4 Tips: How to Prepare for College Right Now

by Melissa Brock | Mar 20, 2020 | Ask the admission office | 3 comments

Pre-COVID-19, did you have time for college visits? 

I know, I know. You’re laughing uproariously and I’m smiling because I’m fully aware your life is normally nuts. (Right now, it might be a different kind of crazy.) 

One of the biggest problems I encountered as an admission counselor was getting prospective college kids to visit. Parents and students didn’t have time to get it wrangled into their schedules.

I get it. I (try to) balance a full-time editorial job and freelance during slim pockets of lunch at the kitchen table (I just wipe off any ketchup that splatters onto my keyboard). 

Plus, two little kiddos need my attention. (My husband gets left in the dust because, well, he can take care of himself.)

I love what I’m doing. All of it. But I’m exhausted. I’m spread thin. (And a little cranky.) 

If you’re barely keeping it together and you still have college visits on your list, I feel for you. I really do. Here are some top tips if your soon-to-be college kid is wondering how to prepare for college right now,  along with some COVID-19 relevant tips, too.

1. Don’t bother visiting schools right now.

Forget about setting up college visits for the time being — the COVID-19 crisis means you get to take a breather. Nobody will give you a tour right now and admission offices may not even be meeting with families. 

The only way you can get a real sense of what a college is like is to do a visit when college is in full swing. It’s impossible to understand what a college is really like unless it’s teeming with students.  

Plus, many college kids who have stayed on campus did so because they don’t have any place else to go. It’s not fair to put them at risk by possibly bringing the virus to them. Stay home and weather the crisis online.

2. You can still learn a lot online.

These days were made for scrolling the internet, right? Since you and your teen have plenty of time to loaf while you’re self-isolating, you can also learn a lot about schools and how to prepare for college. (You’ll definitely learn more about their emergency preparedness and vision for the immediate future! Most school’s COVID-19 policies exist on their home pages.)

Nothing takes the place of a campus visit. However, you can still learn a lot about a college on a virtual tour. At the very least, you can find out whether College A has the kind of microbiology program your student is looking for.

Just remember, a college’s website will look shiny and beautiful. Try to remember that people are what makes an incredible college experience — not gorgeous science labs or state-of-the-art student rec centers. Try not to let your child fall in love with a college for aesthetic reasons. Hold out for meeting the people. You’ll be able to eventually!

3. Have your child start looking for scholarships. 

Explain to your child that he or she can be looking for scholarships now that sports, band and other clubs and organizations are canceled and now that there’s oodles of free time. Seniors can still look for scholarships, too. There’s still so much untapped money out there.

Check out the U.S. Department of Labor’s free scholarship search tool, look into foundations, community or religious organizations, local businesses, civic groups and ask about scholarships at your workplace. This is a constructive use of time for any student who’s wondering how to prepare for college. 

4. Write down your goals. It can change your life.

Edwin Locke, an American psychologist and goal-setting theory pioneer, was one of the first individuals to establish a positive relationship between clearly identified goals and performance. It really works.

Really, this can apply to any area of your life (when will you write the book you’ve been writing in your head since second grade?!). But consider using it as you’re trying to figure out how to prepare for college. Writing out your goals is a powerful motivator. In fact, if you really want to get something done, write it down and tell everyone about it. For example, you could write, “Schedule three college visits by October.” Then, tell two friends you’re planning to do it.

Even better, have your soon-to-be college kid write down his or her goals for college. They could look like this:

1. Apply for [insert number] of scholarships by [date].
2. Study for and take the ACT by October. 
3. Apply to College A, College B and College C.
4. Write a scholarship essay for College A and B by [insert date].

Find out what your high schooler’s goals are — really hone in on what he or she would like to accomplish in college. Building relationships during the college search also extends to building relationships with your son or daughter — and the COVID-19 crisis will require everyone to be at home more. Why not talk about college?

Give Yourself a Break

If there’s anything to be learned from this time in our lives, it’s to slow down. I mean, does life really have to be so busy? All the time? Maybe a lull will enable you and your child think more critically about what features you both really want in a college.

Finally, have patience with colleges as they work to sort out what they’re going to do. Many, many colleges are still hashing it all out. During this uncertain time, it’s more important to strengthen our communities through empathy, patience and support. College (and everything else, for that matter) will still happen, even if the world looks a lot different right now.

Why is College so Expensive in the United States?

by Melissa Brock | Jan 31, 2020 | Ask the admission office | 0 comments

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.

Spending per student increased by more than 20 percent between 2003 and 2013, according to the American Institutes for Research. 

4: There are no price controls.

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:

• Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• 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:

• Subsidized Loans  
• Unsubsidized Loans
• PLUS Loans
• Direct Consolidation Loans

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.

How to Choose a College in 7 Steps

by Melissa Brock | Jan 20, 2020 | Ask the admission office | 0 comments

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. 

1. 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.
2. Read the directions on each application. Then follow them.
3. 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. 
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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?)
8. 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.

Step 5: File the FAFSA.

What is the FAFSA? Get started by creating an FSA ID — one for a parent and one for a student. It’s fairly easy to fly solo from there.

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 scholarship thank 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.