Advice for Parents of College-Bound High School Seniors (and Juniors)a

Reframmellator

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Our next door neighbors' kid is going to look at colleges this week. I keep thinking he's 11. He's a pretty good baseball player, so he's hoping to be able to go to a place that will help him out so he can continue to play.

My wife and I realized I should probably give his dad a quick set of suggestions to help him in terms of financial aid. He may not get an athletic scholarship, but he also may be able to get non-athletic aid from, say, a Div III school that would like him to play there.

Here are some things I've learned if you would like your kid to get the most financial aid possible and a low cost, high quality education. I'm sure this group has many others they can add.

1. Consider community colleges. Many have full credit transfer programs with more prestigious four-year schools. Some will guarantee junior admission if your student maintains a minimum GPA (like a 3.5.) The teachers at these places are there because they love to teach, so the quality is very good. The price can be as little as 1/10 the bill for a year at a four-year school, which can really matter if your kid doesn't know what (s)he wants to do going into college - and many don't.

2. Shoot for schools where your kid will be in the top 10% of the incoming class. (S)he will make that class more prestigious, so the school will do more to land him/her.

3. Don't limit you targets to low cost schools - it's the total cost of attending. A $50k school may offer $25k in scholarships and $25k in loans. A $40k school may offer $5k in scholarships and $35k in loans.

4. Whatever aid package you get, write back and request more. Stress how your child really wants to attend this school but you're facing a better aid package from another school. Stress how your child's life experiences will enhance the learning climate.

5. Many schools no longer require SATs for admission but they will use them for bragging rights. Some good test prep (full disclosure: I have worked part-time for a major test prep company) can boost your child's scores hundreds of points. Take the test multiple times. Why? Let's say Pat takes the math and verbal version of the SAT three times:
500 Math 500 Verbal
620 Math 390 Verbal
420 Math 580 Verbal

What will the college use for your kid's SAT score? 1200 - they will use the highest math and highest verbal. That way they can say their incoming freshman class had an average SAT score of 1200.
 
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