Free Session Wednesday: How to Make College Application Process Pay Off Big Time

The college application process is time- and labor-intensive. Making the most of your student's time and labor only makes good sense.

An approach that requires a little extra time and effort can pay off handsomely, as it did for a 2010 graduate who barely made the top 20 percent of his class yet parlayed a 3.5 GPA into acceptances from 10 of the 12 colleges to which he applied and amassed a collective $113,000 in grants, awards and scholarships from eight of those schools. That's all free money.

How he did it, and how parents of current high school students can capitalize upon his formula, will be the topic of Ca$h for College, a free informational session held 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at Cafe and Coffee Bar, 400 Atlantic Ave. Conducted by a mom who's been there, the hourlong session will reveal money-saving and money-finding tips that can translate into tens of thousands of dollars. The sesssion will help parents learn how to play the game to level the playing field.

Realizing that kind of windfall took time and effort, but it was time and effort well-rewarded, working out to approximately $1,000 for every hour invested. The college application process took about 40 hours. The student and parent worked together for two or three hours a night for two weeks. The scholarship application process for local and college awards took about 60 hours, as the parent organized the student's deadlines, collected the supporting documentation and helped edit his essays over a period of about six weeks. Writing letters of appeal for improved financial aid offers took about 10 hours.

Additionally, he saved hundreds of dollars on application fees by applying either to fee-free schools or at the specified times schools were waiving their application fees. He further saved by applying to many SAT-optional schools, thereby saving the cost of having the College Board send his scores to all his schools.

Compare this student's calculated approach to the college and scholarship application process to his sister's. A 2006 OCHS graduate with a Top 10 ranking, a 5.0 GPA, a steady diet of Advanced Placement and Honors courses, his sister should have been able to write her own ticket anywhere.

She couldn't. After a disinterested tour of colleges in the tri-state area, with only Princeton appealing to her, she applied to nine schools. Six, all elite colleges, sent letters of rejection. Two of the three that accepted her offered her full scholarships, so it is difficult to see her application process as a failure. However, it was expensive and disappointing.

Fast forward a few months to Senior Awards Night at the high school. This accomplished student was called twice to the stage, once for a $50 check and once for a T-shirt. Another huge disappointment.

What happened in the years between Student No. 1 and Student No. 2 was instrumental. Having learned from the costly mistakes made by Student No. 1, Student No. 2 was better prepared to make the most of his college application process. He also was savvy to the community scholarship process.

Knowledge is power. Knowing how to play the game levels the playing field. Parents and students interested in increasing their chances of success while lowering their costs are invited to attend the free informational session at Positively 4th Street Cafe scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 16. Parents of younger students are invited, too, as it is truly never too early to get started on this important process.