The PSAT (and prepping for it) Matters: While the scores earned may or may not have huge importance to your child, the analysis and feedback is invaluable. (9/26/12)

How to Visit a University: You need to start envisioning yourselves as college students--getting a feel from the rhythm of the day, the pace of campus, the tone of what goes on. (10/3/12)

College IS for Students with Disabilities: Too often students from all walks of life opt out of the college experience for fears unfounded: They won't admit me; I can't handle the workload; I'm not strong enough; No one there understands my circumstance. Poppycock. (10/17/12)

Christian College Fair Tomorrow: Admission to the college fair is free. For parents, there will be a financial aid workshop. (10/24/12)

College Traditions -- Another Reason to Love College: Oh, there is all kind of hokey-wacky stuff out there. At many schools, old timey traditions and societies help bond students together. These are the essential societal glues that enhance the college experience and create arcing sparks of connectivity. (10/31/12)

Western Undergraduate Exchange: A plethora of universities in the western U.S. offer reduced out-of-state tuition on a limited basis. (11/7/12)

AzCIS and a Lesson in Perseverance & Goals: If your children are searching for a mantra to repeat when cleaning up the yard, approaching homework, doing the dishes, please do reacquaint them with The Little Engine that Could. Perseverance never goes out of fashion. (11/14/12)

SAT Subject Tests - Important? Find Out: Subject Tests may be important to getting admitted. It behooves you to look into admissions requirements so you don't get burnt on a technicality. (11/21/12)

Young Man Blues: According to popular media, women now outnumber men in college enrollment, degrees earned and GPA attained. At IRHS, we would like to see more young men become career and college ready. (11/27/12)

"Leadership Leads to Scholarship": An outside article, beginning "Discover how to help students leverage their leadership qualities into merit scholarships that colleges offer to attract high performers." (12/12/12)

Home Base, a Great Space: Become familiar with the UofA and use it as a baseline. You know about the basketball program. You may have bumped into Wilbur at a football game, but are you aware of the nitty-gritty of first-year programming, class sizes, the gen. ed. curriculum, persistence into the sophomore year and credits awarded for AP scores over 3? All fascinating stuff! (12/19/12)

"Turning College and Career Planning into Family Communication":  An outside article ending "The message for your children is that life planning is an ongoing process involving self-awareness, exploration, communication, increasing responsibilities and exciting opportunities, one of which is the opportunity to regularly talk about and plan for the future."(1/9/13)

Financial Aid - The FAFSA: FAFSA season coincides with tax season. Generally, when you have filed your federal income tax forms, you have the data necessary to transcribe to your FAFSA. That is the simplest explanation ever. No need to over complicate this story. (1/16/13)

Making the Commitment (Important FYI'$): Most universities require an enrollment commitment fee, payable sometime in the spring. And others follow... Be careful as you navigate the treacherous waters of fees. By committing and paying in a timely fashion you will make the process much less expensive. (1/23/12)

The (HS) Freshmen Slump: Let's talk about the Freshmen Slump. No, I'm not referring to the college freshmen slump, rather your 9th grader's potential academic malaise. (1/30/13)

Too Cool for School - A Cautionary Tale: At the risk of giving too much personal information, I wish to tell a personal tale of over-confidence and lack of focus leading to a singular event, my first college "D." (2/6/13)

Top 10 Education Movies of All Time: And how, pray tell, does this apply to college tips? Well, education movies are inspirational. Teaching is a vaunted profession. The learning process is inspirational, and people rise up against ignorance and intolerance when they respect and admire their teachers' dedication to the cause. (2/13/13)

A Definitive Classic - A Must Scan for Future College Parents: Find this book. Take an hour or two to thumb through it. When your child comes home during that first Thanksgiving Break, you will best be able to counter their witticisms and "new" knowledge about how the world works. (2/20/13)

How Much Do You Want It? (Attention: Parents of 8-10th Graders): Everyone remembers the tourist who asks the jaded New Yorker, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" And the Hennie Youngman answer is always "Practice!" The answer to the college question "how much do you want it" is found solely in the fruits of your child's labors and how you frame them. (2/27/13)

"How Do You Define Success?": An outside article beginning, "As I watched my son Alex onstage, I was struck by how amazing his performance was. No, he doesn't act like Richard Burton, dance like Fred Astaire or sing like Bing Crosby. But he was amazing nonetheless" (3/6/13)

Ganas (Spanish; motivation sufficient to act): A case study: learning from ordinary kids with ordinary parents from mostly poor neighborhoods who developed ganas, a Spanish word connoting a deep desire to act and succeed. It's grit. It's diligence. It's I'm not going to be deterred. (3/13/13)

T-Minus: Two Months: This article is intended for juniors but has ramifications for all students. Fight that spring fever, and recognize that school is the real world and now is the time to work diligently. Seriously. (3/27/13)

Noncognitive Measures - A Trend in Admissions: The essay and other resume artifacts can be crucial to gaining admission to your colleges of choice. Be aware that admissions teams are looking for notions of leadership, perseverance, integrity and maximization of opportunities available. (4/3/13)

Multiple Offers? Hmmm, How to Decide...: Decisions about which college offer of admission to accept are ultimately a good thing to have. You just have to think about where you will be best served, best educated and not left to your own devices to overlook critical junctures in your education. (4/10/13)

How to Select a Major: Select your major carefully and remember you can usually punt and create your own major if you are so inclined. Not all cookie-cutter platforms fit those who dance to the beat of their own drum. (4/17/13)

Waitlisted? Thinking of Double Depositing?: As the May 1 decision day draws near, here is an article from a few years ago that offers more perspectives to consider when responding to offers of admission. (4/24/13)

Joining Your Parents Association is a Best Practice: As your senior graduates and moves out into campus life, you will want to stay connected to both your child and the university. (5/1/13)

Ouch: Take an active roll in the scholarship search is the school's mandate but it becomes an onerous un-graded extra-curricular activity in the eyes of some students and it doesn't get done. By fervently partnering with schools and strengthening the relationships, our parents are able to address all children's needs. (5/8/13)