Tis the Season for Award Letters

By Stephanie Wells

It’s that time of year when the tulips and daffodils start popping up after hibernating all winter, and the warm spring sun melts those last stubborn piles of snow. It’s also that exciting time of year when bulky envelopes start arriving in the mailboxes of high school seniors containing college acceptance letters.

College acceptance letters are a time to celebrate! Mixed in with that celebration is the reality of upcoming college expenses, which can cause worry, confusion, and stress for many families. As Director of Community Outreach, I spend a good deal of time during the spring season working with families to help ease their concerns.  Over the years what I've discovered is that these conversations have common themes.

For example, I recently met with a family whose child had been accepted to her first choice college. This student had received some merit-based financial aid to help with costs, but the parents were still confused about the award letter, types of aid, and paying the bill. As I listened to their questions it struck me how common these questions were and that I had heard them from other families. Below are six answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.

I could continue on with more questions, but these six commonly asked questions are ones that are always asked.

Getting back to the family that inspired me to write down these questions, I realized that each spring when I meet with folks like these, I am left with a sense of renewal and rebirth because I was able to help and impart the great knowledge I have on college acceptance letters. Each student has an incredible opportunity to enter college and grow intellectually. As this family was leaving, I made sure to remind the daughter that she needed to keep her grades up in order to maintain her merit scholarship and she confidently smiled at me and said she would do so, since she has worked so hard to keep her grades up throughout high school.