4. Past PFE Posts category archive

It was inevitable. Computer technology is here to stay. I remember in 1994 when one of my students said Mr. Goodhart, you should get on the Internet, there is a lot of great information about colleges on it. This revelation may come as a surprise to any of our students who were born after 1994. They never had the pleasure of working a slide rule in their advanced math classes.

But after a few years, I saw a need to help students understand college websites. They were spending an inordinate amount of time on the site, but coming away with little substantive knowledge about the college. Therefore, I designed an efficient AAA method to do one’s due diligence. When done properly the student should know the important aspects of each college’s particular offerings and ethos. I like to hear students say that it was almost a deja  vu experience once they arrived at the college for the first time.

The winter is a good time to plan ahead for college visits. Spring is the best time for juniors to visit a few colleges while classes are still in session. That is, after applying the AAA method. I will never forget one college admissions officer describe her experience. She drove her daughter 357 miles to tour Lehigh University. The young scholar would not even get out of the car! Why not? asked the seasoned admissions officer (aka mom).  I am not going to a college where I have to hike up a mountain every day!

No exaggeration. Now you know. Even college admissions officers have kids. Plus, they too can be tripped up occasionally during the planning process. Now with the current edicts in force because of the current pandemic, (remember this one?), it is even more important. The AAA method (in the second paragraph above) will provide the answers, even to questions not asked, ahead of time and smooth your journey. Go ahead and download it to your desktop now.

The majority of college-bound students do it the wrong way. Is your student in the majority? Fall is college application time for seniors. The Class of 2018 is one of the largest most competitive high school class in American history. High school seniors around the country are applying to their Dream Schools.

Every year the following scenarios are played out by countless ambitious students everywhere.

SCENARIO ONE: The first is when a student falls in love with a single college but his academic profile is in the lower 50% of the applicant pool. It could be a college that historically has less than a 10% acceptance rate or as high as 40%. He applies in one of the early application programs (ED, ED 1, ED 2, SCEA or EA) thinking he will have a better chance of admittance. It is his “dream school” and, while he may grudgingly add a few more colleges to a list to satisfy a nervous parent, he never really looks beyond that “dream school”. Until, of course, the rejection letter arrives in December. Because his focus and enthusiasm were wrapped up in his dream school, he did not pay much attention to the requirements (download the AAA method at that link) of his other colleges. Some of which had January regular application (RA) deadlines, none of which he is prepared to meet.

SCENARIO TWO: This is more common. As above, the student may have what I call brand name paralysis and builds a list solely of “BNP schools.” These are schools like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UC Berkeley and Pomona where the acceptance rate is so ridiculously low that no matter how good your grades and test scores are, getting in is never a sure bet. Unfortunately, like the “dream school” students, they too are often disappointed. Likely they have been told by parents, teachers, or a guidance counselor that they are excellent prospects for these schools because they are so unique and special. So, they never really look seriously beyond those “lottery schools”…until, of course, the rejection letters start coming in the mail in the spring.

Because of the huge increase in student applications, some of the top students are even being rejected by their safety schools . (Colleges do not want to be thought of as safeties, so they are sending a message basically saying we want you only if you want us.) Talk about humble pie!

These two scenarios illustrate why I believe that college planning should start with an honest; realistic self-assessment. This means taking a critical look at the student’s academic statistics, interests, learning style, and personality.

Obviously, financial issues are important too. You can learn how to minimize student (and parent) debt here.

In other words, begin the college search by identifying several schools where the student has a good chance for acceptance and, more importantly, where he/she would be happy to spend a few years. These are the schools where the student’s academic profile places him or her in the top 25% of the accepted student pool. Once students genuinely appreciate (if not love) at least one safety school, they can safely move on to more selective schools and, yes, even some of the aforementioned most competitive colleges.

Dear Class of 2022 and beyond, 

One of the most popular humor magazines, when I was in high school, was MAD magazine. Are you familiar with it? Staring out on each issue’s cover was the silly looking young man on the left. He was Alfred E. Neuman with his perpetual gaped tooth grin and his now universally known exclamation “What! me worry?” It was a timeless teenage sentiment. Can you identify with that? If you have completed your sophomore year, congratulations, you are now a high school junior ~ the largest; most competitive college-bound class in American history! Do not worry.

But do pay attention. You may now be in the same place I was way back when. Perhaps you are fifteen or sixteen years old with vague college aspirations? You may not have any specific reason to go to college other than it is the expected thing to do, and/or everyone else is doing it. Well, not everyone is planning on college and some of your classmates will probably not go to college. That is, not a four year liberal arts college. They may want to get technical training education or some sort of certification, however.

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      One of the many acronyms that college bound students encounter is COA or cost of attendance. It constantly amazes me when media only talks about tuition costs” when they run stories about colleges. What they should do is include the fees, room and board and personal expenses to that figure. That will often bring the COA up another $18,000 or more.

Private colleges that use federal money in their financial aid packages are generally running about $55,000 to $65,000 per year soup to nuts. With the exception of about 50 so-called elite colleges, most offer merit money to highly qualified students or meet the criteria for those scholarships. Admittedly, a good 50% of private colleges and out of state public’s simply offer tuition discounts in the guise of scholarships simply to get students to commit.

Having said that, I have had many students graduate in four years from fine private colleges at less cost than they would have paid at a state university where the latter would be offering only student loans. For many middle income families state schools often create the largest financial burden to a family despite the lowest published cost.

In addition, due to the ever increasing strategy of financial aid leveraging and preferential packaging, an applicant’s academic profile will greatly effect how much grant or scholarship aid he or she will get. While not used by all colleges, these practices will negatively impact the aid a student who is in the lower quarter of the applicant pool. That is why I place a great deal of emphasis on researching the current class profile or common data set to measure where the student may fit in that demographic.

  In other words, if two colleges have similar costs of attendance, a student may be offered entirely different financial aid packages should one of the colleges be using leveraged analysis or preferential packaging. Unless, you do a money saving Dry Run with us or someone else who is familiar with the financial aid practices at many colleges, you will seldom know which college is offering the best value from a financial standpoint. Even now with the required Net Cost Calculator on college websites, you still won’t know the true bottom line cost of that college until one week following the student’s acceptance.

 The differences outlined above can be as large as $15,000 a year or more.  These differences are often masked by confusing itemized costs. That is why we encourage all families to include a realistic money-saving Dry Run step in their college planning. If you have not done that yet, then what are you waiting for? Do not repeat the experience that this parent had.

If you were to ask a random group of kids Name three competitive colleges, most would reel off Harvard, Yale and Princeton without any hesitation. In fact HYP has practically become an acronym for any brand name college. It is at this time of year that the mail box gets the most attention. Especially if the college bound senior has applied to the most competitive colleges in the country.

With all the attention given to magazine rankings, colleges that are on the top of the list are often the only ones bright high school students think of when developing his or her initial list. I smile inwardly when I realize (after a few minutes of conversation) that a family has what I call Brand Name Paralysis or BNP.

It is a neurological disorder, but not a serious one. However, not treated, it could result in unnecessary stress, abdominal pain and a depleted investment account. Of course, I am joking kind of.  Treatment is painless but does call for the patient to have an open mind and a modest ability to think outside the box. Review our college planning timeline to understand how we do this.

In our offices we have large maps showing the colleges in all 50 states and Canada. We have placed pins into the colleges so that families can see where other students we have guided have matriculated. It is great fun to place a pin on a college name that a student (or parent) has never heard of prior to meeting with us. Two such examples would be the college to the right and in the upper left of this page. Can you tell me the names of those colleges?

One is in Pennsylvania and the other is in California. In both instances students have received wonderful educations without any debt, yes ZERO! But there is more to it, much more. All of which we can cover in a complimentary get acquainted consultation. We look forward to sharing more with you.  Call (978) 820-1295.

Many high school seniors have heard back from some of the colleges to which they applied. The most competitive colleges will be sending out their letters no later than April 1. All students (and parents) will then have thirty days to make their final college decision.  

If you are a client be sure to FAX both your acceptance letters and subsequent financial aid letters to us as they come in. We will then help you make your decisions based on both academic and financial criteria.  If you have done a Dry Run earlier in the process, we will update the numbers.

Unfortunately, every year I hear about families who experienced something like this family did. There are many uncertainties in our world, but this does not have to be one of them. If you have college aspirations, take the time to discuss the options in paying for college as a family unit. In fact, call us to learn how thousands of families are paying for college from income alone, and not borrowing a nickel.  

Attention juniors and sophomores. Two other spring rites are for you. If you have a list of possible colleges (and you should) try to do some college visits while classes are still in session. If some of the colleges on your list are too far away, they may be coming to you!

March, April, and May is ‘College Fair’ time. Check the National Association of College Admission Counselor site here for the date, time and location near you! There are several college fairs coming up in many states.  For instance, Anaheim, CA is on April 22, 2018. 

Some of the so-called Elite colleges do not participate in such marketing efforts but check each college website for their travel plans. In addition, you should also check out the location for the group of 40 colleges that have been identified by the late Loren Pope in his popular tome, Colleges That Change Lives.  

The second spring rite is actually a four-season ritual. Yes, I am referring to the ubiquitous standardized tests. There are a plethora of ways to prepare including no preparation at all. But if you are looking at possible merit scholarships or very competitive colleges, then you should prepare. Would you compete in your favorite sport without practicing?  

But if you want to practice with unequivocally the best test prep yet, we can help. Take the demo here with 30 practice questions. For the PSAT, SAT, ACT and Math II tests, I believe there is NO better way to prepare outside of individual tutors like Kris Fox, Ann Turner or Jan LeClair. Each has been part of the PFE team for years. 

If you have any questions, I look forward to answering them for you.

Best wishes for college success and beyond.

Eric