by Tom O'Hare | May 14, 2019 | Before, College Admissions, College Planning
National Decision Day has come and gone. Students have made their choices and are now thinking about roommates, orientation and summer work. Parents are shifting their thoughts from acceptance to trying to figure out how to pay the educational cost.
But what about me? I didn’t commit – I’m still undecided. You’re not alone!
Considering college after high school can be a very stressful and overwhelming experience. For some the process of deciding on what to do and where can require a little extra time. Today the pressure to go to college straight out of high school may not be the right “next step” for all. Pursuing one’s education after high school can take multiple paths, each designed to support an individual student and family needs.
Yes, the general trend continues to be that all high school students and families to think four-year college right after high school. Although a traditional path to college after high school is not wrong, the pressure to follow the pack is wrong. Working through one’s college plan can take a student past May 1 and for some offer alternative paths, equally important to students desired career, first job outcome.
Delaying one’s choice, stepping back and slowing the decision-making process can be a wise option for many students and families. On the fence, not 100% sure are strong reasons to invest more time. Questions related to academic and personal readiness, ability to pay and overall interest in school are all valid reasons to take one’s time. College planning is an individual experience!
What’re my options?
Enrollment at traditional college and universities did not end on May 1, National Decision Day. The truth be told, a vast number of colleges and universities across the county (400+) are still accepting and enrolling students for September. In Massachusetts alone, 25 schools (as of May 13) are actively considering new admissions applications and some even have financial aid available. Across New England, NY and the Mid-Atlantic there are 120+ college and universities actively looking for you. As the process moved past the May 1 date, rolling admissions kicks in! Interested students and families who are ready should contact the Admissions Office at their school(s) of interest to learn about their specific admissions and financial aid procedures. Applications for admissions and financial aid will be required and details related to following up should be watched closely.
If a 4YR school is just too early than beginning at community college first is just the right thing. Completing one’s Associate Degree and transferring to a 4-Year institution is an excellent option and one that should be celebrated. In the fall of 2017, 34%1 of the total undergraduate student population was enrolled in a community college. Attending a two-year program is a great option that allows a student to strengthen their academic and personal resume and obtain an Associate’s Degree at a very affordable rate. For those who begin at a community college individual states, like Massachusetts, Maine and others offer tuition and enrollment incentives for students to utilize the Associates to Bachelors educational paths.
Ok, but if the idea of going to school after high school is just not in the cards, launching into work is a perfect way to use the gap to analyze current and future goals. Work and learn! The need for trade and skilled professionals as well as individuals working in financial services, healthcare and sales are all critically needed today. In the fall of 2017, 58% of those students enrolled in school after high school was part-time2. High school and recent graduates who are interested in this path, work and earn, are encouraged to continue with their direct employment searches, building their personal network and using a local career center. Investigating trade organizations like the IEBW is also an excellent resource for those thinking of a skilled professional or apprenticeship.
Choosing to attend college right out of high school is not an easy task. It requires a strong evaluation of the student wants, needs and expectations. It should not be based on the fact that everyone is going or even one single consideration. It is about where will the investment; academic, social, emotional, financial and career-outcome will take a student. For if the investment hits the mark then the selection for the college is the “right fit”!!
1 Community College Research Center (CCRC)
2 US Bureau of Labor
by Tom O'Hare | Mar 23, 2019 | Before, College Planning
Which major investment do you think individuals do not get pre-qualified, pre-approved for?
$400K Mortgage? $35K Car Loan? $250K College Education?
The correct answer is “college”! But why?
Since the notion of going to college was invented, students and parents have been taught to search, visit, make their selection on what I call the “hope and dream” mindset. Students and parents are told, everyone can go to college? You can go anywhere you want. Unfortunately for many that are not realistic?
Higher education today costs between $120K to $250K for a four-year public or private education. Although most never pay that much, it is still a very expensive consumer purchase. Higher education is the only industry where the average consumer does not fully understand their buying and spending needs and capabilities up front.
Although the “hope and dream” mindset is not wrong, today it is important to be financially prepared as it is academically and personally before going about one’s search. We search for large consumer purchases like buying a home, looking for a car and even remolding a kitchen, by first getting pre-qualified and pre-approved!
Getting pre-qualified, pre-approved should focus on two important areas, the readiness of a student to attend college (written about in a separate piece, Am I ready and what path to follow) and by knowing one’s buying needs and capability. Both are critical to the college planning experience.
When Should I Get Pre-Approved
As early as the freshman year of high school, parents of students considering college should learn their spending and buying capabilities. Understanding what constitutes college costs, how financial aid is determined, and what a family will be expected to pay, all need to be in the forefront of college planning. A student and family should analyze their financial profile and build a list that includes the quest for the “best school for my child”, but is based on reality. Looking for schools and ignoring the ability to pay results in April tears, co-signing private loans and excessive debt.
College costs vary between institutions, public and private, in-state or out-of-state and typically increase on an annual basis. Colleges and universities offer tuition assistance in the form of scholarships and need-based financial aid to those who qualify. Understanding the range of awards based on student high school resume and institution admission criteria need to considered with size, majors and extra-curricular when building a list of college options.
What Does Pre-Approval Look Like?
Digging into the process of determining what one can/could afford requires a few calculations. Number one; Expected Family Contribution, commonly known as the EFC. This mystical number that stimulates a love-hate relationship is used by everyone who awards need-based money. The Feds, state Board of Higher Education, colleges, universities and many who award private philanthropic scholarships. The EFC is derived from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA!! It analyzes an individual family’s income, assets, and household size to determine what that specific family can be expected to contribute towards their student’s educational cost. The difference between a college’s cost and student/family’s EFC is what is known as “need”.
This example looks at two colleges, different costs with the same EFC and demonstrates what the unmet need will be prior to seeking out and applying for financial aid.
Hold on. I can’t pay the “EFC”, never mind the balance! Understood, but for the purposes of getting pre-approved, you should have a benchmark, a line in the sand. Using one’s EFC, a fixed number, a student/family can examine what an initial need will be school by school.
Now with this new powerful information, it’s time to go shopping. Time to explore colleges and build a list of college options built based on a student’s high school resume, the classics (size, location, majors) and new information, need.
Knowing one’s financial need (and EFC) earlier shifts the college search from a “hope and dream mindset” to “I know” what is needed to make the match. A search should identify a wide range of options. A search for colleges should also look for institutions that award aggressively and those who don’t.
College Plan
Today, the college planning experience needs to be different. It must be realistic, based on examining a students’ readiness to go and a families ability to pay. College plans focused on these two areas create options for students after high school, those that are academically and personally challenging and affordable. Students need to be coached and motivated to excel to reach their aspirations and goals, understand the value of being their own authentic self as they begin to consider their educational – career path after high school. Add in the “money talk” and now students and families can create a college -career plan that is realistic and one that will position a young adult for financial and individuals success.
In the end, it all its all about establishing a college- career plan that is designed and focused on the individual student and family. Is it easy, no. Is it doable, 100%!!
by Tom O'Hare | Jan 10, 2019 | Before, College Admissions, College Readiness
Start the Clock – High School Juniors!
Pivotal time of the year, definitely!
Parents, mom’s of high school juniors, if not already, the college planning experience should be started! College admissions and financial aid is a complex and competitive process. Here are five considerations to add to the “going to college” experience.
Know Your Affordability
Equal to finding one’s educational path after high school is understanding college cost. How will one pay the college bill? Getting in is essential, but having a plan to pay is critical.
The average annual cost of tuition and fees for private four-year college in 2017-2018 (College Board) was $34,740 while $9,970 for a state resident at a public college. But, add in room and board, transportation and personal expenses and the true annual cost of attending is closer to $52,000 (private) and $25,00 (public).
A college search must start with understanding college costs and a realistic idea as to how educational cost will be paid. How much has the family saved to cover college cost? How will we handle one student, not to mention multiple students in college? What is the expectation for scholarships and financial aid and will we be eligible? How much will we be expected to pay? These questions along with others need to be asked and addressed early college planning conversations. Understanding cost and how to make an affordable college choice is critical to the overall college experience.
Understand Your Student
There are many factors that go into searching for and selecting a student’s educational path after high school. Should a student follow a traditional four-year institutional path, maybe community college first or even go to work and feel out the real world.
The junior year is a pivotal time to evaluate a student’s readiness and interest to continue their education after high school. Today, the pressure associated with going to college and incurring debt, just because everyone goes, should no long be the accepted norm. Yes, education after high school is important for gaining financial and social stability, however, there are multiple paths to follow. Education is a lifelong pursuit and the choice of a path that meets a student’s academic and personal talents (and interest) needs to be championed and supported by educators, business leaders and society!
Understanding your junior (scrambling senior) is difficult enough. Guiding one through the education-work conversation can be numbing. However, parents today need to stop the train and have an open, no judgmental conversations. Junior year for sure, but even earlier is better. Works with one’s hands, driven by design, creative writer, can fix anything, loves science are just a few of the discovery questions that might reveal a path to follow. Liberal arts, economics, electrical apprentice or even an entry level banker while attending courses part-time. Grades, rank, testing, sports and leadership fill in the gaps regarding questioning interest. As parents (Dad of four) we want our students to be successful, however, success after high school can be defined as attending college, entering a trade or a combination of earning and learning. Once we understand our student, we explore the educational paths open to pursue after high school.
Learn the Financial Side
Set on going to college. Fantastic. Remember, we already asked you to consider how will you pay and what is your affordability limit. However, understanding how scholarships, grants and need-based financial aid works is another essential part of a student and family finding an affordable choice. All three are vital to helping pay the bill, but each have their own criteria, eligibility and spoiler alert, many not be available to everyone. Financial aid, specifically need-based aid, plays a key role in helping students and families meet college cost. Parents of current sophomore and juniors need to spend quality time learning how financial aid is determined, what is a families what financial information reporting “base year” and the impact of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Equal to where a student wants to attend is how will the bill get paid. Learning the financial side will shed a great deal of information to answer the question.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Plan
The junior year is the pivotal point when students and family begin to the process of determine a high school student’s educational path after graduation. Will it be traditional, four-year degree program, attending community college or starting working first?
Consider Mom’s College Planning Checklist. Designed for Mom (sorry Dad), to help map out the steps necessary to finding, selecting and determining an affordable educational path for their student after high school. The plan should include month to month tasks, deadlines, touring campuses, test taking and completing financial aid forms. A comprehensive plan can be obtained when working with Get College Going, however, Mom’s Plan, will keep everyone on track and harmony in the household.
Watch the Clock
Time can be your enemy or your savior. The typical college planning – enrollment timeline starts in December of a junior’s high school year and can run on average for 18 months. Now, 18 months sounds like a long time, however, academic, social, athletic/dance/performing arts, and other activities can make the time disappear in the blink of an eye. The power of planning is critical to finding an affordable educational path after high school.
Ask for Help
We are only scratching the surface with the advice provide in this piece. College planning can be a complex and sometimes overwhelming period in a student and family’s life. Ask for help. Students stay connected to your parents. Plus, collectively, ask friends, extended family members, the high school guidance department. And, if you need to, ask for independent professional assistance. Learn, Explore & Question!
by Tom O'Hare | Oct 2, 2018 | Before, Financial Aid
FAFSA TIME 
The Fall is upon us! Baseball is going into the playoffs, the gridiron and fall sports are in full swing and dance studios are beaming with ballerinas and tapers. For parents of high school seniors, it’s time for college planning and answering the question, How Are We Going to Pay?
Important to this question is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). The FAFSA is key to helping to determine a student’s eligibility for need-based tuition assistance and should be completed by all students interested in attending college in next September 2019. The FAFSA calculates what a student and family can anticipate to be their contribution towards a students overall educational cost. Known as the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) this number along with other details analyzed through the FAFSA are used to determine eligibility for tuition assistance. A measurement, a calculation that many students and families realize is not in the bank and may not be available to meet the Net Tuition Costs for a specific college and/or university.
WHO LOOKS AT THE RESULTS?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and its results are reviewed by many as part of the process of determining eligibility for need-based grants, self-help (loans and work-study) and in some case scholarships (merit and need-based eligibility criteria). The FAFSA is used by colleges, universities, government agencies and private philanthropic organizations (scholarships) for the intent awarding assistance to students and families. The FAFSA is for students intending or enrolled in two or four colleges and universities, trade or professional school and graduate degree programs. Completing and submitting the FAFSA is a MUST for all college bound students and families looking for assistance with paying an educational tuition bill.
WHY NOW
Knowledge is power! And in the case of paying for college, understanding how much a student/family will need to pay can be the difference in knowing what school on one’s list might be the most affordable. Completing the FAFSA, learning one’s EFC and using a college’s Net Price Calculator will strengthen the answer to the question, is this school a good fit? For a school may be an outstanding fit, academically and emotionally, however, if the numbers don’t work and to attend means $$$$$ in loans, maybe, just maybe it is not the right fit.
DON’T PANIC
There are a few more factors that will factor into the affordability and right fit conversation.
- Do I understand the overall formula [Cost minus EFC = Need)?
- What type of merit scholarships and need-based financial aid will I receive?
- Do I have enough different schools in my search list?
- Do schools on the list know about the student?
Use the month of October to jump start the financial part of the college search and selection process. Applications will soon be on their way, financial aid and scholarship awards will follow. Understanding college cost and one’s financial picture now will make for happier times this Spring.
Just starting the college search process? Download your Free College Planning Checklist!!
