In this episode you will hear: (08:51) In this week’s news segment, an article from Forbes, “The Year’s Top Ten Educational Stories” by Michael Nietzel. Mark’s lifelong friend, Dr. Williams serves as the co-host for this episode. Mark and Dave discuss the first five of these big higher education news stories in this episode.     (43:03) We are in Chapter 107 of 171 Answers and Mark and Dave discuss, What are the most common mistakes students make on the FAFSA. This book chapter lists 23 of these mistakes and Dave and Mark discuss six of the 23.   (51:38) Our question from a mom in California asks, if my child attends a competitive high school and a college reads applications by school groupings, will that hurt my child’s chances of admission. Mark answers this as well as two other questions about reading applications by school groupings.   (01:12:04) Our interview is with best-selling author and financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz on the topic, How and when you should appeal for more money if your financial aid award doesn’t meet your needs. Mark Kantrowitz has served in many impressive roles over the last three decades but he currently is the VP of Research and the Publisher of the website, “savingforcollege.com”   In part 1 of our interview, Mark explains his background and he explains where his passion for scholarships and financial aid comes from Mark explains what special circumstances are Mark explains why colleges that charge a lot more are often the ones who are more willing to adjust their aid award Mark talks about some of the expenses that are unlikely to be grounds for a successful appeal for more money Mark talks about the difference between the FAFSA and the PROFILE and how this impacts the aid award a family receives   (01:29:23) Mark’s recommended resource of the week is by Tim Elmore (01:41:23) College spotlight: Temple University:   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful! We are excited to give our listeners a chance to play a role in shaping what topics we discuss, as well as what guests we have on our podcast. You can let your voice be heard by completing this survey. Just put the following link in your browser and give us your honest feedback. We thank you in advance. Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy go to Amazon and click:   If you want to place a bulk order, you will save money by purchasing this book at 171answers.com. Every penny goes to The Atlanta Mission, a Christian organization that helps over 1000 homeless residents every day.  If you want to see what future episodes will discuss in the book chapter section,  just go to 171answers.com and then click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers"