Demystifies the scholarship selection process Write winning essays and get financial aid Need money for college? This simple, straightforward guide shows you how to find scholarships, grants, and other "free money" to use toward your college expenses. You get expert advice on applying for federal grants, participating in state tuition plans, competing for scholarships from private organizations, and more - with tips on avoiding scams, completing your applications on time, and finding financial aid from unlikely sources. The Dummies Way * Explanations in plain English * "Get in, get out" information * Icons and other navigational aids * Tear-out cheat sheet * Top ten lists * A dash of humor and fun

Discover a concrete financial plan to finance a college education Financing a college education is a daunting task no matter what your circumstances. Bestselling author and personal finance expert, Eric Tyson offers tried and true strategic advice on how to understand loans, know your options, and how to improve your financial fitness while paying down your student loan debt. Armed with the checklists and timelines, you’ll be able to: Figure out what colleges actually cost Get to know the FAFSA® and CSS Profile(TM) Research scholarship opportunities Quickly compare financial aid offers from different schools Find creative ways to lighten your debt load Explore alternatives such as apprenticeships, online programs Paying for College For Dummies helps parents and independent students navigate everything from planning strategically as a married/separated/divorced/widowed parent, completing every question on the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE forms, understanding tax laws, and so much more. No other book offers this much practical guidance on choosing and paying or college.

A guide on how to plan for college, including how to choose the right school, how to fill out the application, how to apply for financial aid, and what pitfalls to avoid.

The competition to get into your college of choice has never been fiercer. Unfortunately, much of the application process is out of your hands. But one major aspect of the admission process is under your control—your personal statement. Your application essay provides you with the opportunity to let your true, unique and totally irresistible self shine through. College Admission Essays For Dummies is your total guide to crafting application essays that will make people sit up and take notice. It demystifies the authority figures who’ll judge your work, helps you decide what to write, and then arms you with the knowledge and skills you need to write your essay on time and on target. Step by step, it walks you through the entire essay-writing process, offering priceless tips on how to: Choose the best topic, tone, and structure for your essay Capture the crucial stories that reveal who you are Avoid common pitfalls that can sabotage your application Overcome writer’s block Know how to respond to unusual and off-the-wall essay questions Write successful short answers to specific application questions College admission guru Geraldine Woods punctures common myths about application essays and tells you what you absolutely must do to write a good one. With the help of many inspiring and instructive killer essays, she shows you how to: Put yourself in the right mental state for writing well Gather ideas, focus on a topic and choose the best structure for your essay Use topic sentences, detail, and strong introductions and conclusions Write a rough draft Show rather than tell your story Make sure your spelling and grammar are pitch perfect Create smooth transitions and avoid repetitions Your college application essay is your chance to show the committee that you’re more than just a statistic. Let College Admission Essays For Dummies show you how to write “admit-clinching” college essays.

You hear all sorts of things said or implied about adoption. Some information comes from people who know a lot about it, while some comes from people who don’t know anything about it but make assumptions anyway. Some comes from people whose experiences have been good; some from those whose experiences have been bad. The result? Enough conflicting information to make your head spin. So when everyone has an opinion and most of the books on the market deal with specific aspects on adoption or particular types of adoptions, where do you turn to for reliable information? Start with Adoption For Dummies. The great thing about this guide is that you decide where to start and what to read. It’s a reference you can jump into and out of at will. Just head to the table of contents or the index to find the information you want. Each part of Adoption For Dummies covers a particular aspect of adoption, including: Answering the basic adoption questions – How much does it cost? Who’s involved? How long does it take? What do I need to know that I don’t know to ask? And more. Getting started – and figuring out what steps you have to take. Dealing with birthmothers and birthfathers – and why, even though they may not be part of your life, they’re still important to you. Confronting the issues adoptive families face – issues from sharing the adoption story with your child, to answering your child's questions about his birthparents, to handling rude family members who treat your child differently than her cousins. Finding help – from books, resources, and support groups. No adoption book – at least no adoption book that you can carry around without a hydraulic lift – can tell you everything there is to know about adoption. What Adoption For Dummies tells you is what you need to know, all in an easy-to-use reference.

A portion of the proceeds from the book will go to the Oral Lee Brown Foundation. To learn more about the Oral Lee Brown Foundation please visit www.oralleebrownfoundation.com. In the bestselling tradition of The Pact and The Freedom Writers Diary—the inspiring story of one woman’s extraordinary promise and steely determination to make a difference in the world. One morning in 1987 Oral Lee Brown walked into a corner store in East Oakland, California, to buy snacks for work. A little girl asked her for a quarter, and Brown assumed that she wanted to buy candy, but surprisingly she bought bread and bologna—staples for her family. Later that day Brown couldn’t get the little girl out of her mind. Why wasn’t she in school? Why was she out begging for money to buy food for her family? After several weeks of not being able to sleep, Brown went to look for the girl at the local elementary school and soon found herself in a first-grade classroom. She didn’t find the little girl, but before she left she found herself promising the kids that if they finished high school, she would pay for their college education. At the time, Oral Lee Brown made only $45,000 a year. But years later, after annually saving and investing $10,000 of her own money and establishing the Oral Lee Brown Foundation, this remarkable woman made good on her promise: after nineteen of the original twenty-three students graduated from high school, she sent them all to college. And in May of 2003, LaTosha Hunter was the first of Brown’s “babies,” as well as the first person in her family, to graduate from college. This marvelous and inspiring book is the amazing story of one woman's unending desire to make a difference. And if once was not enough, in 2001 Brown made the same promise to three new classrooms of first-, fifth-, and ninth-graders. Brown and her foundation are now committed to adopting a new crop of kids to send to college every four years. Brown’s pledge to the students was not without great personal and public sacrifice. Her promise turned her life upside-down—it strained her relationships, and at times required her to work several different jobs. Brown also developed a strong emotional attachment to the children—for many of these students Brown was the one consistent adult in their lives. In a world short on heroes, altruism, and dedication, THE PROMISE shows that it is still possible to change lives for the better. This book will encourage, uplift, and inspire every reader.