You Received Financial Aid Packages… Now What? Tips to Compare and Review Your Options

With the fall semester quickly approaching, you may be concerned about how you are going to finance your college education.  By now you should have submitted your FAFSA and received a financial aid package offer.  As you review your offer, here’s some helpful information to consider:

1. First, keep in mind how much of your financial need is being met, and which type of aid you are receiving.

2.  Look at the total costs for each school. Include tuitions, fees, room & board, books, food, travel expenses, personal expenses, etc.

3.  Subtract all grants and scholarship packages.  You do not need to repay the money received through grants and scholarship.

4.  Loans do need to be repaid.  Student loans come in a variety of forms, each with their advantages and disadvantages.  There are two types of Stafford loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. 

                Subsidized loans don’t accrue interest until after you graduate from college, thus they are generally viewed as more attractive. 

                Unsubsidized loans accrue interest while you are still in school.  Both loans have a low interest rate and students can chose to take a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

5.  Multiply by four. You will be attending college for at least four years, so take into account the long term costs.  Even though you may have received multiple scholarships your freshman year, you may not receive them in future years.

If the financial aid package is not what you expected, keep in mind that there are a lot of scholarships available.  There are strict deadlines for scholarship submission dates, so check before you begin to apply.  Create a timeline of due dates so you can plan accordingly.  Colleges also offer scholarships for their students, so make sure also check with each college you are considering. 

Fastweb is a great resource that provides a database of scholarship opportunities and deadlines: www.fastweb.com

Here is a link to a financial aid calculator to help compare your aid packages for each school you are considering. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/financial-aid-awards/compare-aid-calculator

For more information about how to compare financial aid packages, and how Klaar College Consulting can help lead you to college success, call us at 301-834-6888 and visit the many resources available on our website.

Don’t Forget to Check the Status of Your College Applications

Some of you may have heard back from colleges, some may not.  Don’t get discouraged.

All colleges provide a timeline of when important documents are due.  Closely monitor the timeline so you don’t miss out on the little things.  As time goes on, remember to:

Make sure applications are complete

Check in with the colleges to ensure they have received all the necessary application documents.  Many colleges have online profiles for the applicants; log into your account and see the status of your application.

Send mid-year grades

Many colleges require mid-year grades.  Take the time to go to your guidance counselor and request having your transcripts sent.  Use this opportunity to update colleges about any information that may have changed.

Send SAT/ACT scores

Whether you are taking the SAT/ACT for the first time or are retaking the test, don’t forget to send your scores to all of the colleges to which you applied.

Keep all applications on file

Keep hard copies of all your applications on file.  You never know when you will have to refer back to them.

Be patient as you wait to hear from colleges.  I wish you the best of luck!

Why Should You Consider Hiring an Independent Educational Consultant?

Independent Educational Consultants bring a wealth of in-depth information to the college choice and application process that families often forget about as they begin to  make decisions for their students. We are professionals who spend a great deal of time actually walking college campuses and speaking with admissions counselors so that we can keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry. A good college consultant can help separate what is marketing on the part of a college and what is truly important to the choice your student will make. A college consultant will conduct an in-depth review of the student’s academic record, standardized test scores, activities involvement, and special talents that the student brings to the table. In addition, the consultant will spend the time necessary to get a real handle on what both the parents and the student want from the college experience. 

To choose the right college consultant for your family you should look carefully at the credentials that the individual offers. First and foremost, the consultant should be a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and be actively involved in the work of one or both organizations. If you can find someone who is also a Certified Educational Planner (CEP), you have hit the jackpot of professional accreditation and a person who subscribes to ethical standards of conduct that place your student at the center of the process. Choosing a college is about fit and match; it is not trophy hunting. An ethical and reliable consultant will know what schools are a good fit and will help the student develop self-awareness and to be empowered in the process. More and more colleges, both public and private, are beginning to understand that students who use a consultant are more likely to complete a degree at the college where they started than are those who conducted the process on their own. Therefore, using a consultant can result in parents spending a lot less overall to educate their student. If you don’t transfer, you don’t lose either time or credits, both of which cost a great deal of money.

The investment in a well-credentialed consultant offers protection for your academic dollar. While consultants are not inexpensive, neither is the amount you spend on tuition, room and board, and peripheral expenses for the student. You would not think of buying or selling a house without a good realtor to protect you. Why would you spend between $100,000 and $200,000 on a college education without having professional  help that is focused on your student?

 

Back Home Again

It is wonderful to be back home again and to touch base with clients and friends in order to share that which I learned in the last two weeks. I saw some exciting colleges while I was away, many of which I had seen before but the changes on their campuses were amazing. A few whom I had not seen that challenged some opinions about them which I had heard from others and caused me to evaluate them in terms of the students to whom I could recommend them.

One of the most exciting things about educational consulting is the constantly changing landscape of colleges which we must keep up on in order to properly serve our students. Although this necessitates a great deal of travel, I find that it keeps me interested in the issues which a good consultant must be interested in. Among these are the changes we find on campuses in both programs and facilities; the financial considerations that we need to know in order to help families make the best decisions for their students; and the general changes to the college process which is a dynamic one.

To do these things well, it is critical to keep up with professional development and attending IECA conferences over the years is one of the best ways I have found to keep abreast of developments in all these areas. It is not only the informative breakout sessions that help me learn but it is also the conversations with colleagues from around the country and the world that help. Keynote speakers are the icing on the cake. Anyone who wants quality training in this industry must turn first to IECA to ensure that they get the best of the best.

Charlotte Klaar

IECA Conference Charlotte, NC

I have just spent a wonderful week doing what I love to do. I have visited eight wonderfully different college campuses, attended some very stimulating workshops in which I learned about adolescents, educational innovations, admissions changes, and many other things which I am looking forward to using with my clients when I return home. What makes all this even more special is the opportunity to do all this with colleagues and friends from IECA.

Early this week I was visited Davidson College, Elon University, High Point University, Queens University, UNC- Charlotte, and UNC-School of the Arts. Each college was very generous to share with us their time and to make sure that we understood their particular niche in the college landscape as well as to tell us about the students who would be a good fit for their particular academic programs. Today, along with two friends from IECA, we drove from the conference hotel to Wake Forest University and Guilford University since we could not be so close and not see these wonderful schools. While spending hours on a bus or in a car may not sound like much fun to many people, for the IECA consultant, it is a pleasure because doing this allows us to expand our knowledge which in turn makes us a more valuable asset to the students we serve.

At the conference, I was privileged to hear two wonderful keynote speakers, Daniel Pink and Nido Quebin. Both are noted authors and each delivered inspiring addresses that both informed and entertained the audience. Mr. Pink discussed the need for us to prepare students "for their future and not for our pasts." Mr. Quebin, President of High Point University, shared with us his vision for High Point and the philosophy that lay behind his plans for this beautiful college. Both are unique and imbued with the common sense approach that offers the wisdom of allowing students to live in environments to which they can aspire as they grow and to give them a high quality education at the same time. Each of them pointed out the need for us to educate students for the future as it will exist in the world that they will inhabit as adults and not for the world for which we were educated since these are vastly different places.

Every time I attend an IECA conference, I return to my work re-energized and enthusiastic about the work I do and the students whose lives I touch. What a great way to make a living and a life!