January 22nd, 2024 by CPAdmin
“Get a college degree and you’ll get ahead.”
That is the message that has inspired young people for generations to study, save and sometimes even beg, borrow (too much) and sadly even steal (hello, Varsity Blues) to get one. But is it worth it? That’s a question on a lot of folks’ minds. Especially now. Candidly, I’m fielding calls daily from parents and colleagues alike, questioning whether it’s worth it to pay thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars for a ‘traditional’ college experience.
It’s a fair question, though not a new one. I have been talking about the value proposition of higher ed, especially for ‘forgotten middle class’ families, for years. Incidentally, my answers about whether college is worth it might surprise you. Again, it’s about value – making sure the return matches the investment (financial and mental), because the net net of it is this: there is little doubt that today’s and future generations of students will need education and training well beyond what high schools today are providing to become financially successful. And that will require some level of upfront effort and investment on your part. You can learn more about these numbers right here at collegepete.com, or check out this book I wrote a few years back on college affordability for the ‘forgotten’ middle class.)
Anyhow, back to what has me pondering this topic today. Last week I met with an 11th grader and their parents. The student has an excellent academic record. S/he’s earning mostly As in rigorous classes and has deep extra-curricular involvement.
The standardized test scores are…good; not top tier, but they could be. As it stands today, the scores would be high enough to earn the Bright Futures FL Medallion Award but not enough to earn a Bright Futures FL Scholars Award which would include 100% of tuition and fees at a FL public university. Here’s the dilemma.
With the right test prep, I’m confident that this student could crush that 1340 barrier and not only earn the FL Scholars Award, but also deliver a score that is highly competitive to earn significant Institutional Merit Scholarships at many of the more generous universities under consideration. In this case the math makes sense for making an investment in test prep (assuming that the student would apply the mental effort to accompany the financial one). For an investment $1-2K in prep today, this family could yield a minimum $6K, and perhaps many times that number, as a scholarship return. The problem is that this student is not too keen about signing up for test prep, which brings me to my next point.
It’s not troubling to me that the value of a college education is being called into question. I welcome that discussion. What’s bothersome is the lack of conversation about how to ensure you will extract the value inherent in your post-high school education (regardless of where you go for that education). Outside of my conversations and writing, I haven’t seen much light being shed on where the real value in higher ed can be found and how to make that value accessible AND affordable to regular families in the first place. Though I did see this report last week out of North Carolina, showing a substantial ROI ($500K) for a college degree from that state’s university system. Surely, other states can show similar results.
I’ve done the research and the math — and have been able to demonstrate over and over again that with the right strategy, college should cost about the same (or less as a percent of your income) as it did in 1957, in 1987, in 2007 and today (Why College Should Cost Less in 1957 Than Today). Hint, though colleges have raised their published prices by more than 250% over that time period, they have also introduced a discounting strategy, with the average discount rate now exceeding 56%.
But even beyond the numbers, there is the oft-overlooked component that includes a student’s preparation and readiness for post high school life. We shouldn’t treat college as 13th grade…our students need to have focus and intent when approaching where they’ll thrive academically, aspirationally and socially. Take a look at 5 year graduation rates (yes, 5 year) and then consider the cost benefit of your child being able to buck this trend. Our guidance program, and others like it, prepare our students not just to ‘get into’ a college, but to succeed at the right college for them (which includes one that offers a path that actually complements their skill set and interests them – and is offered to them at a net price that their parents can comfortably afford). In doing so, our families enjoy a real return on their college investments.
If your child is in 10th or especially 11th grade, now is the time to ensure that when they are entering 12th grade, they do so with a financially sound admissions strategy AND a completed college application that will help him/her gain admission to (and graduate from) a college that you can actually afford — with a degree they can use in today’s world.
Are there real concerns about the tenor on college campuses today and our turning into an over-educated, under-employed and deeply indebted people? Yes, there are. But there are also real personal strategies that you can implement to ensure your child is at the right place – for the right price point. But, you have to take action. Don’t let this year end without learning the difference between what a college education costs and what a college education should cost YOU (hint: it’s rarely the sticker prices you see on school websites).
You can find out now — not after your child has fallen in love with a photo of autumn foliage on a brochure – how to research and select schools that are the right fit for your student and the right price for your family. If you don’t know where to start, give me a call, or at the very minimum, search this site for the articles I referenced above.
And, if you have already come to one of my webinars, or met with me, it’s probably time to get off the proverbial fence and give us a call today, while we can still do something to make college more accessible AND affordable…well before the applications are due or the bill is in hand, when you’re in crisis mode and you’re options are limited. Every year I hear from parents, “I wish I met you a year or two ago!”. Please don’t be those parents.
January 22nd, 2024 by CPAdmin
My longtime readers as well as those who know me well understand my passion for sports, including college sports. After all, every year I write about the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament with a focus on University Generosity Bracketology. But today I want to briefly comment about football, specifically the College Football Playoff, and relate it to college admissions.
Across the great State of Florida (and beyond), folks who don the garnet and gold are quite a bit peeved that their beloved FSU Seminoles were snubbed by the College Football Playoff Committee. After all, the Seminoles just completed an undefeated season and an ACC Championship on Saturday night, only to learn Sunday that their #4 ranking and erstwhile playoff qualification was removed, replaced, substituted and eliminated by the likes of Texas and Alabama, two teams with one loss each.
Personally, I thought FSU deserved a chance to compete for the National Championship. But this column isn’t about football, it doesn’t matter what I think, and many people (or football teams) don’t get what they often deserve, even if they put forth maximum effort.
In this way, the College Football Playoff is much like college admissions. Sports personality Colin Cowherd made a similar point on his show yesterday (focus on 3:37-4:36).
The process of applying to college today is not necessarily a feel-good exercise. It can seem unfair… and there can be disappointment. You/your child could have superb grades, test scores, academic rigor, terrific essays and recommendations…and still not get admitted to her dream school. This sometimes happens, even if you feel you/your child “deserves” a spot. Consider that 72-91% of applicants to any given college/university will meet the academic qualifications of that university. There are a limited number of seats in every freshman class, just as there is a limited number of spots (4) in the College Football Playoff. Sometimes great candidates don’t get admitted, regardless of what we think is deserving.
I often tell my own children, and my students, that we often don’t have total control over what happens to us, but we do have complete control over our reaction to what happens. In our program, we strive for multiple good options for our students to choose among. This is an achievable end!
Yes, there may be other students with better grades or scores, or fewer available spots, and the admissions committee (or the College Football Playoff Committee) simply prefers another candidate who is more qualified in their view… at a school or two on your list. We cannot control that. But we can control how we construct a list to ensure you/your child will have multiple, good alternatives.
We can control how we respond if we do face an obstacle. In sports, admissions and life, when things don’t go as we wished, we can complain, pitch a fit and protest, scream to our neighbors or our counselor or on sports radio or on social media… or we can focus with full determination on the opportunities we do have. In FSU’s case, they can turn their attention to proving the committee wrong by winning the bowl game to which they were assigned (the Orange Bowl game vs. Georgia). That’s something within their control. Indeed, it pains me when I see great students denied from their first choice school. After commiserating and sharing in their grief, the only option is to move on and create the next opportunity.
In the competitive world of college admissions, as Mick Jagger says, you can’t always get what you want. But what you can do is give yourself the best chance to compete. By doing that, if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need – which is a an opportunity to succeed at a campus that values your talents and accomplishments, and where you can thrive to be the best version of yourself.
If you want to give your child the best chance to compete, then give us a call. Let’s maximize your child’s admission chances and scholarship/aid opportunity – and let’s focus on what we can control.
January 22nd, 2024 by CPAdmin
I’ve been writing and speaking about college tuition discounts — and more specifically, how to ensure that you get one for your family — for years. Since my first book Never Pay Retail For College was published in 2009 – the average discount rate on tuition has risen from about 40% to 56% (as in, on average today’s colleges cut their ‘gross’ prices by more than half).
I realize that this may cause some anxiety about the absurd college sticker prices. Here’s some good new for you.
You shouldn’t expect to pay sticker! In fact 2/3 of college students are getting a ‘tuition discount’. And if you think that these discounts are only for ‘poor people’, you’d be mistaken. Even families with incomes well in excess of $200,000 can enjoy five-figure discounts if their children apply to schools where they are eligible for institutional merit-based scholarships.
We think you should be one of them, and here’s what you need to know to make sure that you are.
First, Colleges have two main instruments when it comes to their discounting strategies: 1) need-based aid and 2) merit-based (or non-need based) aid.
Schools utilize both tools to induce students to attend their institution, but not necessarily in equal measure. If you earn $200,000 or less and you properly position your savings/investments…and your children apply to the right schools (see also University Generosity), you will likely qualify for need based grants. But, regardless of income or circumstance, the largest source of free money for most of us forgotten Middle Class folks is in both institutional need-based grants and merit-based scholarships (not government financial aid).
::: THE KEY TO PAYING LESS THAN STICKER FOR COLLEGE::
The opportunities to pay the net price for college and save significantly do exist, both for families who will qualify for need-based financial aid AND for those who won’t. But many students fail to maximize their opportunities in college because they start off making the wrong college list in high school. They wind up applying to the wrong colleges (meaning, the ones that are less likely to offer a discount to them), or to too many colleges, or to the same 15 colleges everybody else in their school is and they needlessly leave money on the table.
Typically, private colleges and universities have been more likely to offer the largest (five-figure) non-need based discounts, or enrollment incentives, to students. These offers were often reflected as Institutional Merit Grants and doled out by the Admissions office. John Lieber, in his book The Price You Pay for College, points to the private colleges in Ohio (specifically Ohio Wesleyan) as the early adopters of using merit aid to compete with other, often more ‘popular’ schools for top students. The idea has since spread well beyond Ohio to includes schools nationwide.
What’s interesting is that more recently, and especially since the 2007-08 economic downturn that led to state budget cuts of higher ed, there has been an uptick in public universities adopting a similar strategy. We’ve seen the use of scholarships as an increasingly important tool utilized to lure out of state applicants whose out of state tuition rate helps subsidize the lower tuition paid by in state students.
The University of Alabama was one of the earliest, and today remains one of the most active, practitioners of awarding merit aid to lure out of state applicants. There are many others using similar strategies including: University of Delaware, University of Colorado, Indiana University and University of Arizona to name just a few.
Much has been written about merit aid and, well, it’s merits. And despite the terminology, ‘merit aid’ incentives typically go to students who tend to be more affluent. This can be intentional. These awards are often based on specific enrollment strategies that have little to do with high school achievement. Merit aid has thus been criticized by some who view it as a substitute for the distribution of need-based alternatives to those students who truly need financial aid to enroll.
Regardless of your (or my) opinion on the matter, what’s of note is that this type of discounting practice is growing at both public and private universities. Enrollment Management, the term by which it is known in academia, is something we’ve been tracking for more than 15 years. Today, in fact, several colleges and universities have Deans or Directors who bear the title “Enrollment Management”. This job title did not exist when I started my practice 17 years ago.
For years I’ve been explaining to parents that colleges are, indeed, businesses. They are trying to extract the highest price possible from as many students as possible. Most businesses operate this way, by trying to maximize ARPU, or average revenue per user (or unit). Colleges operate in a similar way. Our job is to help your child find the best fit at the lowest price point offered.
Some students we work with pay very little to attend – either because they receive generous, need-based packages or because they are granted substantial merit awards for outstanding high school achievement. Very few of our kids pay full price. Most of our students fall in the large, gray area where they stay within budget or pay a little bit more than what they would like, but also enjoy a big scholarship/discount/enrollment incentive that makes completing school without onerous debt possible… and makes mom and dad very happy and proud.
When it comes to planning for college, there are three important strategies that we use with our families. For some families, all three will apply, for others, it might be only one or two of the three.
- We make sure that we get an accurate projection of the true net cost (lowest cost possible) at each school under consideration. We understand the financial aid rules so that we can work within those rules to maximize your opportunity for need-based awards. This strategy certainly applies to low income families, but also to most middle and even upper middle class families earning up to $200,000 per year.
- We help each child build a strategic list of colleges that not only offer need-based awards but also includes schools that are likely to offer merit/enrollment incentives or discounts. This strategy should not be overlooked, as it could yield significant, five figure awards that are renewable each year your child is enrolled. For lower income families, the assembly of the right list can be critical to minimizing your out of pocket expense. Applying to the wrong schools who don’t have any money to award can be fatal to your chances at any discount (either need- or merit-based).
- And for the most affluent families, we show them how to plan early and save big. If you’re not likely to qualify for any need-based incentives, it’s important that you fund other savings instruments, such as a 529 college savings plan which offers tax-free incentives (to clarify, we do NOT offer 529 plans. For that you should see a financial advisor). And, for these families it is critical to assemble the right list of schools.
In plain English, to lower the cost of college you need to know where you stand, financially-speaking; you need to know what to do to ‘improve’ your standing; and finally, you need to know where to look to find the handful of colleges that can meet both your child’s academic needs and your financial ones.
The time to do this is before your student is in the second half of 11th grade. It’s not your fault if you feel confused by college pricing, the various grant and scholarship options and the financial aid formulas that help determine what you’ll actually pay for college. The more you understand, the better your options will be. I hope this helps you get started on the right path. If you have questions or if you think I can help alleviate some of the pressure for you, please reach out to me and we can set aside some time to discuss your family’s needs and circumstances.
January 22nd, 2024 by CPAdmin
Last week, many colleges announced their results for Early Decision and Early Action. Needless to say, it was an emotional week for a lot high school seniors (and of course, the parents who love them). Locally to my home office, no school garnered more attention that Florida State, which saw nearly 22,000 students across the state apply Early Action (FSU’s Early Action program is exclusively for Florida residents). For perspective, this represented a 28% increase in the number of applicants from last year’s already record setting applicant pool.
In my 17 years of practice, I have seen Florida State University go from what was perhaps perceived as a 2nd tier, state university with a 62% acceptance rate (2005) to a more selective, seriously competitive in-state top option with a 24% acceptance rate (with a record 72,000 applicants under consideration). In case you’re wondering, in that same time period, FSU has NOT increased the number of seats available to incoming freshman resulting in an accompanying big increase in average SAT/ACT scores, transcript requirements and essay scrutiny. Consider: last year, FSU admitted applicants with an average SAT score of 1370. This year, among the early applicants the average score was 1410, with 38% admitted.
Once the final numbers are counted in February 2024, I expect to see a similarly selective result for the Class of 2028. So, as I’ve been telling my Florida-based students, if you’ve been looking at FSU as your ‘safety’ school academically, you’d be doing so at your own peril.
This goes for most schools that are ‘popular’; Duke, for example, saw a 28% increase in their early applications; Dartmouth was up 18%, Barnard set a record (1694 ED applicants), Georgia and Notre Dame were up 3% and the list goes on.
With all of this ‘application inflation’, I’m not surprised that many students learned last week that they were deferred from FSU, or from other schools. And I think it’s extremely important to remind students that a deferral does not equate to denial or rejection from a college or university. Over the years we have had multiple students go from ‘deferred’ to ‘accepted.’!
Fact is, there are many reasons, and rumored reasons, for a ‘deferred decision’. Among them: they want to see your 1st semester grades because your transcript may be inconsistent; perhaps they want you to take the SAT or ACT once more; or they had more applicants than anticipated and were truly overwhelmed, so they didn’t yet have the chance to thoroughly review yours. Maybe they’re waiting to see the size of their overall applicant pool to manage their ‘Admit Rate’. Perhaps they are waiting to see who withdraws, now that binding Early Decisions have been received, in order to manage their ‘yield.’ We’ve discussed all of these with our colleagues and with admissions officers directly, and we’ve heard all of these reasons floated. Perhaps we’ll never know about your application specifically, but what we do know is that unlike a rejection, you can actually do something about being ‘deferred’. And doing the right somethings, can help a deferred applicant become an admitted one!
If you have been ‘deferred’ AND it is truly a school that you want to attend, here is your opportunity to communicate with your admissions officer (yes, you can actually talk to them), demonstrate some interest and possibly move the needle in your direction! Granted, you should have been corresponding with them already – either way, now is an opportunity. If a school shares specific instructions on next steps to address a deferral, such as sending updated test scores. or a 1st semester grade report, or an updated SSAR, be sure to comply as soon as you can. And if there is anything new in your life since your application was submitted, perhaps an award, or new leadership position, or a new job, be sure to let them know.
That said, it does mean that for some, you’ll have to live with the ambiguity of ‘wait and see’, which we know is much easier said than done! Unfortunately, ambiguity is PART of the College Admissions process and part of life. However, that doesn’t mean that it feels fair. Let’s face it – most of us have at some point in our lives felt as if there was a ‘game’ being played around us where we weren’t given the rules to win. We hear this a lot about the college admissions process. As in, ‘it’s just NOT fair.’ For the most part, they’re right. The College Admissions ‘Game’ (which includes both access and affordability) is NOT played on a level playing field. Those students with greater access – to test prep, to good guidance, to an engaged parent who graduated from the college they’d like to attend – do have a leg up on those who don’t. It doesn’t mean they are necessarily smarter or better students, but they do have more resources or leverage and if they are utilizing them to be better prepared for this particular process, perhaps the odds do seem to tip in their favor. I hope, however, that the takeaway from this piece is that there are steps any applicant can take (e.g., demonstrate interest) to improve their deferral prospects – and I hope you’ll take them.
Now then, a note to parents: Unlike admissions decisions, financial aid offers are far less final, and therefore you have more room to maneuver, to appeal, even (gasp!) negotiate. Notice the language difference: admissions decisions, and financial aid offers. The latter can be countered, as in a counter-offer or appeal. Oftentimes there are very good reasons to appeal a financial aid offer, such as a recent job loss, a medical issue that results in high expense or time away from work (lost wages), a natural disaster, or some other event that has a significant financial impact. I have written about financial aid appeals before, and surely next spring I’ll have an update for you on that topic. Stay tuned!
On what I hope is a more upbeat note, I want to recognize YCC’s Class of 2024 for earning acceptance into the following schools via Early Action, Early Decision, or Rolling Admission (so far). While we may have assisted many of these students, all credit goes to them for their success. Congratulations!:
Arizona State University, Babson College, Bard College, Bard College Berlin, Eckerd College, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Florida State University, Fordham University, Indiana University, Louisiana State University, Loyola University Chicago, Michigan State University, North Park University, Northwestern University, Nova Southeastern University, Ohio State University, Ole Miss, Penn State University, Rollins College, Stetson University, Tulane University, University of Alabama, University of Arizona, University of Central Florida, University of Denver, University of Georgia, University of Missouri, University of Pittsburgh
Final note, please don’t let a deferral define your December. If you take proper action, you (hopefully) will get admitted into and receive a much desired financial aid or merit scholar package at many schools you covet. That’s my wish for you and your family for the Holidays and New Year.
January 22nd, 2024 by CPAdmin
I have in my office an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of paper that has survived many iterations (not to mention years and office moves). It’s a list of 40 ‘Old-Fashioned Skills’ that every child should acquire by the time they’re ‘an adult.’ I’m talking about the kind of life skills that all fully formed adults need but are rarely developed inside today’s high school classrooms: simple skills like “How to write a letter” to more complex skills like “How to weigh out the pro’s and con’s of a decision”.
And yes, I do realize that this is a bit of a departure from the more pragmatic college planning advice you’re used to receiving from me, but hear me out.
There’s been a ton of writing, Ted Talks etc. on the absolute need for better executive function development among our youth. And after helping literally thousands of students through what is often their first truly independent expression of self (the college application process), I can tell you that it’s the students who have had a chance for personal growth outside the classroom whose applications are most successful. These kids often do better both in the process and once they arrive on campus. And I’m not the only one who knows this.
It is apparent when a student’s application demonstrates an authentic voice and a well-defined sense of self. This is critical when compared with students who share almost equally competitive test scores and transcripts. It is refreshing to weary, overworked and underpaid college admissions representatives who thumb through tens of thousands of college applications when they land upon a student who displays real passion, whose story aligns with their stated interests and activities – whom they can see will share that energy on their campus. And these students are often rewarded for it with a “Yes, we’d love to have you next Fall!”
If you’ve got a college-bound teen at home and you’d like to learn more about:
A) why it’s critical that they maximize their free time; and,
B) how best to help them do so; then,
I’d like to invite you to join me next week for a very special webinar: How To Build A Better College Resume This Summer. I’ll be joined by my colleague Carla Holness (a former Admissions Representative) as well as Andrea Maldonado, PhD, Director of Educator Relations at the National Student Leadership Conference and Scott Ingram, Director of Admissions at Rustic Pathways. Please click here to see the topics we’ll be discussing and to reserve your spot on Thursday, January 11th at 6:30pm. I look forward to speaking with you then.
