Financial advice to accompany suggesting applying for college
February 28, 2020 12:09 AM Subscribe
My question in brief: If I (a college professor) advise a group of high school student to apply for college, what financial resources could I also advise them to take advantage of?
In a couple of weeks, I (junior physics faculty) will be giving a presentation to around 90 high school students in my city. This will include a fun demo (similar to the fantastic PhysicsGirl video here) that I hope will excite even those not scientifically minded.
I will also be talking about why a physics BS is a valuable degree for a variety of professions. Since I'm implicitly suggesting these students apply for college in this talk, I would very much like to mention resources available to low income applicants, or for financially struggling undergraduates if they're accepted. I'd also like to provide links to resources for how to manage student loans or other financial planning.
It has been 20 years since this has been something I had to think about, so I would greatly appreciate your suggestions for what resources currently exist for high school students applying for college, or undergraduates managing their finances.
In a couple of weeks, I (junior physics faculty) will be giving a presentation to around 90 high school students in my city. This will include a fun demo (similar to the fantastic PhysicsGirl video here) that I hope will excite even those not scientifically minded.
I will also be talking about why a physics BS is a valuable degree for a variety of professions. Since I'm implicitly suggesting these students apply for college in this talk, I would very much like to mention resources available to low income applicants, or for financially struggling undergraduates if they're accepted. I'd also like to provide links to resources for how to manage student loans or other financial planning.
It has been 20 years since this has been something I had to think about, so I would greatly appreciate your suggestions for what resources currently exist for high school students applying for college, or undergraduates managing their finances.
I’d talk to your employer’s admissions officers. They deal with financial aid questions on a regular basis and likely will be able to assist with resources that may be particularly helpful for high school applicants in your city or region.
posted by cheapskatebay at 4:43 AM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by cheapskatebay at 4:43 AM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Or talk to your university's Financial Aid Office. They may have a handout you can give to students. Make sure it includes apps. I found this by googling.
posted by mareli at 5:32 AM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by mareli at 5:32 AM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Honestly, very low income applicants need to be either Harvard material (at that standard, you can get full cost scholarships to a number of Ivy League and similar colleges) or commuting to their nearest state university/community college.This is the kind of advice that sounds like good, tough-love advice but that is actually not. This is what poor kids actually do: unless they think they're Ivy material, they only apply to the nearest college. And that means that they only get one financial aid offer, which is typically pretty low, because the college knows that they've probably only applied to one college and will not be choosing on the basis of their financial aid offer. Poor kids, even more than less-poor kids, need to apply to several colleges, so they can take their financial aid package into account when choosing where to go. If cost is going to be an issue, they should look into fee waivers for costs associated with the application.
Honestly, you could get pretty in the weeds on this, and you're not an expert. I would see if you can find one or two good resources that demystify the financial aid process and then refer students to it. Maybe ask the financial aid people if they know of anything?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:33 AM on February 28, 2020 [11 favorites]
Above anything else, find out if there are programs that assist students in filling out their FAFSA or teach them how to do it. I think that fear of completing this giant intimidating document about money keeps a lot of students from doing so, or makes them put it off until as late as possible. At my college, aid is given out starting at the beginning of the cycle until it's all gone, and a student who submits their FAFSA after it's all exhausted just won't get anything, even if they usually would have been eligible. Conquering that fear and letting students know that there's assistance could help a great deal.
posted by Liesl at 5:43 AM on February 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Liesl at 5:43 AM on February 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Honestly, very low income applicants need to be either Harvard material (at that standard, you can get full cost scholarships to a number of Ivy League and similar colleges) or commuting to their nearest state university/community college.
This is the kind of advice that sounds like good, tough-love advice but that is actually not
I’ve probably detracted from my main point, which is that government or institutional aid are the two main sources of funding that will pay for the bulk of college costs. (Rather than external scholarships which are usually small in comparison to the cost of college.)
posted by plonkee at 5:58 AM on February 28, 2020
This is the kind of advice that sounds like good, tough-love advice but that is actually not
I’ve probably detracted from my main point, which is that government or institutional aid are the two main sources of funding that will pay for the bulk of college costs. (Rather than external scholarships which are usually small in comparison to the cost of college.)
posted by plonkee at 5:58 AM on February 28, 2020
Talk about application fee waivers. They're often not advertised
posted by deludingmyself at 6:37 AM on February 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by deludingmyself at 6:37 AM on February 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Filling out FAFSA is very important and the advice above for helping them do it is great. Our high school had a teacher who took this on as a service for those whose parents were not equipped to do it for whatever reason.
Also encourage them to research available scholarships for incoming freshman. Every college my kids applied to had them and if their grades and/or ACT scores were decent, many of them are automatic. One regional university near me has a formula that takes high school gpa/ACT both into account and if both are high, you automatically get a full ride (room and board and all tuition). All of this info is available on the colleges website.
and yes fee waivers. even low application fees can add up.
Once they choose a school they can contact that schools financial aid office for specialized information.
posted by domino at 6:55 AM on February 28, 2020
Also encourage them to research available scholarships for incoming freshman. Every college my kids applied to had them and if their grades and/or ACT scores were decent, many of them are automatic. One regional university near me has a formula that takes high school gpa/ACT both into account and if both are high, you automatically get a full ride (room and board and all tuition). All of this info is available on the colleges website.
and yes fee waivers. even low application fees can add up.
Once they choose a school they can contact that schools financial aid office for specialized information.
posted by domino at 6:55 AM on February 28, 2020
Depends on the audience - if this is an upper middle class school district on the east coast, the audience knows more about paying for college than you do.
For other audiences, I might skew more general. Explain that given today's tuition costs, they really need to be savvy consumers and make sure that they know what they want and what it is worth to them, and that following your passion or going to the best school you get into no matter the cost is no longer the best advice. That at private schools, there is the sticker price and there is the negotiated price.
You might consider using your math skills to show the impact of student loans + interest on varying amounts of tuition borrowed... show that 100k borrowed might well mean 200k paid back (with post-tax?) income.
And finally, hammer home that their guidance counsellor at their school works for them, answers to them, and absolutely needs to be helping them. In my experience (now quite dated), the guidance counsellors worked for the noisy parents and the superstar students... and left the clueless but bright kids from middling families to fend for themselves. They need to begin pushing for their own interests, in the face of annoyed authority figures, because they will have to do it over and over again for the rest of their lives anyways. Might as well start practicing now.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 7:36 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
For other audiences, I might skew more general. Explain that given today's tuition costs, they really need to be savvy consumers and make sure that they know what they want and what it is worth to them, and that following your passion or going to the best school you get into no matter the cost is no longer the best advice. That at private schools, there is the sticker price and there is the negotiated price.
You might consider using your math skills to show the impact of student loans + interest on varying amounts of tuition borrowed... show that 100k borrowed might well mean 200k paid back (with post-tax?) income.
And finally, hammer home that their guidance counsellor at their school works for them, answers to them, and absolutely needs to be helping them. In my experience (now quite dated), the guidance counsellors worked for the noisy parents and the superstar students... and left the clueless but bright kids from middling families to fend for themselves. They need to begin pushing for their own interests, in the face of annoyed authority figures, because they will have to do it over and over again for the rest of their lives anyways. Might as well start practicing now.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 7:36 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think Salie Mae is a reasonable resource for people who are just starting out.
I think the key points are
- College is expensive but it is not as expensive as it sounds since there are lot of resources to help pay for part of it.
- Some money is awarded based on need (meaning family finances) and some based on being a good student (meaning gpa and test scores). This means that even people who aren't great students can get needs-based money to help pay for college
- People should apply to several schools since the actual cost will depend on the financial aid package and that will be different (sometimes very different) at different schools.
*** In particular people should apply to the best private school that is a good match academically since some private schools can be much more generous than the public schools.
A good student doesn't have to be anywhere near "Harvard quality" to be able to get a good financial aid package from a private school. (I'm not sure if the person who made that comment is aware of what a ridiculously high standard Harvard has) There are many small liberal schools that your student never heard of but rank in the top 300 or so in the country that are much easier to get into than Harvard and are very motivated to get a student who has both the academic ability and the diversity of experience to add to their student body. Sometime just being from a different part of the country can count as diversity at some of these schools that tend to draw mostly from their local area.
posted by metahawk at 9:50 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think the key points are
- College is expensive but it is not as expensive as it sounds since there are lot of resources to help pay for part of it.
- Some money is awarded based on need (meaning family finances) and some based on being a good student (meaning gpa and test scores). This means that even people who aren't great students can get needs-based money to help pay for college
- People should apply to several schools since the actual cost will depend on the financial aid package and that will be different (sometimes very different) at different schools.
*** In particular people should apply to the best private school that is a good match academically since some private schools can be much more generous than the public schools.
A good student doesn't have to be anywhere near "Harvard quality" to be able to get a good financial aid package from a private school. (I'm not sure if the person who made that comment is aware of what a ridiculously high standard Harvard has) There are many small liberal schools that your student never heard of but rank in the top 300 or so in the country that are much easier to get into than Harvard and are very motivated to get a student who has both the academic ability and the diversity of experience to add to their student body. Sometime just being from a different part of the country can count as diversity at some of these schools that tend to draw mostly from their local area.
posted by metahawk at 9:50 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: These are great suggestions, thanks very much. To respond to a few repeated topics above:
This is for a predominately low-income school.
I would never suggest any person must be "Harvard material" to pursue any goal, including college. My own degrees are all from state universities, which are not interchangeable with community colleges.
I'll inquire about FAFSA support either at my school or theirs, I really have no idea about what is available to them. This is a great thought.
The fee waivers suggestion is a good idea, I will provide links to what I find.
The suggestions that I talk to my financial aid office are fantastic, an obvious resource I overlooked.
Thanks again!
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 9:29 PM on March 2, 2020
This is for a predominately low-income school.
I would never suggest any person must be "Harvard material" to pursue any goal, including college. My own degrees are all from state universities, which are not interchangeable with community colleges.
I'll inquire about FAFSA support either at my school or theirs, I really have no idea about what is available to them. This is a great thought.
The fee waivers suggestion is a good idea, I will provide links to what I find.
The suggestions that I talk to my financial aid office are fantastic, an obvious resource I overlooked.
Thanks again!
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 9:29 PM on March 2, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Honestly, very low income applicants need to be either Harvard material (at that standard, you can get full cost scholarships to a number of Ivy League and similar colleges) or commuting to their nearest state university/community college. Middle income families have more flexibility but will be unlikely to be able to choose a college without considering costs.
You need to recommend people look at the grants/loans available in-state (for whatever state you are in) and maybe give examples of institutional funding (eg University of Alabama Huntsville specialises in STEM and has auto and usually v. general is scholarships for high SAT scores and grades) but pick an example that will feel plausible/attractive to students in your location.
posted by plonkee at 12:42 AM on February 28, 2020