My response to this exclamation is: “What WERE you expecting…and WHY?” The above quote is the most common one this time of year….after the student applies, and is accepted….and then is slapped into the reality that the colleges they picked are not affordable. The very sad truth of this is that parents CAN know what is affordable…and which colleges are NOT before applying.
So why don’t families do some simple research and apply common financial sense when picking colleges? Several reasons:
1- Families rely on over-worked guidance departments at government high schools (and some private high schools). Here in CA, the student to guidance ratio is about 600-750 students to one guidance advisor.
2- Families believe fairytales about there being “plenty of money” for EVERYONE.
3- Parents reflect on their own college admissions experience, and don’t understand that times and resources have changed.
I will address these one at a time…
1- High school guidance advisors have a lot of administrative tasks to accomplish in their daily job, most having nothing to do with college…and they simply don’t have time to research all the changing puzzle pieces on the college admissions horizon. Telling every family to “fill out the FAFSA” has become the standard answer for financial aid concerns from the under-resourced high school guidance departments, and “We’ll hope for the best” is the attitude of families who have not done their homework.
There is no way one can do an effective job in college admissions and financial aid advising if there is only a part time effort. Every situation is different, and families either need to hire a professional, or do the research themselves. Remember, you are looking at a college bill of between 30k and 60k per year…so to make sure you are optimizing your resources by hiring a fee based consultant.
2- I have heard people who don’t know what they are talking about claim that there is plenty of money for everyone, regardless of grades or financial situation. All I can say to that is FALSE.
Even worse are some insurance or annuity salespeople who claim to “position the student” for more money by selling high commission products, and not looking at the family’s best interest, or long term portfolio.
3- College admissions and financial aid has changed substantially. Many families apply to at least 10 colleges, and counting transcripts, application fees, and test prep, spend well over $1000- just to apply! Before the federal government chose to get into the lending business, one could work their way through college, and have no debt, and graduate in 4 years.
Not so any more…Yet parents have allowed their romanticizing of their own college experience (or some TV college experience) to lure them into thinking that the “college experience” is worth 30-60k per year. They then go diving headlong into the pool of piranhas, and take out high interest government loans… Next blog, I will elaborate on how your social security and income tax refunds can be garnished if you go swimming in these waters…
Parents, please…start your research EARLY…in middle school, and at the very latest, sophomore year of high school. Not every job requires a college degree, and not every student should go to a 4 year college.
Don’t follow hype and indoctrination…do your own homework. Your family’s future depends on it.
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