UniversityParent

Thinking about ? Here is something many parents do not know. The ED agreement needs three signatures. One of them is yours.

Your signature means you agree to help your student keep this binding promise.

Before anyone signs, please run the school's Net Price Calculator.

Every college has one on its website, and it is free to use. You enter your family's income and savings. It shows what you would really pay for one year. It takes about 15 minutes.

Families who skip this step often regret it. They apply ED, get accepted, and then learn the cost is too high.

Have you tried the Net Price Calculator for your son or daughter's top school yet?

🗓️ If your teen was named a National Merit semifinalist this month, October 7 is your date. That is when the full application reaches the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

✅ Start with your school's own cutoff, because it usually comes first.

🎓 The principal's endorsement is filed by the school, not by you, so confirm it is in motion.

Then check that the verifying SAT or ACT score was actually sent.

SAT code 0085, ACT code 7984.

Scores can arrive through December 31 for full award consideration.

One call to the school this week can save a bad surprise.

Heads up if your teen is testing this fall: late registration for the October 3 SAT closes Tuesday, September 22, and late registration for the October 17 ACT runs through September 29.

Two things worth knowing. Late registration costs extra, and popular fall test centers can fill before the deadline.

College Board Khan Academy

Parents: the 2027-28 FAFSA is open right now, and most people don't know it. The Education Department opened the beta nationwide last month. Here's the nuance that matters: any form submitted during the beta is official. Once it's processed, you do not file again when it opens to everyone on October 1.

But it is still a beta. You request access at StudentAid.gov/joinbeta and get admitted in waves, and the Department is using this period to catch bugs before the full launch. So the real choice: file now and be done, or wait for the polished October 1 version.

If you go now, do it in this order:

1. Your student starts the form. It's their application; you get invited as a "contributor."
2. Both of you need FSA IDs, and verification can take up to 3 days. Request them today.
3. When invited, consent to the IRS data transfer. It's required for your student to get any federal aid.
4. After filing, walk through our 23-point FAFSA audit checklist together. Link in comments.

Why file early at all? Some state and school aid is first-come, first-served. And remember this is annual. You file every year your student is in school.

One mom shared that her daughter had the nice mattress topper, was making friends, and still dreaded spending time in her dorm room.

…Turns out the room wasn't the real problem.

It was academic stress piling up, plus a medication she'd paused that her doctor asked her to restart.

If your student is miserable in their room, here's what helped other families:

📚 Study somewhere else. When the dorm overstimulates, the library or a campus coffee shop can completely reset their focus.

🤗 Try the counseling center. It's free, and group therapy especially helps students see they're not the only ones struggling.

🙉 Let them vent without fixing. Listen longer than feels comfortable. Sometimes being heard matters more than a solution.

The dorm may never be their favorite place, and that's okay.

The semester isn't lost because of the room.

Sunday night rule worth trying: no logistics texts after 9pm.

Not "did you check your calendar." Not "do you have laundry quarters." If it's a real emergency, they'll call.

September is when they learn to run their own week. The hardest part is watching the wobble and not grabbing the wheel.

What's one text you stopped sending — and what happened?