It’s almost spring break! You may not have tons of time to do college tours with your junior or sophomore, so here’s a guaranteed way to knock out two birds with one stone.
All you need to do is say, “Hey, why don’t we sneak in a college visit during spring break?”
Just to be clear, the two “birds” are a college visit and R&R, not a cacophony of groans from your 16-year-old and the rest of your family. (Though that might happen, too.)
My family and I just spent time in Florida two weeks ago (I miss it already!). As we whiled away the hours in the Everglades, I considered how it would be so easy to take advantage of your proximity to great colleges.
Here are some top tips to make it happen and a few things you may want to consider.
1. Call in advance — a week is great!
Colleges have to prepare for your visit. I recommend calling at least a week ahead of your chosen visit date. It gives the campus visit coordinator a chance to create the best visit possible for you. Remember, in most cases, there’s a person at the other end of the line who puts the visit together for your son or daughter — not a robot.
I recommend talking to a live person over the phone instead of submitting college tour requests online. That way, you can talk through your options with an admission office staff member.
Now, I understand that college visits can happen on the fly. You may be in the car, see a sign for College XYZ and suddenly, your daughter says, “Oh, my gosh, Mom! I’ve always wanted to look at that school! Stop THE CAR!”
You can arrive on the admission office’s doorstep unannounced — but remember, your options may be limited. At the very least, many colleges can give you a tour and arrange for you to meet with an admission counselor. You might be out of luck if you want to meet a specific microbiology professor on the fly, however. It’s best to plan ahead and give the admission office a heads up a week ahead — or even more advance notice.
2. Find out whether a college’s spring break coincides with your vacation plans.
This is so important! When I worked in college admission, we were open during spring break. You could take college tours, eat in the cafeteria, meet with an admission counselor and anyone else who might’ve stuck around during the week. If a family called in and wanted to visit campus during spring break, I’d always suggest, “Come on a different week if you can.”
A good chunk of professors spent spring break thousands of miles away (donning shorts or safari hats) and coaches disappeared (particularly baseball and softball coaches, who always made a beeline for warmer locales).
Worst of all, the campus was dead. Far from the bustling hive it usually was, the only activity you’d encounter was from a couple of nesting geese.
3. Decide what you’d like to do on your visit.
It’s okay not to know exactly what your high schooler’s visit might look like when you call in. It’s the campus visit coordinator’s job to talk you through your options. Colleges often don’t offer a comprehensive overview of your options. It’s common to hear a chipper greeting, then, “Sure, you can visit! What would you like to do?” Some general options at almost any college or university include:
Admission counselor meeting
Campus tour (make sure you ask for a tour with a current student!)
Professor meeting or presentation
Financial aid officer meeting
Coach meeting
Lunch on campus
It’s obvious that there are more options out there than these, but it’s up to the campus visit coordinator or admission counselor to talk you through them. The only thing you can do is tell the admission office what your son’s or daughter’s interests are and ask a lot of questions if you’re not getting what sounds like the perfect visit for your child.
A liberal arts college or smaller university will try to make your visit feel as personalized as possible. This means you could get a one-on-one tour and individual meetings with everyone you request to meet.
On the other hand, some universities will execute all of these opportunities in a group setting, so don’t be surprised if you feel like you’re in a herd of sheep throughout the visit.
4. Arrange for transportation.
Okay, this seems obvious, right? But you could overlook it, particularly when you’re used to having your kid-friendly SUV handy at all times. You may not need to rent a car when an airport shuttle whisks you off to an all-inclusive hotel.
Get an Uber or Lyft from the hotel to the college, particularly if it’s close. Looking at a two-hour trek? Find out if you can arrange a rental car through your hotel for just a day, or be creative with the arrangements. Maybe a friend you know from college lives in the area and would love to drive you to your college visit! Maybe your great-aunt lives two towns over and can’t wait for your son to tour her alma mater.
5. Decide whether a full day is too much.
Remember, you’re on vacation. You might need to stick a meeting with the college dietician on the back burner during this visit — unless it’s a critical component of the college decision.
Also consider whether your whole family needs to tag along. If you have much-younger children, consider the wisdom of having them stay back. They’ll be much happier cannonballing into the pool.
Why not split your family up for an afternoon, if it’s feasible? One adult family member could stay behind with the kids. Otherwise, many hotels offer kiddie day camps for your younger children. Younger kids might love palling around with hotel kiddie camp staff while you and your high schooler do a college visit.
6. Limit visits to one college, especially if your vacation is the focal point.
College tours — plural — may not be the best idea if you want to enjoy your vacation. It’s a different story if you intend to only do college visits during spring break. In that case, knock yourself out — though it’s a good idea to limit the number of visits you accomplish. It’s easy to get confused if you take on too many.
I used to give college tours twice a day during Iowa Private College Week, a week in August in which students and families could choose any private college in Iowa to visit. They could choose any private college or university to tour during morning or afternoon sessions. Some families did all ten sessions during that week — that meant two college visits per day! By the end of it, their heads were swimming: Which college offered program X? Which college had the baseball coach with the funny moustache? Was College X’s music program better than College Y’s? Do you even remember where we were that day??
Unless a school really stood out, it was all a shimmery mass by the time they finished up.
7. Save the debrief till later.
Your kiddo wants to get back to surfing Huntington Beach or hiking the Sierra Nevadas. But be sure to talk with him about the college visit later. Take notes — record your first impressions as well as the school’s pros and cons. Once vacation concludes and your college visit is a (hopefully!) nice memory, you’ll have some fun things to talk about once you get home.
Schedule a great spring break college visit
You might need to schedule college tours during two years of spring breaks because there’s just… no… time! Your phone calendar’s bursting, your student’s high school schedule is hairy. Plus, your junior or sophomore might have a long list of college tours he needs to tackle.
Maybe you’ve chosen the vacation before you considered the schools in the area — and those colleges aren’t quite what you’re looking for. (There aren’t too many colleges in the Keys, where my family and I were vacationing.) However, you might want some college visit “practice.” Who knows? That school could end up being the best school possible for your son or daughter.
You may even need to resort to making a deal with your high schooler. (He might be totally resistant to a boogie board interruption.) Think up a reward if it’s feasible — something along the lines of, “If we do this college visit on Tuesday, I promise, we’ll go ziplining on Friday.”
Your application is processed by the U.S. Department of Education within three to five days if you submitted your FAFSA online using FAFSA on the web.
On the other hand, if you submitted a paper FAFSA, your application will be processed within seven to 10 days.
Early on in my admission career, we’d tell families to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) starting January 1, then promised all families that they’d get their aid packages in March. Now, you can file the FAFSA starting October 1 — almost a year before your kiddo heads off to college!
So what does that mean? First, you’re so relieved once you file the FAFSA. You’ve taken care of that giant hurdle. But then what? You twiddle your thumbs and then eventually get a financial aid award? It’s not like booking a trip — the FAFSA results aren’t instantaneous.
So how long does the FAFSA take to process? Great question. The short answer is that it varies. Here’s what you can expect.
What is the FAFSA?
Let’s backtrack a second. What is the FAFSA, anyway? The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form you must fill out if you want financial aid from the federal government for college. Many, many students (over 13 million!) receive federal aid in the form of grants, work-study and loans through the U.S. Department of Education.
The FAFSA asks for information about you and your family’s finances, including tax returns.
Quick facts about the FAFSA
Filing the FAFSA isn’t as painful as you might think — and if it’s something you’re positively sure you cannot do, there are lots of resources out there to help you file it. You can even reach out to the financial aid office at a college your student is considering for step-by-step help in many cases. Here are some absolute truths about the FAFSA:
You or your student must file the FAFSA if you want your student to receive any kind of federal student aid.
Slam on the brakes if you pay any money at all to have it filed or file it for a fee online. The FAFSA is a FREE application — remember, that’s the first word in the name — Free Application for Federal Student Aid)!
You may have to get a tiny bit used to it. You’ll need to file the FAFSA every year that your child attends college. The deadline is different for every school, but many schools put the final deadline at July 1 of the year that your child will attend college. Check with each college on that final deadline.
Our financial aid office always said, “Never, ever use your child’s high school email address when you file the FAFSA.” It was solid advice, because your kiddo will lose that email address and you need to be able to use a current email address.
How long does it take the FAFSA to process?
Here’s how long it’ll take in a nutshell:
Your application is processed by the U.S. Department of Education within three to five days if you submitted your FAFSA online using FAFSA on the web.
On the other hand, if you submitted a paper FAFSA, your application will be processed within seven to 10 days.
Step 1: Check your Student Aid Report (SAR).
Next, you’ll receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR), which summarizes everything you put on your FAFSA. Check your personalized SAR and make sure every piece of information is accurate.
Step 2: Fix missing or incorrect information.
Finish or correct your FAFSA as soon as possible. FAFSA will have information on how to do that.
Step 3: Wait a bit more — we know, we know. Colleges must get your SAR first.
When you file the FAFSA, you can list the colleges you want to have receive your SAR. Each college determines your eligibility for financial aid using your SAR. Next, you’ll receive a financial aid award from schools you’ve applied to, sent your FAFSA to and have demonstrated your commitment to.
Buddy up with the financial aid office at the colleges on your shortlist to find out if there’s anything you need to do.
Every school’s timeline for releasing financial aid is different — so send your admission counselor an email, hop on a call or call the school’s admission office to find out when you’ll get yours.
What happens after the FAFSA processes?
The next step is an exciting one — you’ll get your financial aid award! Cue all the cheers! Here’s what to do once you get financial aid awards in the mail.
Step 1: Look at each financial aid award in detail.
Take a deep look at each financial aid award you receive. Analyze each one in detail and line-by-line. You may see a few terms you’ve never experienced before, so we’ll break them wide open here.
Cost of attendance (COA)
This is simple to understand! (Whew!) It involves tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation and any other cost of attendance requirements for a college. You might need to check a college’s website to find out the full cost of attendance.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
EFC is a number that a college uses to determine how much financial aid you’re eligible for. Don’t let this number scare you — it’s often high. It’s not how much you’ll have to pay for college.
Grants and scholarships
I lumped grants and scholarships together because neither needs to be repaid. But there’s a difference between the two — grants equal need-based aid offered by the federal or state government. Scholarships don’t have to be repaid and can be based on need, merit (as in, your child is an A+ student) or interest (which means your child gets a scholarship because of his awesome tuba playing).
Federal work-study
Your child can work to earn money through his or her school with work-study. Did you know that the federal government offers work-study — not the school? There’s usually a limit to the amount your kiddo can get through work-study (like $1,000 or $2,000), but here’s a little-known secret: Ask for more. The financial aid office at your son or daughter’s school might be able to offer you a little extra.
Federal student loans
These are listed on your financial aid award, too, and this simply means your child can get a loan from the federal government.
You might be wondering about credit-based loans like a federal Direct PLUS loan or a private student loan and why I didn’t list them. I didn’t because they may or may not be listed on a financial aid award. The remaining balance is almost always listed, and you can use private loans toward that remaining balance. Ask the admission counselor or financial aid professional at each school you’re considering for more information.
Step 2: Compare each award.
This is where you’ll have to sit down and actually compare costs. You’ll want to be sure you have the exact tuition, room board and fees for every school, each scholarship in its exact amount and everything else. Check out College Board’s college cost comparison tool — all you have to do is plug in the data and it’ll tell you exactly which school will cost you more and less.
It’ll take a while to plug in, so be sure you take your time and get every single number exactly right so you know the true costs of each institution. Don’t use the institution’s published average for loans and scholarships, etc. Use your very own numbers so you know how much it’ll cost you, down to the penny.
Step 3: Take a deep breath.
It looks like a lot of money, doesn’t it? It is. (There’s no beating around the bush.)
But remember, the key is to break it down! Break it down, break it down. We talk a lot about breaking it down on this website, and that’s because it works. Take that leftover amount and figure out how you’ll break it down. Here are some ideas for whittling away whatever scholarships, grants, student loansand other aid don’t cover:
Use your child’s summer earnings to pay toward the cost.
You or your child can do a side hustle for extra money — this is a gig economy, remember? Check out an article I wrote for MSN Money about side hustles.
Savings you already have in a savings account, 529 plan, CD — wherever you’ve got investments. Just don’t sacrifice your retirement for college savings.
Take advantage of a 10-month payment plan (or whatever type of payment plan is available to you through your child’s school). This breaks it way down and makes the final amount a lot easier to swallow.
Take one less vacation per year (or two!)
Use private loans to cover the remaining balance.
Can you think of some other ways to take that remaining balance and make it bite-sized? YOU can do this!
Step 4: Help your child make a decision.
It’s so hard to relinquish complete control, isn’t it? You want with all your heart for your child to make the right decision and avoid the stress of transferring to a different school later on. Put everything on the table (literally!) and have a frank conversation about family finances.
Remember, it’s probably a good idea to make sure the final decision rests on your son or daughter’s shoulders. He or she will ultimately own the college experience when it’s his or her decision.
Patience is the key — trust the process!
The college search process might seem like the entire THING is a hurry-up-and-wait scenario, especially when you’re wondering, “How long does the FAFSA take to process?”
I get it. It was tough to answer questions in the admission office when families would ask me, “So, how much longer till I get my financial aid award?”
It’ll get here soon enough. Soon, you’ll be weeping through an entire box of Kleenex at graduation. Trust me.
You can study. You’ll know what a good ACT score is and what to expect ahead of time.
Or you can show up on test day, cross your fingers and wonder, “Gosh, how long is the ACT, anyway?”
The best way to be sure you’re ready for the ACT is to prep ahead of time. You might think it’s impossible to study for the ACT. It’s true that you won’t exactly know what to expect, but studying can help you conquer this all-important exam.
Here’s how to study for the ACT in 5 steps.
What is the ACT?
Lots of schools require the ACT for admission. This means you’re probably thinking about applying to a liberal arts college, large state university, community college or another type of college.
What does ACT stand for, anyway? The ACT originally stood for American College Test, but now it’s just called by its three letters — A–C–T. The ACT evaluates your skills in five core areas: English, math, reading, science and writing. The writing test is an optional part of the exam. Here’s a quick overview of each ACT component.
English
Mathematics
Reading
Science
Writing
45 minutes
60 minutes
35 minutes
35 minutes
40 minutes
75 questions
60 questions
40 questions
40 questions
Optional
Tests usage, mechanics and rhetorical skills
Tests pre-algebra, algebra, coordinate geometry, plane geometry and trigonometry
Various passage topics include social studies, natural science, literary narrative or prose fiction and humanities
Tests data analysis, experimental results and conflict viewpoints
Evaluates your position on an issue after you read and write an answer to a question
How to Study for the ACT
First, figure out how much extra time you have to study before you make a plan to commit to studying over a particular amount of time.
Second of all, figure out how much time you have before you need to take the test. Do you have six months? Two weeks? Two days? It’s obvious that the earlier you start, the more comfortable you’ll feel with each section of the test. A study plan can help you spend the right amount of time on each topic.
Here’s how to piece together the right study schedule for you.
Step 1: Get a study book.
A study book is an invaluable asset. You could pop by the school library or hit Amazon for a study book that you’ll get to keep (remember, you might take the test again!). The first thing you may be struck by is that these books weigh about 10,000 pounds each (kidding, kidding — but they’re gigantic)! Books from reputable companies such as Kaplan or McGraw-Hill offer excellent supplemental materials to prep for ACT test day. Be sure to look for content that contains lots of practice tests.
Step 2: Take a practice test so you know what you need to study.
Speaking of practice tests, what do you know about yourself and your needs? A diagnostic test is the only way you’ll know exactly what you need to work on. You might think you know which tests will stymie you, but you might be surprised. Maybe you predicted that the English test would trip you up, but you might have trouble finishing the mathematics test. (As you can guess, time pressure is a huge factor on the ACT. How well you handle it can affect your score.)
Practice tests can help you see where you are relative to your target score. Take an official ACT practice test to gauge your overall progress and pinpoint your weaknesses.
Here’s how:
Make sure you time each test exactly right.
Give yourself the break that’s built into the test (grab a PB&J during the break if you need one).
Eliminate distractions. For heaven’s sake, turn off your phone and Netflix.
Try to simulate actual test conditions as much as possible — that means taking all the tests in order. Going through all the sections in a row forces you to get a feel for your actual ACT experience.
Do you know your starting point scores from a previous test or practice test? That’s excellent — it means you’ll be able to shape up a perfect study plan.
Step 3: Hammer together a study plan. Then study.
Desk! Books! Lights! Do a light review, read a paragraph or two, and then… what?
Studying for the ACT is only effective if you do it. Diligently. Plan out how much you’ll devote to slaying the ACT every day, night or afternoon. For example, your plan might look something like this:
6-7:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays: Study for the English test (and during study halls)
6-7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays: Study for the mathematics test
4-6 p.m. Sundays: Study for the science and reading tests; reserve extra time for taking practice tests, too.
Make this schedule happen over a period of a few months for best results.
Let’s say you’ve already taken the ACT and want to increase your test results by a couple of points. You may have to do some in-depth content work to address gaps in your knowledge.
Time yourself and take notes on where you need to bolster your knowledge. If you notice you’re not doing well on the trig section of the math test, switch to your school math books to brush up.
Stick with it. Everyone has different study habits and time restrictions, so be sure to take breaks from your schedule if necessary. Remember that you’re not going to do yourself any favors if you’re not serious about studying.
Step 4: Look into other study options if necessary.
Studying by yourself can be a real drag if that isn’t really your learning style. Think about yourself and how you learn best in school. You might be the type of person who likes flying solo when you study for a math test or you might enjoy discussing an upcoming science test with a group of friends (as long as you can get something done when you’re studying with your buddies).
Here are a few other options if flying solo isn’t really working for you:
Study with a friend or group of friends.
Take a class at your school or local community college.
Don’t forget to consider the logistics of how you’ll plan to study and whether that’s conducive to getting things done. For example, you might have a stellar college-aged tutor who can help you with your math, but she may only be available on Tuesday nights, when you have jazz band practice. Or maybe you’re in 16 extracurricular activities at your high school and you don’t have time to study — until, oh, about 12 a.m. — after you’re done with your homework.
Step 5: Test yourself — make it fun!
We know we’ve already mentioned this, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again. Test, test, test… and test again. There’s something to recognizing the rhythm of the test and understanding how fast you need to move between questions. Half the battle is understanding the test and its structure.
Studying for the ACT isn’t exactly like taking a Caribbean cruise. In fact, you might even argue that there’s nothing fun about it. But you can make it fun. Challenge yourself. See how fast you can get through a reading test or science test. Try to beat your score every time you take a practice exam.
Decide When You’ll Take the ACT
Most admissions counselors (what does an admissions counselor do, anyway?) recommend taking the ACT during your junior year. But you may decide to take it as a senior because you’re just not quite ready to take it as a junior — you may want more trigonometry under your belt! Just allow yourself enough time to be able to take it again if necessary.
Some states allow you to take the test for free. Check with your school counselor learn more about taking the ACT for free.
The ACT (and SAT, for that matter) can be taken as often as you like — but know that it can be very difficult to raise your score unless you put in some serious studying effort.
The ACT is always offered during the following months:
February
April
June
July (Note: The ACT is not offered in New York state in July.)
September
October
December
Don’t forget to sign up for the ACT by the registration deadline. The registration deadline is usually a month or two preceding the test date. For example, the April 4, 2020 test registration deadline is February 28 and your scores will first be available April 14. Learn more about upcoming tests.
Missed the registration deadline? No worries. You can still sign up — you’ll just have to pay an extra fee.
Visit ACT for more information about test dates and learn how to register for a test. Buckle down, study and finally, good luck!
Why is college so expensive? We’re getting a wry chuckle out of that one. Every admission counselor hears it in every admission office at least 100 times per day.
No question about it, college tuition was cheaper in ye olden days. From the late 1980s to 2018, the cost of an undergraduate degree has risen by 213% at public schools and 129% at private schools, adjusted for inflation, according to Business Insider.
Here are four reasons the cost of college has climbed — there are more, but we tapped into just a few. We’ll also show you how to deal with these costs head-on.
1: State funding continues to slide.
State legislatures pull money away from higher education every year. In fact, they’ve spent less and less per student on higher education for the past three decades. Overall state funding for public two- and four-year colleges at the end of 2017 was nearly $9 billion below 2008, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Now, state funding doesn’t have anything to do with liberal arts colleges and other private colleges and universities. Private colleges don’t receive funds from state legislatures. They’re reliant on tuition and private contributions. This means tuition rates are generally higher.
2: College employees are expensive.
College students are taught and mentored by a lot of people who have college degrees themselves. This can include faculty members, administration and student life personnel (the people who run the residence halls). That means colleges and universities pay these individuals a larger salary compared to unskilled workers. This isn’t to say that colleges don’t pay unskilled workers — they may do that, too. The point is — it all costs money.
Plus, there are a lot of positions unique to higher education. We checked out a few job listings on higheredjobs.com:
Senior coordinator, Male Success Initiative
Engagement coordinator
Retention specialist
Printmaking instructional support manager
Director of civic engagement
Huh. Interesting.
3. Student services are growing.
Student services spending reflects a growing demand for excellent career counseling, academic advising and campus mental health services. In fact, student services are among the fastest-growing spending categories at private institutions and selective public institutions.
Do you ever wonder what would happen if colleges were forced to reign it in? Colleges and universities charge a lot because they can — because there’s no regulated fee structure.
This gets into some political territory, which we’re not willing to go into, but the truth is that colleges aren’t incentivized to keep their prices down. In fact, some families believe that the higher-priced a school is, the more prestige it carries.
Colleges, in a mad dash to seem more appealing than those that are cheaper and “less desirable,” jack up their prices. (This is kind of a simplistic way of looking at it, but that’s the shorthand version of what happens.)
How to combat the cost of college
There’s not much you can do about the cost of college. Luckily, some colleges are starting to do something about it. Check out Central College’s tuition reset. (Tuition resets move colleges to a more transparent pricing model. This means the published price is closer to the actual price a student pays.)
Otherwise, there are other schools that are naturally cheaper — check out a community college if you’re looking for one of the cheapest options.
Making college affordable is like piecing together a giant puzzle. You take a look at the amount of financial aid you can get so you can parse together how you’ll be able to pay for it. You can use a combo of the following financial aid options.
Scholarships and grants
The almighty scholarship — it’s what legions of students and parents have chased for dozens of years. And for good reason, because scholarships and grants are both gift aid (read: free money!) that doesn’t have to be paid back. So, what are the specific differences between scholarships and grants?
Scholarships are usually merit-based, which means they’re based on grades, athletic ability, musical talent, etc.
Grants are usually need-based, which means they’re awarded based on your family’s financial situation. The needier you are, the more likely you’ll qualify for grants.
Tap into the school you’re attending for scholarships. Ask your school counselor, your friends’ parents, your dad’s work, your clubs and organizations. Look online. Scholarships are everywhere. You just need to find them.
Work-study
Work-study is both a federal- and state-funded program to help students with financial need get part-time jobs. Around 3,400 colleges and universities offer work-study programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Work-study doesn’t cover all your college costs, though. Remember that puzzle we were talking about? You can combine your personal savings, scholarships, grants and loans to jigsaw all the pieces together.
Here’s how to qualify and get most out of a work-study job:
Your financial aid award may say that you qualify for work-study but you still have to actively seek out a job. Visit your college’s human resources office to find out what job opportunities are available. You can often find jobs just about anywhere on campus — the cafeteria, admission office, the library, financial aid office, campus athletic facilities and more.
You’ll only be able to make as much as your financial aid award stipulates — usually at minimum wage. Be a savvy consumer and ask the financial aid office at your college if you can earn more. It might be possible.
Loans
There are different types of loans you can tap into, and a few of the most popular are federal student loans.
The U.S. Department of Education’s federal student loan program is the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. The U.S. Department of Education is your lender under this program. There are four popular types of federal loans available:
You can also tap into private loans when everything else won’t cover the costs. Read the fine print on every single loan you apply for. Make sure you know your loan, whether you’re getting a federal or private student loan.
Here are some questions to know the answer to:
How much are you planning to borrow?
Is your interest rate fixed or variable, and how will that change your full loan amount?
What are the upfront fees you’ll need to pay?
What is your first repayment date? Do you have a grace period?
How long is your loan term?
Are there words you don’t understand in the documentation? If there are, ask a financial aid representative at the school you’re attending. That’s why they’re around!
Tap your savings
How much have you, your parents and/or grandparents saved for your college expenses? Now’s the time to ask. If you’re a parent reading this, now’s the time to pull up the 529 plan online, count savings bonds — whatever you’ve done to save. And if you haven’t saved anything, don’t get scared off. We’ve covered lots of ways to make college happen.
Colleges aren’t going to ask you to pay for an entire four years up front. Consider making regular payments for college using a 10-month payment plan or another type of payment plan. This can break up all the expenses.
College is expensive — piece your options together
Now, when other people lament, “Why is college so expensive?” you’ll have a few answers. There may not be too much you can do to control the cost of college — at least, until all colleges start doing tuition resets.
The best tool in your arsenal: Knowing how you can make all the pieces fit together so you can make college happen.
Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. Make friends with your admission counselor and the financial aid rep at the college you’re attending. They may have avenues for you to pursue that you might not have even considered. Trust us — those rock stars are good people to know.
You can still use a step-by-step guide on how to choose a college — who doesn’t love a guide with handy tips? Here’s what to do in seven steps.
What’s the best way to choose a college?
The college search invites hundreds of questions, doesn’t it? You can’t figure out how to get your kid to make a decision.
And your student may be thinking, “How can I get Mom and Dad to relax about this?”
It’s a process, isn’t it? Trust the process. Unless it’s April and your kiddo still hasn’t taken the ACT, you’ll be just fine.
The all-important question about how to choose a college starts with one simple step: Make a list.
Step 1: Develop your short list.
The short list! Or maybe it’s a long list. Help your child develop a list of schools that he thinks might meet his requirements. This list may be derived from hours of research. You might also come up with the list based on what you think you know about a college. Kids create their short list based on all kinds of reasons, from a great ski and snowboard club to the fact that his best friend goes there.
Step 2: Rank your priorities.
It’s easy for your kiddo to throw up his or her hands and say you have no idea what you’re looking for. But deep down, you really do know one or two things you want in your ideal school. (Parents, your kids really do — even if he or she says, “I don’t know” a dozen times a month.) Maybe you only know for sure that you want a stellar cafeteria — that’s a great start! Here are a few factors you might want to use to position your short list:
Size: Have you always wanted to go to a large state university or do you prefer the smaller feel of a private liberal arts college or community college?
Distance from home: Do you prefer to go to school in your hometown or on the opposite coast?
Cost: Of course this is a factor! What scholarships and need-based financial aid can you get from the schools on your short list? Note: It’s often better to visit a school to get an idea of how much it’ll cost you. You can’t always tell how much a school will cost from a quick internet search!
Majors: Can you find the majors you want? It’s okay if you don’t know for sure what you want to major in. At the very least, are there some that you might consider?
Athletic opportunities: Are you an athlete who wants to continue your athletic career in college? If so, the right coach, team, athletic trainers and other factors will be important.
Step 3: Visit schools based on your rankings.
Scheduling a college visit and visiting schools is next on the agenda. And this part can be so much fun!
Call Admission Offices
You can sign up for a college admission visit by calling the admission office. Most colleges have a campus visit coordinator who will answer the phone and schedule your visit.
You can also visit the college’s website to set up your visit. Just know that if you set it up online, you may not be able to get really specific requests. Let’s say you want to meet with an on-campus dietician. It may not be an option on the online visit form. However, the campus visit coordinator may be more than happy to make that meeting happen.
Visit Campuses
This is your opportunity to ask every question that comes to mind. Ask any question you can think of — don’t be shy. Remember, students, admission counselors, financial aid officers, professors and others really want you to ask questions. They really do!
Build Those Relationships!
Get to know your admission counselor. Building a relationship with the admission counselor at each school could result in a lot of advantages for you. What if an admission counselor knows you’re going through some financial struggles? Or knows you have a disability? He or she may be more apt to point out some scholarship avenues.
Building relationships in this day and age gives some high schoolers the heebie-jeebies. Shelve the shyness and remember that admission counselors are usually super-cool people.
Step 4: Complete applications and count acceptance letters.
Note: You can complete applications before you visit campus, but you can also wait and do your applications after your visit.
Know your application deadlines. Some schools require rolling admission but you may also have schools that ask you to apply early decision, early action or more. Ask about admission deadlines during your college visits.
Read the directions on each application. Then follow them.
Include all information requested information. And be honest here. If you don’t have a 4.0 grade point average, don’t put it on the application. The school will find out eventually even if it asks for self-reported information.
Spend a lot of time on your college essay. This is something you’re going to want to get help on. Ask your English teacher, your next-door neighbor who happens to be an accomplished freelance writer, a college and career coach — you know who to ask. Don’t go it alone. And craft it oh, so carefully.
Be choosy about who writes your recommendations. Don’t ask your football coach to write your letters of recommendation. No school will take you seriously — even if your football coach is a literary genius. Choose a teacher or other influential individual who knows your strengths and can write a stellar letter.
Request official copies of your high school transcripts. Ask your school counselor to send in your official transcripts. Check in a week later just to be sure it’s out the door.
Check with your admission counselor to be sure he or she has received everything. Your admission counselor at each school should be able to confirm whether those transcripts and letters of recommendation have arrived. (Have we raved about those rock star admission counselors enough yet?)
Finally, the fun (and sometimes not so fun) part of the application process happens. You get acceptance letters (hurray!) and might even hear back about admission denials. Here’s the thing about rejection letters: It doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to attend that particular school in your life. You may just need to attend a different school for a semester or a year and apply as a transfer. It might not mean good-bye forever. You could also ask your admission counselor if you can craft an appeal.
Still in the dark? You can get help on the FAFSA application at college financial aid offices. (While you’re at it, you can ask, “What is financial aid?” to people trained to guide you.)
Granted, not every financial aid officer is free to help you right now, so ask your child’s school counselor about other resources available to help with the FAFSA if you don’t feel comfortable filling it out on your own.
Step 6: Compare financial aid awards.
After you file the FAFSA, you’ll get your financial aid awards. Once the financial aid awards come rolling in, it’s time to compare the awards you’ve received from all schools. Note: They’ll all come in at different times. Here are a few things to ask yourself about each award.
What is the Cost of Attendance?
Most financial aid awards will include the cost of attendance for one year on the financial aid award. Most schools publish it directly on the financial aid award letter. However, some don’t. You might need to look back at your visit materials or look online to find that published cost.
How Much am I Getting in Grants and Scholarships vs. Loans?
Figure out how much of what a school gives you is free money. Scholarships and loans = free money that you don’t need to pay back. You’ll have to pay loans back — with interest. Some schools may not distinguish the types of aid and you’ll have to figure it out.
What’s the Net Cost?
The net cost is different than the cost of attendance. The net cost tells you how much it will actually cost you to attend a particular institution. It’s the total cost minus any gift aid. You may need to calculate the net cost on your own. It might not be broken down for you on your award letter.
Did I Get Work-Study?
Work-study is a federal program that gives your school money so you can work while you’re on campus. Schools all receive different amounts and may award work-study amounts differently.
Don’t be surprised if you get $1,000 in work-study at one school and $2,000 at another.
Didn’t get work-study at a particular school? Ask the school’s financial aid office if it can put it on. It just might happen.
How Much is Left?
There may be a gap in the total cost minus what you’ve received in financial aid — and that’s common. It also might not be printed right on the financial aid award. You may have to calculate it.
Do you have savings to cover the remaining gap? Will you need to take out loans? This is the part where you figure out how much you and your student can contribute.
Step 6: Do the heart/gut test.
You may know exactly which school you’re planning to attend after all your financial aid awards. Sometimes, it’s less clear.
It’s time to apply the heart and gut test. This is a test where you figure out which school draws you in. You might not be able to put your finger on why — it just does.
Trust that inner voice. So many students have said, “I chose College X because it just felt right.” It happens more than you think. What feels right at gut-level for you? If you still can’t decide, do another visit. Maybe it’ll take an overnighter to help you make your decision.
Step 7: Make your decision.
It’s officially time! Hurray! Congratulations — you’ve decided which school you’re going to attend. The next step is to tell the college you’d like to attend the great news.
And please, oh, please, tell the other colleges that you applied to that you’re not going to those schools. Don’t assume they’ll stop contacting you. An admission counselor must keep bugging you until he or she knows you’re no longer interested.
Send your admission counselors at each school an email. Don’t be surprised if they ask which school you’re attending and why. They often need to know for their own research purposes — they’re not just being nosy.
Finally, the last step is to send scholarshipthank yous. Sincerely thank anyone who has given you a scholarship. Here’s more about how to write a scholarship thank you letter if you’ve got writer’s block.
Choose the Best Fit College
Listen to that inner voice — it knows a lot. And if you’re a student, listen to your parents! They’ve got some life experience that can help drive your decision, even if they didn’t go to college themselves.
Take a deep breath, tackle each step one-by-one, and pretty soon, it’ll be May and you’ll be graduating from high school.
Oh, and enjoy the ride. You’re about to go on the best adventure.
You’re ready to take the ACT — that all-important test can determine your future college options. So exciting! A little knowledge and prep work can go a long way toward securing your future dreams. You might be curious about a couple of the most basic questions such as what is a good ACT score? And how long is the ACT?
Put simply, the ACT is two hours and 55 minutes — if you don’t take the writing test. But there are a few more details you may want to know ahead of time about the length of each test. (Hint: You’ll want to know this ahead of time. Each test is a different amount of time.) Two other factors could change your situation:
You might decide to take the writing test.
You might opt to take an extended time test due to a learning disability or other qualification.
Let’s break it all down. You’re racing the clock (in a controlled manner, of course!) when you take the ACT. Here’s what you need to know.
What Time Does the ACT Test Start and When Does it End?
First, check your email instructions for your assigned reporting time. Your assigned test center reporting time is usually going to be 8 a.m.
Your testing center might not be the familiar halls of your high school or your comfy English classroom. It might be at a nearby college or even another high school. Consider doing a practice drive to your testing center a few days early if you’re not quite sure where it is.
On the day of the test, you don’t wanna wake up at 7:54 a.m., blast through the kitchen (without breakfast) and blow six stop signs on your way to the testing center. Instead:
Set your alarm (or three alarms, if you have to), eat a good breakfast and arrive by 8 a.m.
Pat yourself on the back if you arrive earlier than 7:45 a.m., but know that if you do arrive early, you might have to wait outside until testing staff members get your room ready.
Follow directions for checking in — a test administrator will tell you what to do once you arrive. You’ll officially start testing after 8 a.m. as soon as all examinees are checked in and seated.
You should be done with the standard-time ACT test (without writing) at about 12:35 p.m. — Just in time for lunch!
How Long is the ACT with Writing?
You can choose to take the ACT writing test. Some colleges and universities want to see how you write, but it’s not required for every college. Not sure whether you need to take the writing test? Ask your admission counselor at each college about that school’s admission requirements.
The ACT writing test tacks on a 40-minute essay test to the other four tests. The writing test is fairly simple to understand. You’ll get a prompt that describes an issue and three different perspectives on that issue. You must answer the prompt in pencil on the lined pages of an answer folder provided to you.
You’ll be dismissed about 1:35 p.m. if you take the ACT writing test.
How Long is the ACT with Extended Time?
The ACT offers National Extended Time, also called 50 percent extended time. In other words, you’ll get extended time on each section of the ACT and you’ll get a break after each section. You’ll need to be approved ahead of time for extended testing. Learn more about ACT accommodations.
Overall, the extended time ACT gives you:
70 minutes to complete Test 1 — English
90 minutes to complete Test 2 — Mathematics
55 minutes to complete Test 3 — Reading
55 minutes to complete Test 4 — Science
60 minutes to respond to the Writing test prompt (if you choose to take the writing test)
It may not take you every spare minute of extended time to finish each test. For example, let’s say there’s a group of extended time test takers who finish with the English test early. All examinees can move on to the next test (Mathematics) once everyone’s finished. However, all examinees in the room must work on the same test at the same time.
Parts of the ACT
There are four distinct subject tests on the ACT: English, mathematics, reading and science. Here’s an overview of each type of test you’ll take during the ACT test and how long each section lasts.
English
The English test on the ACT is 45 minutes long and contains 75 questions.
You’ll be given writing passages on this test that will ask you to evaluate specific writing elements. For example, you might need to determine a passage’s tone or might simply need to select the correct English-appropriate answer. Take a look at specific underlined portions of the test and consider all answer choices before you choose the one that best responds to the question.
The Mathematics test on the ACT is 60 minutes long and contains 60 questions.
You’ll find the following types of math problems on the mathematics test:
Pre-algebra
Elementary algebra
Intermediate algebra
Coordinate geometry
Plane geometry
Trigonometry
All problems vary from straightforward “solve-for-x equations” to graphs and charts.
Planning to use a calculator? Be sure you check out the latest calculator policy so you know you’re using the right type of calculator. Make sure it works and that you know how to use it! (It’d be a shame if you borrowed someone’s ultra-powerful calculator on test day and then couldn’t figure out how to turn it on.)
You don’t technically need a calculator to solve any equations on the mathematics test. All problems can be solved without a calculator, but having one sure is handy.
The Reading test on the ACT is 35 minutes long and contains 40 questions.
As you might imagine, this test is stuffed with various reading passages about and tests your comprehension. Topic clusters include fiction, social science, natural science and the humanities. You’ll answer questions about how well you understand a particular passage. It’s important to:
Read each passage carefully.
Consider all of the answer choices (read those carefully, too!) Look back and forth from the passage to the questions as you answer them.
Here’s a great example of what you might find on the reading portion of the ACT.
Science
The Science test on the ACT is 35 minutes long and contains 40 questions.
Luckily, you don’t need to be a budding biologist to do well on the science portion of the ACT. You just need to be able to read charts and graphs and interpret the scientific information involved. Be sure you read each question carefully so you understand the scientific information included in each passage. scientific information in the passage when answering the question. There could be conflicting viewpoints in each passage, according to ACT, so be careful!
The ACT (and SAT, for that matter) can be taken any time during high school. Most school counselors recommend taking at least one test by June of junior year, and, for good measure, another test soon after. Some states allow you to take the test for free. Check with your school counselor to find out whether your state allows you to take the ACT for free.
Think you might want to take the ACT as a sophomore? Or maybe you’re not ready as a junior and think it’s better to wait till senior year. Take into account your desired level of preparation, readiness for the test and college deadlines and goals.
Get Ready for the ACT Now!
Now that you know how much time you’ll have for each individual portion of the test, it’s time to practice. Get a feel for how much time you have on each question by going through timed tests.
It really is a “timing” thing. Your ability to move swiftly and accurately through the test and check it consistently against the rest of the time you have allotted is the key — whether you’re on standard or extended time.
