How Much Do College Students Drink?

January 25, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer

There are 17 million college students that drink alcohol, and 8.5 million of them are binge drinking. We’ve heard the terms “poor” or “struggling” college student before, but it’s no wonder they are living off of Ramen Noodles when there was a reported $163 billion spent on alcohol in America in 2011. It’s not all fun and games when young people are consuming 2 gallons per person of alcohol. There are negative consequences of this behavior that includes assault, rape, injury and even death.

How much do college students drink? It seems that students are learning a lot more than econ and statistics nowadays. Click on the infographic below to see all the data.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Tips from the Scholarship Mom

January 24, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer

A few years ago I was introduced to Monica Matthews, the Scholarship Mom. Her story is unique and she created a short book, How to Win College Scholarships, to introduce parents to the method she used to win scholarships for her kids. If you don’t have the book, get it.

Today, however, I want to introduce you to her Scholarship Mom Tips on Smart College Visit. Every week she shares a short tip to help parents with the scholarship process. They are easy to read and easily applicable to the scholarship search.

Follow Smart College Visit on Twitter (@collegevisit) and Monica Matthews (@AidScholarship) for weekly links and tips.

Guest Posts, test prep

Wednesday’s Parent–Parent Rivalries

January 22, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer 1 Comment

Sign up for my FREE parent tips email and get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from pocsmom.com to parentingforcollege and vice versa.

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It’s college night at your high school and here she comes—THAT mom. We’ve all encountered her. As a matter of fact, a recent episode of a TV sitcom, “The Goldbergs”, described her perfectly. Her son is going to Harvard or Yale and she’s going to tell the whole school about it. Does she listen to you? Nope. She goes on and on about the colleges he applied to, the scholarships he’s going to win, and the awards he will receive at graduation.

Here’s the problem—you never asked. And thus begins the parent rivalries over college. It’s not pretty, but every parent will come across one or more of these parents while their teen is in high school. The danger is getting sucked in to the competition, which can only hurt your teen. But just how do you avoid it? It’s a parent’s natural instinct to be proud of their kids and you will be tempted to counter their bragging with bragging of your own.

Here are some tips on how to react when the situation arises (and avoid embarrassing your teen):

Don’t play their game

The easiest thing to do is offer a comeback but you should resist; especially if your teen is with you. The last thing they need is to believe that you need to one-up the other parent. Teens are already insecure and when their parents respond it just gives credibility to the other parent’s claims—that their son or daughter is better.

Take the high road

When you’re confronted by this type of parent, take the high road. Smile and congratulate them and walk away. If it’s a friend listen intently but don’t respond except to say that you’re happy for them. You can win with these parents and there’s no point in getting into a war over “my kid is better than your kid.” Don’t feel like a failure as a parent if you feel your child’s accomplishments don’t measure up.

Remember every child is unique

Don’t compare your child to others. Every child is unique, and every child has to follow their own path. Your child may be headed to community college, trade school or opting to take a gap year. The worst thing you can do for you and for them is start believing that anyone else’s kid is better than they are. When you are confronted with their bragging, don’t forget your child is moving toward their future—in the way that is best for them.

College is college and the name doesn’t mean much

Harvard, Yale, Brown, MIT or any other big name college isn’t the be all and end all of success. Your child has worked hard for four years and with college on the horizon, they have accomplished much. In the grand scheme of things, the name doesn’t mean much; it’s the education they will receive at college and the life experiences they have.

The college prep process brings stress and frustration, but don’t let the parent rivalries add to the stress. Smile and focus on your own child, because in the end, that’s really all that matters.

Check out Wendy’s blog on Taming the Green-Eyed Parent Monster

test prep

4 Ways to Prep for the SAT (for FREE)

January 21, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer 1 Comment

For many high school juniors, second semester means not only a focus on keeping grades and staying busy with extracurricular activities, but also an increased focus on the SAT. The College Board’s three spring test dates are March 8th, May 7th and June 3rd. If you do enough reading, you might think taking prep courses that cost thousands of dollars is the only way to get the score you want. But the truth is, there are plenty of low-cost and free ways to prep for the SAT.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Take a Free Practice Test

It’s impossible to know if you need extra English tutoring without knowing first what your score on the reading and writing sections are. Every student gets a free practice test from The College Board; take the test early on to identify key areas of strengths and where you need a little extra help. If you’re hitting your target score on a given section, there’s no need to spend hours of time preparing. On the other hand, if you find your score isn’t as high as you’d like, you now know a few areas to focus on.

Pick up a Magazine

Learning SAT vocabulary words isn’t always the most fun process. You can try the old fashioned route — writing index cards and then dutifully drilling the words into your head. Or, try an approach that’s slightly more fun (and will be better for you in the long-term, too). Grab a copy of the New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly or The Economist and tell yourself you’ll read an article every day. Every time you come across a word you don’t know, make a note of it on an index card and write the definition on the back. After you finish each article, give yourself an extra challenge that will help you prep for the reading comprehension section of the SAT. Figure out the author’s main point, and identify the pieces of the author’s argument as she makes them in her piece.

Brush Up On Basics With Khan Academy and YouTube

For most students who are entering the second semester of their junior year of high school, the math on the SAT isn’t particularly complicated or advanced; it’s more that there’s a lot to remember. If you need math help, Khan Academy offers a great (and completely free) resource: videos that go over every single math problem in The College Board Official SAT Study Guide. If those aren’t enough, you can dig deeper into tougher concepts on both Khan Academy and YouTube. For example, if you’re having problems understanding rational numbers, there’s a host of great video content available.

Work with a Friend

Chances are that if you’re studying for the SAT, your friends are, too. One of the best ways to drill a tough concept into your head is to teach it to someone else. So sit down with a classmate and commit to going through a half hour of questions on your own. When time is up, compare answers and if your answers are different, see if you can convince your friend why your answer is right — or vice versa. Often times, the act of having to explain something out-loud can help you get a better grasp on the problem too!

The SAT is just one piece of your overall college application, but it is an important one. The good news is, there’s no reason so drop thousands of dollars on a prep course. Just give yourself plenty of time and build out a study strategy that includes the above ideas — you’ll be heading toward a 2,400 in no time at all!

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Today’s guest post is from Laura Oppenheimer who works at InstaEDU, an online tutoring service that instantly connects students who need help with tutors from top colleges.

financial aid, mom approved tips

Mom-Approved Tips: Don’t Ignore the FAFSA

January 21, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer

The most important advice I can give parents is: don’t ignore the FAFSA! Many parents are misinformed when it comes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They believe that they make too much money to qualify for any kind of financial aid—and they decide not to file. That is the worst mistake you can make. I encourage every family of a college-bound senior complete the FAFSA (and complete it before February 1).

Why should you complete the FAFSA?

College is expensive and it’s a chance for you to grab yourself a piece of the financial aid pie.

Why should you complete it early?

The early bird gets the worm when it comes to financial aid. If you want your piece of the pie, you have to be the first in line. Once financial aid packages are disbursed, the money is gone and that means your student’s financial aid package will be composed of student loans only. If your form is filed and completed once the decision for admission is made it puts your student in a good position to receive some of those funds.

What can the FAFSA do for you and your college-bound teen?

There could be federal, state and college funds available. If you don’t complete the FAFSA, you won’t be able to get any of them. Even if your family income is high and you might not qualify for federal aid in the form of grants, your student might be eligible for state scholarships and merit-aid awards from the college. Additionally, any federally subsidized loans, including parent loans, require you to complete the FAFSA.

Why do some people tell you that you won’t qualify for financial aid?

The easy answer is they are misinformed. Remember there are all kinds of financial aid. While not everyone will qualify for federal grants, most students receive some form of financial aid. If you don’t apply your student will not be one of them.

infographics, Uncategorized

College isn’t cheap (an infographic)

January 18, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer

There’s no denying that college is outrageously expensive. And, unfortunately, it is only getting worse; while the average family income in the United States grew 147% in the years between 1982 and 2007, the cost of college grew by a staggering 440% in that same period. What that means in terms of real numbers is that the average cost of a four-year degree from a state school is now $30,000. Most American families do not have that kind of money up front, which necessitates that they borrow it from private or government programs that issue student loans. Unfortunately, student loans leave college graduates an average of $20,000 in debt when they finish school. And approximately 10% of graduates will have twice that debt to repay. Collectively, American students owe more than one trillion dollars.

Figures like these, in combination with the fact that only half of all college graduate obtained a full-time job in 2011, are why more than six million graduates cannot pay back their student loans. The economic recession that began in 2008 has made it exceptionally difficult for college graduates to find jobs in their field. The upshot is that students take on lower-paying jobs that do not require degrees in order to make ends meet. Even so, that limited income is, in many cases, not enough to pay back their debt.

Below is an infographic that illustrates the point. Click the infographic to see the entirety on the original site.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Scholarships for C Students

January 17, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer

A few days ago I listened to a How to Pay for College HQ podcast (you can listen to it yourself by following this link: http://www.howtopayforcollegehq.com/8/) hosted by Celest Horton with guest Felicia Hatcher.

Can you imagine being told by your High School Guidance Counselor that you will never make it to college and to just give up and look into vocational schools? That is what happened to Felecia Hatcher, but she didn’t let it stop her.

Felecia Hatcher was recently named one of the Top 10 Superstar Entrepreneurs under 30 by Allbusiness.com and honored at the White House for the Empact 100′s Top 100 Entrepreneurs under 30. In her book, The C Students Guide to Scholarships, she talks about how she found scholarships to pay for her entire college education.

Taking excerpts from the transcript about scholarships for C students, read below:

Slow Start in High School?

Are you student that was not focused for the first few years of school and your GPA is under a 3.0? Don’t fret as there are ways to differentiate yourself so that you can find college scholarships.

There are college scholarships that don’t require your GPA in order to apply or the GPA requirement is low.
Focus on being a well rounded student who is active in community service, clubs or activities that you are passionate about.
What are your strengths (writing, math, speaking, etc.)? Use those strengths to your advantage to separate yourself from the potential pool of applicants.
Key aspect is to concentrate on LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS because the pool of applicants is much smaller.

Go Local, Go Local, Go Local

Where to look?

High School Counselor or College Financial Aid Officer,
Student Clubs and Organizations,
Businesses (Local, Your Employer or Your Parents Employer),
Military Service (You, Your Parents’ or Grandparents’ Service),
Community Organizations (American Legion, Association of Junior Leagues, Elks Lodge, Lions Club, Kiwanis International, Knights of Colmbus, Optimist International Club, Rotary Club, YMCA, etc.) You might be able to think of more than I did off the top of my head so keep brain storming.
Church
Unions
Local Professional Sports Teams
Local Newspaper

If you haven’t subscribed to Celest’s podcasts, you are missing out on some great college financing information. Her guests are knowledgeable and eagerly share their expertise to help parents pay for college and stay out of debt.

admissions, guidance counselors

The High School Guidance Counselor conundrum

January 16, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer 2 Comments

Parents rely on guidance counselors to help their students with college prep. They are under the misconception that a counselors job is counsel their student about college. But guidance counselors have little time to help your student. Research shows that the average counselor to student ratio is 470-1 and that they spend less than 20 minutes a year with each student.

Just the facts

A recent article in Time, “The High School Guidance Counselor”, explains the problem:

In addition to huge caseloads, budget cuts have forced to counselors to increasingly contend with duties unrelated to their traditional roles, such as monitoring the school cafeteria or proctoring exams, says Eric Sparks, the ASCA’s assistant director. And few get more than scant training before taking on the job, says Alexandria Walton Radford, a former U.S. Department of Education official who has studied the issue. Many degree programs for school counselors don’t offer coursework on helping students make the best college choices, or getting financial aid, according to a national survey of counselors.

The result is an overtaxed system in which many students either never go to college, go to institutions that are the wrong for them, or never learn about financial aid for which they may qualify. According to Radford’s research, low-income, ethnic minority valedictorians and first-generation college applicants shy away from elite schools, unaware of scholarship opportunities; freshmen over-rely on friends and relatives for advice about college.

Knowing this, parents and students need to take action. You know the old saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the oil?” The same is true when it comes to dealing with guidance counselors. Don’t become a nuisance, but put your student at the top of the counselor’s to-do list.

Start early

Beginning freshman year, you and your student need to make contact with their guidance counselor. At the beginning of your teen’s freshman year (and each school year following to stay on top of your student’s progress), make an appointment to meet with the guidance counselor. This meeting will let the counselor know that you are an involved parent and that you will be taking an active role during your teen’s high school years. It will also serve to establish a relationship between your teen and the counselor which will benefit them in the future as they begin to require more and more help with the college application process.

Here’s a list of questions I composed for Zinch that you should ask at those meetings: 5 Must-Ask Questions for your Child’s Guidance Counselor

Take action

Since guidance counselors have multiple students to deal with and multiple deadlines to manage, you need to take action and verify that the action they should take is being taken and in a timely manner.

Paul Hemphill, of Planning for College, puts it plainly, “Over the next several weeks, colleges will deny a student’s application for admission because the student’s guidance counselor failed to send the paperwork in by the deadline.”

Paul suggests parents send 3 emails to their child’s guidance counselor that can prevent the heartbreak of your child’s application being refused consideration: Guidance Counselors Can Kill Your Student’s Dreams.

Note: Pikesville High School Counseling in Baltimore, Maryland has this to say: “I appreciate that you care about SCHOOL counselors’ lack of training in college planning, but I disagree about your recommendations. There are more productive and proactive ways than becoming the squeaky wheel…Like asking district and state leadership for smaller caseloads and more professional development for SCHOOL counselors.” Good advice. Get involved in your school community and ask for changes.

admissions, parenting, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: Rivalries among college-bound teens

January 15, 2014 Suzanne Shaffer 1 Comment

Sign up for my FREE parent tips email and get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.

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It’s that time of year again—college offers of admission will be arriving and students will be responding to those offers. Years ago, on the popular show Dawson’s Creek, the teenage characters were going through the college prep process. As the process unfolded the viewers shared in every part of the process, from application, to waiting, to acceptance and rejection. Obviously the writers of the show had experienced this before because they were dead-on about the types of emotions teenagers go through during this period in their lives.

One specific storyline involved a girl who was striving for an Ivy League acceptance and a boy whose grades were not quite as stellar and had set his sights low when it came to college. It created quite a conflict—one student excited about their college prospects and the other stressed about getting an acceptance at all. It’s a fine line between showing excitement and bragging so much that it’s offensive to others.

This is a time to teach some life lessons that your teen can take with them to college and into their life as an adult.

Tolerance

Kids will be kids. And unfortunately they often mimic their parents (in a negative way). Bragging will occur—you can count on it. The rivalry will intensify when the offers of admission arrive. When this happens, this is a great opportunity for you to teach your teen about tolerance. Although they may not like listening to other kids brag, it’s a fact of life. People will brag and boast and they are bound to run into this as adults. Learning to deal with it now should make it easier in the future.

Gratitude

As the offers of admission arrive it’s a great opportunity for them to learn about gratitude. Being grateful for their success should make it easier for them to avoid making others feel inferior.

Acceptance

Part of the process is learning to accept the outcome and adjust expectations, especially if the outcome is not what they expected. Often acceptance is not easily achieved but it is part of facing reality and becoming an adult.

Graciousness

When their friends receive offers of admission and they don’t, or they get waitlisted, it’s going to be difficult. In life others will be promoted before them, own bigger houses and more expensive cars. Instead of feeling jealous or envious, it will be much easier to be gracious and celebrate their accomplishments.

The rivalry that occurs among college-bound teens is hard to deal with as a parent. We don’t like to see our kids hurt or their self-esteem destroyed by other kids; but you can use the opportunity to build character.

Read Wendy’s blog post: College admissions rivalry

Parenting for College

How Much Do College Students Drink?

Scholarship Friday: Tips from the Scholarship Mom

Top 3 Ways a Test Prep Tutor Will Improve Your Test Score