Expert FAFSA Guidance and Financial Aid Strategies to Make College More Affordable

It depends on what costs are already covered. On average, college students spend $3,016 per month on living expenses, including housing, food, and other personal costs. If housing is already covered, $500 may be enough to cover food (off a meal plan), but you may be limited in how often you can eat out.

Most companies also offer package deals, which provide extensive support throughout the entire application process, that can range from a few thousand dollars to over $10,000. While hiring a college counselor is a significant investment, many families find the guidance and support worth the price.

Most students find Junior Year to be the hardest due to intense, upper-level coursework in their major, combined with significant pressure from internships, career planning, and looming graduate school applications, creating a peak stress point before senior year's "senioritis" sets in. However, some find Freshman Year toughest due to the massive transition from high school, managing new independence, academics, and social life

The "easiest" year of college is subjective, but many students find the freshman and sophomore years easier academically because they typically involve general education requirements that are less specialized than upper-level major courses. However, these early years can be challenging due to the difficult adjustment to a new environment, a faster academic pace, and learning to manage new independence. The difficulty is highly dependent on the individual student and their chosen major.

Organic Chemistry has gained a notorious reputation among college courses, often regarded as one of the most challenging classes. The complexity of its content includes a heavy emphasis on memorization and understanding intricate reactions and mechanisms.

Architecture. Architecture is known as one of the degrees that leads to the highest mental burnout due to its intense studio culture, long working hours, and demanding design expectations. Students often spend nights completing models, drawings, and critiques, which can lead to stress and exhaustion

The fastest degrees to get are typically in fields like Communications, Business Administration, IT, or Healthcare, often through accelerated online programs or by leveraging prior learning/exams (CLEP), allowing students to finish an associate degree in under a year or a bachelor's in 2-3 years by taking year-round, intensive courses or self-paced formats. Western Governors University (WGU) and universities like Arizona State (ASU) or Colorado State Global offer programs that can be completed much faster than traditional schedules.

Journalism is frequently cited as the most regretted college degree, with surveys showing high percentages (around 87%) of graduates wishing they'd chosen differently, largely due to poor job prospects and low earnings compared to STEM/business fields. Other highly regretted majors often include Sociology, Liberal Arts, Communications, and Education, while quantitative fields like Computer Science and Engineering are among the least regretted, according to a major ZipRecruiter survey.

There's no single lowest GPA; it varies, but many colleges accept GPAs around 2.0 (a C average) or slightly above, especially less selective schools, community colleges, or online programs like Purdue University Global or WGU. However, highly selective universities often require 3.5+, while some schools offer conditional admission or have no minimum requirement, focusing on other factors like essays, activities, or specific programs.