How to avoid overpaying for college

overpaying

If you are the parent of a college-bound teen and your family is likely to not qualify for financial aid, then there are three lessons from this most recent admissions cycle that you must know. Applying these lessons while your teen is in high school can help you avoid overpaying for college. I will give you a brief background on this current class of seniors so that you understand better how to apply these three important lessons.

 

What happened this year in college admissions

This recent class of seniors that I worked with started on their applications by August at the latest. The average number of applications was 8, which is similar to the national average.  A selection of colleges where my current class of students applied included:

Dartmouth

Furman

Georgetown

Harvard

High Point

Howard

Loyola of Chicago

Northeastern

Pomona

Seattle Pacific

Spelman

The Ohio State University

UC Berkeley

University of Michigan

Villanova

 

My individual meetings with students occurred every 1-2 weeks, based on their application deadlines. Over a six- month period, we met about 20 times. Just as a “back of the envelope” estimate and based on my conversations with students, each senior spent about 100+ hours working on college applications!

Many of these hours occurred earlier in the fall as 80% of my seniors submitted one or two applications by an early deadline. I encourage students to consider applying Early Action (EA) to a couple colleges, which means that they will typically get an admissions decision by December. Given that there are plenty of colleges with January deadlines, if students learn a deferred or denied decision in December, then they still have time to submit additional applications. Furthermore, with EA applications, students have time to compare financial awards and weigh their college decision.

This year a few client families chose an Early Decision deadline. This option means that if the student is admitted then they must attend the college regardless of any financial aid. Therefore, if the parents do not qualify for financial aid, then the parents could be paying the full cost of attendance, i.e. $65,000+ per year for college.

 

What to expect next year in college admissions

If you want to pay considerably less for college and position your teen to qualify for merit scholarships then here are three key lessons:

Lesson 1: Campus visits matter

A campus visit signals to a college that your teen is interested in attending. Oftentimes, parents may not want to invest the time and money for a campus visit. However, investing $200-$500 to visit a college can have a return of $10,000+ in scholarships.  Colleges want to invest their scholarship dollars in admitting students that a) will enroll in that college and b) will contribute to the quality of life on campus.

Your teen may want to apply to a college because of their chances of being admitted. That’s all well and good but as a parent who doesn’t want to overpay for college, you also want a financial award to come with that admission letter. Investing in the campus visit can help your teen both get in and get money for college.

A campus visit was the most important factor in helping students write a compelling essay, which leads to the second lesson.

 

Lesson 2: Essays matter

Your teen will have essays to write for their college application and often for scholarships. A common question on many college applications is “Why this College?” Certainly, if your teen has not visited the campus, then it can be a challenge to respond to this prompt. Two of my students in this senior class were not able to do a campus visit due to athletic obligations. Their essays relied extensively on website research and these students spent considerable time working through the essays. Although the admissions decisions are not out yet for the current senior class, in the past when a student applied without a campus visit, she was admitted to the college. However, the college offered $0 in scholarships or aid. The signal from that college was “we’ll admit you but we’re not investing in you”.

 

In the essays that students write for college applications, the message they are conveying is “Why admit me”. It’s not always about how “good” of a writer your teen is, but how well your teen can communicate how they will contribute to campus life. That’s not always easy for a teen to communicate, but there are thousands of teens who do so every year. . . . which brings me to the third lesson.

 

Lesson 3: Competition is strong

Last year saw a 7% increase in the number of college freshman applications. Additionally, colleges are ramping up recruitment through social media and more ways to apply so, in turn, the volume of applications is expected to increase again. Current juniors should therefore expect that the competition for certain colleges will be stiff. When greater numbers of students are applying to the same colleges, it is more competitive.

For the remainder of high school, it’s important that your teen is positioning themselves to stand out in their applications. And as they are developing their list of colleges to consider these two questions:

Why am I special?

Why is X college a fit for me?

 

As a parent, you may want to answer these questions for your teen. But the answer must come from your teen. Admissions readers can easily detect any response that is not from your teen. Your teen’s genuine response to these questions can make all the difference in which colleges admit them. And . . . which colleges will offer scholarships so that you are not overpaying.

 

Question: How is your teen helping to pay for college? What are they doing in high school to position themselves for top dollar scholarships? Please comment below.

 

Amherst: Tops in Liberal Arts and No Student Loans

amherst no student loans

Amherst College is widely regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges, with about 1,800 students from nearly all states and 50 countries. It is located in western Massachusetts, a town rated as one of the best college towns in America. The entire region is beautiful and densely populated with picturesque New England towns, unlimited cultural attractions, and great local restaurants.

 

Academics at Amherst

Amherst has an open curriculum, which means that there are no requirements and students work with an adviser to craft their own course plan. While the open curriculum offers flexibility and independence, it also means that each classroom is filled with students interested in that topic.

The Five College Consortium offers an opportunity for Amherst students to cross register at University of Massachusetts Amherst, Smith, Mt Holyoke, or Hampshire College. More than 40% of Amherst students study abroad, choosing among 240 programs worldwide.

 

Quick facts about Amherstamherst college

Admissions rate: 14%

Freshman retention: 96%

Freshmen from out of state: 89%

4-year Graduation rate: 86%

Most popular majors:  English, political science, economics

 

Social scene

Rated as one of the top college towns in American, there is plenty to do after class and on weekends, plus you don’t need a car. Amherst is part of the Five College Consortium so students not only take classes but socialize at the other four campuses. There’s a free shuttle providing transportation to each campus.

Both varsity and intramural sports are taken seriously at Amherst, with 80% of the student body participating in intramural and club sports.

 

Housing

Almost all of Amherst’s student population lives on campus, since housing is guaranteed for all 4 years. All freshmen live together in the “first-year quad”. Fourteen theme houses are available on campus for upperclassmen and include an Arts and Health and Wellness themed spaces.

 

Similar colleges to consider:

Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, Yale

 

Financial aid and scholarships at Amherst

Amherst offers both need-based and merit aid. Amherst meets 100% of need and has a need-blind policy for domestic and international students. Although the overall cost of attendance is about $75,000, the average financial aid package is $52K. 55% of students receive scholarships. There are NO student loans, only scholarship grants offered!

What do you think about Amherst college? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

How to get admitted by handwriting college essay

handwrite college essay to get in

Each year, I work with many students on their personal statements for colleges, graduate schools, summer programs, and scholarships. In my approach to working with students on their brainstorming and developing an authentic voice that leads to admissions, I advise/encourage/urge students to handwrite their ideas and initial draft. Granted . . . it may seem a bit outdated, but it works every time. . . here’s how. .  .

Handwriting shapes your thinking because you actually have to slow down in the process as you are shaping the letters. As I writer, I still begin my own writings with a pen and paper . . . even my dissertation started by hand! The tactile experience of handwriting is similar in nature to holding a newspaper in your hands to read versus reading a newspaper online. In my own experience as a reader, my visualization of the articles and ads is different when I’m holding print versus when I’m reading online. Those visual cues in print media also help me to remember the story better. Does that happen to you?

guidebook to write commonapp essay

Why handwrite

Nevertheless, this online article in The Huffington Post captured my imagination because it explains further the power of handwriting and its importance to learning:

A new study that compared the different brain processes used for writing by hand and typing has found that there are cognitive benefits to putting a pen to paper. These findings give support to the continued teaching of penmanship and handwriting in schools. Children who don’t learn the skill of handwriting, like generations before them had to, may be missing out on an important developmental process. Compared to using two hands to type out letters on a keyboard, writing with one hand uses more complex brain power. Writing is more complicated because it integrates the following three brain processes:

  • Visual: Seeing what is on the paper in front of you.
  • Motor: Using your fine motor skills to actually put the pen to paper and form the letters to make the words.
  • Cognitive: Remembering the shapes of the letters requires a different type of feedback from the brain.

As adults, we know that writing by hand is a much slower process than typing on a keyboard. And we’re all in a hurry to share our every thought with our social networking worlds. But, as an experiment, sit down and write a letter. See how different it feels to actually hold the pen and to have to plan out your thoughts. It’ll be good for your brain. Handwriting may be slower, and there is no spell check, but this is precisely why picking up a pen and writing your thoughts down on paper may actually help you exercise your brain.

amherst college
Amherst’s academic quad

via Why Does Writing Make Us Smarter?.

Recently when I was visiting Amherst College (Freshman retention rate: 96%), I happened into a shop that sold typewriters. (My daughter’s eyes lit up in amazement when she saw these typewriters in their dusted colors.) The owner stated that he continues to have a thriving business among “artists, writers, and poets” because they connect with the feel and sound of the typewriter’s keys. My conversation with him resonated with my own experience as a writer because it’s that same connection that is so powerful about handwriting.

My students have been admitted to colleges such as Amherst, Boston College, Harvard, Stanford, Tufts, Wesleyan and many more. So, handwriting college essays does work. The very first session I have with students to begin their college application essays starts with pen and paper.

Have you found that your writings are different if you start with pen and paper vs a keyboard?

Get the college application essay guidebook that takes you from "I'm stuck" to standing out

What you didn’t know about academics and social scene at MIT

mit engineering computer science

MIT is well known for its highly selective academic programs in computer science and engineering. Most people, however, aren’t aware that MIT also has distinguished programs in the humanities, social sciences, architecture, and business. It’s worth noting that the MIT Sloan School of Management even offers a full undergraduate business program, unlike Stanford.

mit highly selective
MIT highly selective

MIT has a core curriculum with humanities and science courses required for all students. Like Williams College, MIT students take 4 courses per semester and typically declare their major by end of freshman year. For those students who want even more varied course offerings, MIT does cross-register with Harvard, Wellesley, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Every MIT student must pass the swim test to graduate, like Columbia University.

MIT started the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, now adapted at many other universities across the country. About 85% of MIT students take advantage of these research opportunities, which can be done for course credit or stipend.

Additional quick facts about MIT:

Acceptance: 8%

Freshmen retention: 98%

Freshmen from out of state: 93%

4-year Graduation rate: 84%

Most popular majors: mechanical engineering, computer science/engineering, electrical engineering/computer science

Social: MIT has the most varsity sports of any Division 3 school, with 20% student participation. In addition to athletics, there are over 500 clubs, 70-80 of which are performing arts clubs. Half of the guys at MIT pledge a fraternity.

Housing: All freshmen live on campus and approximately 90% of upperclassmen. Housing is guaranteed for 4 years, which is especially for the majority of MIT students who are from outside Massachusetts. Similar to the housing system at CalTech, MIT students can choose where they want to live.

Similar colleges to consider: CalTech, Rochester Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania

Financial aid: MIT offers only need-based scholarships, with 100% of need met. For students with family incomes of $75,000 and under, MIT ensures that those students do not pay anything for tuition. Although the cost of attendance is $67,000, the average need-based financial aid package is $39K. About 90% of students receive scholarships/financial aid.

What do you think about MIT? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

Furman offers internships and research in all-residential community

Furman is a small, liberal arts college located in Greenville, SC that takes advantage of its size and location. The 2,700 undergraduates have access to faculty-mentored research projects and all faculty serve as advisors. The largest class at Furman has only 32 students. Over two-thirds of Furman students participate in internships, often with the 200+ companies in the local area. As a 100% residential campus, students can build long-lasting friendships throughout their undergraduate years.

Two Furman programs worth noting are the 5-year program in Education and another in Chemistry.

 

Acceptance: 65%

Freshmen from out of state: 72%

Most popular majors: Political science, Health Sciences, Business Administration

Housing: Furman is 100% residential, which means that all students live on campus all 4 years. They fondly describe their housing system as “7 years of friendships”!! Varied housing options on campus include apartments and eco-housing for sustainable living.

4-year Graduation rate: 79%

Academics:  Furman’s Health Sciences major is particularly strong for its pre-med students. Furman’s program helps pre-med students with getting all of their non-academic requirements for a competitive medical school applications – research, internships and community service. Pre-med majors also get assistance with MCAT and medical school applications.

Furman offers a May immersion experience with 2-credit courses. Undergraduate research opportunities start in the summer after freshman year with a faculty mentor.

Many Furman students graduate with a minor. The most popular minor is Poverty Studies. The fastest growing major is currently Sustainability Science.

Social: Participation in campus life is encouraged through 4 required “cultural life” points per semester. There are 200+ cultural life activities a year, so it’s rather easy for students to get credit for taking advantage of all the fun and interesting events.

Financial: Furman offers merit aid and need-based financial aid, with 80% of need met, towards the cost of attendance, which is around $64,000. Furman’s merit scholarships do not require test scores to qualify.

What do you think of Furman? What do you think of test-optional scholarships? Please post your comments below.

Vassar has an independent, interdisciplinary and creative spirit

Vassar is a highly selective, small, coeducational liberal arts college, located just 70 miles north of New York City and known for its liberal traditions. Vassar prides itself on curricular flexibility, tolerance, and diversity.vassar liberal arts college

Multidisciplinary studies have been a distinctive feature of academic life at Vassar for several decades, fostering an intellectual environment that thrives on crossing disciplinary boundaries. A great example of this academic freedom and mindset is the Interdisciplinary Robotics Research Laboratory, created by five professors in biology, psychology and computer science where students can investigate with physical robots as well as computer simulations of virtual robots.

The college’s 1,000-acre campus, just outside Poughkeepsie, New York, is decorated with architecture which is predominantly neo-Gothic and yes, the library does look like a scene out of Harry Potter.

Acceptance: 26%

Freshmen from out of state: 71%

Most popular majors: economics, English, psychology

Housing: Guaranteed housing all four years

4-year Graduation rate: 88%

Vassar College

Academics: Vassar began as a women’s college in 1861 and went coed in 1968. There is no core curriculum and no general education or distribution requirements. Academic flexibility is paramount. That said, all students must take a Freshman Course, a small seminar emphasizing oral and written expression, as well as one course that requires significant quantitative analysis (similar to Hamilton College, also in New York).

More than half the students at Vassar double-major, with the most popular majors being English, political science, psychology, economics, and biological sciences. 70% of Vassar students go to graduate school, with medical school being the largest percent. Absolutely love that all freshmen have their own librarian.

Social: Vassar doesn’t have a Greek system, so social life revolves around films, lectures, parties, concerts, and the like. With its strong theatrical department, Vassar has 50+ theatre productions per year. A senior remarked that, “There are more than 1,000 events registered on the campus every year, which is nearly 40 events a week.”  Student Association, WVKR radio station, Vassar Greens, and ultimate Frisbee are influential in student social life. Popular events include Spring Concert, Founder’s Day, and All Campus Halloween Party.

Financial: Vassar offers merit scholarships and need-based financial aid, with 100% of need fully met.  The average financial aid package is $45,000 and 60% of students receive awards. Interestingly, the family income of students who received financial aid ranged from $0 to $270,000.

What do you think of Vassar? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

Last-minute time-saving tips for FAFSA and CSS Profile

When you’re doing anything at the last minute, it always seems to take longer. That is so true with completing financial documents for college. Recently, I was completing FAFSA in support of my son’s college applications. Several of the private universities on his list also required the CSS Profile. (Yes, I was completing them at the last minute.) So that you don’t get as frustrated and waste time as I did, here are 2 key tips to keep in mind when you complete the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile:

Your Teen Leads the Financial Aid Process

The FAFSA and/or CSS Profile are in the name of your student. This means that your teen must have their own FSA ID in order for you to complete the FAFSA. For the CSS Profile, your student’s College Board account is the account name for a parent to submit financial documents. In my particular case, my son’s login used for his SAT registration authorized me to complete the CSS Profile. It makes sense when you think about it although the logistics are frustrating.

Sidebar: This approach to completing the financial documents speaks loudly to a statement I make repeatedly to parents:

Your Teen is in Charge

It may be scary, but very true. Throughout the college admissions process, your teen owns the process. When we, as parents take over, that’s when our teen’s chances of getting in and getting money are jeopardized.

Plan Ahead

The first step in this FAFSA Guide is to get an FSA ID. It takes 2-3 days to obtain this FSA ID because of the required social security number verification.

What happens though if you don’t have 2-3 days to wait to fill out the FAFSA? If you want to start the FAFSA without the FSA ID, then I suggest that you start the FAFSA using your student’s information. This will allow you to fill out the application immediately. If you filed your taxes in the year requested, please use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to save time.

Before submitting the application, there is a place for an e-signature. This would usually be signed with the student’s FSA ID. Your student may, however, sign without the FSA ID, then select the box to verify the information being submitted. The parent can also sign and submit the FAFSA. Later, after receiving the FSA ID, then the FAFSA can be officially “signed” with that FSA ID.

Please create a reminder on your calendar to return to the FAFSA form and add the FSA ID for the official signature. Taking the initiative to add the FSA ID later will ensure that there are no delays in any college funding your family is due to receive.

“Help! My teen texts way too much”: What parents can do

compass college advisory

Most parents are not pleased with their teen’s overuse of the cell phone. It can be hard to have a decent conversation with a teen when they’re staring at their phone. Just recently, I was meeting with a family for the first time and the son started texting in the middle of the conversation. I paused for a moment and said, “Please put your phone away. . .this meeting is really for YOU.”

If teens don’t have any boundaries when it comes to texting or other screen time, they will use it with little regard to anyone else around them. I didn’t take it personally, although I found his using the phone during our conversation quite disrespectful.teens text alot

What is Screen time?

When I speak with parents about “screen time” use, they often think of cell phones only. However, I include television, computers/internet and game consoles, as well. How students use or misuse the internet is particularly important for college-bound teens as more colleges gain access to an applicant’s social media footprint.

There’s nothing inherently bad with technology. When the use of technology disrupts normal everyday activities, however, that’s when it becomes overuse/abuse. A “normal everyday activity” may be having a conversation with family members, driving safely and responsibly, or socializing with friends.

If your teen’s screen time use interferes with family time, I would suggest that parents immediately set boundaries for use. (Of course, it’s much easier to set those boundaries before high school.) One way to set these boundaries may be in the form of family policy on screen time use.

Your family policy for screen time use can be as restrictive or flexible as needed. It can even extend to screen time use outside the home if that’s a problem area for your teen. For example, during a recent business trip, I went to dinner with a family that I’ve known for many years. Their teen daughter was on her phone throughout the meal, except to eat quickly. I wanted her to feel included but it felt like we were disturbing her.

I talk with hundreds of parents each year and only a small fraction are actually OK with their teen’s screen time use. Are you OK with your teen’s screen time use? If yes, please share what works for your family. If your teen’s screen time use is not OK, what are you doing about it?

Your teen doesn’t need to be “well-rounded” to get into college!

During this time of year as teens are getting more involved in school activities, a question that many students and parents raise is whether it’s best to be more “well-rounded.” The term “well-rounded” refers to a student who has experiences in a range of varied activities. “Should I(my teen) be “well rounded” often translates to ‘”Will this help me(my teen) get into college?” The concept of “well–rounded “ was born in hindsight from a 1980’s myth of how students got accepted to most selective colleges.

My question back to them is “What’s your goal?” It’s not meant to be a smart-alecky response but the emphasis on every aspect of the college admissions process is the student. colgate campus

My recent e-newsletter shared what colleges today want and many parents were abuzz about what this means for their college-bound teen. Colleges want engaged, curious learners. This new revelation can be unsettling because it’s the opposite of “well-rounded”.

Over the years, I’ve read thousands of applications and spoken with numerous admissions officers about what they seek in prospective candidates and “well-rounded” isn’t just dead among the most selective colleges but an even broader landscape. The activities resume filled with 15-20 activities may show busy-ness, but too often lack evidence of these qualities:

    • Interest – are you really that interested in an activity that you’ve only spent a few hours doing in 9th grade? Based on your activities resume, what are you interested in?
    • Commitment – where is the evidence of your commitment? College communities thrive on student commitment.
    • Impact – what difference was made by your participation? do your activities show what impact you made on your school or community through your involvement? When a student is doing an activity for the sake of appearing “well rounded” then they may not be around long enough to take a leadership role, influence the direction, mentor other students, or make any impact at all.

In closing, I go back to my initial response, “What’s your goal?” The entire college admissions process is about the student NOT the college. If the student is doing an activity just for the sake of getting into college, it will come through in their laundry list of activities and especially their application essays. When students focus their time and efforts on those activities they enjoy, have an interest in pursuing, and make an impact on others involved with them . . . that’s when students have the best chances of getting in and getting money for college.

 

Is it too soon for a Campus Visit?

Parents ask me all the time “Is it too soon to go on a campus visit?” Unfortunately, the parents who usually ask that question are indeed asking too soon. There is such thing as too soon for campus visits because too many students get burned out on-campus visits when they start their visits well before the application process.

Campus visits matter most in junior and senior year of high school. When students are visiting colleges at a time when it’s relevant then they tend to learn more from the experience. Also, for colleges that track “demonstrated interest”, having an official visit during that time can help with admissions prospects. The other benefit of visiting when students are actively engaged in the application process is that the visit helps with writing a more compelling essay about why that particular college is a good fit.

Rice campus
Rice has a beautiful campus, much like an urban oasis!

There are a few colleges that may host special events for 9th or 10th graders. I think those visits are OK to attend, perhaps as part of a family trip to that area. I don’t suggest making a special trip out of the way just to attend.

What I see more often is that parents are taking their middle schooler or 9th grader to visit the more prestigious, selective universities. That adds a lot of unnecessary pressure and stress. Yes, Princeton may have a beautiful campus, but is it really necessary to visit when it’s not even certain that Princeton is a good fit for your teen? It can even be a bit tricky when a parent takes their child to a reunion event. That too can set the expectation that your child should attend or at least apply to your alma mater.

The best time for students to visit in the winter and spring of the junior year after researching where it makes the most sense to visit. The summers are good for visits, but families should keep in mind that the campus vibe may be a bit quieter and less impressive. Some colleges offer special overnight visits for seniors. These are great to take advantage of but it can be hard to fit into the senior schedule, especially if a teen has a fall sport.

So the short answer to our initial question on is it too soon to do a campus visit is “Yes!” If your teen is a middle schooler or 9th grader, it’s too soon for a campus visit. Those years are better spent doing well academically and making good choices socially. The end of sophomore year is the earliest I would recommend a campus visit.

When are you starting your campus visits? Please post comments below.