Understanding the Financial Aid Game - How to Pay for School

If you are concerned about the price for attending college, investigate it carefully.  It may end up being a lot cheaper than you think!  The price you pay is rarely the stated or published price for attending.  Usually it is much, much lower.  These days many colleges and universities are giving away $$ to have you attend -- and these funds are not just restricted for top students or for students from lower income families.  Today it is open season for getting a good financial aid package at many institutions just by stating your need.

Twenty plus years ago, when my children were entering college, my husband and I were hopeful for some scholarship money to help offset the sticker shock of the yearly tuition bill.  Well, there was fat chance of that.  There was basically nothing coming our way. It was so discouraging. Both children were strong students, but we fell within a financial aid band that was basically ignored. My husband and I had steady jobs and although you would never call us rich, we fell somewhere between middle class and upper middle class on the socioeconomic scale.  To this day we are still paying off our children's undergraduate education (they shouldered graduate school tuition on their own).  

Things have changed for the better for today's student entering college.  Due to fewer students in the academic pipeline, there is fierce competition for students among many colleges and universities. And admissions directors are given target goals they need to meet in terms of incoming students. 

So how does a college woo a student away from another institution?  First, the student needs to fit the profile of who the institution wants.  Is there a major they need to fill, a sporting team in need of talent or might the student be somehow connected to potential contributions in the future??  While these things should not matter in admissions, they are all on the admissions radar.  We all know about sports scholarships and music scholarships.  There also also some academic scholarships named after major donors.  Then there is that other category -- supposed academic scholarships that really are not based on anything. These are institutional awards that the college awards incoming students in order to build the class and keep you from going elsewhere. These awards can often approach $20K per year and are automatically put against the tuition bill.  It costs the college nothing (except needed revenue), the student feels good, and it helps build a link between the college and the prospective student.  Some schools give these dollar awards fancy names but in other cases they are simply billed as institutional grants or awards.  And quite often they are renewable providing the student keeps a good GPA.

Don't be afraid to reach out to the financial aid office once accepted, and ask what they can do to help you.  Most colleges and universities need you due to the decline in the number of college age students, so they will do whatever they can possibly do to have you attend their institution.  It doesn't hurt to state your case.  Many students do and are quite successful.  I've also seen students reach out to financial aid (and also to their incoming major department chair) and explain their "better offers" from another university in instances where they have been accepted and would rather attend (but believe they cannot afford) another school.  Pitting one school's award against another is a bold move but if you have your heart set on a different college offering less aid, then why not!  Tell financial aid you would rather attend their college.  You have everything to gain and really nothing to lose.  So don't be shy.  Sometimes there really is no additional money for grants/scholarships available, but very often the school will find some at the last moment.  Especially if they feel you can help solidify the incoming class.  It all boils down to how you make your case, how badly the school needs to fill seats, and whether there are any dollars available to award.  Don't be afraid to try.  You have everything to gain.

Why It Is Easier To Get Into College Than Ever Before

 There was a time when a college acceptance was an achievement graduating seniors and their parents held in high regard.   And for some students -- notably those applying to the top 50 national universities and the Ivy League, receiving that special acceptance letter remains life changing.  Standards remain high with admissions selective.  Here are some current acceptance rates at popular institutions in the United States:

Harvard = 4.7%

Penn = 5.9%

Duke = 6%

MIT = 6.7%

Northeastern = 7%

Northwestern = 7%

UCLA = 10%

Berkeley = 14.8%

Getting into these institutions is extremely difficult and an incredible achievement. Quite honestly, it sounds next to impossible. But it is important to remember that these highly selective institutions do not represent the norm.  So where does that leave the remaining 3.5 million graduating U.S. high school seniors?

Fortunately there are close to 4000 degree granting colleges and universities in the United States.  And for the majority of graduating seniors, getting that college acceptance letter has never been easier.  

Many small well-known private colleges are scrambling for students and regional public and private universities have felt similar stressors.  The number of applications has been declining for several years -- something admissions directors call the enrollment cliff.  (Hopefully we are nearing the top of the cliff and things will slowly begin to improve in the years ahead.) Some of the worst declines have been felt at New England colleges and at schools in the Midwest.  These significant declines are due to a declining birthrate coupled with a demographic shift, as people frequently move from one section of the country to another.

The impact on our colleges and universities has been significant.  With fewer students applying, schools with previously strong reputations have often had to lower their admission standards in order to fill the class (and pay the bills). This is playing out at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. During the pandemic, the government helped keep struggling colleges afloat with significant grant money, but now that things have returned to a new "normal",  schools are struggling - some facing catastrophic financial shortfalls in the years ahead.  This will lead to increased mergers and closures as administrations seek acceptable solutions.  

What does that mean for college seniors?  It translates to increased opportunity for the vast majority of graduating seniors.  You should not shy away from schools you previously considered out of reach.  You might just be surprised.  But how can you pay for your education and do you even need to go to college?

I'll address these soon in my next installments.