Ten Things High School Grads Need to do Before Leaving for College

Congratulations!  You are preparing to head off to your college campus for the first time!  What an exciting, and scary!, time this is.  Here are a few things for you to take care of so you'll be ready when you arrive.

1. Verify that your financial aid is ready

By now, you should have filed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  If not, complete and file it RIGHT AWAY! (fafsa.ed.gov)

Early summer is a great time to check in with the financial aid office to verify that all of your paperwork is complete.  This will help prevent unpleasant surprises when you arrive.  Many colleges are great at communicating with incoming students but, sometimes, things can fall through the cracks.  Since this is mission critical, be sure to take a few minutes to give them a call to verify that everything is in good order.

Be sure to make arrangements to cover any gaps between the costs at your school and the financial aid you have been offered.  If you need some ideas, here is a blog from the Dept. of Education: 7 Options to Consider if You Didn't Receive Enough Financial Aid.

If you are taking out student loans to help pay for college, be sure to borrow only what you need and to keep track of what you borrow.  You'll likely be borrowing again in future years.  For your federal loans, you can see your loans here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/login .


2. Find A Part Time Job Near or On Campus

Working while you are in college is a good idea for most students.  The extra demands on your time will actually hlep you use your time better.  Most college students struggle to use their time well.  The schedule at college is vastly different from traditional high school (but not that different for most homeschooled students).  Having so much free time is a definite temptation to spend time having fun while not spending enough time studying.

Additionally, you'll have the opportunity to develop your money management skills and to contribute toward your expenses at school.  When you "have some skin in the game", when you are contributing your own hard earned money to paying for your college, you are literally more invested in your success.  You realize that failing is going to cost you; you potentially will lose your investment.  Sometimes called sweat equity, personal contributions to an effort generally make a strong positive impact on the outcome. Studies have shown that working while you are in school actually has a positive impact on your grades.  They have also shown that, until you are working 30 or more hours per week, there is not usually a negative impact.

If you are interested in working while you are in school, it's a good idea to explore the options before you arrive on campus.  If you were awarded federal work study as part of your financial aid package, here are eight things you should know about it.  Of course, being awarded work study does NOT guarantee you a job!  Some schools help match students to jobs but most do not.  You will need to find, apply, and interview for positions on your own.  Check with the financial aid office about whether your campus has a work study office which coordinates these jobs.  You may not get your first choice job your first year; oftentimes, Fall jobs are snatched up at the end of the Spring term.  There will still be jobs for the freshman, they simply aren't likely to be the most popular jobs.  I recommend getting a job in the financial aid office, so you will know about new scholarships as they are created or a job as a parking lot attendant or other position which will allow you to study while you are working.

3. Craft a Good Resume and Learn how to Network

Since work experience is important when you are looking for a job after you graduate college, it's a good idea to focus your search on jobs related to your career field.  Create a resume now, before you head to campus, so you are ready to apply and interview as soon as you arrive (you may even be able to apply online before you arrive!).  Most employers want to see a resume.  Preparing one now, before you go, obviously, will be helpful.

Also, look for networking events for professionals in your desired field, and attend.  Get yourself out there!  Make contacts with people in the industry.  Keep your ears open for opportunities to work an internship in their offices, even if it will be unpaid.

4. Have an appropriate email address

Sometimes students have emails which will not make a good impression on potential employers.  Avoid having an email like heretoparty@... and the like.  Yes, have an email address which is not associated with the college or university you will attend.  While you will get a college email address you@yourcollege.edu, having a permanent email address is important, too.  You'll be able to apply for jobs before you arrive on campus and get that student email address.  Potential employers will have both an email address and your phone number to use when contacting you to arrange an interview (which may be able to be done via Skype or FaceTime if you haven't moved to campus yet).

5. Create a Budget and a Bank Account

Sit down with your parents and sort out who will be paying for what.  Know what you will be responsible for and how you will take care of your portion.  Know the dates you'll need to make payments.  It will be helpful to sit down with your financial aid award and the list of costs (found on your school's website if it's not included in the aid award).  Add insurance, transportation, school supplies, toiletries, cell phone service, and entertainment (movies, pizza, etc.) to it.  If you are not sure how to create a budget, here's an article and a tool to help you.  And here are some tips!

Create a bank account with a bank or credit union with location(s) near your campus.  It's best to find one with location(s) near your parents - or an app they can use to access your account.  You definitely want to make it easy for them to put money into your account!  And easy for you to access cash when you need it.  Be sure to keep close tabs on your balance.  With most transactions happening electronically, it's easy to lose track of how much money you are actually spending and really have available.

6. Register for Classes and Take Charge of your Calendar

Watch for emails and mail from your college.  Be sure to follow the instructions and complete any online pre-registration requirements.  Register for your courses as early as you can.  Sites like RateYourProfessor.com can give you insight into the temperaments of the various professors you might have.  I encourage you to take the time to do a little research; it can make an enormous difference when you get to campus.  If you think having some teachers in high school was preferable to having other teachers, that is even more important at college, when professors have nearly complete free reign in their classrooms.

Once you have registered for your classes, sit down and prepare a weekly schedule.  Then think about what you will need to do to be successful on campus.  When will you need to go to bed in order to get up in time to be at your first class, which is a fifteen minute walk from the cafeteria which, in turn, is a ten minute walk from your dorm.  How long do you need to allow yourself to get dressed, etc. before you are ready to hike to the cafeteria?  In the worst weather expected during the semester?  Take a look at how the rest of your day will flow.  Determine when you can work and study.  Now you are ready to set up a work schedule with your new employer.  At least, you'll have it ready when you get to campus and are out interviewing for positions.

When possible, go online and get your syllabus for each course.  Order your books and supplies.  Pay any lab fees.  Note the deadlines for papers, exam dates, reading week, and finals week on your calendar.  Schedule out extra time to study before the various exams and make two or three preliminary deadlines to work on your papers.  In college, procrastination leads to failure.

Don't forget to note where you can buy toiletries and school supplies and clothing near campus.  You will definitely need to do some shopping now and again!

7. It's time to Embrace the Coupon and the Sale!

BOGO is a key to stretching your few college dollars.  Take a look at Groupon and other opportunities for learning about deals on and around campus.  Your college ID will be the ticket to many student discounts; learn to watch for them.

Textbooks are a major expense.  From the syllabi (that's the plural form of syllabus), you will learn which books are required and which are suggested for each class.  You have several options for getting your books: the college bookstore - for new and used (pay attention to the version/publication date!), Amazon, barnesandnoble.com and many other vendors.  You can also rent your textbooks and/or get electronic versions of them.  For classes outside your major, renting books is ideal.  You probably don't want to keep them.  For classes in your major, you may well want to keep the book, at least for a while as you take the next course in the series (so you can refer back to it).  Whether to get actual books or e-books is a major consideration.  While e-books are certainly easier to carry around, studies have confirmed that we retain what we write and manipulate much better than what we merely read or type.  Sometimes saving a few dollars on texts will cost your grades, which is not a good trade off. 

Should you purchase the "optional" books on the syllabus?  it depends on whether you want to have a shot at getting an A in the course.  I refer you to "How to Become a Straight A Student" by Cal Newport for guidance on determining which of the readings you really need to read in order to be able to excel.  (If you haven't read this book yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.  The tips are invaluable.)

At the end of the term, be sure to sell back the books (whether you got them new or used) that you bought and don't want to keep.  If your school isn't using them for the next term, you may not be able to sell them to the college bookstore.  Take a look online for other opportunities to sell them.  And do it right away.  It's far too easy to get distracted at the end of the term and miss the window of opportunity.

8. Lessons in Safety

Dorms are wonderful places to live.  Lots of interesting people living together engenders lively conversation and lots of fun.  However, theft is a real problem.  Determine how you will lock your laptop (not having that is a catastrophic problem when a paper is due!!)  Discipline yourself to back up your files to the cloud so you can retrieve them if something awful does happen.  For the other items that you will take to campus, think about what you need to secure and explore options to do so.  Kryptonite locks for bicycles, ways to secure your jewelry, other electronics, etc.

Program Campus Safety's number into your phone.  And be prepared to use it!  Do NOT walk across campus alone at night!  Learn some self defense techniques, especially the habit of being aware of your surroundings.  Learn basic first aid so you can help yourself and those around you.

Now that you are heading out on your own, there is significant information and some sensitive documents that you also need to protect.  Employers often want to see your social security card but it's not a prudent thing to carry.  Where will you keep it?  How will you track your usernames and passwords?  Post-it notes on your desk, or in your desk drawer, are not good places to keep track of passwords!  If you create a file of usernames and passwords, remember to password protect it.  And find a way to keep track of that password, too!

Set up expectations with your parents regarding communication.  They will want to know that you are safe and doing ok.  They will want to know if you need their help or advice.  They certainly will want to know when you plan to visit or when they would be welcome to visit you.  Be sure to share your new address with them and any other relatives who might send you a care package (what a joy it is to get one of these!!!) (A care package usually contains food and goodies as well as practical, useful items.  It's terrific to get one just when you are running out of things!)

9. Be ready to file your FAFSA!

Beginning in 2016, the FAFSA will be available starting October 1 for the following school year.  As a returning student, it's probably fine to wait until Christmas break to file yours but it's worth checking with your financial aid office BEFORE you leave for campus.  If they want it sooner than that, make sure you have the required tax information and that you schedule it on your calendar.  Remember, with financial aid, it's first come, first served!

10. Explore the possibilities

A huge study was done recently about whether certain colleges produced students who were happier in their lives and careers.  It found that the college or university attended didn't matter.  What mattered was what students did while they were on campus.  They found six factors to be key:

1. Find a professor who makes you excited about what you are learning
2. Find professors who care about you as a person
3. Find a mentor
4. Work on a project that lasts more than one term
5. Do an internship or get a job in your field
6. Participate in extracurricular activities

So, before you get to campus, take time on you college's website to explore the various opportunities, both academic and extracurricular.  Note what is required to participate.  For example, courses might need to be taken in a particular sequence in order to accommodate a study abroad program or an internship or summer research program.  Have a few extracurricular activities in mind before you arrive on campus and seek them out once you have gotten settled into your dorm.  Many colleges have orientation events which usually provide an opportunity to meet people in various clubs and organizations.  You will profit well from those events if you know which groups you'd like to explore.


Congratulations on your decision to attend college.  All the best to you!


Adopted from: http://blog.ed.gov/2016/07/8-things-hs-grads-need-to-do-before-college/

http://www.gallup.com/poll/182306/big-six-college-experiences-linked-life-preparedness.aspx

Digging Deep When Researching Colleges & Universities

This summer, I'll be giving the Keys to College Success online seminar I've created to help anyone stressing about getting into college and being able to handle the costs.  Sign up now.

When researching colleges, many people gravitate to what they consider to be “great” schools without having any idea whether those institutions merit their reputations or even whether the reputation is that of the graduate school(s) or the undergraduate school(s).

 

It is critical to understand that no college or university is uniformly excellent, average, or just plain bad. 

 

Where Schools Differ in Quality

 

The real differences in the quality of an institution are found within the various academic departments and programs.

 

For example, a university may have a tremendous business department which enjoys a strong job placement record for its graduates, but have a weak faculty and mediocre facilities in the biology department which, in turn, has a poor track record of graduates being accepted into graduate school or finding jobs.

 

When exploring schools, it’s extremely important that families drill down and ask critical questions about the education students are getting in the departments of particular interest to their child.

 

From a recent article by Kevin Carey in the New York Times, "The Fundamental Way that Universities are an Illusion," comes

"The bible of academic research on how colleges affect students is a book titled, plainly enough, “How College Affects Students.” It’s an 848-page synthesis of many thousands of independent research studies over the decades. The latest edition was published in 2005 by Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini, professors at the University of Iowa and Penn State.

The sections devoted to how colleges differ from one another are notable for how little they find. As Mr. Pascarella and Mr. Terenzini carefully document, studies have found that some colleges are indeed better than others in certain ways. Students tend to learn more in colleges where they have closer relationships with faculty and peers, for example, and earn a little more after graduating from more selective institutions.

But these findings are overwhelmed in both size and degree by the many instances in which researchers trying to detect differences between colleges found nothing.

...

But which college matters much less than everyone assumes. As Mr. Pascarella and Mr. Terenzini explain, the real differences exist at the departmental level, or within the classrooms of individual professors, who teach with a great deal of autonomy under the principles of academic freedom. The illusory university pretends that all professors are guided by a shared sense of educational excellence specific to their institution. In truth, as the former University of California president Clark Kerr observed long ago, professors are “a series of individual faculty entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance over parking.”

So, How Can You Determine Which Schools are Best for Your Child?

When researching possible colleges, it's essential that you evaluate the kind of education students are getting in academic department(s) of interest to your child.  Here are some things you can do:

STEP 1:

Visit the academic department website.  Read everything you can.  Look for information like this:

Departmental Mission Statement & Description of its Undergraduate Education
Undergraduate advising
Graduation Outcomes - graduate school acceptances, employment stats of recent graduating classes
Number and background of the professors in the department - read their CVs
Number of undergraduates in the major (NB Some schools are discontinuing unpopular majors in order to cut costs)
Undergraduate Research Opportunities - overall and by professor
Opportunities for internships and co-operative education placements
Faculty Awards - particularly those for teaching
Undergraduate Awards (Rhodes, Fulbrights, Goldwater, etc.)
Departmental newsletter
Student clubs associated with the major

STEP 2:

After identifying a promising school, your teen should reach out to one or two professors and ask intelligent questions about the major.  If the professors don't answer their email, call the department secretary and ask her the questions.  Also mention that the professor didn't answer the email - perhaps she'll explain why. That tells you more about that professor and department.

Some sample questions for your student to ask:

How much access do undergraduates have to professors?
Is there access outside office hours?  Are office hours adequate to give interested students time?
On a 1-10 scale, how would you rank the professors in your department?  Why?
How easy is it to find mentors among the faculty?  Do undergrads have a faculty advisor?
Are lower division classes simply meant to weed out students or are efforts made to keep students progressing in the major?  Or both?
How would you rate the academic quality of the courses?  Why?
What are graduates from the major doing now?
Is there support for those desiring to attend grad school?
Is study abroad possible with this major?
What haven't I asked that is also relevant?
Would they give contact information for one or two recent graduates or upperclassmen in the major so I can contact them?

STEP 3:

Visit the college before you apply.  Meet the professors. Talk to students in the major.  Sit in on general ed/core classes as well as in classes in the majors you are interested in. Spend a night in the dorm.  Ask about places to study, dorm life, social life, etc.

In Summary

It is absolutely essential that families look beyond the general reputation of the colleges when determining which to apply to.  I am often asked whether a certain school is right for a student.  I can't answer that question without doing a lot of research and interviewing the student.  Remember, one-third of students end up transferring from one college to another.  That makes the necessity of doing this hard work BEFORE applying obvious.

Learn More...

The best way to cut the costs of college is to become an educated consumer.  I'll be offering my Keys to College Success Webinar several times this summer.  Register here.

-Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS

How to Explore a college/university online

Deciding which colleges to explore, which to visit, and which to apply to is a critical part of the college prep process.  This process is almost always done via online research.  However, most have little to no idea about how to go about it.Far too often these decisions are led by hearsay and only a cursory examination of the various schools on a student's list.  Below I outline the various aspects which should be examined.  For further information or assistance with the various aspects of this process, please see my website www.CelticCollegeConsultants.com

11.     If you are not working with one of my lists, go to collegedata.com and look up the stats for size, test scores, graduation rates, % of financial need met, class size, etc.

22.     Determine the most important factors for you – location, major, size, grad rate, cost, study abroad, athletics, clubs, religious features, etc.

33.     Create a spreadsheet for your information – record your findings for each school

44.     Explore the academics first

a.     Check out your major

                                               i.     Read the overview

                                              ii.     Explore the course requirements

                                            iii.     Check out the professors (can be done in a later round)

                                            iv.     Explore the options (study abroad, cooperative education programs, internships, capstones, senior projects, concentrations, double majors BA/MA or BS/MS programs

                                              v.     Look through the course offerings – are they interesting? 
5.     Explore Student Life

                                               i.     Read the overview

                                              ii.     What clubs and activities are there?

                                            iii.     What support is there – counseling, religious/spiritual opportunities, healthcare, tutoring, writing center, academic advising, study abroad coordinator, etc.

                                            iv.     Housing

1.     What sorts are available?

2.     Is living on campus required?

3.     Do they have housing for everyone?

4.     Do most live on campus or off?

5.     Do most go home on the weekends?

6.     What are the dorm rules – drinking, intervisitation, drugs, noise, etc…

                                              v.     Check the stats

1.     What percent go abroad?

2.     What percent get to be leaders?

3.     What percent join sororities/fraternities?

4.     Crime stats 

    

                                            
5. Explore Admissions
   i.     What HS courses are required?

                                              ii.     What admissions programs do they have (ED, EA, RD, rolling)

                                            iii.     What are the deadlines? Which application(s) do they accept?

                                            iv.     What test scores do they require?  What’s the last acceptable test date?

                                              v.     Find stats about a recent class - # applicants under each program, % accepted, % who came, test scores, GPA/class rank

                                            vi.     Check into recruiting, if you're an athlete or debater, etc. 

6. Explore Financial Aid

                                               i.     What forms are required?   When are they required?

                                              ii.     What scholarships are offered? Do they have tuition reduction programs?

1.     Do they have separate applications? Deadlines?
2. Are they merit (and on what basis - academics, leadership, special skills)? financial need based? athletic?

Financial Aid Application Major Changes!! 2015 is a key tax year!

In September, 2015, President Obama changed the rules for FAFSA to use the prior prior year (PPY).  For the 2016/2017 school year AND the 2017/2018 school year, the FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which is used by nearly every college and university, the income portion of the family contribution will be based on the parents’ and student’s 2015 taxes.  Consequently, this year’s tax situation is VERY significant. 

It is critical that ALL families who will have students in college in the 2017/2018 school year, do everything possible to lower their AGI on their 2015 taxes.  Sometimes bonuses can be paid in January, rather than December.  Or contractors can be paid in January, rather than December.  Business expenses moved from January to December may lower the business income (either via Schedule C for sole proprietors or via K-1 earnings).  Meet with your tax preparer to discuss your options.  Use FAFSA4caster.gov to estimate changes in your EFC based on possible scenarios.  And, be sure to keep everything legal.

As before, assets will be assessed as of the day of the initial filing of the FAFSA form.  For FAFSA, assets still do not include your home equity nor your retirement savings nor your life insurance.

This change has been advocated over the past several years by NASFAA, the National Association of Student FInacial Aid Administrators.

Expected Benefits

It is hoped that this change will enable families to file their FAFSA earlier by removing the need to wait until after January 1 to file it.  Starting in 2016, the FAFSA for the 2017/2018 school year will be available in October 2016, not January 1, 2017, as has been the previous pattern.  In turn, families will have an idea of their eligibility for need based financial aid, assuming they understand the Student Aid Report. 

Additionally, since the 2012 introduction of the DRT (Data Retrieval Tool) which enables filers to pull tax data from their filed tax returns to the FAFSA, there have been numerous problems with delays since returns had to be filed and processed before the data was available from the IRS.  With the use of the prior prior year’s tax information, FAFSA filers, even at the beginning of the season in October, will have had their tax returns filed (by April 15^th) and processed.  Late filers may have to wait but will still be able to have the information available to pull into their FAFSA well before financial aid awards are issued in March and April. 

It is also expected that financial aid offices will be able to provide families their financial aid award offers sooner, thus providing potential students a longer opportunity to sort out the financial details before they must commit to a college on May 1.  Financial Aid Officers hope to have more time to counsel students since the awards will be prepared earlier, leaving more time before students and their parents must decide.

Currently, 30% of FAFSA filers are selected by the Department of Educatino for verification, which requires getting tax transcripts and dealing with other paperwork to the school(s) before they can issue a financial award.  This has caused a significant amount of extra work for the FAOs and delayed the finalization of some aid awards until the summer, well after the May 1 deadline.

If your income changes significantly in the year after the prior prior year, you will still be able to appeal to the financial aid office (FAO) to ask them to use professional judgment to use more current income to adjust your aid eligibility.  Of course, you’ll need to provide the more current information to the FAO with your appeal.

Some schools have already committed to changing their institutional financial aid forms to use the same data (called PPY – prior, prior year).  These schools include: the University of California system, Anne Arundel Community College, Loyola University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, Stonehill College, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Bennington College, University of  Nebraska-Lincoln, National Louis University, Marygrove College, and University of Texas-San Antonio.  For these schools, as well as all others which adopt this policy, no additional information is expected to be required.

It remains to be seen if some of the schools will require additional information about the prior year’s income on their own, institutional forms.  At this time, the PROFILE form required by some schools will not be changing.  Consequently, if your child applies to a school which requires the FAFSA and the PROFILE forms to both be filed, you will need the prior prior year information, the prior year information, as well as a projection for the future year.  For example, for the 2017/2018 school year, you’ll need 2015 information for both the FAFSA and PROFILE forms, 2016 tax information (or estimates, depending on your filing deadline) for the PROFILE form, and a projection of 2017 income for the PROFILE form.

If you need help filing forms or estimating net college costs, please send me an email.  I’d be happy to help you!

Katherine O’Brien, MA CCPS

Certified College Planning Specialist

kob@CelticCollegeConsultants.com

America’s College Prep Specialist

Liberal Arts and Engineering, An Effective Collaboration

 by Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS

Although many engineering students may not appreciate required liberal arts courses, more students, and more hiring companies, are recognizing the benefits.  In fact, there are several collaborative programs between school whereby students can earn a BA and a BS in five years.  Numerous schools, from California Polytechnic to Augustana to University of Dallas, offer such programs and dual or combined degrees.

In fact, per person, liberal arts schools provide more PhD candidates in the sciences and engineering, per the National Science Federation.  Their list of the top 50 science and engineering PhD producing undergraduate institutions includes 28 liberal arts colleges and universities.  For the mathematically challenged, that is more than half!

From a 2012 story on Union College’s website, the former head of MIT had this to say: "The integration of engineering and the liberal arts is essential to compete in a highly competitive and technology-based global economy, one of the nation’s top engineers told a group of educators this weekend. Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also said the liberal arts must take charge of the online learning revolution sweeping across campuses today.”

Per Christian Knutson, Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional, “Communication skills are absolutely essential to our existence and they are the foundation for our success.  If your skills are lacking, begin first by focusing on your listening skills.  Strengthen these and you’ll be in a very solid position."  Mr. Knutson is a leader, civil engineer, and author.  He’s an accomplished professional internationally and the author of The Engineer Leader, a recognized blog on leadership and life success for engineers and professionals.  

By their very nature, liberal arts programs hone their students’ communication skills since they demand extensive reading, writing, and many oral presentations.  Collaborative projects are common as well.  Consequently, strictly from the perspective of enhancing essential communication skills, liberal arts foundations are excellent foundations for scientists and engineers.

Additionally, the smaller campus and class sizes typical of liberal arts colleges and programs enable their students to form close working relationships with their professors.  For students desiring to pursue advanced degrees in any field, these sorts of relationships lead to research and internship opportunities which are critical for successful graduate school admissions.  They also facilitate the requisite recommendations whereas students from larger schools often find themselves struggling to meet their professors furthermore developing working relationships with them over time.  

Lastly, given the state of current engineering developments, the ability to examine a problem from multitudinous perspectives is essential.  Interdisciplinary collaboration is commonplace and essential for progress.  The problems engineers are now addressing are multifaceted and extremely complex.  Hence, excellent communication skills (listening, speaking, and writing) are essential as are the various skills which support thinking outside the box.  Liberal arts programs very ably develop this sort of elastic thinking in their students.

Consequently, the combination of a liberal arts education with a scientific or engineering program forms just the sort of engineers and scientists needed at this point in the 21st century.  It also happens to open the door for more young women to enter these typically male dominated fields.

Sources:

 

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/?govDel=USNSF_178http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/?govDel=USNSF_178

http://www.union.edu/news/stories/2012/06/top-engineer-calls-integration-of-liberal-arts-and-engineering-essential.php#sthash.RZ0RwEw9.dpuf

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/50-schools-that-produce-the-most-science-and-engineering-phds-2/

Practice PSAT now Available!

I'll be writing more extensively on the redesigned PSAT and SAT soon.

Today, the College Board released a practice PSAT, along with the answers.  For all sophomores (Class of 2017), it is ESSENTIAL that you work through this.  The redesigned PSAT is correlated to the Common Core curriculum.  Even if you have had Common Core since it's first adoption, you haven't had very much exposure to it, and the corresponding test questions.  Here's your chance to do really well.  Most kids don't prep for the PSAT.  So, you'll be way ahead of your peers when you do.  ePrep.com has new PSAT prep courses on their website so you can continue your prep beyond the College Board's practice test.  Remember, order your ePrep courses through me so you get 20% off their already low retail costs.

College Board's practice PSAT:  https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-suite-assessments/practice/practice-tests

ePrep.com

Now, Carpe Diem!

Keys to Avoiding Student Loan Debt

by Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS

Is heavy student loan debt inevitable?  The average now is over $29,000 per indebted student and, in 2012, 71% of all students graduating from 4 year colleges and universities had student loan debt  Not only is the average amount of debt increasing, the default rate, the rate of those who are over 90 days behind on their payments, has been steadily increasing since 2003.  Additionally, student loan debt has the highest delinquency rate of all forms of debt – an astounding 11.5%!  Unlike other forms of debt, student loan debt cannot be forgiven.  Nor can it be eliminated by bankruptcy.  It’s not hard to see the devastating impact of this loan burden, and the personal habits have on these students.  What can be done now, while our kids are in high school, in order to avoid this outcome?

From 2005-2012, the average student loan debt jumped from $17,000 to $27,000, a 58% increase in seven short years.  The impact on their adult lives is significant.  For example, people with student loan debt have a 36% lower home ownership rate.

It’s not surprising that many people are starting to question the value of a college education.

Key #1 Time to Degree

Overall, the six year graduation rate at American four year colleges is 59%.  At public universities, the average is 57% while 66% of students in private non-profit colleges graduate within six years.  At private for profit institutions, the rate drops to 32%.  This means that, nationally, 59% of the students who started college in 2006 were finished six years later in 2012.  But, these are four year degrees!

At most public universities, only 19% of entering students graduate within 4 years.  Even the flagship publics with excellent research, etc. only graduate 36% of their students within 4 years.  The overall 4 year graduation rate for all colleges and universities is 39%!  The Department of Education reports that graduates who started at a 2-year public institution and subsequently obtained a bachelor’s degree had a median time to degree of 63 months.  That means the community college/transfer route is taking over 5 years for half the students (longer for the other half). Bachelor’s degree recipients who didn't start college right after high school had a median time of 80 months. (almost 7 years)  44% of 07/08 first time collegians graduated in 4 years.  The other 56% didn’t; 24% still didn’t have a degree after six years! The 4 year graduation rates for non-profit private college students are much higher, 53%.  Even that leaves nearly half of the collegians at private colleges and universities still on campus for a fifth year!

Key #2: Budgeting

The Department of Education also reports that students who received Pell grants (whose families generally had incomes less that $40,000/year) graduated with nearly $5,000 more student loan debt than their indebted peers who did not receive Pell grants.  While it is certainly understandable that such students’ families would need more assistance since they have less ability to pay, these students are finding themselves very burdened as they get started in their careers.

College is an investment from which a return is expected.  Without information – and the maturity to contextualize and interpret that information – regarding the consequences of taking on significant debt while an undergraduate, students are finding themselves with degrees and too much debt.

Key #3 Getting Guidance

California is ranked last of all US states with a counselor to student ratio of an astounding 1016 students per counselor.  Public students are lucky to be able to meet their counselors; it is rare to be able to have sufficient contact with a counselor in order to get any direction about college, at all.  What a student may receive is targeted toward general college preparation ideas, not tailored to the specific collegiate goals of the students.

The national average is 471 students per counselor, a number still far above the target of 250 set by the American School Counselor Association.  Regardless, high school counselors are responsible for scheduling, disciplinary issues and the myriad special education (IEP, etc.) tasks.  College prep tasks quickly become impossible to regularly incorporate into the workday of high school counselors.

Those families choosing to homeschool may, depending on the way they acquire curriculum, get some guidance regarding course selection but none regarding college admissions and funding.

Working Toward a Better Outcome:

In order to reduce a student’s debt, the student needs to reduce their cost to degree.  This can be done by a combination of reducing time to degree and the costs of college.  Additionally, bringing the family’s true college budget into account in order to make educational decisions in line with that budget is very important.  Lastly, there are numerous choices that are made during the high school years which contribute to each student’s ability to reduce their costs in many, many ways.

First, in order to shorten the time in college, it is critically important for students to have a well formed idea of their goals.  In order for college to make sense, it needs to be leading somewhere in the person’s life.  Before progressing very far on campus, students need to have some idea what direction they want to take their educations and their lives.  Otherwise, they may find themselves educated but not employed or employed in fields they do not enjoy.  Currently, Americans change jobs 11-15 times during their career and shift careers 3-5 times.  Therefore, either having specific career goals in mind or the goals of being able to communicate well, evaluate and organize data, and learn quickly will help students be effectively prepared to join the work force.

Consequently, since I opened my consulting practice in 2004, I have worked diligently with every student on his or her career search.  Through that process, teens learn more about who they are, what they are good at doing, what they love, and what they do not like.  Taking time to explore these areas during the first two years of high school, in particular, prepares students to approach college as the next step in their journey to their future, not simply “the thing you have to do after high school”.  The process of exploring majors and careers in depth creates relevancy for high school courses, college admissions tests (ACT, SAT), and gives direction to course selection for the second half of high school.  It also engenders maturity in the students, who are beginning to seriously consider their own futures in concrete terms and take on responsibility for themselves.

Secondly, it is imperative that expected net college costs be calculated during the college selection process and a serious determination of what can be afforded be made.  Otherwise, the student will identify and apply to phenomenal programs in his or her field, get accepted to some or all, and only then find that the school is simply too expensive.  I believe part of the student loan crisis is a failure on the parts of parents and students to do the research ahead of time.  I have heard of numerous families making drastic decisions because they didn’t want to disappoint their child who had been accepted at a great school which was simply too expensive for the parents and the student to afford.  With proper preparation, however, the outcome can be a great college education for the student and financial stability for the entire family.

Thirdly, when students are invested in their own future, they behave differently.  They understand the value of their grades and test scores and the role they have to play in creating their future.  Sometimes students hear this message in a general way during high school.  Working with students one on one to discern their career goals makes it personal.  After this process, college is no longer generic, a generalized education like high school, one size fits all.  It is also no longer unfocused.  Students also discover the plethora of options available on and off campus, options they can prepare themselves for and attain.  For example, undergraduate concentrations or specializations in numerous majors are offered, as is undergraduate research (starting freshman year at some schools!), internships, co-operative education programs (working in your field while you are still a student), interdisciplinary studies, etc.  The list goes on and on and, for the informed student with a focus, it is no longer bewildering.  Having a career and/or life goal gives college a purpose.  During the course of collegiate study, students will refine their goals and might adjust their majors.  However, because of the foundation laid during high school, extreme changes (like my own switch from engineering to theology) are unlikely.

SOURCES

http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2014/02/21/1-trillion-student-loan-problem-keeps-getting-worse/

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). 2008–09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09): A First Look at Recent College Graduates (NCES 2011-236), Table 3.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/education/most-college-students-dont-earn-degree-in-4-years-study-finds.html?_r=0

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). The Condition of Education 2014 (NCES 2014-083), Institutional Retention and Graduation Rates for Undergraduate Students.

The Institute for College Access & Success, 2014. Quick Facts about Student Debt. http://bit.ly/1lxjskr.

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/Ratios10-11.pdf