Smart College Alternative: Online with Western Governors University

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wgu online college owl mascot

I like college. In fact, I have a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from UCSD, a Masters in Education from Purdue University and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore, Merrick School of Business. You can glean that from my LinkedIn profile, but what few people know is that I earned my MBA through the Merrick online program, completing the first year while we were wrapping up our life in California and…Read More

Back to College Starts with Walmart’s Best Plans

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nokia lumia 521 with the walmart family plan - a perfect addition to a back-to-college gift bag

If you’re a diligent reader of this blog, you’ll be saying “hey, wait a sec! your oldest is in 12th grade, not college! what the deuce are you talking about with back to college?” And you’d be spot on. I’m writing about the cheapest wireless plans, perfect for families — or students! — on a tight budget. The phone of choice: The slick Nokia Lumia 521, available at your local Walmart for a bargain $49.88….Read More

College Road Trip, Last Installment: Cal Poly, UCSB, and UCSD

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UCSD Library

In the last few days we hit the last batch of colleges, from Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara to Pepperdine, ending with UC San Diego. The journey’s been quite fun – California has a beautiful coast and I love the beach communities – and it’s been enhanced by the C-MAX Hybrid that Ford loaned us for the drive. In fact, I turned that back in to them yesterday and we were both sad to see it…Read More

College Road Trip: Days 2 & 3

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Hearst Castle

We made it to UC Santa Cruz, and enjoyed our tour, but subsequent we had a day off on the agenda, a day to enjoy Monterey. In fact, we stayed two nights in Monterey, so that the day we hit the Monterey Bay Aquarium we wouldn’t have to worry about getting back in the car and driving anywhere. No worries. And have I mentioned how much we love Monterey Bay? We stayed a few miles…Read More

College Road Trip: Day 1 – UC Santa Cruz

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Monterey Bay from UCSC

We flew into San Jose, California yesterday to a lovely spring afternoon and started by figuring out how to pick up the car that Ford’s loaned us for the trip, a C-MAX Hybrid. In an ironic twist, it’s the same color, “Candy Blue”, as a photo I posted a few days ago on Facebook showing the vehicle. It’s a really bright blue. In fact, when we saw it my 16yo A- immediately fell in love….Read More

Poised and ready for The Big College Road Trip

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California beach view

After discussing it for months and months, tomorrow my 16yo daughter A- and I are flying out to San Jose, CA and driving down the famed Pacific Coast Highway (aka “Highway 1”) from Santa Cruz to San Diego, visiting colleges along the way. She’s just finished up 10th grade, so my goal with the trip is a) to have fun and b) to have her step foot on a variety of different college campuses so…Read More

Making Smart Decisions as a College Freshman

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I was given the opportunity to watch the made-for-TV movie Game of Your Life prior to it being shown on NBC on Friday, Dec 2 as part of NBC’s Family Movie Night series and was surprised and impressed with the storyline and production. The film takes place during freshmen year at the obviously fictional Digital Institute of Game Design and centers around likable Zach Taylor (Titus Makin Jr.). Enthusiastic about his new college life, Zach joins…Read More

Do you have a college trust set up for your kids?

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My children are young still, but I’ve been thinking about college expenses for many years now, wanting to both stash some money away each year to help me from panicking if one of them says “hey, Dad, I’ve been accepted into Harvard!” or “Yes, Dad, the London School of Economics looks like my best bet.” Each of which will be inevitably followed by… “You can pay for me to go there, right, Daddy-ums?” What I…Read More