We are approaching that time of the year when seniors will receive the remainder of their admission decisions from colleges they applied to regular decision or if they applied early decision or action and were deferred to regular decision. After receiving these final notifications, seniors will then have until May 1st to decide where they would like to attend. Some have already decided where they would like to attend but most are still weighing the scholarship and financial aid offers they have received from colleges before they make a decision. Below are a few myths I would like to address when making a decision on where to attend as well as a number of resources that can be helpful when weighing the financial aid/scholarship offers from colleges.
Myth #1: It’s worth paying more a year to go to a higher ranked (according to the US News and World Report) school or “more reputable” school.
I cringe sometimes when I hear that a student decided to attend a school and pay $10,000 (I am using $10,000 as a rounded figure) more a year than what they would have paid at a different school they were accepted to. I am not saying that this is always a bad decision because maybe this student’s family saved up and/or could afford it. It is important that the student goes to a school that is a great fit for them. If they decide to attend a school that is more expensive after discussing the financial factors with dad and mom that is fine, but from my perspective, this decision shouldn’t be swayed by the perception that the $10,000 more a year is worth it because the college is ranked higher or people are saying you will have more of an opportunity to get a better job after you graduate. These are both very subjective reasons. If you are going to pay $10,000 more a year to attend a school compared to another, that school should have something distinctive or additional that the other school(s) do not in order to make it a wise financial decision.
Myth #2: I got accepted to my first choice school. It has been my dream to attend this college. I need to go there!
My first piece of advice to juniors and seniors is not to put all of your “emotional apples” in one basket. It’s okay to have a first choice school when applying, but you should at least have a few other schools that you are almost as excited about. There are hundreds of 4-year colleges in the United States. There are plenty that are similar to each other. Spend the time to research schools that are a good fit for you and I guarantee you there will be more than one. There should probably be at least 10 or more and you will need to get that number down to 5-6 that you will apply to. Do not get caught up in the emotion of thinking you can only be successful or happy at one school because that is not true. Wherever you end up attending, it depends on how you take advantage of the opportunities afforded to you that will determine how successful and content you will be. This ties into Myth #1 as well because if your “dream” school is a lot more expensive, you need to re-evaluate whether it is a wise choice to attend that school.
Myth #3: If I call this school they won’t give me any more financial aid.
I have had families get their financial aid award letters from colleges they have been accepted to and even though they think they should/could have received more scholarship money or need based aid, they don’t call or ask someone at the school if anything can be done to receive more aid. PLEASE CALL! It is always worth a phone call to each financial aid office at the colleges your child has been accepted to in order to make sure there isn’t anything you missed, you weren’t aware of or documents you can send them in order to be able to receive more merit or need based aid. Please don’t leave any stone unturned before you make a decision on where to attend.
Below are a number of links that can be helpful when deciding which college to attend based on financial fit:
College Board College Cost Calculator– This tool asks for the price of an institution- or has users input an average- and lets families predict inflation, savings and length of study to get an estimate of how much college will cost in the future.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Financial Aid Comparison Tool– This tool allows you to compare financial aid award offers from different schools to get a sense of how the packages measure up.
College Scorecard– This tool will bring up a slew of financial information, including costs, median borrowing amounts and graduation and default rates.
FAFSA4caster– This tool allows students to get a sense of their eligibility for federal student aid. It asks for a range of data, from the number of family members to income and tax information to come up with an EFC (Estimated Family Contribution).
Net Price Calculators– The Net Price Calculator for each college is the best way to determine what you will be expected to pay at that school. This link will provide you with each college’s net price calculator. Just click on the college name to access it.
Federal Student Aid Repayment Estimator– This tool will allow you to compare the length of repayment, monthly and total repayment amounts and anticipated loan forgiveness between federal student loan payment plans. Borrowers can see if they are eligible for a new income-based repayment plan.
