Guest Profile

Ben Kaplan

Ben Kaplan is one of the nation's leading experts on college scholarships, admissions, financial aid, student loans, educational savings, student success, and youth personal growth topics. He directs the Ben Kaplan Center for Educational Opportunity and has authored 12 best-selling books and CDs, including How to Go to College Almost for Free HarperCollins Publishers, the leading book in the genre with more than 350,000 copies in print.

Kaplan also writes the popular Live 'n' Learn newspaper column, a weekly education column that shows readers of every age how to maximize both traditional and unexpected learning opportunities at school, home, work, and in everyday life. Ben's column is syndicated to leading newspapers and magazines nationwide.

Kaplan became a college funding and student success expert in part from personal experience: As a high school student, he won more than two dozen college scholarships worth 90,000, enough to cover virtually the entire cost of his Harvard education.

Now age 30 and a regular guest expert for leading media outlets, he has written columns for major publications such as The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and Time. Among other awards and honors, Kaplan was selected as the "Top Student Leader in America" by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon.