Summer is here, even though as I write this there are still a few calendar days to go until the official start-of-summer day. Summer is the time to get serious about college admissions, so I want to give you some important information about the various aspects of what it takes to manage what can seem to be a complex and confusing process.

Don’t feel bombarded by all of this, though. Granted, things can seem overwhelming, but the last thing I want you to feel is anxiety. Take it seriously but–please–don’t let it drive you to distraction, and, of course, be sure to allow plenty of time to enjoy your summer.

The purpose of my article today is to give you some important general information about resources that can help you throughout your college process.

So, here are a few things you should do right away:  Read the rest of this entry »

As financial aid letters trickle down from college acceptances all across the nation, students and families begin to see how colleges help with paying for those sky-high fees. There are those wonderful outright grants, which mean that there is no requirement to repay them. They are a gift, free and clear. Some grants are quite significant, depending on a family’s demonstrated need, as assessed by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), CSS Profile (CSS = College Scholarship Service), and sometimes the college’s own specific financial aid form. Grants can also be considered as a “discount” off of the so-called “sticker price” of college costs.

Then there are the pure scholarships, which are usually awarded based on merit. That means that a college looks at an accepted student’s overall profile, especially academics, and decides how much merit money they would like to offer the student in order to encourage the applicant to enroll. Merit scholarships (sometimes referred to as merit “awards”) can be big. Some colleges award what they refer to as their Presidential Scholarship, which is generally their most prestigious award. It is usually a renewable award, contingent on continued excellent academic performance. Then there are the “weird” scholarships.

I refer to them as weird because they require an odd assortment of applicant qualities in order to qualify for consideration. I found a good review of some of these unique scholarships in an article from TheBestCollege.org site. 15 Of The Weirdest Scholarships In America tells of some truly odd aid awards that are worth noting, even if just out of curiosity. Let’s take a look at some, just for fun.  Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate February as National Financial Aid Awareness Month, the College Board has put together some helpful resources for students to obtain financial aid. This is crucial information that comes at a crucial juncture in the college admissions process.

I can remember our family’s first pass through the FAFSA, other financial aid forms, and all the other details of the financial aid process. We were like babes in the woods, trying with all our might to do the right thing and avoid doing anything that could even remotely screw up our chances to maximize help with college expenses. It was an intense time.

Looking back, I always considered doing all those financial aid forms every year for our two children very similar to doing long-form income taxes.  So, since our son and daughter were in college eight out of nine consecutive years, I had to do not only my long-form personal taxes every one of those eight years but also the FAFSA, CSS Profile, and our children’s private colleges’ own financial aid forms. Thus, when I heard the greeting, “Happy New Year” during those times, I knew what was on the immediate horizon for me.

That’s why I was happy to see the following information come through from the College Board. They have graciously allowed me to post this eight-point checklist for you parents who are facing the FAFSA these days. This wisdom comes from  Susan McCrackin. Here’s what she says:

It’s time.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is how millions of students apply for federal, state and most college-based financial aid. And because government grants compose 74 percent of this $185 billion pool, it’s understandable for families to feel anxious when filling out the FAFSA.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Susan McCrackin, Senior Director Financial Aid Methodology at the College Board, offers this eight-step map to help parents and students work through the FAFSA as efficiently and effectively as possible.

1.    Gather Your Documents

It is much easier to fill out the FAFSA if you have all the needed forms in hand before you start. Here’s a list of documents to get you going. You should also get a U.S. Department of Education personal identification number (PIN.) Here’s the PIN application link. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a high school senior applying to college, the closer you get to the end of the year, the closer you’ll be getting to the realities of paying for that college in which you finally enroll, mainly wrestling with the financial aid process. That process of finding out about and managing your way through the financial aid maze can seem long and frustrating. I’m addressing some of the basics here to try to help you not only prepare yourself for what lies ahead but also to make you aware of the requirements and resources.

You should show this post to your parents, too, since you will probably need their help answering the questions, and this may also give them an introduction to how the financial aid process works, if they’re not familiar with it yet.

Sometimes students are admitted to a dream college but then forced to turn the offer down due to finances. Believe it or not, those of you who come from low-income homes could be in better shape than many of your friends from middle- or higher-income brackets.

Why? Because the snazziest and most expensive colleges tend to be those with the most money to give away, but often these funds are earmarked for students from low-income families. While many colleges do have good “merit-aid” awards that go to all top candidates regardless of household income, sometimes the best financial aid (at least at the more prestigious colleges) is the “need-based” aid that goes to less advantaged applicants.

Living in a big city can be a disadvantage, though. Household incomes that might be considered “middle class” or below in, say, New York City would be higher incomes in other parts of the country. While colleges do take your cost-of-living into consideration to some extent, you don’t really get the credit you deserve coming from a major metropolitan area. In other words, you may not receive as much financial aid from some colleges as you think you will need in order to enroll.

As you embark on your college process, don’t use finances as a key criteria in selecting target schools … at least not just yet. BUT … I do realize that eventually money may play a starring role in your final choices. So, what you should do now is sit down with a parent (or parents) and ask them to be as frank as possible with you about college costs.

Many parents balk at the idea of talking about money with their children, so don’t force the issue. However, it would be very useful for you to know how much your parents think that they would be able (and willing) to pay each year towards your college costs. So here is the first question: Read the rest of this entry »

Here we go again. Every year, various publications come out with their “rankings.” You’ll see biggest party schools, top-ranked universities and liberal arts colleges, best food (I mentioned those schools a while ago), best teachers, best grad programs, most expensive, most beautiful campuses, etc., etc. You’ll even get the flip side with all those “worst” lists. Maybe someday someone will come out with best (and worst) “Best” and “Worst” list rankings. In my humble view, it’s all about selling magazines and creating Web traffic. Print publications are hurting these days, so maybe eventually all these lists will be only online. Who knows?

Anyway, today’s post is about Kiplinger’s annual Best College Values. In these days of economic hardship here in our nation, there is a need for some kind of reasonably objective evaluation of which colleges offer families the best value for their hard-earned dollars. The big turnoff for many parents and high school students is sometimes the so-called “sticker price” of a college.  That term refers to the non-discounted total of tuition, room and board, and student fees, which is lumped together under the term “annual student budget.” These numbers, which do not include any financial aid relief, can be shocking.

Take for example Columbia University (Kiplinger’s #5 Best Value). Columbia lists its “Total Annual Cost” as $60,298. Yikes. And that doesn’t include everyday ancillary costs of living in New York City. Four years at that rate will cost you nearly a quarter-million dollars. BUT (and this is the point, dear readers) unless you don’t qualify for any financial aid, you likely won’t have to pay anywhere near that amount, if you’re so blessed to get into this exceedingly competitive institution. That’s the “best value” point of Kiplinger’s listing.

As if the whole college admissions process isn’t daunting enough, trying to balance the issues of college preference and selection with the ability to pay can be maddening. To help with this challenge is Kiplinger’s mission with its “Best Values” approach.

When you go to their listings, take a moment and read their rationale before scanning the schools. This will help you understand why, for example, Columbia’s “Average Net Cost” (the amount that, on average, many students pay after financial aid is factored in) is an amazing $21,223. Far from that nasty sticker price, huh?

Anyway, here are some highlights from Kiplinger’s Best Values list. Read the rest of this entry »

I was looking through my personal library the other day and found an old paperback that I had purchased when I was in high school (back around the time that the earth was still cooling from its formation). It was called How to Be Accepted by the College of Your Choice (Completely Revised 1961-1962 Edition), by Benjamin Fine. The cover blurbs proclaim “As many as nine out of ten applicants are rejected by the colleges of their first choice.” Things were tough even in 1960 for Ivy League and other selective school applicants. “The bestselling [sic] book in its field!” It may well have been one of the only books in its field back then, very unlike today. Also, “231 splendid colleges seeking applicants!” “Splendid”? ‘Gotta love those exclamation points. And let’s not forget “A Special Bonus Section showing for the first time how your application will be judged against others by nearly 1,000 accredited colleges in the U.S.A.” I’m wondering why I would want my application to be judged by nearly 1,000 accredited colleges. Time to call in Strunk and White.

The amazing thing about finding this book is looking at the costs of top colleges back in the Dark Ages. A quick tour of the table of contents reveals a book not all that different from those of the same genre today. We find chapters on high school grades, the SAT, ACT, high school curricula, extracurriculars, recommendations, college visits, applications, an in-depth college profile (Connecticut College), money matters, and an application timetable. The usual fare.

The amazing thing is that costs since the early ’60s have risen in the thousands of percents. It’s almost impossible to believe.

So, I got to thinking about this and contacted my buddies over at Money Crashers to see if they could give me any tips that I could pass along to you about-to-be and current college students (and your parents) about how to reduce the damage of today’s college costs. In a flash, I had this great article, Why Is College So Expensive and What Can You Do About It? Here it is:  Read the rest of this entry »

The tide of simple and cost-efficient college life is going out. Fast.

Remember Gordon Gekko? Remember his signature line from the movie Wall Street? “Greed is good!” Well, his affirmation has manifested itself in almost a thousand colleges throughout the land when it comes to forcing their students to conform to their procedure for accessing not only financial aid money but also other cash. The prime reason for this is the infamous bank card, or, as it’s known in more common parlance, the debit card.

In a nutshell, what’s happening is that colleges have signed agreements with banks (a.k.a. “integrated financial aid disbursement services”), most notably Higher One, and now channel financial aid funds to student through bank cards that, according to reliable sources, are loaded with fees, thus making plenty of money for the banks (sorry, I meant integrated financial aid disbursement services) and the colleges. As if the colleges haven’t already stacked the deck hugely in their own favor against students and families.

To get a better understanding of how this may affect your prospective or current college student (or yourself, if you happen to be a college student), check out this article, which explains the details of this somewhat overlooked consequence of today’s college life. Here are some excerpted highlights followed by some apt comments from the College Confidential discussion forum. Read the rest of this entry »

The two most prominent prongs of the college admissions process today appear to be (1) What’s the best college for me? and (2) How can I afford it? Finding the answer to #1 is easier than solving #2 these days. Why is that?

Well, first, finding the “best” college is usually a combination of mechanics and intuition. The mechanical part comprises articulating your basic (or even detailed) requirements, such as location, size, weather, curricula offered, graduation rates, retention rates, diversity, and so forth. The intuition factor emerges during campus visits. That’s when you look to your gut and ask, “Can I see myself here?” Finding the right college is essentially a shopping adventure, knowing what you want and then going out and taking schools for a kind of test drive.

Figuring out how to pay for that best college is a whole ‘nother matter, as they say ’round these here parts. The challenge comes by trying to figure out how much money that ideal school will be willing to give you in financial aid. The “hidden” challenge comes when you finally receive that school’s offer of aid. How can you tell a good offer from an offer that will put you in debt for years, if not decades to come? That issue brings us to the point of this article: Why are college financial aid package letters so treacherous and confusing? Read the rest of this entry »

How did the college application process go for you this year? Did you get a nice pile of acceptances along with a few disappointments? That’s the usual outcome for the overwhelming majority of high school seniors who applied to college this year and most other years. However, there is a possibility that things might not have turned out so well for you. For example, if you didn’t allow for the increasing competitiveness of the higher-ranked schools, you may have applied to too many “reach” schools and got shut out. On the other hand, maybe you had good acceptance success but your financial aid packages were either deficient or loaded with too many loans (or both).

Well, there’s still hope for those of you who are sweating it out: The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC’s) Space Availability Survey Results 2012. Here’s what it can do for you:

Openings for Qualified Students

Search by state/country for NACAC-member colleges and universities that are still accepting applications for Fall 2012 freshman and/or transfer admission. Then click on the “Contact Info” link if you would like more information from the college/university about how to apply. Many colleges are added to the list after the initial May 2 deadline, so be sure the check back.

Also, there is a very helpful Fact Sheet that interestingly notes . . . Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve touched on this topic before, but the situation continues to get worse. Now, even the major mainstream media are becoming involved. Here’s Lawrence T. Lesick, vice president for enrollment management at Ohio Northern University, quoted in no less a source than the May 14, 2012 New York Times: “We know the model is not sustainable. Schools are going to have to show the value proposition. Those that don’t aren’t going to be around.” What he’s talking about is the ceaseless escalation of college costs — tuition, room, board, associated student fees, and (by implication) the increasing portion of “financial aid” that comprises student loans.

If you are a rising high school junior or the parent of a high schooler heading for a traditional four-year (if you’re lucky enough to be able to graduate in four years) college education, then this is crucial information for you. There’s an important article that addresses this issue. It’s entitled ominously: These Are The Colleges That Will Be Screwed When The Student Loan Bubble Pops and is written by Larry Doyle. I bring it to your attention in order to, as they kept telling Cool Hand Luke, “get your mind right.”

Pay attention, class! The financial future you preserve could be your own. Here are some highlights from Doyle’s article: Read the rest of this entry »