How to Choose the BEST Colleges

Q. Our daughter will be a senior in high school this fall and is already working on her college list.  We are nervous about the costs of some of the schools she’s considering.  But we want her to go where she wants….she has worked so hard.  How do we start to develop a realistic list with her?

A. I’m thrilled to hear that your daughter is actively working on her college list.  Her goal should be to complete it before summer break begins.  This will permit her to take a look at last year’s admission applications, begin her essays and tour the colleges well in advance of the application deadlines.  It will also allow you as parents to assess if the colleges are affordable BEFORE she applies.  You can do this by assessing three things:  your need-based financial aid eligibility, the schools’ packaging policies, and your daughter’s eligibility, if any, of merit-based scholarships at her schools of choice.

Did you know that the average senior in my area spends between 800 and 1000 just APPLYING to college (including grade and test transcript fees)?  That is not a small chuck of change…and compounded with the fact that only 35% of those who enter a 4 year college actually GRADUATE in 4 years (the rest take longer or drop out…adding more money and wages lost to the college experience.

College is WAY too expensive to not consider the return on investment, both in time and money.  Most parents wait until their oldest child’s senior year of high school, typically between November and February.  This is simply too late to optimize a college affordability assessment.  They don’t learn their EFC (Expected Family Contribution) until AFTER the student submitted all applications.  When families operate to this timeline the unfortunate result – with few exceptions - is predictable.  They often find themselves borrowing the majority of funds in order to pay for college.

It all comes down to PROPER college planning.  And that starts with a realistic college list.  There’s so much more to planning than rigorous class selection, achieving high standardized test scores, and then applying only to “brand name” colleges.  The importance of good grades is obvious as well as matching academic achievement and major to a college, but the affordability factor is often entirely overlooked until it’s way too late. 

Evaluating the affordability of colleges for a student should begin at the latest by October in the junior year.  There are curriculum considerations, tax strategies (surprised?) and EFC analyses that can ultimately impact college affordability in a dramatic way.  Any family that has not begun an affordability assessment before this timeframe is at risk of compromising their ability to pay for  their child’s college education.

Tom and Lawrene Bottorf are the co-founders of GetCollegeFunding in Dana Point, CA.  Send your questions for this column to questions@mygcf.org and visit www.getcollegefunding.org to learn your EFC before the senior year.