Once again I have been in an online debate on one of the college financial aid forums about the likelihood of finding money to pay for college. There is a pervasive misconception out there that only the most selective colleges provide the needed money to only the most excelled students. This is not so! I have case study after case study to illustrate this point. Our best results this past season was a student with a 880 combined SAT score that was accepted and awarded more aid then the families need would have indicated. This occurred because the family was open to the suggestions on how to increase awards. More on this below…
First a quick definition… “need” is a term used to describe how much money the government and schools think you need help with after subtracting your expected family contribution from the school’s cost of attendance. COA – EFC = Need. You can get a copy of my manual if you want to know the ends and outs of that process.
There are only a handful of colleges across the country that guarantee in writing that they will meet 100% of the student’s need. Many parents and students get hung up on these few schools and think they are the only legitimate options for getting the most money. What they are not taking into account are the hundreds of colleges across the country that routinely meet 100% of the students’ need but never put it in a written promise.
Now what are you most interested in? Do you want a promise? Or do you want the money?
If you want to get the most money for your student, it is foolish to focus on a few highly selective colleges. You want to have a well thought out college selection strategy. It is the strategy you employ that will get your student the money they need and deserve, not some illusory promise.
The basics of that strategy are:
- Always apply to 6-10 colleges.
- Focus on colleges with generous financial track records.
- Always have a safety school where you know your student will get in no matter what.
- Always have 4 or 5 match schools where your student will likely be in the top 50% to 25% of the incoming Freshman class.
- Never short the safety school or match schools if you want to add stretch schools.