Estrela Consulting Blog

I’m a College Planning Consultant at Estrela Consulting and the mom to two boys that attend Northeastern University, a college that has fully embraced the idea of “co-op,” which is short for cooperative education. 

With the average cost of tuition and fees currently averaging $10,116 and $36,801 for in-state public and private colleges respectively, it’s no wonder that families are looking for alternatives to help fund their student’s education.  And while the largest sources of free money for college come from the federal and state governments and the universities themselves, private scholarships do ...

It’s August 1st, which means the start of application season for rising seniors! The Common App is an online application used by almost 900 colleges and universities across the country and allows students to apply to multiple schools using one platform.  Ready to get started? Check out our tips for making the process a little bit easier:

For those of you heading off to college in the fall:  you’ve heeded so much advice in preparation for this moment.  Studied for the SAT, earned good grades, participated in extracurricular activities…you’re ready for this, right?  Not so fast. We have just a little bit more wisdom to share with you as you make your most significant life transition to date.  Read on, and don’t worry. There won’t ...

My youngest child recently graduated from high school, so I have spent some time this summer considering the advice that I would like to impart upon him and the other families that I’ve had the pleasure to work with as they begin their college journeys.   After careful consideration, my advice is this: