As I type this, I am sitting in a hotel room across the street from Kenyon College, in the middle of Ohio. I’ve been visiting Midwestern schools all week and have been continually amazed at how different various schools can be.
The biggest contrast was between two schools that I saw back to back, Notre Dame and Oberlin College. Both schools are highly selective, with excellent academics, and yet, it would be hard to find two schools that are further apart from a social fit. Notre Dame is one of the most conservative Catholic schools in the country (the opposite sex is not allowed in the dorms after midnight), and Oberlin felt like a little bit of San Francisco transplanted into the farmlands of Ohio. Would I recommend both schools? Absolutely – but not likely for the same kid! One of the reasons I spend so much time visiting schools is so I can help families plan their own visits. Sample questions I get asked: Q. “Is it possible to visit both the University of Chicago and Beloit College on the same day?” A. Yes, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it. Beloit is about an hour and a half northwest of Chicago and Chicago traffic can be notoriously difficult. Q. ”Where should we stay when visiting Kenyon?” A. The Kenyon Inn is delightful and it is right across the street from campus. Q. “Do we need to visit every school before applying?” A. No, but it is very helpful to visit your top choices. That makes it much easier to write genuine essays that show why you would be a good fit at that school. Q. “What if I can’t visit?” A. There are lots of ways to show interest and learn about the college. Reach out to the admissions representative by email or phone. Attend a college fair. Go to a presentation at your high school. Do the virtual tour on-line. Or, ask me! I have visited well over 50 campuses nationwide and have researched many, many more. Read more about Visiting Colleges Someone recently said, if you can't afford it, it's a reach school." Of course, the problem is that college costs are not transparent. In fact, there are few things in life that are less transparent than college costs, especially if you are talking about private colleges. So how do you know if you can't afford it?
With public schools, you can usually get a reasonably good idea of how much it will cost. If you are applying from out-of-state, there won't be much financial aid, except for loans, but there may be some scholarship money. You can often see a chart right on the school's website, with a grid showing potential scholarships for X GPA and Y SAT score. The key is to apply early, as the scholarship money often runs out. But private schools? Private schools are different. Some have only need-based aid, but they are the ones who get to determine whether or not you have need. Others will offer a combination of need-based and merit based money. How do you know which type of school will be a financial fit for your student? It takes a lot of research to figure it out. Schools do have calculators on their websites, but that will just give you a rough estimate of what it will cost. Sometimes schools will sweeten the pot, for a student that they really want. They call this "Preferential Packaging". And sometimes they will use "Professional Judgement" to increase the aid for a particular family, based on their circumstances. The bottom line (pun intended!) is that you need to do the research so your student applies to a good mix of schools, which will fit the family's financial parameters. Read more about Paying for College |
Author: Teri Thompson
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May 2020
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