Paying for College

Practical Tips for Paying for College

• Be strategic – applying to colleges where student will be an exceptional candidate is a great way to ensure the student will be given a scholarship to recruit the student.  Best chances will be at schools where student is in the top 10% of applicant pool.

• If there has been a change in financial circumstances, explain in a formal letter or in an appeal to your award.

• Every college makes it’s own decisions re: financial aid and they all do it differently.

• Admissions Office decides if someone gets in.  Financial Aid office administers government and institutional aid.

• Make sure you have a financial safety school on your list.

• Don’t expect lucrative offers from dream/highly selective schools!

• Don’t indicate that you are a full pay student on the application and then expect to apply for aid in future years.

Scholarships

• Start applying during 11th grade at the latest – It’s better to start in 8th or 9th grade.   Outside scholarships require lots of work and might lower your financial aid.

• Look for those that might only have a few applications. Starting local is usually best.

• Many high schools award scholarships to students with Good GPA’s.

• Some students get a scholarship based on geography, diversity (ethnic, culture, economic) plans to major in an undersubscribed major.

• Good sources of scholarships include: professional organizations, clubs, businesses, parents employer.

• Students must report all outside scholarships to college financial Aid offices – this might reduce the aid award.

• A good source for outside scholarships is GoingMerry.com.

Financial Aid

• All schools require the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to be considered for federal aid. Some schools require the more extensive CSS Profile from the CollegeBoard to be considered for institutional aid.

• When you complete the FAFSA you will receive your EFC (expected family contribution). This is the amount that the government assumes you can pay for college. Colleges use this when awarding financial aid. However, many colleges expect you to pay more than you EFC.

• You can ask the school to re-evaluate your reward but don’t call it negotiation.

• If another school is granting a lot more aid it’s worth asking.

• A helpful tool to see what other students with a similar profile have been offered from the same college or similar colleges is TuitionFit.com.

• If college is intensely trying to build up stats they might be interested in using it to move their stats up.

• Contact aid office and let them know another school has offered a better package.    Attach the letter.

• Don’t expect a ‘just right’ school to increase aid because a ‘no problem’ school granted more.

• More likely to change award if circumstance have changed.