student loans, grants and scholarships are all part of covering college fees, but scholarships can provide great benefits because unlike loans, scholarship payouts do not have to be repaid. Free money essentially — provided you (more…)

We conclude our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with a question submitted by Maha:

Do you have any financial aid tips (including Princeton) that you could give to homeschooled students? How does financial aid actually work? Is it like a loan – if one applies for financial aid and the college gives the student money to pay for the courses, classes, etc., would the student have to pay the college back later on?

This concludes my discussion with Don to the great questions posted to ePrep. We’ll be grabbing Seamus Malin for our next round of questions. If you’d like to have your question heard regarding college admissions and financial aid, be sure to post it here!

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We continue our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with a question submitted by Masha:

Is financial aid available for international students?

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We continue our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with a question submitted by Luke:

Let’s say you indicate, on your application, that you will be applying for financial aid. Will this affect your chances of being admitted? I was just wondering.

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We continue our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with a question submitted by Gary:

Does grade 9 in high school matter at all? I heard from a couple friends in Princeton that American universities don’t take grade 9 into consideration when you are applying to them. Is this true?

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We continue our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with question submitted by Dan:

I have just completed my sophomore year in high school and this year I have gotten much better grades than my freshman year. I went from a C+ average in 9th grade to a B+ or A- in 10th grade in numerous honors classes. I was wondering if I still have a shot at attending top schools if I (more…)

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We continue our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with a second question submitted by Lisa

Question (2) My son got a C first semester in AP calculus (taken in 10th grade). This was his first year of high school (we start in 10th) and it was a bit of an adjustmen taking a challenging math course for the first time. Second semseter he got a B+ (missed and A by 2/10ths of a percent – 89.3%). His other grades are pretty good (mostly As with a couple B+s and one B). Will the C hurt his chances at a top school? Or will they (more…)

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We continue our question and answer session with expert Don Betterton with a question submitted by Lisa:

Question (1) My son’s school does not weight their GPA’s, but it does give a class rank. Therefore, kids who take a lot of AP and honor’s classes may rank lower than they would at many other schools because kids who only take easy classes may rank ahead of them. I know a lot of colleges look at class rank. Do they factor in that the school (more…)

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We begin our question and answer sessions with Don Betterton and Seamus Malin today with a question submitted by Tucker:

Is it better to get an A in a regular class or a B minus in an Advanced Placement or honors class? I’d like to take Honors Physics next year, but I’m afraid it might (more…)

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