<p>I for one have learned more here than any school organized financial aid seminar. </p>
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<p>I have learned a lot about what parents do not understand, and I organize my financial aid presentations to address those issues. I sometimes get feedback that I have “scared” parents, but perhaps that goes with the territory. I am blunt & honest. But I also assure them that there ARE affordable alternatives (I live in a metro area with CC’s and commuter U’s). I think the issue is that the alternatives are not always what the families want … but at least they understand the realities of financial aid and college costs at the end of the discussion.</p>
<p>I have spoken with parents of younger students. I begin by asking how much certain colleges cost (a local CC, a commuter school, the state flagship, and a couple other popular state schools). Once we have the costs (tuition/fees, and room/board if the school would require living away from home), I ask if they would be able to pay this amount the following fall. I explain that MOST families have not planned for college costs and “next fall” comes far sooner than they expect. We tend to spend the money we earn … I encourage parents to consider this reality and figure out how to plan ahead. If they cannot or choose not to do so, at least they know what lies ahead.</p>
<p>kelsmom I would have loved to attend one of your seminars. Unfortunately our high schools main goal was for the students to graduate. They never held college fairs etc and the guidance dept only involvement in the college process was making sure transcripts were sent. The students are on their own in term of college searchs. Two years ago, after pressure from the parents they held one financial seminar(which was a packed house).
A seemingly nervous woman spoke for 45 min about how wonderful loans are (parent and student) and then left without taking questions. No mention of community schools, gap years, workstudy,scholarships etc. Im sorry for using my one and only experience to pass judgement, its just so stressful when your try to get accurate info from an uncooperative and apathetic school. You are doing a great service and I wish I had the opportunity to met with you</p>
<p>I wish more high schools would understand the importance of helping parents understand the process as early as possible. I think I am somewhat unique in my approach to my presentations, though, thanks to my time on CC. I hope that more financial aid professionals will go beyond the basics of applying for aid to include an explanation of how it all really works … we know, but we sometimes don’t realize that others do not. We need to tap into our audience & present what they REALLY need to know (and they don’t always know that they need to know it!). We can’t tell parents what the WILL receive … but we can tell them how to navigate the process & what the expectations are in terms they can actually understand.</p>
<p>college7 – One thing to add (to balance out the terror and the hope ) – At my son’s school (University of Michigan) we do know several in-state students with a low EFC who had ALL of their need met through grants from the school. Some of those students had EFCs higher than yours. But that is less frequent with out of state students. Michigan goes on record as saying it meets 100% need of in state students.</p>
<p>You can find out statistically what percentage of “need” is met by a school by reviewing its “profile” I think here or at college board or other university info aggregators. That might give you some sense of what to expect in a month or so, and also help focus your attention on schools that are known to be better with need-based financial aid. That said, I believe the UCs are having dramatic funding adjustments presently that might make packages this year look quite a bit different.</p>
<p>I also understand that the UC system gives very preferential treatment to cc transfer students, which is a GREAT way to cut the cost of the degree in half. I have also noted that some of the state schools (eg SFSU) have what seem to me to be unbelievably cheap tuition.</p>
<p>Best wishes – I know it’s nerve wracking, but things can work out and there are always options, like the earlier posters said.</p>
<p>Perhaps kelsmom will do a YouTube video for all of us someday…with the cost of college and the economy, I wouldn’t be surprised if it went viral!:)</p>
) – At my son’s school (University of Michigan) we do know several in-state students with a low EFC who had ALL of their need met through grants from the school. Some of those students had EFCs higher than yours. But that is less frequent with out of state students. Michigan goes on record as saying it meets 100% need of in state students.</p>