2. Topics of importance category archive
Have you heard about our money saving “Dry Run”? 0
I wish I heard about you sooner is not an uncommon response after I explain what we do. I expected that at least two of the colleges my daughter had her heart set on would give her more financial aid. Every year, several families come to us because they heard from someone that we can help them get more money from the top choice colleges to which their child has been accepted.
Quite often we can, but once the horse has jumped the fence and headed for the hills it is much harder to do. You do not want to be a parent who realizes too late that the cost of four years of college is not possible without borrowing an amount that resembles the cost of a used Rolls Royce.
No matter how often I talk about the importance of our money saving heart attack prevention exercise called the Dry Run (step # 3 in the college planning timeline) there are still families that do not take advantage of it. Of course, it is not the end of the world if the student attends a community college for a couple of years. In fact it could be a good strategy in some instances. But more satisfactory outcomes result with planning that includes an early look at the financial options all families have.
Many families go through the college selection process content not to question the colleges we have financial aid pitch or our average grant package is $33,000. Wide eyed impressionable teenagers are told to “just put your application in and then apply for financial aid. Once you are accepted we will send you a financial aid package.”
All that students hear (and some parents) is what they want to hear. Reality comes knocking at the door too late for many of them. Though the most frugal and financially savvy parents have saved enough to cover the first year or two, it often does not cover all four or dare I say, five or six. To do that is very difficult without a steady source of extra income coming into the household. (By the way, we do have a solution for that too. Read the last paragraph here; then give us a call.)
In the meantime, if you have a student still in high school with college aspirations, NOW, not later, is the time to call to complete a Dry Run. It does not matter if the college list hasn’t been started yet either. We can suggest appropriate colleges.
Searching for that Perfect College? 0
The perfect college doesn’t exist. Almost any college, whether it’s an Ivy or a local community college, can be the foundation for productive and enjoyable college years. Every student’s experience has its ups and downs. Your parents may know what I mean. With colleges putting so much effort into diversification in recent years, few students fit the cookie-cutter images that proliferate in college view books.
Like with most things in life, college is what you make of it. If you are determined to study hard and find your social niche, you will probably be happy no matter what school you attend. However, that does not mean you can just throw darts at a map listing all colleges coast to coast. But it is always fun to put a pin on our office wall map when a student matriculates to a college he or she never knew existed until they went through the process I describe below. With hundreds of colleges to choose from, there will be some that fit better than others. But I have found that many students start the process without paying much attention to the purpose of going to college in the first place.
Fortunately, that can be easily rectified with some self-assessment by the student. In other words, you start the process with a careful look at yourself, not with a list of colleges. It is your own honest assessment of your academic profile, interests, learning style, and natural strengths that is central to finding a good fit college.
Most students start their lists, not only by listing well-known schools but the most competitive first. It is a faulty strategy. Before you start poring over view books and catalogs from colleges, you want to examine yourself as a person and as a student. Such an appraisal will yield data about yourself that will allow you to move forward with confidence.
So, once that is all done you can consider other things, like location, total enrollment, male to female ratio, and athletics. Do you want a college within easy driving distance to home or across the country? Many students feel both callings at one time and another. Going to a college in the same state can still provide the independence and freedom students crave if they don’t commute. If you do not plan to be going home often, however, beware of the suitcase school, where the majority of students are locals who split the campus on the weekends.
The current health care concerns based on a “novel” strain of the common Coronavirus called Covid 19 has many people concerned about how far away from home to go college. However, if you are willing to go over 300 miles from home, your pool of prospective schools will grow significantly, not to mention chances of admission may be enhanced as well. That is, if you show some genuine measure of demonstrated interest.
By the way, do NOT dismiss a college without doing your AAA due diligence simply because it has fewer students than your high school. In college, you will likely have peers from all over the country and many countries, unlike your little community of students whom you have known most of your life. It is a big world and your journey has just begun. No better place to do it than within a community where you can learn from both professors as well as fellow undergrads that come from different parts of the globe. Each of you can share ideas and experiences that will be mutually beneficial.
Mistakes to Avoid 0
Ten Ways to Ruin Your College Acceptance Chances
By Jay Mathews
Washington Post Staff Writer
October 1
With just a month before the deadline for early action and early decision applications to many colleges, I offer these examples of wrong-headedness in the admissions process. Many were sent to me by Joseph M. Connolly, a guidance counselor at New Oxford High School in New Oxford, Pa., who has seen much on the job and in postings from counselors and admissions officers to the National Association for College Admission Counseling Web site. Members of my Washington Post discussion group Admissions 101 also contributed.
Remember, these are things you should NOT do.
1. Rack up as many extra points as you can for “expressed interest” in your favorite colleges. This particular obsession was new to me. Connolly has encountered applicants who have inundated admissions offices with voicemails, e-mails and snail mail because they have heard that colleges want concrete indications of interest and don’t think you can overdo it. Believe me, you can. “There is a fine line between showing adequate interest in the school and stalking,” Connolly said. “Unsolicited cakes, pies, cookies, sneakers (the old ‘one foot in the door’ trick), a life-sized statue of you holding an acceptance letter, or a painstakingly detailed scale model of the campus clock tower will not make up for a lackluster academic record.” When colleges look for “expressed interest,” that means they hope that you will show up when their college reps visit your school, that you will visit their campuses and sign the visitor logs in their admissions offices and that you will get your application in on time with no loose ends. If you have a legitimate question, they are happy to receive your e-mail or telephone call. Doing more than that just makes you look desperate, and a little scary. (Ed note: This is how to show interest.) Read more »