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The sticker price is not the real price. Before you cross a college off the list (or fall in love with one), run the net price calculator.

How to find them and how to read the results:

How to Use a College Net Price Calculator Learn how to use a college net price calculator, what information to gather, how to read grants and loans, and when an estimate may be less reliable.

The DIY college-planning stack: one spreadsheet, a Notes app full of college names, fourteen browser tabs, and a family text thread nobody can find anything in.

It works until October.

CollegeHound keeps colleges, deadlines, applications, scholarships, and to-dos in one shared workspace, so the whole family is looking at the same picture.

CollegeHound is free at CollegeHound.com

Admissions readers can spot a copy-paste "Why Us" essay in one paragraph.

Here's how your student writes one that sounds like them and shows they did their homework on the school:

How to Write the "Why Us" Essay That Doesn't Sound Like Everyone Else's How to write the Why Us college essay. What the prompt really asks, a 30-minute research method, the specific-plus-you formula, and the mistakes readers see daily.

Today is the regular registration deadline for the October 3 SAT. (Late registration runs through September 22, with extra fees.)

Deadlines like this are why we built the deadline tracker in CollegeHound. Test registrations, application due dates, and scholarship deadlines live in one place, and you can keep them visible while there's still time to act.

Get organized at CollegeHound.com

Taking the October 3 SAT? The regular registration deadline is this Friday, September 18.

Every SAT and ACT date and registration deadline for this school year, in one place. Save this one.

SAT and ACT Test Dates and Registration Deadlines for 2026-27 All SAT and ACT test dates for 2026-27 with registration deadlines, verified against College Board and ACT, plus how to pick dates that fit application deadlines.

Early Decision can boost admission odds. It can also lock you in before you've compared aid offers.

If cost matters in your house (it does in most), read this before anyone hits submit on an ED application:

Early Decision and Financial Aid: What “Binding” Means When Cost Matters Early Decision is binding, but what happens if the financial aid is not enough? Learn what families should calculate before applying ED, what they give up, and when an aid offer may justify release.

The 2027-28 FAFSA is due to be available by October 1, and a few things are different this year.

What changed, what documents to gather now, and the one mistake that delays aid packages every year:

2027-28 FAFSA: What Changes and What Families Need to Know by October 1 The 2027-28 FAFSA: beta testing, availability by October 1, 2025 tax information, what changed, and the deadlines that actually govern your family.

Parents of juniors: this fall is a great time to build the foundation for a calmer senior year.

Here's the September-to-December checklist we wish every junior family had:

Junior Fall College Planning Checklist: September Through December A practical junior fall college planning checklist for September through December, covering grades, testing, activities, college research, costs, and what families should finish before winter break.