Here’s a "quick and dirty" (I didn't mean it THAT way, please!) list of what must do in order to maximize your chances of college funding.
1. "Fish in the right pond.” Some colleges are more generous than others. Some colleges offer more need-based aid, and some favor merit-based awards. Research this information prior to finalizing your college list, hopefully months before! (Resource: CollegeBoard.com)
2. Think "Ron Burgundy" - Apply to schools where you’ll “class up” the incoming class. You’re more likely to get funded by a school where you’re in the top 25% of incoming freshmen. Check the stats of last year’s admitted students against yours. If you’d be lucky to get in, you’re less likely to get funded. (I’m talking mostly – not entirely – about need-based aid.) Sidebar: because colleges manipulate - even lie and cheat about - the rankings system, you'd be kinda dumb to rely only on what US News says about the colleges you're looking at. Rank is a good starting point, but far from an end point. Think - and stay - classy.
3. Don’t assume that you will not qualify. The average discount rate for private colleges is 45%. 45%! AVERAGE! And the vast majority of aid goes to families in the top quartile of income. I don’t care if you’re one step removed from the poverty line or a multi-millionaire, you can get 10%, 20%, 45% or more off the price of college.
4. Don’t expect your financial aid award from a college to be its “highest and best” offer. Colleges are businesses. Notwithstanding any alarming, posturing “we don’t care about other offers” language you may read from financial aid offices, it’s always worth trying. Two years ago, a client of mine improved her so-called “final” award by more than $30,000. Last year, another client improved her award by more than $38,000. (Each example is a one-year, not four-year, award, by the way.)
5. Learn the basics of the financial aid formulas, or get help. Some types of savings penalize you more than others, some not at all. This can vary by college, too.
6. Start earlier than you’re planning to start! If you’ve been putting off this problem for 15, 16 years, because you’re not ready to “deal with it,” understand that the college timeline doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about your procrastination. It marches on anyway. Families who start earlier (end of Sophomore Year and beginning of Junior Year) have more options and greater odds of success than those who “blow it off.”
If you want to chat about how to multiply your chances of receiving scholarships, choose schools strategically and more, register for an upcoming free live or online workshop.
Andrew Lockwood, J.D. wrote How to Pay “Wholesale” for College, is the former host of the College Planning Power Hour on ESPN Radio in Ft. Lauderdale, and is the founder of Lockwood College Consulting in Long Island. More information is available at www.CollegePlanningTips.com
