<p>Is it easy? No. Is it possible? Yes. However it does take EARLY planning and preparation.</p>
<p>I’m a single mom with an EFC of right at $10,000. Too high for almost any need-based aid (some schools did offer SMALL need-based awards), but too low to pay full freight at even a state flagship with (federal) loans, so getting my HIGH achieving S into a school he deserved was a responsibility I took very seriously.</p>
<p>When my S began his freshman year of HS, I told him that he may have been allowed to slack a bit up to that point, but starting then his school records were going to follow him until after he started college.</p>
<p>I logged into his school’s website DAILY and watched his grades and test scores. If there was an assignment that wasn’t turned in or if he got an exceptionally low grade, he was answering to <em>me</em>. If he received several low grades in a class, I was asking if he needed additional help or if I should find a tutor before waiting for the school to reach out to me.</p>
<p>I helped him register for classes each year and made sure he was on track not just to graduate, but for the state’s acadmic honor’s diploma. We discussed various electives and the benefits or negatives of each. I felt this was my responsibility and didn’t want to entrust it to the school to find out during senior year that he was one class shy of an honor’s diploma because I hadn’t stayed on top of it.</p>
<p>When the opportuntiy for dual-credit or AP classes occurred, we also discussed the benfits and negatives of each. We opted to do the dual-credit in foreign language although the teacher discouraged it saying that students could simply test out of courses because the GPA would carry over and it was an easy way to start college with a STRONG GPA. We opted not to pay for him to take a dual credit pre-calc course even though most top students were doing so because I told him as an engineering student calculus would be the first required math class and there was no sense in paying to take a course that wouldn’t be required.</p>
<p>After junior year he had never received a grade below an A- and with weighted grades his GPA was well above 4.0. He graduated 5th in his class, but he wasn’t eager to finish first or second anyway as he didn’t want to have to speak at the graduation ceremony.</p>
<p>As a sophomore he took the PSAT and then I FAUGHT with the school so he could take it again as a junior. When I tried to explain to the school why I wanted him to take it, I was continually discouraged by them as they didn’t seem to know the process. Although he didn’t score high enough, the effort and small fee for him to take it was well worthwhile.</p>
<p>Although he got a solid score the first time he took the SAT (700M,640V), he felt he could improve. I ensured he spent time going through prep books and he retook the SAT and took the ACT (although only a few students from his school do so each year). He also took several SAT IIs (the only student in his school to do so) and I located a tutor to help him prepare before the tests.</p>
<p>I encouraged him to be involved with activities he enjoyed, but also STRONGLY encouraged leadership positions and senior year he was president of one club and vice-president of another. I also encouraged volunteer work and he became involved with Habitat for Humanity as soon as he was old enough (I believe 16). When he had the opportunity to travel abroad the summer after his junior year of high school, I encouraged him to do so and he spent 6 weeks abroad in an immersive language program and is now very high functioning in a second language (Spanish). </p>
<p>We began touring colleges the beginning of junior year and I was already familiar with terms such as merit aid, need based aid, 100% need, and the CSS profile making me well prepared to ask questions. We toured 10 schools (the farthest being a 14 hour drive from our home) and then revisited 2.</p>
<p>During senior year I took on the role of being my S’s secretary which was almost a second full time job (and I was finishing my own Master’s degree at the time). It was an EXTREMELY stressful, hectic year. I kept track of all application requirements and which were completed as well as deadlines. I also started seeking out scholarship opportunities and then kept track of those requirements and deadlines (as well as all the senior year stufff - ordering announcements, planning an open house, etc, etc). I still wonder when I actually had time to breathe!</p>
<p>My S chose to apply to 6 schools. At 1 (Bama) we already knew he was automatically eligible for a full tutition scholarship + a $2500 annual stipend from the school of engineering. No other offer he received was comprable. I told him he didn’t need to make his decision on finances alone, but he opted to attend Bama.</p>
<p>On top of the Bama merit award, I had him apply for more than 30 outside scholarships. I had him apply to national awards, local awards, awards specifically for engineering, and any others I thought he had a shot at getting. He didn’t receive any national awards, but did receive 4 local awards. 3 were relatively small ($500-1000) but everything helps! But one was for over $5000, making the time and effort to apply well worthwhile.</p>
<p>During my S’s freshman year I encouraged him to become involved in his major’s professional organization and encouraged another trip abroad (a short duration, service trip). When he started struggling a little with his courseload first semester we discussed options. He wound up dropping a class that he’d wanted to take, but didn’t NEED to take and then completed the semester with a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>I knew that getting employment in his field after freshman year would be difficult, so I encouraged him to travel abroad again. He decided that he wanted time to reconnect with family and friends and after looking into several programs made the decision in March not to travel abroad for the summer. Then as he was preparing for finals and packing to move home, I set out to find him internships that were not yet filled to apply to. I was on EVERY website with job listings from Monster and Careerbuilder to Internmatch to Indeed and Simplyhired. Often I would just Google “summer 2013 engineering internships”. I found MANY companies still hiring, but especially for freshman the positions were not very high paying. I considered the logistics and costs associated with him getting an internship where we didn’t know anyone, then opted to focus my search on areas where we had a relative or family friend he could stay with. I found 6 positions for him to apply to and nagged him to write cover letters in between prepping for his finals. Of those he got 2 interviews. And based on comments on many of the threads here on CC he may be the only student to get a paying internship in his field the summer after his freshman year. He was able to spend the summer with relatives and not pay any living expenses, so is able to save the majority of the money he is earning. Did finding the internship take some luck? Yes. Did it also help that I’ve been encouraging him to build his resume since he was a freshman in HS? Did it also help that I spend A LOT of time searching out opportunities? Did it also help that I encouraged him to establish relationships with instructors who he could ask to be references? There was A LOT of work behind the scenes!</p>
<p>Not only did my S finish his first year debt free, but will return to school with several thousand dollars sitting in the bank.</p>
<p>Some may call my actions helicoptering. But my S is VERY independent (note above he travelled abroad for 6 weeks when he was still 16) and is very responsible (note above he finished his first semester of college with all of its distractions and new experiences with a 4.0 GPA)…it’s just that students don’t understand the consequences of their grades and activities when they are 14-15 year old high school freshman, they don’t know the process of applying to colleges and seeking out financial aid, and they don’t know the process of finding, applying to, interviewing for, and getting internships/jobs until they are TAUGHT. If it’s knowledge I have and it is essential to my son’s future, then it is my RESPONSIBILITY to make sure I spend the time and effort to make sure I help him through every step.</p>
<p>Is it easy? No. But is it possible if you are willing to put A LOT of time into it, willing to deal with MANY high stress days, and start planning EARLY? Yes, I have to say that my S is evidence that it is possible.</p>