Parents entering the college admissions process are prone to “Four Fatal Errors.”
They are:
1. Choosing a college before understanding their financial options
The myth of “Choose first, pay later” is just that, a myth.
Too many families get themselves in situations where financial offers from some highly visible colleges, make attending their student’s “Dream School” a financial nightmare. It’s imperative for families to learn what their financial options are.
Make sure you have a sound financial strategy in place before beginning the college search.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
2. The delusion that billions of scholarships go unclaimed each year
This fiercely held belief is simply not true.
Many students spend hours needlessly searching for and applying for random scholarships.
However, once colleges find out that a student has an outside scholarship, it’s possible that the value of the scholarship could actually be deducted from the financial aid package, resulting in a zero net gain.
It’s best to check the policy on private scholarships and research specific campus-based scholarships at schools to which your student is applying. Those scholarships will actually reduce your total college costs.
The Arthur Holly Compton Scholarship at the College of Wooster is an example of this.
Also, academic merit scholarships, which many schools offer to strong, academically qualified students, can make a high tuition college affordable.
3. Suffering from “brand name paralysis”
Many students and their families suffer from the delusion that only highly visible (top U.S. News Ranked Colleges) offer the best educational opportunities.
Truth is, there is a staggering number of excellent colleges offering top-quality educations at a cost a family can manage.
The landscape has changed!
Colleges that were second and third tier schools when parents applied several years ago, are now first tier institutions.
What’s more important? A college’s name recognition or a school that is a great “fit “ for your child?
4. Grossly underestimating the work load/level of detail required
Many parents and students new to the college admissions process don’t believe their friends who tell them that it can be “overwhelming.”
In fact, college selection and admissions has become so complex that many families don’t start soon enough and end up having it be more stressful than necessary.
A thoughtful and deliberate undertaking starting at the beginning of a student’s junior year will make the process manageable and, hopefully, fun!
** This article was written by Howard Verman, Director of Strategies for College, and published in collaboration with Lauren Starkey of Examiner.com
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Truer words were never posted. I am learning each of these lessons as we undertake my son’s college search – I’ve posted some of the things I’m learning on my blog, http://www.buddhaandsasha.blogspot.com. I’m going to add a link to this page because it’s valuable and important information. Thank you, thank you!