It’s not even April and many Churchill seniors have
already been accepted to college. I recently spoke with the mother of one of
those seniors, who does not want her or her child’s name in this article due to
privacy concerns. Her joy about her child’s acceptances is mixed with financial
fears.
To optimize financial and academic odds, the
senior applied to 15 colleges, some testing optional and other requiring
SAT/ACT scores. After receiving acceptance letters from several top colleges
with the right academic support, however, the family is concerned that a top
college could be financially out of reach, even after factoring in merit aid
and low cost student loans.
The family has experienced that the more
competitive the college is, the less free funding its financial aid package
will contain. While the student’s first choice did not offer any merit aid, other
colleges are tempting with up to $35,000 of free funding based on academic
accomplishments and other factors represented in the student’s applications.
The preference is to minimize costly loans and rely on merit aid, which requires the student to maintain a
certain grade point average, but doesn’t need to be paid back. News stories
about debt-laden college graduates who toil at unpaid internships or low wages
are common and scary. “College can become a debt sentence,” says private
finance adviser Suze Orman, who tells parents to entirely avoid private student
loans.
Today, a private undergraduate degree can cost
around $250,000 while a SUNY/CUNY degree is within reach for a fraction of that
price. A private college, however, may offer merit aid that can make the price
variation less dramatic. Applying early for financial aid can pay off because there
is a first come/first serve aspect. The family submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and CSS profile as soon as applications were
accepted (January 2013). In addition, the student applied early action to
several schools, which was a confidence booster.
Working with Churchill’s college guidance office, the
family has also done a tremendous amount of independent research, which the mother
thinks is typical for the Churchill parent body.
“Churchill parents are savvy, otherwise we would
not have children at Churchill,” she says.
Additional financial aid links:
