• More Money:  Private schools may have more money to give away than public schools. In fact, some of the more established (and, often, more selective) institutions have very large endowments that they can draw from to fund their students’ financial aid needs.  More available funds means potentially larger packages awarded to more students.  Some schools even commit to meet the full need of their students, and they are able to do this because they have the money in their coffers.

• Preferential Treatment for More Desirable Students:  Many schools use financial aid as a way to build and shape a class with certain types of students as well as grow the institution’s reputation by recruiting students that will enhance the image of the college.  The students who fall into the “most wanted” category by the school can expect to get more favored treatment when it comes to aid.  What does this mean for those students?

• Need-based financial aid packages will be weighted more heavily to non-repayable grants rather than loans or work-study.

• Merit scholarships will be awarded to those who show less need or will be added to supplement the aid packages of those who do show need.  To create these merit scholarships, the school will either use institutional funds, if they have them, or those schools that are less wealthy will discount their tuition for these coveted students and hike the tuition for others whom they are less interested in attracting to make up the difference.

If a student is at the top of the applicant pool at a given college, chances are that the student will be awarded a significant amount of aid.  On the other hand, if the student is not in this position, he or she may end up with a far less appealing package and generally less overall financial assistance from that school.
So, the lesson is simple:  If you’re concerned about the cost of college, don’t walk away from a private school just because of its price.  For the right student, it may be far less expensive than the actual sticker price.
Along these same lines, many students assume that the cost to attend an out-of-state public school may be prohibitively expensive and that only an in-state public education will be within reach.  While it’s true that public schools do favor in-state students with a lower tuition, many public universities’ out-of-state tuition costs can still be quite low.  In fact, depending upon which state you live in, some out-of-state public schools’ tuition costs may actually be lower than your in-state university system’s tuition!
The point is, don’t jump to fast conclusions about private vs. public or in-state vs. out-of state educational costs.   Do your research and understand what your opportunities and costs might be at each school in which you are interested.
Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Consultant
Westfield, NJ

The post When Choosing A School: Which Costs Less? Private vs. Public. In-State vs. Out-of-State. first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

In the previous financial aid post, we defined COA (Cost of Attendance). This is the dollar figure that college financial aid offices use to help calculate your need by figuring out the approximate cost to attend for a single school year (remember: COA-EFC=Need).

What do schools consider in this COA calculation?

• Tuition
• Room
• Board
• School Fees
• Books
• School Supplies
• Travel
• Personal Expenses

This list includes both direct costs and indirect costs.

Direct Costs:

Costs that the institution bills directly to families (e.g., tuition). These are sometimes called Billable Costs.

Indirect Costs:

Costs that the student will have while at college but that will not be paid directly to the institution (e.g., books, travel, personal expenses, etc.)

When you are calculating how expensive college may be for your child. You should include all of these direct and indirect costs, too, and potentially even more. Before your student applies to a school, it’s important to understand what your actual outlay is likely to be based on your own individual circumstances. Schools use an average number to figure costs like travel and personal expenses, but you should try to be more exact.

For example, if your student will be bringing a car to campus, the school will not put car-related expenses into their financial aid calculation, but you should put it into yours. Will your student be traveling to and from campus multiple times per semester? Figure the cost per trip and include the number of estimated trips in your cost calculation. In short, project how your student will be living while attending college and tally up all the costs associated with that lifestyle.

Where do you find information on school costs? Schools will generally provide tuition information on their websites, and many schools will include an estimated cost of attendance, too. Visit each school’s website that your child is interested in, and if the school provides an estimated COA, use it as a starting point to calculate your costs.

It’s no secret that college costs a lot. Yet, families still experience sticker shock when the reality of attending college and all of its related expenses hits. Know what to expect before your child goes. Set your budget, do your research on college costs, and estimate your child’s expenses based on his or her circumstances. Having this information will help you to make a more informed decision about which college to attend once the time comes to make that choice.

Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Counselor, Westfield, NJ

The post Financial Aid Primer: #3. The Real Cost of College first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

So, following is a brief “cheat sheet” with key acronyms along with their explanations.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) 

As mentioned in the previous financial aid blog post, the FAFSA is the first step in applying for financial aid. The application requires basic financial information that helps college financial aid offices decide what your need is and how much federal aid you should receive. The on-line application can be found at www.fafsa.gov and becomes available on January 1^st of the year of matriculation.

FAFSA PIN

Before filling out your FAFSA application, the student and parent must first get a personal identification number (PIN). You can get this PIN by going to www.pin.ed.gov.

CSS PROFILE

A form required by selected colleges and universities which requests more detailed financial information to supplement the data provided on the FAFSA. While the FAFSA is used to determine the awarding of federal aid. The PROFILE is used to assess the allocation of institutional aid (funds from the school itself). The PROFILE is administered by The College Board, and can be accessed by going to www.profileonline.collegeboard.com. Note that not all schools ask for submission of the PROFILE. Many simply rely on the FAFSA for their information, and in some cases, schools will ask you to fill out their own proprietary form in place of the PROFILE.

SAR (Student Aid Report) 

All students who file a FAFSA will receive a SAR. The SAR reflects the information that the family provided on the FAFSA as well as what the government believes the family should provide to fund the student’s college education (EFC – see below).

ISIR (Institutional Student Information Record)

ISIRs are electronically transmitted to colleges and contain processed student information reported on the FAFSA. This is the equivalent of the SAR, but for colleges instead of students.

IDOC (Institutional Documentation Service)

IDOC is a service provided by The College Board that collects, scans, and bundles students’ financial aid supporting documentation and submits that information to participating colleges. Students will be notified by the institution to which they are applying if they should use the IDOC service.

EFC (Expected Family Contribution)

Using the financial information that is provided in the FAFSA by the family and employing a set federal methodology. The government determines the amount of money it feels the family can contribute to the student’s education. Based on this number, financial aid offices will then establish a student’s level of need and allocate (or not) additional federal funds to help pay for the student’s education. Institutions that use PROFILE, may determine a different EFC based on their own methodology for the awarding of institutional dollars.

COA or COE (Cost of Attendance or Cost of Education)

This is used by financial aid offices and represents the fully-loaded cost of attending college for one school year. It includes: tuition, room, board, books, supplies, travel, and personal expenses. The COA/COE is different at each institution and for each student, since individual student circumstances vary.

How do colleges establish the baseline for what your need is to attend their institution? Using the acronyms we just learned, it’s a very simple equation:

COA-EFC = NEED

Need-Based Aid:

This is aid awarded to students and families based on estimated need as established by information given either on the FAFSA or PROFILE.

Merit Aid

Colleges want to build their classes around certain types of students. Merit aid is awarded by colleges to students who they would like to have on campus because of their special abilities and characteristics. Colleges can decide to award merit aid for any number of reasons including academic, scholastic, and arts achievement. Some schools have clear guidelines about what it takes to earn a merit scholarships, but the awarding of merit aid is mostly unpredictable.

Gap

Not all schools are able to meet the full need of students as established by the FAFSA or PROFILE process. The “gap” is the amount of unmet need in the aid package between the Cost of Attendance and the Expected Family Contribution. If full need is met by a school, then the “gap” is zero.

NEED – AID PACKAGE = GAP

Professional Judgment

This refers to the authority of a school’s financial aid administrator to make adjustments to the data elements on the FAFSA and to override a student’s dependency status. The net affect of Professional Judgment may be an adjustment to the EFC which can ultimately alter the make-up of the financial aid award.

This list is a good start as we begin to dig a little further into the world of financial aid. Use it when you file for financial aid, and reference it as you read through future blog posts about financial aid.

Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Advisor, Westfield, NJ

The post Financial Aid Primer: #2. Financial Aid Acronyms and Terms first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

• A college education is the biggest investment a family will make, aside from a home.
• The cost of attending an in-state college is now well over $100,000.
• The cost of a private four-year college can easily amount to $250,000.
• Most students take MORE than four years to graduate, so plan on at least 4 1/2 to 5 years of tuition payments.

Add to these facts another, sobering statistic: almost half of all students entering college either drop out or transfer to some other institution.
Moreover, families can save considerable amounts of money if they take more care in choosing colleges that are more likely to award their student merit-based financial aid.
So it makes sense to invest in choosing the right college.
More and more families across the country are turning to professional advisers to help them in choose the right college. The Independent Educational Consultants Association (the IECA, of which I am an associate member) estimates that 22% of students attending private, four-year colleges have had some sort of professional assistance in the admissions process. Closer to home, a college counselor in a premier district in Colorado estimates that at least 25% of its student body hires a professional educational consultant.
So as you consider whether it makes sense to invest in hiring me to help map out your college journey, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you seek professional advice to help you manage your other investments?
• Did you buy your house without the assistance of a real estate broker?
• Do you get legal advice from the internet or books you pick up in the bookstore?

My fees are a tiny fraction of what you can expect to pay for a college education. An investment in the college selection and admission process will pay off in terms of:

• dollars saved
• headaches avoided
• student’s happiness on the college campus
• student’s academic success
• peace of mind

So if you’re ready to invest in choosing the right college for your student, give me a call or send me an email today. I’d be happy to talk to you personally about how I can help you and your student invest your educational dollars wisely.
Great College Advice
Independent College Consultant
720.279.7577

The post College is an Investment: Choose Wisely first appeared on College Admission Counseling.