<p>The problem is that sometimes actual need and merit aid offers can be significantly different from what one might have expected at application time.</p>
<p>The “safety” schools should be chosen so that they are financial safeties even with the worst-case need and merit aid offers. In many cases, one would assume zero aid, unless there is a stated policy from the school that need aid will be at least $_____ for families with income below $_____ or that a merit award of at least $_____ will be given to a student with grades / test scores above ____ and that the student and family meet the stated thresholds.</p>
<p>I was given the advice to not worry about costs when applying to private schools…one never knows what scholarships or aid are going to be available. That said, we made sure that we applied to one school (state flagship) where the costs could be met without any aid.</p>
<p>In retrospect, our S could/should have applied to schools where the chances of getting merit aid would have been better. We’ll have to remember this in 4 years when our D goes though the same process…</p>
<p>Another important thing to address is how much debt the parent is willing to allow the kid to take on. With our kids, we told them we would pay $X a year for four years. If they chose a school that exceeded what we were willing to pay, they were responsible for paying costs above what we would cover – with the caveat that we would not agree to them taking on any more than $5,000 debt per year for four years.</p>
<p>At an auction, it is easy for an inexperienced bidder to get caught up in the excitement and spend more than his/her original plan on an item. Similarly, it’s easy for a kid with no real experience with debt to want to take on big loans to attend a school he/she is excited about. The whole “financial aid” misnomer contributes to this when the financial aid package is, in fact, heavy on student and parent loans. (This type of “FA package” is also a reason it is difficult to determine whether some schools will be affordable for a student; “meets full need” with lots of loans is NOT affordable.)</p>
<p>Ability to pay and willingness to pay are two different things. With the economy reeking havoc on many endowments, a number of schools that might have been able to be more generous are unable to do so.</p>
<p>Also - there are many, many scholarship programs available with some digging. I remember having to really push my own daughter to apply to the ones identified on Sallie Mae and Fastweb. It’s a lot of effort but many are not based on financial need.</p>
<p>But mostly - students should be looking at colleges in two ways - where do I “fit” and will get the best possible education given my interests and learning styles - then within that which school is the most affordable given my financial situation. </p>
<p>Students should only apply to those schools where they will thrive academically and emotionally - that way - when it comes time to a decision, any choice left is viable. I’ve seen a lot of students drop out of various colleges because the choice was made by the parents not the child - in many cases based on cost factors alone instead of “fit.”</p>
<p>Merit aid continues to be a stretched with more and more adults - unable to find work - reentering college. So in light of increased competition for limited resources, reliance on merit aid may mean making the wrong choice for the student. A number of state universities are also starting to raise tuition as state budgets and educational allocations are cut drastically. </p>
<p>I firmly believe that college is about education, not necessarily the long-term career - but I also know enough to know that not every school fits every need. If money is a concern, then why not just go to Community college for the first two years?</p>
<p>I don’t mean that to sound facetious - there are many families I’ve counseled who have had to choose that path for financial reasons.</p>
<p>The other option is for the student to take out loans, or to take a gap year (or two) and work to earn the funding. In a worse case scenario, the parents can borrow the funds and have a contract with the child to pay the loans back after graduation.</p>
<p>I think the thing to do is tell your student up front what you think your “Expected Family Contribution” is…but the real one (not the one that FAFSA spits out). So if you can realistically afford $20,000 then the student knows that if they apply to a $50,000 school then they or the school has to come up with the rest. I would rather have my daughter apply to whereever she wanted and then we looked at how the finances came out than not apply and never know if she would have gotten in.</p>
<p>1) Especially with the oldest child in a family, even if a parent goes to the school meetings about FA & college admissions, it’s hard to understand the process until you’ve gone through it (especially if you have a child who is aiming high. I don’t think you see this much gnashing of teeth if there is an assumption that your child will automatically go to one of the instate public options.) It’s kind of like buying your first house, or planning your first wedding. There are professionals who handle this stuff every day, but the average person does it once or infrequently. There’s a big emotional component to all three of these decision making processes which can cloud the rational choices.</p>
<p>And when an adcom says something during a presentation along the lines of “we try to make things affordable for all students” well, we think they mean it :)</p>
<p>Then that marketing mail comes from all the colleges and they talk about “middle class FA initiatives.” Surely that means me, right?</p>
<p>2) I think there’s been a huge paradigm shift in how the middle class views the college experience in the past 25 years or so. Or maybe it’s just because I’ve bumped up from the lower middle class to the upper middle class. But anyway. When DH & I were going to college (both 1st gen) there was an expectation of us to get our degree. We both worked 20-30 hours/week and commuted. It wasn’t about the “experience,” it was about getting the degree so we could have a better life. </p>
<p>Looking back, we both realize that we missed out on some things and we’d like our kids to be able to experience what we didn’t. Living on campus, study abroad, really being present for the education and exploring areas of interest (especially since our kids are deeper thinkers than we were at there age.) So this idea of “fit” becomes more important now, along with the concept of ROI. </p>
<p>And then, because we’re doing “better” than our parents were at this point in time, we beat ourselves up about how much we can afford. But tuition was easily covered back in 1982 by a part time job (even at a private college, my tuition was $6000/year and my p/t job averaged around $10,000/year.) Now 4 years of college can=my house and I have 2 kids. </p>
<p>I don’t think many people intentionally allow their kids to apply to schools out of financial reach so they say nanana poopoo in April. I think it’s done because they don’t know better or that they’re taking a chance on financial & merit aid. I’ve been very blunt with my kids early on in the process about what we are willing to fund per year and how much schools cost. I’ve also told them they can apply anywhere as long as they are aware of the financial realities. I realized D2 “got” what I was saying when she leaned over to me during the Emory tour and said “so. This is one of those schools that I wouldn’t be attending unless I get merit aid, right?” And I said “yup!”</p>
<p>When my husband went with us to a college fair and was surprised at the prices (both the costs and the variations between schools), he was told, more than once by a college rep “Well, no one really pays the “sticker” price…” and basically you can’t know what you’re going to pay until the scholarships and FA roll in. Not helpful. Add to that that my kid was doing auditions for programs that will see 2600 kids to admit 12 to the major…so she had to apply to/audition for several schools that a.) had her program b.) were somewhat within the price range c.) offered merit aid, which we knew about upfront and d.) hope and pray for the best…both in terms of artistic admittance to the program, and affordability…</p>
<p>“Do we just plan to visit and consider only those schools that can be financially possible?”</p>
<p>-Was the case with us. Other schools were waste of time and money. Going to UG on full tuition Merit scholarships has worked wonderfully for my D., who is graduating from UG in few weeks and has been accepted to few Med. Schools. However, IMO in regard to Med. Schools, financial side should be secondary. But we will see, D. is still in a process of deciding. If she decides to go to one that did not offer her any Merit $$, we will support her and pay. One of the resaons for this decision is that we did not pay tuition for her UG.
However, what other people do is their business. So, I do not advise one way or another, do what is the best for your family.</p>