Not all colleges are created equal. But are you looking for the college bargains?
Community college. State University. Private liberal arts college. Trade or technical college. Top-tiered business college. Ivy League college. Not all colleges are created equal.
If that’s the case, what makes a good college? Some might think it’s a #1 rated NCAA football team, or a college with an Ivy League designation, or even a school that is highly selective. A good college (as in good fit) meets the following three criteria: academic, social, and financial. The college that meets or excels in all three should be the college your student chooses. Even the best college (based on reputation) isn’t a good college if the student neglects the opportunities he is given while attending.
In terms of financial fit, does the college fit into your family’s college budget?
College is expensive. However, college students tend to take a casual attitude toward spending; hence they waste money in college. After tuition, room and board, students often find themselves tapped out and living on ramen noodles. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Students can save money by making wise choices and being cognizant of their spending.
Following are 10 ways to save money in college:
1. Create a budget
Any smart spender creates a monthly budget, especially college students who have limited discretionary funds. Even if you’re being subsidized by your parents and have a work-study job for expenses, it’s smart to watch your spending. Pizza and fast food delivery can add up.
2. Take on a job
If you qualify for financial aid, most colleges will offer work study. This allows you to work on campus during school and use that money for college expenses. Even if you don’t qualify, get a job while you’re in college. Not only will it subsidize your spending but studies show students who work in college get better grades.
It’s college decision time and disappointed teens are receiving news they have been placed on the college wait list. A wait list decision does not reject an applicant outright, but it also offers an uncomfortable level of ambiguity about whether an applicant will receive an acceptance to the college later. So how likely are teens to be taken off the wait list, and is there anything they can do to increase their chances?
This article was originally written for University Parent as a part of their parent program.
Everyone likes a good bargain.
We rush out on Black Friday to get the best deals for Christmas — we stand in line in the freezing cold to save money! But do parents put as much effort and attention into finding a college bargain? Student debt statistics would say they don’t. Would you want your student graduating from college saddled with that debt? I imagine not!
College bargains do exist and if you have a student who intends to start college in the fall, it’s your job as a parent to point him in their direction. College is a huge consumer purchase which you can and should approach much as you would the purchase of a home or car. Do your research, compare the prices, and help your student choose a school that gives you the best bang for your buck.
One of my favorite movies is Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. In it, Mr. Blandings tells his lawyer that “some purchases you make with your heart and not your head.” As I said, I love the movie, but this is bad advice. When it comes to your college “purchase,” use your head first and then listen to your heart.
I understand that it can be challenging to get students to look at the college choice from this point of view. When my daughter was applying, all her choices were east coast private schools with huge price tags. As a parent, I wanted her to have her dream but, also as her parent, I wanted her to graduate without being burdened with debt. Her heart told her to go to the college that offered the least amount of merit aid. Her head, after a long “money talk” and re-evaluation of her second choice, led her to a school that allowed her to graduate with a small amount of student loan debt. She’s grateful every day that I guided her in that direction.
We can forget how much of an impact we have on our children. When it comes to getting ready for college, we may think that our job is very simple: to ensure that our children study. But if we provide the wrong environment or we don’t enforce it the right way, this will have a more devastating impact on their academics than we realized. To make sure our children are studying effectively, we’ve got to make sure the environment is effective so their frame of mind is ready for study. How can you make the environment and the mindset work together?
Minimizing External Stresses
We all have an inherent need to procrastinate on occasion. If you have spent a long time trying to get your children to study and were met with resistance every step of the way, it’s hardly a surprise that when they need to knuckle down and study, they will look for any reason to avoid it. Even something that is not their responsibility can be the perfect excuse. It’s about making sure that they have a conducive study area, but this means that you need to realize the impact of a perfect study area.
By creating an environment that is not too hot, not too cold, not too bright, and not too noisy is crucial. This means making sure everything is working as it should. For example, something as noisy as the air conditioning can be a distraction and if it’s not working properly, the environment will be completely uncomfortable, and there are plenty of 24 hour AC service providers that can help people. It’s about getting all those little things correct.
Studies have shown that students who spent time working during college actually do better in the classroom. Students who work must learn how to structure and manage their time to work around class assignments. This translates into not delaying assignments and scheduling time to study for exams. However, many experts suggest that freshmen students wait until the second semester to take on the added responsibility of a job. This allows them time to ascertain their academic strengths and decide whether or not a job would detract from their study time.
When college students do decide to work, there are three options available to them: on-campus jobs, off-campus jobs and internships. Each of these job opportunities has its own set of advantages.
For decades, it’s been widely accepted that applying to college is a hard, stressful and time-consuming process. Students can easily spend months on university preparation and the application process, as well as thousands of dollars in application fees. Parents aren’t always sure which universities are the best fit for their students’ needs and qualifications. The anxiety is real, and when students receive rejection letters, it can be crushing.
Parents and students who understand and plan for the cost of college are wise consumers. Before applying to college, it makes sense to plan ahead and know your options before making a decision about college. The College Board and FinAid.org provide parents and students with several different college calculators to determine college costs, the expected family contribution for financial aid, and how much student loan payments will be upon repayment. Knowing these figures will help you better plan for the costs associated with college.
As student debt numbers continue to soar and the job market becomes increasingly competitive, prospective college students care now more than ever about being able to support themselves after graduation – and their parents want to help them avoid drowning in the $1.6 trillion national student loan debt.
GradReports, recently released new proprietary Salary Scores in an effort to empower students with the data necessary to compare schools and equip themselves for a successful future. GradReports compared the salaries of over 4.6 million college graduates to determine Salary Scores for 2,200+ colleges and 334 majors.
There are hundreds of colleges who are open to late applicants. There are also colleges who have a rolling admissions policy—apply anytime for admission.
In addition, The National Association for College Admission Counseling publishes their College Openings Update list in May after the decision deadline. Using the list, you can search for member colleges and universities- both public and private- that are still accepting applications.
What is rolling admissions?
Rolling admission is an application option that allows you to apply within a window of time. This window usually opens up in the fall, commonly September 1, and lasts through the spring, or until all spots in the upcoming class have been filled.
About 1/3 of National Universities – schools that offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and that typically produce influential academic research – offer rolling admissions.
A potential point of confusion for students is the priority application date set by most colleges that offer rolling admissions. While many undergraduate institutions recommend that prospective students submit their materials by the priority date to have the best chance of admission, unlike with a fixed deadline, applications will still be accepted after this time.
Apply Today & Don’t Delay
Because housing and financial aid are in limited quantities, it’s important for students to move fast. Once the college’s aid is dispersed, there is no money available. Once student housing is filled, colleges will only be accepting local applicants who can commute.
Even though space is available now, when it’s filled, it’s filled. Even those colleges with “rolling” admissions eventually fill their seats.
Check With Individual Colleges
After reviewing the list of openings, check online with each individual school to see if they are still accepting applications. If necessary, speak with an admissions officer and discuss what options are still available. Once you speak with admissions, talk to financial aid about any type of merit aid that could still be available.
Other Ways to Check Available Openings
Here are a few ways you can also check for available openings:
You can look on the Common Application website, click on the Member Colleges tab at the top, search for colleges, and input the data regarding the deadlines. Choose Spring 2021 and Other 2021 and it will provide you with a list of colleges still accepting applications.
You can also search on the Universal College Application site by clicking on the Fall 2020 link to find a list of colleges that are accepting late applications or have rolling admission policies.
The College Board’s Big Future site allows you to do the same type of search but requires additional input to narrow down your search. Once your search is narrowed, you can click on the Application Deadline and see an extensive list of colleges with their deadlines posted. They are listed by date and start with January, so you will have to go to the end pages to find the schools with late deadlines and no deadlines.
