Five Strategies to Save Thousands on College

When talking about college debt, the statistics are never encouraging. In fact, the story gets sadder each year.  The average recent college graduate has amassed a debt exceeding $37,000 and joins the ranks of 43 million borrowers who collectively owe $1.76 trillion in education debt. The key is to avoid being a part of this grim statistic by considering some highly effective strategies.

1) When choosing potential colleges, high school students should not necessarily reach for the stars – unless it’s to a college with an impressive endowment. Students will find that if they apply to a college a tier below the level of school to which they could likely get accepted, the scholarship money will almost certainly be much greater.  Students planning to major in business, for example, often seek to gain acceptance to NYU’s Stern School of Business where the cost hovers around $76,000 a year. These same students could reasonably expect to be welcomed at St. John’s University in New York, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and a host of other institutions with impressive business schools, substantially lower costs of attendance, and generous merit money (to attract strong students) which does not get paid back.

Parents Role in the College Application Process

Parents walk a fine line when it comes to their children and college applications.  Getting too involved will earn the title of “helicopter parent.”  Leaving everything to the student and hoping for the best – well that’s quite risky! There is a healthy middle ground. The ideal role for parents is to help with research, provide informational opportunities, and handle the financials.

Often students feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start the college process, so parents should help identify colleges that may be an ideal match.  The best way to start is by discussing what major might be of interest. Many students don’t know exactly what career they want to pursue, but they will likely know whether or not they are interested in science, business, engineering, education, or the arts, for example.  This knowledge alone will help to narrow down the research process. Together, parents and students can look up potential majors in College Board’s Book of Majors. Or they can visit collegescorecard.ed.gov which will identify every college that offers each major, as well as the average cost of attending the school and the average salary of its graduates in each particular field.

Six Years Is The New Four, College Students Sadly Find Out

“What is your four-year graduation rate?” This may be one of the most important questions that college-bound students and their parents can ask when considering a potential college.  The failure to graduate students in four years has become so commonplace that even U.S. News & World Report, in its highly regarded 2022 “Best Colleges” guide, reports the six-year graduation rate of colleges throughout the country.

Sometimes there’s a good reason for students to take six years to earn a degree.  Perhaps they switched majors and many of their credits did not carry over to their new course of study. On the other hand, perhaps it was out of their control.  Maybe some of their required courses were not readily available, requiring a longer than expected college stay in order to meet graduation requirements.  Either way, students and parents who are budgeting for a college diploma need to know, in advance, whether to multiply the annual cost of attendance (including tuition, room, board, books and fees) by four or by six!

“Even after six years, less than 60% of students at 4-year colleges have earned a Bachelor’s degree. The track record for community colleges is even worse, with less than 20% of community college students earning an Associate’s degree or Certificate,” according to a Forbes article drawing statistics from the book, Who Graduates from College? Who Doesn’t?

Six Strategies for Filing Successful Applications (Part 2 of Column Series)

In last week’s column, the first three strategies were enumerated on how to construct impressive college applications.  The advice was to write an impressive essay, personalize each application, and be sure to cover the basics with a solid GPA and notable SAT scores. This week’s column continues with three additional strategies for increasing the likelihood of getting a “You’re Accepted” letter or email from your colleges of choice.

4) Start constructing a resume early in your high school years so you will have time to fill in the gaps that become evident when you list your life experiences on paper.  You’ll want to be sure to have a category for volunteer work.  Colleges offer limitless opportunities for students to engage in volunteer work, and they know that students who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to helping others during their high school years are much more likely to be altruists during their college years. It’s also ideal to have a “passion project” to highlight on your resume.  Have you launched a business, initiated a profitable charitable drive, written and published a book, hosted an art exhibition, or developed an impressive skill or talent? Colleges are seeking a well-rounded student body comprised of students who have varying attributes.  Those who develop an impressive resume over the course of their high school years have a powerful tool to include on their college applications.

Six Strategies for Filing Successful Applications

It’s not a secret that it takes considerable time and effort to compose effective college applications, so there’s no better time than the present for college bound students to embark on the journey. Here are some tips to get started:

1) Write an impressive essay.  Most students start out with the Common Application, which is accepted by more than 900 colleges.  It requires one essay between 250-650 words in length.  Students need to think of something they want to share with the college admission people that wouldn’t otherwise come across in their application.  The goal of an effective college essay is to show insight into one’s admirable character, a sense of direction for the future, and a thirst for knowledge and opportunities in the next stage of life. It has already been announced that the Common Application essay prompts for 2022-2023 are the same as those for the current year, with the addition of a new one about gratitude.  So students can get to work early, writing and fine-tuning an essay that they are proud of.

2) Personalize each application.  Every college is greatly concerned with its “yield” — the percent of accepted students who actually enroll. So a great strategy to actually gain acceptance is to convince the school that you will almost certainly attend if given the opportunity to do so. If at all possible, visit any college to which you are applying, sign in so the college has a record of your visit, and take notes of the college’s specific qualities that make it so appealing. On each application, clearly express the reasons the particular school is a great fit.  Does it offer impressive internships or have a high acceptance rate to med school? Does it host a study abroad program in a particular country that would benefit your academic interests?  Let each college know the specifics as to why it’s a perfect match, since a show of “demonstrated interest” greatly increases the chances of getting on the accepted list.

The Secrets of Getting a “You’re Accepted!” Letter

 

An “Education Life” supplement published by the New York Times featured a cover stating, “Admissions is unfair:  Here’s why.”  Surrounding the cynical title were clues as to the criteria that might swing a college applicant to the acceptance or rejection pile. 

Before slumping into a depression, college bound students should take comfort from the fact that the vast majority of colleges accept at least half of their applicants.  Some accept many more.  U.S. News & World Report lists 100 colleges and universities that, in recent years, have accepted between 96% and 100% of applicants.  

It’s the world-famous institutions that, each year, collectively reject hundreds of thousands of students.  According to U.S. News & World Report, the acceptance rate for the Fall 2021 freshman class was 11% at Cornell University and lower at all the other Ivy League schools as well as at Stanford, M.I.T., University of Chicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and California Institute of Technology.

What college bound students need to do, therefore, is be aware of the criteria that college admissions officers are taking under careful consideration. Some of these benchmarks are outside a student’s control.  Many of the top colleges favor “legacy” students – those with an alumni parent.  Many colleges give preference to  “first generation” students – those whose parents do not have a college education.  Many colleges value geographical diversity – seeking a freshmen class that represents all 50 states and as many foreign countries as possible.  If students can use any of these criteria to their benefit, they should highlight the information on their applications.

High School Students’ College Resume

What’s the best way to make sure college admissions officers know about all your accomplishments?  Compose a resume.  That way, you don’t have to worry about fitting the important details of your activities and achievements on the limited space allocated on most college applications.  

The best time to first compose a resume is early in your high school years. Then you will have time to fill in the gaps that become evident when you put your life story in print.  Resume categories typically include Education (listing your G.P.A., SAT scores, AP courses, and other academic accomplishments), Athletic accolades, Volunteer activities, Work experience, Extracurricular involvement, and, hopefully, details of a “passion project” where you engaged in an activity that demonstrates a talent or interest not common among your peers which will ultimately help you stand out to college admissions officers.

Not every student needs to feature every category on a resume.  Athletes, musicians, and others involved in a time-consuming activity may not have the opportunity to take on a paid job.  Students with after-school family or work responsibilities may not have the liberty of engaging in extracurricular activities.  But all students should be able to account for how they spend their out-of-school hours – hopefully developing a passion or talent that colleges will want them to bring to their campus.