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  • collegepete 10:45 pm on October 20, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Why is Bright Futures’ Future Not Making Headlines? 

    I think Florida Bright Futures is toast.  At least in its current form as a state-funded merit scholarship program.

    This is just my opinion.  After reading my comments below, you may reach a very different conclusion about the goals, strategy and future of Bright Futures.  That’s ok..  I’m just glad we’re having the conversation.

    Much earlier today I read two stories about our state university system in the Herald.   Neither mentioned the Bright Futures Sholarship program.   Both should have, and it’s been annoying me all day.

    First the article:  Gov. Scott wants to know why our public universities keep raising tuition prices, but turning out students who do not have the skills to fill what our workplace actually needs.  Where did all the scientists and engineers go?  In a rebuttal column, Fred Grimm editorializes in favor of the softer studies and details some of the potential consequences of eliminating academic programs solely on the basis of  employer demand.  Though Grimm had his tongue at least partly in cheek, there is a real and growing gap between what America’s employers need and what our college students are learning.  Consider this: We’re setting new records in the number of students earning college degrees and in unemployment, BUT  there’s mounting evidence that some types of jobs stay open forever.   Bet you can guess which ones…

    The irony is that Florida was ahead of this problem.  When the state legislature passed the Bright Futures Scholarship Program in 1997, the hope was that more of Florida’s best high school graduates would stay in state and that the number of students graduating with highly sought science, technology, engineering and math (STEM disciplines) degrees would increase.  We were half right.   More than 150,000 students have received Bright Futures awards and our state university enrollment has indeed soared.   But enrollment in STEM fields?  That’s actually gone down in percentage terms!  One plausible explanation — our students are taking easier classes to make sure that they maintain the GPA requirements to re-qualify for the award.

    And not for nothing, the legislature just made those requirements a lot tougher.

    So even if they didn’t write about it today, the writing is on the wall.  It’s a widely held (and statistically measurable) belief that a properly educated, high-tech workforce can jumpstart a lagging economy.  A steady pipeline of skilled technical employees keep and attract businesses.  Our students need to become them.  Our schools need to grow them.    So long as Bright Futures remains a merit-based scholarship with GPA and test scores as the sole criterion, students will be discouraged from pursuing this type of difficult STEM study.  This is economically unsustainable.   Since the downturn, Bright Futures future has been tenuous at best.  It is ripe for an immediate overhaul as a subsidy to students pursuing STEM disciplines.  I suspect that it won’t be long before our cash-strapped government reinvents the Bright Futures as the competitive employment tool it was intended as.

    What does this mean for you? Well, it’s just a theory today, but if you’re the parent of a future college bound child, I personally think it unwise to count on this program when considering your funding options.  Bright Futures’ future is anything but assured.  And since your child’s college education is likely to be one of the largest investments you’ll make, and one that will affect not just four years of his/her life, but potentially his next 40,  I’d rather err on the side of caution and consider alternate and more reliable strategies.   Unsure of what those are, you may want to check out one of my workshops.

     

  • collegepete 6:08 pm on July 28, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    A School For Everyone: The College Tour Recap 

    After a long and very hot week touring Notheast colleges, I am thrilled that this message is coming to you from my cozy, air-conditioned office in Weston.  Jill and I toured 4 colleges in 4 days (Cornell, Ithaca College, Skidmore, and Vassar), and yes, we were pretty tired at the end of it.  But it was worth it.  There is simply no substitute to being there, and after meeting with Admissions and Business officers,  I have a few very important pieces of information to share with you regarding how you should be planning for college.

    • There is a great college for every student, and if you map out your admissions and funding strategy together and before your child begins applying, you will greatly improve the odds that s/he will pick and get accepted to schools that you will be able to afford.  Discounting is not a random exercise and it is no longer an afterthought.   Colleges strategically and intentionally use both need-based Aid and merit-based (or non-need based) aid   — though certainly not in equal measure — to induce students to attend their institution.  Without a doubt, the largest source of free money is in need-based aid (more than $150 billion worth – yes, I said billion).  It is a legitimate source of college funding for forgotten middle class families, and choosing schools that offer substantial need-based grants should be a critical component of your admissions strategy.
    • More so than ever, networking and the ‘Little Things’  can move the needle on admittance and funding offers.  Despite technology (or pehabs because of it), standing out today often requires showing up. Get out there and visit colleges!  Schools want to see you and want to know that you want to go there.  Nothing demonstrates interest like your visit to their campus.
    • Students with specialized interests such as Art or Drama should consider liberal arts schools that offer majors or minors in the specialized field.  We saw amazing theater and art programs at places like Skidmore, Ithaca, and Vassar.  At these schools and many like them, you’ll find great students, great professors, small classrooms, and a diverse student body with a wide mix of interests.  Oh, and they are MUCH more generous with financial assistance than any specialty school.
    • Just because a school has a need-aware admissions policy does not mean that it isn’t generous.  A school like Skidmore does not hide the fact that they are need-aware, but if you get admitted then they guarantee they will meet 100% of demonstrated need.  So for the students who do get in, they are awarded handsomely.  Many other schools follow the same principle.
    • And though I hate to admit it, there can be an admissions advantage to applying early decision.  This was confirmed by the officers I met with and by the numbers. However, don’t let your student apply Early Decision unless you are sure you can pay the bill.   If you apply early decision, you are ‘locked in’ and bound to attend that college – you’ll have zero leverage when seeking a tuition discount.  The student, the parents, and the high school guidance counselor must sign a contract and confirm that the Early Decision rules are understood.

    I’ll be elaborating on these and other conclusions, as well as sharing money-saving tips to help families pay the college bill, during my upcoming LIVE webinar on August 9.

    Topics we’ll cover include:

    • Why now EVERYONE, regardless of income, should apply for financial aid without exception
    • Accessing the precious and disappearing grant and scholarship dollars
    • Why it takes students 5+ years, on average, to graduate from college and how you can buck this trend
    • Dollars and Sense – how to successfully overlap your child’s admissions strategy with your ability to pay
    • How some assets can penalize you 5x, whereas other assets don’t count at all
    • How to get admissions officers to fall in love with your student

    If you are the parent of a 10th, 11th, or 12th grader, and you are stressed about the entire college process, from admissions to financing, then you should tune in to this LIVE webinar.  If you are too busy for the webinar, you can catch me in person on August 25 down in Pinecrest.  Click here to register for either event.

    Best,

    Peter

     

  • collegepete 3:04 pm on July 13, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    The End of Subsidized Loans and Grants? 

    How’s this for irony?  Apparently, the same lawmakers engaged in negotiations to reduce our national debt are seriously considering raising that (the debt load) of our most financially vulnerable population –  students (college debt already exceeds consumer debt and will likely reach $1 trillion this year).  Even more ironic, this comes at a time when more than 50% of new jobs created (or saved) will require at least a college degreee –  and at a time when our economy needs more college graduates than ever to stay competitive.

    While there’s no certainty that these proposals will be part of the final debt ceiling compromise, in a report yesterday by popular website The Daily Beast, Congress and the White House both put forward new plans that would slash student aid programs, including the elimination of student loan subsidies and additional cuts to the Pell Grant.  The proposals, which would make students responsible for paying the interest their loans accrue while they’re still enrolled in college, will save the government about $40 billion over the next 10 years (a relative fraction of the total multi-trillion dollar burden), but can cost our kids as much as $14,000 more than they’re currently paying (that’s a lot more to a middle class college grad).

    My take:  We’re essentially legislating the legal transfer of the federal government’s debt to our middle class kids — which in and of itself seems abhorent, but what’s more concerning to me, is that these changes are being considered for the next federal budget (for 2012), which leaves forgotten middle class parents with high school students or kids already in college precious little time to prepare!

    But  I’m a glass half full guy!

    So, while 2011 was officially the most difficult year for college applicants ever, with nearly every school seeing an uptick in the sheer number of applicants, it was also one of the most generous on record.   The discount rate — the difference between the college sticker prices and what students actually pay,  after accounting for financial aid and other non-need inducements — reached an all-time high of 42.4%!   In fact, 88% of first-year, full-time students received some sort of tuition discount from the institution they were attending.

    Higher education is a business – a big business.   There are more than $150 billion worth of potential inducements available to offset the cost of college.  Now more than ever, you need to re-stock the odds in your favor by arming yourself with the facts, and learning the rules of today’s college business.  If you do so, and act accordingly, you will be in a position to send your child to the college s/he wants at a minimized cost that ensures that no one is burdened with the debilitating downward cycle of student debt.

    On August 9th, I’m holding my first ever live Webinar where I’ll be taking your questions  and discussing exactly how these legislative and business changes will affect your college admissions and funding plans.  During the program, I’ll be going beyond the typical one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter advice you may have received, and I’ll teach you what’s really happening with college admissions and funding today.

    Keep in mind that once again colleges will see a record number of applicants this fall, all of whom will be vying for the same slots, precious merit scholarships and disappearing post-recession grants.  Where your child goes to school and equally important, what price they will pay for it —  will not just affect four years of their life, but potentially their next 40 years (or more).

    Want to tip the scales in your favor by understanding exactly how to find, get accepted to and get a discount for college, then you should register for this event.   I have a limited number of lines reserved, so advance registration is a must.

    Best,

    Peter

    p.s. The 5th Annual ‘College Pete College Tour’ officially kicks off on Monday, July 18th.  I’ll be meeting with Admissions Directors and Financial Aid officers at colleges around the country… and blogging about what secrets they share.  Check out my Facebook page for my on-site video blogs.  First stop:  Ithaca, NY.

     

  • collegepete 10:16 am on July 1, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Stanford’s Top 20 

    Summer is a great time to get working on that college essay.  Students often have more difficulty with the essay than any other part of the college application process, including the SAT.  Sure, most student’s hate taking the SAT almost as much as the rest of America hates the Miami Heat, but after 3 hours and 45 minutes the SAT is over, done with, and probably behind you.  The essay, on the other hand, has no time limit.  It’s never really finished, and even when you think it’s finished, there is always another tweak you can make here or there to marginally improve it.  And while the SAT (or its fraternal twin the ACT) is one of the primary components of a student’s application, it’s the Essay that actually provides the ‘texture’ and context that can sway a borderline candidate from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes’!

    The most important part of the essay might just be the opening sentence.  Think about it.  Admissions officers quite literally read thousands of essays, so the opening line had better grab, melt resistance and create enough interest to keep them reading.  That’s a very tall order for one sentence!

    Stanford’s admissions office was recently asked about their favorite opening lines.  Here are my Fave 5 from that list:

    When I was in eighth grade I couldn’t read.

    Cancer tried to defeat me, and it failed.

    I have old hands.

    Some fathers might disapprove of their children handling noxious chemicals in the garage.

    On a hot Hollywood evening, I sat on a bike, sweltering in a winter coat and furry boots.
    These lines get your attention without being ‘gimmicky.’  They keep you interested, and they make you guess and wonder what comes next. By themselves they evoke wonder and passion, surprise and suspense, and we can only assume that they introduce a compelling story. And that’s what makes for an interesting essay – telling a good story.

    There are 17 other openers in the Stanford survey (and tons more from my previous students), all of which I’ll share at my 4th Annual ‘Thick Envelope Magic’ Admissions and Application Boot Camp on July 9.  This day-long event is not just about the opening line of the admissions essay, though an entire class certainly could be.  ‘Thick Envelope’ also covers everything a rising 12th grader needs to know, ask for, do and complete to apply and gain admissions to a great college.  Students who attend will be able to complete (and submit) their college applications before school starts.

    This event is open exclusively to rising 12th graders.  Past attendees gave it rave reviews, and the curriculum has been updated to reflect all of the changes to the process (e.g.,, the essay now has a word limit), and  is even better this year.  If your student is a rising 12th grader and is home for the summer, there is no excuse to miss this event.  You’ll want to register them by clicking here.

    Most college applications can be completed as early as August 1, including the University of Florida.  Give your student a head start and an edge on what can be a stressful application process.  My July event has 14 registered students, so I have room for 6 more.  I look forward to seeing your child there.

     

  • collegepete 1:34 pm on June 15, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Major Legislative Changes To Bright Futures’ Requirements 

    First the changes (then my commentary). 

    1. All students who wish to qualify for a Bright Futures Scholarship MUST complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, even if they aren’t seeking federal financial aid.
    2. Starting with the 2011-12 high school year, graduates will be required to do more community service hours.  To qualify for a Florida Academic Scholars, you will need 100 hours instead of 75 hours, Florida Medallion Scholars will need 75 hours, and Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars will need 30 hours.
    3. Test scores will also change for Florida Medallion Scholars who graduate in the 2013-14 school year. Requirements have gone from 1050 on the SAT to 1170, and from 23 to 26 on the ACT

    You can read more about the new legislative requirements at the official Bright Futures Website.

    Regarding the changes to Bright Futures, my position has been and remains as follows:

    Bright Futures and Florida Pre-paid do not in and of themselves constitute a sound college strategy.  First, admissions to a quality FL State College is not guaranteed.  In fact, college acceptance rates this past year for in-state students were the lowest ever… and you can expect that trend to continue as State University Officials look to out-of-state students to boost their total net tuition revenue.  Second, both programs represent only a very small portion of the financial ‘inducements’ available to students – and with proper and integrated planning – you may find that so-called pricier private options are actually far less expensive and offer better academic preparation than our in-state system.  And finally, no matter which school your child ends up attending, the government will expect you to pay your fair share towards the cost of college.  They call this your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and it is derived from your responses on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  It is the minimum amount of money any school will expect you to pay.  AND most importantly, it is a number that you can ‘manage’ with proper and ADVANCE planning. 

    If you haven’t done a FAFSA – and still expect your child to qualify for a Bright Futures award this school year (or in the future), you should attend my workshop on June 23rd where I will teach you the rules, loopholes, and landmines behind the Title IV Financial Aid Regulations (that are used to determine your EFC).  Know these rules, you win.  Stay in the dark and you could sacrifice thousands of dollars in Bright Futures, not to mention the $150b available in Institutional scholarships and Federal grants that you would have otherwise qualified for.

    I will also show you how to help your child pick other schools that meet his or her academic and social aspirations, AND have the ability to offer you a significant discount.  The difference in the pricing and discounting among similar schools is often substantial and should be the chief driver of your admissions strategy. 

    Anyone who has college-bound or college students at home should attend this class.

    Best Wishes,

    Peter

     

  • collegepete 9:09 pm on May 30, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    $100,000 to Skip College? 

    I read today in the Herald that internet mogul Peter Thiel is paying students to not attend college.  Instead, the Paypal founder and Facebook investor is offering $100,000 in seed money to qualified high school students so that they can pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

    Thiel’s “20 Under 20″ fellowship is designed to take the brightest of today’s young minds and give them the opportunity to put their smarts to work right away so that society can benefit now, rather than have these brainiacs waste their time on a 4-year college vacation.  Or at least that’s the perceived alternative.

    I like what Thiel is doing.  If our best and brightest can take $100K and turn it into millions, more power to them, and hopefully more benefit to the rest of us.  And it’s great that these kids can enjoy the entrepreneurial experience at such a young age, albeit at reduced financial risk of their own.  And this at a time when many of their peers will soon be burdened with thousands of dollars in student debt.

    These “20 under 20″ kids are the exception.  For most kids, the best route to success after high school is to go to college, study hard and earn a bachelor’s degree.  College graduates earn $1.2 million more over their lifetime than those with only a high school degree.  And according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment among college grads is 4.5%, compared to 9.7% for those with no college at all.

    Unfortunately, too many kids view college as 13th grade, an opportunity to party, go to football games, and take road trips in between classes.  I’m all for having fun, I’m a huge football fan, and I love a good road trip.  But our students need to leave home with greater ownership of their goals, academic desires, and even career pursuits. That way, the return on the college investment will be well worth it to them and to their parents.

    As for Thiel’s 20 superstars, I’m curious to see where they are in 4 years.  I hope they succeed and serve as examples of entrepreneurial greatness, the next Gates or Zuckerberg.  The worry, perhaps of their parents or grandparents, is that they fail and will have to fall back on a second or third choice college, because Princeton or Carnegie Mellon won’t want them anymore.  But life should not be lived in fear; if an 18 year old has a chance to pursue a dream, and if a tech mogul is prepared to back it with 100 Large, then go for it.  These kids will have lived, and for this they will surely enjoy success, either now or someday in the future.

     

  • collegepete 1:44 pm on May 10, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Oh, The Thick Envelope! 

    Do you want to receive the ‘Thick Envelope’ in the spring of your student’s 12th grade year?  It’s the Thick Envelope that comes with a letter of admission, along with other forms for housing, orientation, deposits, payment, and perhaps even financial aid.  Often you can determine whether your student is in or out just by looking at the envelope’s thickness.

    For an inside track to receiving the Thick Envelope, do yourself a favor and watch this brief, 10 minute video on Top 7 Insider Admissions Tips.  These are valuable nuggets that you and your student should follow to improve your admissons chances.  I cover these tips and MUCH MORE during my 4th Annual College Pete’s ‘Thick Envelope Magic’ Admissions and Application Boot Camp.

    • This event is for rising 12th graders during the summer before senior year.  Along with these insider tips I also cover
    • The all-important application essay
    • Key strategies on visiting colleges
    • interviewing strategies that make a strong, positive impression
    • The right way to ask for teacher recommendations so that they’ll THANK YOU!
    • Researching and selecting colleges so that you maximize your chances for admission
    • Doing the little things to improve your chances at admission

    Last year’s attendees had the following to say about my event:

    “You actually explained things to me that I’ve never heard from my guidance counselor or anyone else.”  C.H.
    Accepted to: Hope College, Alma College, Muhlenberg College, Denison College, USF, University of Tampa

    “I now know how to prepare for the essay and what to do about the interview process.”  S.R.
    Accepted to/Headed to:     UCF  Full Ride

    “I was so relieved with the schedule prepared for us and learned a lot about the process, how to fill out the forms and my responsibilities.”  D.L.
    Accepted to:     UF (Full Ride), Colorado College, Emerson College

    “I’d recommend this event to every senior.”  V.V.
    Accepted to:     George Washington University, Boston College, Boston University, UF, FSU, University of Miami
    Attending: George Washington University with $32,000 in aid

    For more information or to register for the event, go to http://www.thick-envelope.com.  The price is $247, but if you act before June 1 you can save $50 of the fee.  Give your student a head start this summer!

    Best,
    Peter

     

  • collegepete 4:43 pm on May 2, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Decision Day! 

    Last Friday was ‘Decision Day’ for our college-bound high school seniors.  It was a stressful week for many, me included, as offers were weighed, appealed and weighed again.  The good news is that when the dust settled at about 5:30 pm on Friday, the vast majority of our students had been accepted to and received considerable inducements to attend one of their top choices.

    The tally:  The overall acceptance rate across the country was 67% according to the NY Times – slightly lower than the 70% I projected, and there was some definite head-scratching, and even outright bizarre turns.  Like students accepted at Brown, but rejected from Vanderbilt; or in at Duke but not Tufts, or in at Indiana but not UCF. 

    Nearly every school saw an uptick in the sheer number of applicants.  And even those that didn’t , with very few exceptions, admitted fewer students as a percentage of applicants than they did last year.  The results shouldn’t surprise – especially as more and more schools have begun accepting the Common Application.  In fact, more than 2 million online applications were filed this year – about 20% more than were filed last year.   Other drivers of ‘application inflation’ and the overall decline in the ‘admit rate’ include supply & demand – the largest number of high school students applying to college ever, vying for the same slots at so-called ‘hot’ schools (thank you US News & World Reports); cold winters that made Southern schools like Vanderbilt more geographically desirable than ever;  fatigue (of the admissions officers reading more applications than ever), and state schools that intentionally accepted more out-of-state students to raise their average net revenue.  There are more reasons, obviously, but I want to spend some time telling you what to do about it.

    Why Less is More!

    More than anything else, what I have seen is, that despite technology or perhaps because of it (see my notes on application inflation above), college admissions — which includes not just who gets in, but what price they’ll pay (list v net) –is a very ‘personal’ process, managed by real people who are moved by emotion and subtleties that are not reflected in scores, GPA or class rank.  What separates two seemingly identical students on paper are intangibles like the student’s demonstrated interest in a school, expressed career aspirations, potential contributions on campus, their ability to move the needle on the school’s competitiveness, etc. 

    In nearly every case that I was involved in, the students who received the best awards were those whose families were able to effectively and sufficiently demonstrate three things: Need, Value AND Desire.  For students who had made a personal connection with the school in some way, I saw money found quite literally in the 11th hour.   

    So, in a crowded field, the importance of niche positioning cannot be underestimated.    What I mean is that instead of defensively submitting more applications to ‘cover your bases’, even if  technology makes it enticing to do so,  it’s far more efficient to build a targeted list of 8-10 schools that you know in advance will consider your demonstrated financial need, find value in your student (be it academically, socially or even geographically), and meet your student’s academic, social and aspirational desires… and then focus your family’s energies on demonstrating those things to those schools. 

    The irony is that while there is now more information available than ever – including various school rankings, net cost calculators, ROI estimates, etc.,  the process is becoming more daunting and confusing than ever.  The best advice I can offer is to go for depth over breadth, look beyond the obvious to identify great schools where you’ll be able to leverage your student’s strengths, and to have an integrated admissions strategy that is driven by both the scholarly and the financial by the time your student is in 11th grade.  (For those of you who have rising seniors, I’ve added a special ‘early bird’ admissions prep program to kick start the application process THIS SUMMER, before your student even steps foot into school for their 12th grade year.  Click here for more info.)

    Last week I promised to issue a ‘disslist’ of schools that ‘market’ themselves as meeting 100% of a family’s demonstrated need.  I’m going to hold off on that until I am certain that all of my families have submitted and/or withdrawn their acceptances.  My goal is to hand out a list of 60 schools that claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need at tomorrow night’s workshop and then discuss all the ways some of those schools tried to wiggle their way out of that claim.  I’ll also give a few honorable mentions to school’s whose generosity surpassed my expectations. 

    If you have a child in high school who plans to apply to college in the next few years – or know of someone who does – please consider joining me tomorrow night at 6:30 at the Upper Campus of The Sagemont School in Weston.  This will be the last class I’m teaching in Broward until next Fall.

    Best,
    Peter

    P.S. There is no charge to attend the workshop tomorrow night.  However, if you don’t go, it could cost you and your family thousands in lost financial assistance.  The time to take action is NOW, and not when your child is in 12th grade and it could be too late.

     

  • collegepete 9:59 am on March 29, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Will Free Tuition at MDC Encourage Mediocrity? 

    Miami Dade College recently announced that it was offering free tuition to all high school graduates from Miami Dade high schools, public or private, who earn at least a 3.0 weighted GPA. This is great news for students and parents who feel pinched by the rising cost of a college degree, and it should open the door to greater opportunity for many students of lower income households.

    The concern here is that this new policy will encourage mediocrity.

    While free tuition is great, it may lead students to enroll at MDC when they may be better served going to a 4-year university or even a private college that has a generous financial aid program. Remember – you get what you pay for. Miami Dade College is already the largest higher education institution in the nation at over 170,000 students. It’s over-crowded, with students having difficulty enrolling in some classes. The stated strategy among many who enroll at MDC is that they will get their A.A. in 2 years, then transfer. But the reality is that it will likely take much longer than 2 years to earn their A.A. By the time they’re done and ready to transfer, they’re well into their 20s and ready for a full time job, not another 2 years (or more) working towards their bachelors degree.

    My advice is to apply to a number of 4-year colleges, both private and public. About 6-8 schools, or up to 10 max should be fine. Apply for financial aid by completing a FAFSA, and make sure you meet the priority deadlines. If things don’t work out, then you can always fall back on the option of enrolling at a local community college.

    If you live in South Florida and want to understand how to afford a 4 year college, then check out one of my free community workshops. My next event is on Thursday, April 7 at 6:30 pm at the Alonzo & Tracy Mourning Senior High School, in the Media Center. For more info or to register, visit http://www.LearnCollegeFunding.com.

     

  • collegepete 4:07 pm on February 26, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    The Importance of the Follow Through 

    I just came from my son’s first baseball game of the season. He’s only 8, so the stakes aren’t very high despite my intensity as Head Coach, but it is competitive and it is fun. In baseball, whether it’s throwing or hitting, the ability to follow through can yield successful results. It’s the same in many other areas of life, including pursuit of a financial aid award.

    By this time of year most financial aid forms should have been filed, and families are anxiously awaiting news from schools on both admissions and financial aid awards. Many students have already heard from schools, and now it’s just a matter of finding out where the money will come from. A key mistake that parents make is to sit back and wait for the money to arrive, expecting a spring visit from Santa Claus.

    There are a few key steps that parents should take once their financial aid forms have been filed. The first step is to get in touch with the school to make sure that they have received your FAFSA application, and if the school requires the CSS Profile then make sure they have received that, too. This serves two purposes: 1. To make sure that you submitted everything correctly; and 2. The opportunity to establish any kind of rapport with the financial aid office.

    The next all-important step is to complete your 2010 tax returns. Don’t wait on this important step, since many financial aid awards will be contingent upon the school viewing and verifying that the info you entered on the application is consistent with what is on your tax return. Even if your student is already enrolled in college, your award for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year may not be forthcoming if you delay in submitting your tax return to the school. I know a student who learned this the hard way last year at UNC because her father didn’t send the tax return to school until mid-summer.

    Finally, you should make the school aware of any changes to your financial circumstances, such as a lay-off, an expensive medical issue, a challenging business environment for your small business, or a separation or divorce. By doing so you are setting the stage for an appeal of your financial aid award, a process that can yield significant, additional dollars.

    If you want to maximize your financial aid prospects, you need to bird dog your way through the process and follow through. Don’t be complacent. This is not the time to let down your guard. Sometimes it takes a closer to win a baseball game. You’re now in the late innings of the financial aid process, so be sure to follow through until you get that generous award.

     

    • Grant for school 7:19 pm on March 7, 2011 Permalink | Reply

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      • collegepete 8:05 pm on March 10, 2011 Permalink | Reply

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