Can I afford to send him to the school of his dreams?

It’s critical to have an open discussion with your student about the family financial picture that includes a clear explanation of what you are willing and

able to pay toward his education.

Often, our kids seem to believe in the proverbial money tree in the backyard. As adults, we know this is an unrealistic view. It’s also important to explain that parental assets have to go much further than the education of one child.

Take a holistic approach to financial planning. This means that your retirement is just as important as the college educations of your children. No one child, regardless of accomplishments, should take precedence over the future
well-being of either his parents or the other children in the family.

Once your student understands what your limits are, he can then begin to mentally plan for the possibility that he may not be able to attend his dream school, and approach the college planning process more realistically. He can
still apply to the dream college, but it does leave the door open to other, more financially viable options.

Affordable Fit

In my practice, I find that when families follow these suggestions, their students tend to be much more open to colleges that are both affordable and a good fit. It can also encourage students to be more proactive in looking for scholarship

money, or make them work a little bit harder to try to attain the grades that make a more prestigious college possible.

Being realistic can also take some of the pressure off the student to go trophy hunting, rather than finding colleges that provide a good match and fit for him.

What exactly are match and fit?

Match refers to your student’s numbers and how they compare to the middle 50 percent of accepted students at the college you’re considering. If your student’s unweighted GPA and test scores fall in that range, then the college is a potential match for your student.
A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0

Subject                                              9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade
English                                               B = 3.0      A- = 3.7        B+ = 3.3
Math                                                   A = 4.0     C+ = 2.3        B- = 2.7
Science                                               A = 4.0     B+ = 3.3        A- = 3.7
Social Studies                                    B+ = 3.3   A- = 3.7          A = 4.0
Foreign Language                              C+ = 2.3    D = 1.0
TOTAL                                                      16.6         14.0            13.7

Add up the results and divide by the number of courses.

44.3 ÷ 14 = 3.16 GPA (unweighted).

 Most colleges will recalculate the high school GPA to a basic unweighted 4.0 scale based only on the core subjects. To do that, you pull out the grades for English, Math, Science, Social Studies and Foreign Language,

Looking at your student’s grades from the viewpoints of the admission office can guide you in your class choices. And be sure to avoid declining GPA’s – colleges look unfavorably at downward grade trends. It’s important that your student’s grades remain above a B in all subjects if at all possible.

Fit on the other hand, refers to the social and academic aspects of the college.
• Does he feel comfortable on campus?
• Are there students there with whom he can connect?
• Does the school offer the academic environment and extracurricular options that he is looking for?

Klaar to Host March Seminars on Planning for College, Finances

Klaar College Consulting is offering several educational seminars to help students and parents to prepare for applying for college. The seminars will be led by Charlotte Klaar, Ph.D., Director of Klaar College Consulting, and Dianne Keilholtz, M.S., a Nationally Certified Counselor who recently joined Klaar College Consulting as an Independent Educational Consultant.

The seminars will offer timely information on: planning for college as a sophomore, junior and senior; scholarships and financial aid options; standardized tests; and changes in college applications.

The seminars are on Saturday, March 22, 9 a.m. – 12 noon at the Frederick Campus of Mount St. Mary’s University at 5350 Spectrum Dr., Frederick, and Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Comfort Inn, 1872 Edwin Miller Blvd., Martinsburg, WV.  Refreshments will be served.  RSVP to 301-834-6888 or charlotte@cklaar.com.

 “Ms. Keilholtz spent 28 years with Frederick County Public Schools, most recently as a guidance

Dianne Keilholtz

counselor,” and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new role at Klaar College Consulting,” noted Dr. Klaar.

Ms. Keilholtz earned her Bachelor’s in Special Education at Hood College, and her M.S. in Guidance and Counseling from McDaniel College. She is also an Associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA).

Dr. Klaar is a Certified Educational Planner with more than 19 years of experience in her field. She also holds a PhD in general psychology from Capella University, a BA in liberal studies from the University of the State of New York, a teaching certificate from William Patterson University, and an MS in interdisciplinary science studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Klaar is an active member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling.  

Seven Steps on the Path to Paying for College

Are you a college senior who is receiving those anticipated college acceptance letters?  Or perhaps a sophomore or junior who is planning ahead?  Either way, parents and students need to plan ahead to determine HOW they’re going to pay for college!  

Step One:

Do the math -- find out the price of your most and least expensive school choices. Then figure out what your family can afford to contribute. Every college now has a cost calculator on its web site to see how you fit the financial profile for that school.

Step Two:

Seek help! On school tours, ask the hard questions about available aid. Visit their financial aid office and get as much information about their grants, scholarships and loans as possible. Start this process as early as you can.

Step Three:

Go scholarship hunting in your local area.  Many local organizations provide scholarships based on certain criteria either directly or through a local Community Foundation.  In Frederick County MD, for example, more than $515,000 was awarded to more than 280 scholars for the 2012-2013 academic year, which represents scholarships from 189 funds.http://www.cffredco.org/receive/scholarships

These applications should be made in the fall or winter, with awards frequently announced in the late spring. Each high school guidance office has a list of local scholarships for its students.

Step Four:

Time your financial aid applications to meet the early deadlines; if you are confused as to how to market yourself or your student, get help from a college consultant.

Step Five:

Complete your FAFSA forms! Even if you think you may not qualify for money, it can’t hurt to try. In addition, everyone needs a FAFSA on file in case of financial emergency in the future.

Step Six:

After you get your financial aid packages back, it’s time to review! Sit down as a family and compare all options.   Look carefully at each award. Even though one school may give you more money, another school may cost less overall. Remember to calculate how much money is being offered in merit aid (free money) as opposed to money that is in the form of loans or work study.

Step Seven:

Make a decision and meet all the deadlines! If you need more time to decide, call the financial aid office and ask for an extension on your deadline. Some colleges are historically more generous than others. A college consultant knows who those colleges are.

For more information on financial aid options and affordable but lesser-known colleges in your area, contact Charlotte Klaar, PhD, 301-834-6888, Charlotte@cklaar.com, www.cklaar.com.

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.

A Smarter FAFSA and Other Changes

The FAFSA due date is fast approaching (March 1^st).  Maybe you’ve noticed changes, maybe you haven’t.  This year FAFSA 2012-2013 has a few changes that make the application process run more smoothly.

1. Skip logic- The FAFSA is now finally ‘smart’. It takes answers you already provided and eliminates repetitive or unnecessary questions.  Makes the process much quicker!

2. Better navigation- The FAFSA now knows where you left off.  The application auto resumes when you log in.  No more wasting time finding the section you were on!

3. Easy editing options- The FAFSA changes address editing information.  In previous years, you were directed to a different page to make edits which had a completely different look and feel.  Now the edit page looks like the rest of the FAFSA.  Much more user friendly.

4. Advanced notifications- you can choose to set up automatic notifications from FAFSA.  For example, you can get a reminder to update financial information after tax season.

5. IRS DataRetrieval Tool- Starting February 1^st, you have the option of downloading your financial information directly from the IRS to your FAFSA application

Import information to remember

FAFSA becomes available January 1, 2012 and is due March 1, 2012. Colleges set their own deadlines so make sure to check with each college.

FAFSA is based on income from the 2011 tax year.  If possible, file your taxes prior to doing the FAFSA so you have an accurate account of financial information.  If not, you can estimate financial information and correct it after filing taxes.  As always, the sooner you submit all the information the better!

For some grants, financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.  Take advantage of this and turn in the FAFSA as early as possible.

There are many resources out there about FAFSA and different financial aid questions. Take a look at these for additional information!

For the FAFSA application: www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm

A great New York Times blog that addresses financial aid is: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/