Today I got the chance to interview a freshman at Ithaca College in New York, Sara A. Manning (SAM). She is home on her first college break for Thanksgiving. I asked her questions about her time so far at Ithaca, if she has tips for students still in the admissions process and how it feels to be home again. Read the interview here:
AG: How do you like college so far?
SAM: So far college has been a pretty positive experience. I am currently in the Exploratory program at Ithaca College, but next semester I hope to be a part of the Communications program there. My first semester has been kind of an eclectic mix of classes that I picked in order to get a feel for different areas of study. Next semester, I hopefully want to try to focus more in one area and start working on getting credits towards a specific major. Right now I am leaning towards their Cinema and Photography program.
As for the social aspect of college, I am very happy with the friends I have made there and the programs I have joined. Living on my own was certainly a big adjustment, but I have become pretty accustomed to it over the past three months.
AG: What advice do you have for high school students in the college admissions process?
SAM: I recommend that high school students going through the college admissions process be organized and realistic. It’s useful to take notes on schools that you’re interested in and mark down their positive and negative aspects. Later on you can go back to those notes to try and narrow down to which schools to send applications.
Picking schools that have average GPAs and SAT scores that match yours is often a good idea, but also make sure to apply to one or two below and above your reach. Schools below your average can be good as a failsafe option, and schools above your average may unexpectedly accept you.
Also a few other important things to think about are cost per year and location. Both are deciding factors for picking out a school that is right for you.
Lastly, when a school accepts you, you should visit it before you decide to go. A school can look great on paper, and then in person it can just turn out not to the perfect fit.
AG: How is it being home for your first Thanksgiving break?
SM: Being home for Thanksgiving break can be both restricting and comforting at the same time. I mean, you get certain liberties that you don’t get at school such as watching cable TV in the privacy of your living room, cooking your own food whenever you want, and talking to your friends and family directly (and not through the screen of a computer). However, there is a definite difference between the amount of freedom you have at school and the amount you have at home.
Although most parents treat returning college students more like adults, their presence alone is somewhat restricting compared to the that of an RA or RD. A few of my friends from college have texted me or Facebook messaged me saying that their parents are completely overbearing and they don’t understand how they could have lived there for 18 years previously. Other friends have just said that it’s weird not to be around their roommates and friends 24/7. Coming home is certainly an odd adjustment, but it gives me a chance to clear my head and escape from my schedule for a week.
Student reviews and ratings of Ithaca College | Admissions stats for Ithaca College
Edvisors online education company is giving away a final $10,000 scholarship in 2010 on December 15th through their free scholarship rewards program, ScholarshipPoints. This final drawing will make the total amount awarded in 2010 over $115,000!
ScholarshipPoints has been committed to defraying the cost of college since 2006, when it first gave away just $7000 in scholarships to students in need of financial assistance. With over 1.3 million members, ScholarshipPoints is now the fastest growing college scholarships rewards program. In addition to the $10,000 scholarship drawings, the ScholarshipPoints program has a number of $500, $1000, and $2,500 scholarship each month.
To enter the December 15th $10,000 Scholarship drawing and become a member, visit www.ScholarshipPoints.com.
Tight economy. College tuition increasing at 6 percent a year. More and more, the ability to go to college depends on how much financial aid you can get. Here, Don Betterton offers his best tips. For 30 years, he was director of financial aid and a member of the admission committee at Princeton University, and now a certified college planner.
1. Get on the stick. If you are like most parents of collegebound students, you have spent nearly all of your time on admission related issues: courses, grades, tests, activities, college visits, essay writing, and so forth. But now, with a high school senior, you are starting to worry about how you are going to afford the tuition bill. It is time to bring "How am I going to pay for college?" concerns front and center.
2. Know your EFC as well as you know your child's SAT. It's alphabet soup in the college financial aid world. EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution and is the number that drives the need-based financial aid system. You only are eligible for need aid (grants, subsidized student loans, work study) if your EFC is less than the cost of attendance. Now is the time to make this calculation so you can decide if you should apply for aid. Unless your EFC is considerably more than the highest cost college on your child's list, plan to apply for aid. And here's another rule: Regardless of the EFC result, if in your own mind you feel you need assistance, apply and let the college aid office decide if you will receive money.
3. Use the calculators. Many folks wonder, "How do I figure out my EFC?" EFC calculators are available at www.collegeboard.com and www.finaid.org.
4. Don't expect to "win." It is a common misconception that most college money is in the form of scholarships. In fact, compared to the total amount of aid ($154 billion to undergrads in 2009-10, according to the College Board), merit money is a drop in the bucket. Unless your student has outstanding talent or is in the top of the college's applicant pool, don't count on it. Need is where most of the money is.
5. Reach out to the college financial aid counselor. Somewhat like politics, the awarding of aid is a local issue. The EFC you come up with is a good starting point to get a rough idea of need eligibility, but college aid policies can change the calculator EFC by thousands of dollars. On top of this, an aid officer has the authority to use professional judgment to make further changes. Given all that takes place in the campus aid office to affect your EFC, if you have questions or concerns about how much money you will get, contact the college aid counselor.
6. Don't count yourself out. A common question is, "What is your income cutoff for financial aid?" This misconception is so widespread that I'm not sure the family believes me when I say none. The EFC is derived from four main factors: family size, total income, assets, and number of children in college. Moreover, the more expensive a college is, the higher the EFC can be and still qualify for aid. To give you an idea, a family earning $150,000 with a child attending an in-state public university will probably not qualify for aid. A family earning $250,000 with two children attending private colleges probably will.
7. Be prepared for complication. There is no getting around it, you are going to have to fill out at least one complicated aid application, two if your college requires an additional application called PROFILE). Believe it or not, completing the basic aid application—the FAFSA—is not as bad as it looks. You should do it online ( www.fafsa.ed.gov ) and complete the worksheet before entering your numbers. It will take a while to get all your info together, maybe 45 minutes to enter the data, and almost no time to push the "Send" button. Is this too much of a hassle considering that you might qualify for thousands—perhaps even tens of thousands of dollars—in aid?
8. Don't be paranoid (or at least keep it to a minimum). Your financial info does not go to a secret agency which will soon send a government agent to knock on your front door. You data is maintained within the U.S. Department of Education and is not shared with other federal agencies. But even if you are skeptical about this, I would not let your concern keep you from applying for and receiving your fair share of the large aid pie. You can't get it if you don't ask for it.
9. Prepare for the package—and the shortfall. If you do qualify for aid from your college, don't expect all of it to be in the form of grants, or gift aid. Almost all need aid is given in a "package" consisting of grant, a subsidized student loan (subsidized means you don't have pay interest while you are in college), and work study. Furthermore, because of tight financial aid budgets at most colleges, expect that the total amount of aid given will fall short of the amount for which you are eligible. This shortfall is called the "gap," meaning an extra amount you will have to provide in addition to the calculated EFC.
10. Meet the deadlines. It is not exactly first come, first served in the aid office, but nearly every college has a limited aid budget, and when the dollars run out, they stop giving aid. Late applications stand a good chance of showing up when there is no money left. But here's the good news: There are billions and billions of dollars out there ready to go to millions and millions of college students. If you become an educated aid consumer and complete the forms accurately and on time, there is a good chance that you will receive enough aid to make it possible for your child to attend that dream school. Wouldn't that be grand?
US NEWS by Lynn F. Jacobs and Jeremy S. Hyman
There are always worries during the college application season, of ‘how will I get in to a good college?‘ But with college costs rising, many students are also concerned with ‘how will I afford college?’
There are money-saving strategies used by high school graduates world-wide that make going to college affordable. For example, the classic: start at a 2-year community college and transferring to a 4-year school. The Jack Kent Cooke scholarship and other grant programs are designed specifically for students that take this approach. Another option is taking online courses through your college or through a distance learning program with another school. The cost per credit for most online classes can be cheaper than traditional schools and cut down on overall college costs.
The benefit of taking the leap is well worth it. Have you heard college graduates make over $1.3 million more in their lifetime earnings? Because of the recession many professionals are back in school getting additional degrees, making the work force more competitive in many fields – take the opportunity to get your education now. Whether or not you are sure you can afford it now, fill out the FAFSA and apply to schools. You may be surprised to see that at most schools you will not end up paying the sticker tuition price.
Many sources would agree that the rate of tuition increase has been phenomenal. Colleges with tuition over $50,000 a year has recently exceeded 100 schools! Seeing these numbers, even after financial aid, scholarships, grants, and loans some colleges are still too expensive, but can you afford to sacrifice an investment in your future because 100+ schools out of over 4000 degree granting institutions in the U.S. are expensive?
Quick tips:
Originally published on blog.studentloannetwork.com
As many of you may know, the 2011-2012 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be available on January 1, 2011. In order to be prepared for this day, it is important that students, parents and financial aid officers become acquainted with the most recent changes.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) recently released their “Summary of Changes” for the 2011-2012 FAFSA. This document covers everything from changes in design to changes in the way questions are worded. Whether you are a student filing the FAFSA for the first time, or a seasoned financial aid professional, NASFAA’s document will help you approach this year’s FAFSA with the right information.
|
This blog is a service of Edvisors, an online education company. |
|
Learn more about our services: |
Student Loans, including federal student loans and private student loans, online degrees, student credit cards, free college scholarships, FAFSA help, and other services. |
