Posted by Karen Plescia, M.S. on Tue, Oct 06, 2009
A couple weeks back, the fall air intoxicated me, and I whimsically advised juniors (and late-blooming seniors) of the top 10 things NOT to do when applying to colleges. Now I'm feeling a bit more sober as I've been smacked back to reality by stressed seniors and their parents. If there is one message to parents that I would love to shout from the top of our office building, it is this:
As tempting as it may be to micro-manage the process or step in and "save" your child, DON'T do it!
Rather than just yell more about what students and their parents shouldn't do, I'd instead like to offer some balanced suggestions. These are intended for parents who are just beginning the process of researching college options with their children as well as for those who are knee-deep in it with their high school senior children.
DO outline your expectations and limitations (especially financial) clearly, but DON'T impose your expectations for the "look and feel" of the institution on your child. Let your child explore!
DO make a plan for when and how often you will communicate about the status of your child's college process, but DON'T expect to get a positive responsive if you bombard your child with questions as she's on the way out the door or when she first wakes up on the weekend. PLAN for successful communication!
Similarly, DO listen to your child's expectations, hopes and dreams for her college experience. By doing this, you will indicate that the process belongs to her - as does the responsibility for what gets done and what doesn't. Therefore, DON'T use the pronouns "we" or "our" in your discussions with her or anyone else ...as in "We would love to get into Harvard" or "We haven't written our essay yet."
Gaining admission to college is not a status competition; DON'T turn it into one for your child. DO encourage him to find the college that is the best fit for his learning style, career goals, social interests, and personality.
DON'T think you are saving your child time or "helping him" by making phone calls to Admissions Offices to set up interviews or ask questions about his applications. Admissions offices would much rather hear directly from the applicant than a parent.
However, DO make contact with the Financial Aid offices early in the process to find out what documents you need to file and when. Your child will likely not be in a position to know all of the financial information needed to complete the necessary forms.
Finally there are a few cardinal rules that are simply NON-NEGOTIABLE:
- DO NOT under any circumstances complete applications or write/over-edit essays for your child.
- DO be supportive, interested, and engaged.
- DO keep perspective in the process and the process in perspective. Love your child enough to help her do the same.
Any parent anecdotes? Confessions? Let us hear them...
Posted by Nina Flood, M.B.A. on Mon, May 18, 2009
The Answer Is: $60/hour. What is the question?
What is the hourly rate of classroom instruction based on the $52k price tag of attendance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology?
Though not likely to be heard on the real TV show "Jeopardy", it is the kind of unforgettable lesson that Daniel Barkowitz, MIT's Director of Financial Aid, (and professor of a seminar on personal finance) teaches. Daniel has always had a unique ability to take complex financial aid and financing concepts and make them into something more widely accessible. Because of the economic downturn and resulting higher stress put on college students and their families, I recently met with Daniel to get his perspective on what is needed now.
He offered up with two "Stress Less" solutions (not stressless, but stress reducing) that we are considering here at The Goldberg Center:
1. One of the problems needing a solution is the lack of timely, accurate information available to families. Because most financial aid offices are completely swamped with calls and emails from January through May, (for first years) and May through August, (for the continuing students), many families turn to each other. In person or online, they often inadvertently receive or share misinformation. We are contemplating an online forum that would enable a family to pose a question, get the real regulatory language answer, and then allow its discussion. Most importantly, this forum would be monitored by professionals within the industry to assure that only accurate information remained posted.
2. Another problem is the lack of holistic planning that goes into a family's game plan. There seems to be two schools of thought: either you make financing as painful as possible by paying more than you can afford in an effort to minimize financing costs or remain in denial by deferring payments with expensive financing vehicles. The neglect of a middle ground, however, leads to both shattered dreams and finances. There is a need for a tool that enables a family to see the long and short term benefits of, say, putting half of the balance in a payment plan and assuming a loan for the remainder. The tool we envision would also provide the total and immediate costs of the options for a minimum of four years of the employed strategy.
Which of these two solutions do you feel would be more valuable and merit higher priority for us? Let us know in your comments to this post - thanks in advance!
Posted by Adam R. Goldberg, M.Ed. on Thu, Apr 30, 2009
Today is the day... May 1 marks the beginning of a new chapter for
those accepted to college. They've researched, visited, applied, received notifications, and finally made a decision.
But, reality sets in. Now they actually have to come up with the money!? Or do they?
The bottom line is that the vast majority of those 'consumers' don't know how to buy. They are so swept up by the dream that the financial aid award letter catches them off-guard. They are disappointed, perhaps devastated to learn that there will be a sizable gap between what they hoped to pay and what they will have to pay.
So what do most do? They make rash decisions and either jump into inappropriate, incompatible financial products or they actually consider changing the college plan itself. Others just accept the fate bestowed upon them and end up struggling more than they need to... for many years out. Ouch!!
Now what should you do? Our self-declared "financial aid geek," and Goldberg Center Education Financing Director, Nina Flood, described a myriad of strategies in a corporate presentation just the other day. College aid for students comes in many forms and she urges clients to carefully and objectively examine and evaluate loan programs. The problem is that colleges themselves are highly discouraged from steering families to particular lenders due to the student loan scandal and then there are the sharks out there who claim to advise objectively, yet hawk their own wares to make commissions.
If you want completely unbiased, unattached advice, hop on over to our May Day! Paying for College Promotion and sign up to chat with Nina. She's seen it all and will be virtually giving away her life lessons from over 25 years as a financial aid officer (Brandeis & BU) and education lending expert. And tell a friend or two if you think they could benefit as well.
Posted by Adam R. Goldberg, M.Ed. on Fri, Apr 17, 2009
In our YouTube debut, Education Financing Consultant, Nina Flood, and I discuss how EnCompass Education provides education planning solutions for companies and their employees.
When I founded this new educational consulting program, I intended to transform our profession by bringing educational consultants into the corporate setting... little did I know that it would also impact the world of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).
It's admittedly a bit lengthy, coming in just under the ten-minute YouTube limit. However, I think it articulates key aspects behind the vision for this new delivery of educational consulting services.
Please share your reactions by leaving a comment - I'd love to hear what you think as I am about to embark on the speaker circuit. Thanks in advance!
Posted by Nina Flood, M.B.A. on Wed, Apr 08, 2009
I always considered myself an "above average" student, (at least), and hoped my kids would be the same, (again, at least), but recent work alongside my colleague Karen Plescia, M.S. has changed all that. I now realize the limitations of grading myself, my kids, or anyone for that matter. There are a lot of other options around average other than above or below it. I now think there are as many dimensions of excellence as there are individuals who seek it.
My background is financial aid/education financing, so my experience with college counseling sessions has focused on cost basis (state vs. private, etc.). Even though this angle did come up in our recent work together, many other ideas for all kinds of students with different strengths and challenges dominated our discussions. Where my background kept me thinking in linear terms, Karen touted with enthusiasm an array of individual-specific options. She described, among other things, design programs for artists, professional internships for students that needed some time to grow up, and schools that had supportive counseling programs for emotional issues. Prior, I had no knowledge of the plethora of opportunities that enable any interested student to achieve excellence on his or her own terms.
So, what about my thoughts on being an above average student? Well, they are gone... There is no average student. While some parents came into our consulting sessions concerned about grades or emotional issues, used to identifying his/her child as "below average," I don't think any of them left with the same resignation. The vehicle of empowering educational planning was really was an eye opener for most. No one was given hope - each parent already had that; they were given a plan.
I would encourage all parents to think in new terms about their children. They may be A, C, or Barely D students, but that does not mean they are above or below average. So when you are considering colleges for below-average, average, or even above-average students, try for a change to look beyond the notion of average.
Posted by Nina Flood, M.B.A. on Sun, Mar 29, 2009
It is almost April and you are likely feeling this mixture of intense emotions. Your child has earned admission to college but wait, it costs WHAT? After the initial celebratory dance, you are confronted with the grim reality of the net cost of this achievement. Despite your responsible actions, (you saved, you applied for financial aid), this year is not going to be easy for any college payer. Before full panic sets in and you do anything, take a deep breath. There are things you
can do, even at this stage, to enable the realization of academic dreams without losing your integrity, your temper, or your even your mind.
Don't lose your integrity! Are you wondering what I meant by not losing your integrity? Well this one reality really sticks in my craw, (and that is not my first choice of a euphemism). While there are financial aid planners out there that operate by the highest code of ethics, (like me), there are far more that make the whole lot of us seem suspect. This contrasting group of financial advisory professionals recommend things like hiding income and shifting assets to non interest bearing accounts, (which by no coincidence, pay a nice commission). These energy and time-consuming paper acrobatics rarely result in increased grant eligibility and by the way, lying on the FAFSA is a federal offense.
Don't lose your temper! If you did apply for financial aid, don't pick up the phone to rant about how impossible this situation is for your family and how the school will be the loser if your child can't afford to attend, (which of course is true). Financial aid offices are working under the deposit deadline with federal rules about money. The financial aid office cannot consider anything other than financial drivers like changes in asset values, losses of assets, loss of job, increases in non discretionary expenses like dependent or elder care, or dramatic changes in family status, (divorce or death). Consumer debt resulting from poor budgeting is not a basis for professional judgment to increase eligibility.
Don't lose your mind! Speaking of that word, budgeting, this is the time to do it, regardless of whether or not you applied for financial aid. How much of your monthly income are you utilizing for living expenses? The remainder, and there needs to be a remainder!, is what can be utilized for current college costs or repayment on supplemental loans for education. Keep in mind that any loan debt service is going to be increasing each year of college, for each of your children, and that interest only payments are not a long term strategy. If that made you feel like you might lose your mind, email nina@edconsult.org!
Posted by Adam R. Goldberg, M.Ed. on Fri, Mar 20, 2009
Nina Flood is a self-proclaimed "financial aid geek." I guess you'd assume that would hold true for someone who has lived a life dedicated to championing education financing for over 25 years.
I can honestly report that I've caught the bug myself. It's tough not to when you spend enough time with Nina. We often kick back and find ourselves marveling over financial aid follies... the fact that seven of ten people still refer to the FAFSA as FASFA... the idea that so many families who would qualify for aid never apply... and especially the notion that financial aid administrators are restricted as to how they can productively direct families.
"Wait a second," we recently thought... "Why not make it easier for these financial aid administrators?! Let's create a new community where these professionals can gather to share frustrations, keep up with education tax benefit changes, get the latest skinny on who's doing what, and FINALLY, direct families to the most current education loan rates and fees when they can't advise them directly?!"
This thought ultimately led to our creation and now launch of the FAAS Buzz, an informative and, in some ways, cathartic web community comprised only of financial aid administrators (FAAS)... a refreshing extension of their more formal associations within the NASFAA fold.
If you are a financial aid professional and are interested in connecting to the FAAS Buzz, please email nina@edconsult.org.