I write this post not so much for the families who we serve, but instead to all American college presidents, vice presidents for enrollment management, admissions deans, high school principals, and guidance counseling offices.  I hear much talk on college counseling listserves and blogs about access.  Most of this surrounds first generation, underrepresented, and economically disadvantaged students who have millions of advocates in college counselors, faculty, non-profits, and many other educators.  With all due respect to this army of access advocates, I’d like to divert your attention for one – just one – article about the middle class to upper middle class families we serve.

It is these students who have few advocates, but themselves.  It is these students who ultimately pay much more than they can afford for college, and here’s why:  These students are attracted to the Villanovas, the Boston Colleges, the Hamiltons, the Emorys, and the large out of state publics like Penn State, University of Vermont, Michigan, and many more like them.  Most of these schools give limited or no scholarships, and most students in this demographic do not qualify for need based aid, yet the cost of tuition, room and board runs from $45,000-$60,000 per year.

If these families have two children, the cost of educating them can surpass $500,000. That’s a half million bucks folks. Let’s say their family income is $250,000/year, a fairly healthy number.  How do they come up with a check for $59,000 multiplied by 8 years of college? How would you? 

The fact is that, according to a recent Bloomberg study, total college costs have increased by almost 1200 % since 1978.  That’s not a typo.  Simply stated, college costs 12 times more than it did 34 years ago.  Even with the increase of the average family income during that same period, which has actually decreased over the last 4 years, it takes more of a family’s paycheck to pay for college today, than it did 30 years ago.  This is a highly disturbing trend, yet few in the educational establishment are adequately addressing the problem.

Most of the families we work with have saved diligently but have less than $75,000 set aside for college. So the parents take out loans in excess of $75,000 – per child – and the student takes out loans exceeding $100,000. The student then gets a liberal arts degree – or even a business degree (the most popular major for U.S. students), and makes $40,000 per year after graduation.  I’m a big advocate for, and product of, a liberal arts education, but purely from an economic perspective, the return on investment is not even close to what it used to be for the student. And their parents, then must work an extra 5-10 years to be able to pay off the loans and retire…if all goes well.

My clarion call is for college and high school officials, and putative “student advocates” of all stripes to address this issue immediately. Simply stating that “most students pay a net price much lower than the sticker price” does not cut it, because there are millions of families for whom this is simply not the case.

For my part, we will continue to offer affordability counseling to our families, but my question to the aforementioned officials is:  What will you do?

The Washington Post reported today that within the past year, five selective colleges have admitted to falsifying the SAT data they reported to U.S. News and World Report for its annual college rankings guide.  This was stunning news to the college admissions community, especially since the schools, George Washington University, Bucknell University, Claremont McKenna College, Tulane University and Emory University, are selective and quite popular choices for many students.  I reference this regrettable situation not to point fingers at these colleges, although their behavior is reprehensible, but instead to help you understand why rankings are less than useful in a student’s college search.

While the U.S. News rankings are not inherently bad, they are flawed in several ways.  For example, part of a college’s score is its “academic reputation.”  The publication surveys college leaders for input on which schools have the best reputed academic programs.  Obviously, this is subjective data, and can be easily skewed.  Another criterion is faculty salaries.  I’m not sure exactly how this relates to student learning, but this is one of many factors that are not really related to how much a student learns.

But aside from the rankings themselves, there is a more important point to be made.   Think of the 3 most successful people you know.  Did they all go to Ivy League colleges?  Probably not, because less than a half percent of the population graduated from an Ivy League college.  I know dozens of highly successful individuals who attended community colleges or who didn’t attend college at all.  While anecdotal, the point is that if a particular college is a bad fit for a student, then he/she should not attend.  Families should forget the rankings, and ask:  Where will my child excel academically and socially?  Which colleges have a strong academic program in which the student is interested?  In fact, there are some excellent academic programs at colleges you’ve never heard of.  I would argue that a less selective and less well known college which is a better fit for a student is a much better choice than a highly selective school at which a student might not be happy – socially or academically.  Students who find such schools are more likely to be happy and excel which will lead to better grades, a better experience, and better jobs or graduate school options. 

One other critical point is worth noting.  While it’s nice for a student to be admitted to a highly selective college, they will likely have to pay full price.  Wouldn’t it be nice, on the other hand, to really be wanted by a school?  This means getting a good scholarship package and/or getting all of your financial need met.  This is when a school becomes a great fit socially, academically, and financially.  With the cost of college – approaching $60,000 per year at some highly selective schools – it makes the most sense to approach the college search in this manner.

If you’ve thought of hiring a college advisor for admissions or financial assistance, please keep reading, as the following may help you avoid an expensive mistake. 

Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of “professionals” who call themselves college advisors or educational consultants.  With this growth, has also come an increased number of advisors who say they do college admissions planning, but who really do financial or insurance sales.  These individuals have little or no experience in education.  They have never worked at a college or high school, do not have an education or related degree, and in most cases have never visited a college campus.  They are not skilled at working with teenagers, and their focus is on the funding not the counseling piece.   

They typically offer seminars or classes showing how mythical families paid $10,000 or less for a $55,000 college education.  And they may charge relatively low fees for the “soft” side of the process in which they help students with career counseling, a selection of colleges, and their application work.  These services are often conducted by a faceless, back office person – who may or may not have a counseling background – and who is miles away on the phone and has never met the student or the family. 

While this is occurring, the advisor begins to counsel the parents on ways to “shelter” money from the colleges.  One of the suggestions typically offered is to buy a large life insurance policy or annuity.  Some families are even advised to refinance or take out a giant home equity loan, use the money to fund the insurance policy, and then apply the savings to pay college and other bills.  This can be dangerous advice for several reasons.

First, some colleges assess the cash value of life insurance in their financial aid formulas, so employing this strategy will not get you any financial aid.  Because many colleges use different formulas to assess your ability to pay, the selection of colleges, can, and should affect the strategies you use to qualify for aid.  So this one size fits all strategy could fail miserably and cost you big.  Second, the family may not want or need life insurance.  Third, they may not have much equity in their home, and paying the loan off could be a significant challenge.  Fourth, and most importantly, if a family’s income is decent, it doesn’t matter if they shelter ALL of their assets.  They will NOT get any financial aid.  This is where most people make the mistake of shifting assets because sometimes it makes no difference at all. 

So why do these advisors proffer this advice?  Because they make a huge commission on a life insurance policy, home equity loan or other financial product.  In fact, the college admissions planning moniker they use is merely a lead generator for selling insurance and other financial products to unsuspecting parents.  This practice is a considerable conflict of interest.  The advisor is charging you for advice, and also making a commission on the product he just directed you to buy. 

So, when deciding on a college advisor, ask tough questions like:  What is your education and background?  How did you get into this field?  Can you provide references and testimonials for your services?  Who will be counseling our child, and what is their background?  Which schools have you visited over the last 5 years and where have your clients been admitted?  What is your average admit rate for each student?  What percentage of your students stay enrolled at the school at which they began?  Are you a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA – the most reputable professional association with the highest ethical standards)?

With today’s huge college costs, college planning should include a family’s finances.  Reputable lenders, banks, and credit unions, like CAP COM Federal Credit Union, will integrate financial strategy with the college selection and admissions process so that families will enjoy a college that’s a great fit socially, academically, and financially.  But they should not attempt to sell you insurance policies you don’t want or need.

About half of the families with whom we work do not qualify for need based financial aid.  We help them determine that definitively a year or so before their child leaves for college.  We advise this group NOT to complete the FAFSA or the CSS Profile during their student’s senior year.  These forms can take dozens of hours to complete, and some of them make your federal tax return look like a kindergarten math problem. 

This advice is counter to what most college admissions professionals and high school guidance counselors recommend.  “You should always apply for aid.  You may qualify.  You’ll never really know unless you do so,” they explain.  This advice is erroneous for two reasons:

1.  You should know if you’ll qualify for aid well before your child’s senior year.  If you don’t I believe you’re doing your child and your family a disservice.  Unless you can afford the full cost of the most expensive school in the country – $59,000 per year, then you should make certain you understand if you’ll qualify for aid before your son or daughter makes their first college visit.  If you cannot afford the price – with or without aid – your student should not visit, or even apply. 

2.  If you know you won’t get aid, then why complete the FAFSA at all?  Some colleges are now requiring you to do so if you want to qualify for merit scholarships, even if you are certain you will not qualify for need based aid.  Why do they make you do this?  The only answer I can come up with is that they want your demographic and financial data.  It will help them assess exactly which socioeconomic groups their students come from and how to best market to and recruit similar students in the future.  It may also give them valuable data which they can use to shift their recruitment efforts to attract a different caliber of student, or perhaps they will seek out financial contributions from wealthy parents.   Regardless of their motives, I suggest that you do not complete the forms.

As you can see, as long as you’ve done your homework, and you know you will not qualify for need based aid, it makes no sense to apply for it.  The key point here is to make certain you know which aid formulas each school uses.  Make sure you get an accurate depiction of your prospects for aid.  If you’re unclear consult a professional advisor.  Doing so will save you time, money, and make sure your data will be not be used to squeeze more money from your bank account!

Many high school seniors will take this long, holiday weekend to work on their college applications.  Most will not have a clue what to write about.  While the best topics are authentically personal, and therefore unique to every college applicant, I can tell you with a good degree of certainty what NOT to write about:

1.  Your girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other.  Choosing this topic might be the biggest faux pas in the history of college essay writing.  No matter how wonderful this person is, and no matter how good a writer you are, there is absolutely zero chance that this topic will present you in the best possible light to college admissions professionals.  This is because one of the character traits most admissions professionals are looking for is a sense of maturity and self-understanding.  Focusing on someone you love, or worse yet, like “a lot,” is highly unlikely to show this side of you.  In fact, it is more likely to paint you as the dreaded “typical teenager,” possibly one of the worst monikers in the college admissions industry.

2.  A recitation of your resume.  They have already read that.  They know your GPA, test scores, and ALL of your activities ad nauseum.  Listing them again will not sit well with the vast majority of college admissions readers.  They would like to know something they wouldn’t already know by reading the rest of your application.  So think about what’s unique about you, and something about which you’re passionate, and begin writing.

3.  A political or religious issue.  This is the one caveat to the last sentence above.  Some of you are passionate about politics or social issues, but this is NOT the place to explore those beliefs.  You want your essay to appeal to a broad range of readers, so picking one side or another of a controversial (or even not so controversial) issue is not a good idea. 

4.  Big Words.  They don’t want to see them.  If you keep it simple, and use conversational, yet intelligent language, you will present yourself as an authentic, honest, intelligent young person.  You’re not writing a research paper, and you don’t need to impress them with the SAT word of the day.  College admissions professionals are regular people just like you, so write something that connects with them as a human being, and you’ll be in a great position.

5.  A “Big” topic.  Contrary to popular belief, students should not write about a horrible life event that changed their life forever.  The fact is that most of us have not had such a life changing situation before the age of 18 (so don’t make one up either!).  Even if you have had such an experience, don’t write about it.  These types of pieces can come off negatively, and sometimes a teenager’s perception of a life changing event is much different than that of a college admissions reader.  Instead, write a big essay on a small topic.  I once had a student who wrote about how he observed a water droplet while on vacation.  This seemingly insignificant event caused him to think about why he loved art and philosophy over science and math.  It turned out to be an excellent piece.

So resist these typical tendencies, and try to think carefully about one slice of who you are.  Take a good deal of time, and approach the process in stages.  Don’t try to write the piece in one sitting, and ALWAYS have others read it for content and grammar…but not TOO many!

Many high school seniors are feverishly completing their admissions applications in preparation for Early Action or Early Decision deadlines.  Most of our students have been working on their essays and applications since June.  They have worked hard over the past year or two to visit and narrow down their list of schools, take the SAT and ACT, and complete all the requisite requirements for admission.  Once they hit submit, they will feel a sense of relief…for a few minutes. 

But then, students – and their parents – realize there is nothing more they can do.  It’s at this point that they must cede all control over admissions decisions to other people, namely college admissions officers, whom they’ve never even met.  This complete lack of control is unnerving for most families.  After all of the time and effort they’ve put in to the process, there is nothing left to do but wait.

But wait they will, some longer than others.  For students who’ve applied ED or EA, the decisions will come in December or early January, which isn’t so bad, but the vast majority of students will wait until March or early April for their decisions. 

Although this is difficult, students must understand this as an important life lesson.  There is so much of our lives we cannot control, but the only thing we do have power over is our response to our circumstances.  This is a powerful lesson.  If Johnny doesn’t get admitted to the college of his dreams, he could cry, whine, sulk, and contact the admissions office demanding an answer why (usually, its parents who behave in this manner)…OR, he could accept the decision, and move on, focusing on another of his options.  He has the choice.

One of my parents recently told me that if his very talented son did not get admitted to ALL of his chosen schools – most of which were Ivy League colleges – it would be the only time in his life that he had failed.  This talented young man won varsity letters in three sports in high school, started at quarterback on the football team, maintained a 4.0 GPA in very challenging classes, and scored a 33 on the ACT.  On top of that, he was one of the most polite young men I’ve ever met…and yet, he had never failed at anything.  Perhaps, I thought to myself, this failure will be a good thing for this student.

So when the thin envelopes outnumber the thick ones, please remember that failure should always be an option, because failure is an important part of life, and learning how to fail – and rebound from it – is exactly what we should be teaching our young people.

Early Action and Early Decision applications can serve as a great advantage to college applicants.  With deadlines fast approaching – November 1, for many EA or ED schools – I thought a description of advantages and disadvantages to both of these programs would be a good topic for this week’s blog post.

Advantages

1.  Getting apps done early.  Students and parents face the frenzy of early fall applications, but get most everything done well before the holidays.  This is a great benefit for the mental health of the typical family! 

2.  In most cases applying under a school’s Early Decision or Early Action program increases a student’s chances for admission because colleges want to know who’s interested in them.  Colleges also need to meet enrollment numbers, and the earlier they know of their on track to do so, the better.  But families need to be careful for two reasons:  First, some schools’ early programs actually deny admission to a larger proportion of their applicants.  Families are best advised to run the numbers which are readily available on most school’s web sites.  Second, the pool of students who apply under these programs is usually much stronger.  So while the admit rate is often higher than the regular decision admit rate, the kids who apply under ED or EA, are typically much stronger academically.  They have usually begun their college search as sophomores of juniors and have an organized strategy, not to mention better grades and test scores.

Disadvantages

1.  Because Early Decision applicants are locked in, they will not have the opportunity to compare financial aid or scholarship offers.  This could be an expensive mistake for families who are unable to write a check for full tuition.

2.  For students who are marginal applicants to their top schools, waiting for 1st or 2nd quarter senior year grades to be posted, can increase their chances for admission – assuming, of course, that their senior year grades are stronger.  So applying by November 1 or even November 15 could hurt some students’ chances if their grades are a weakness in their application.

Families should strategically weigh their options, and thoughtfully decide whether Early Decision/Early Action programs will aid their candidacy.