Finding a Private College Consultant

Unfortunately for the 2008-09 school year I will be unable to accept any additional clients. However, the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA) is a wonderful resource you can use to locate a college consultant. The website incorporates information about each member and his or her speciality.

Until next time,

Dr. Chrystal
www.DrChrystal.com

August & New Beginnings

For most high school seniors, August gets here sooner than they would like. August is the beginning of the end of their chapter on high school. However, it is also the beginning of many new chapters that will unfold.

As seniors gear up for the month ahead it is important to:

-Set firm dates to getting everything done related to school work and college applications.

-Identify 2-3 individuals to ask for letters of recommendation

-Outline a long & short list of colleges to attend (this will help you when you attend college fairs this fall)

-Register & prepare, prepare, prepare for any upcoming ACT/SAT test

-Remember deadlines related to admission are VERY REAL! Never make the assumption that colleges will accept something that is a “little” late or incomplete.

Please visit back in the future weeks, as I will continue outlining where students should be in regards to the college admission process.

Until then!

The Cost of College

Anyone can tell you that going to college is an expensive venture. However, the cost of most 4-year institutions is so high that most students, from all income levels, are having to seek additional financial aid to help cover the cost. For students that require financial aid to cover the majority of the cost they will likely remain in debt for most of their professional life. This article by National Underwriter looks at the rising cost of college and how students will be required to make payments for many, many years to come.

Although I hate to see students go into debt, this has quickly become a necessary evil. As a result, I can only stress that students enter college when they are truly ready. A student should have a pretty good idea of what they want to accomplish as a student, and where they are trying to go professionally to make the experience be as cost-effective as it can be. I no longer agree that students should use college as the place to "find themselves", it is just to costly a venture.

For students who know they want to go to college, but are not exactly sure what they want to major in or do professionally, instead of going into unnecessary debt by attending a 4-year institution, you should truly investigate 2-year colleges. This allows you the opportunity to get college classes under your belt, expose you to a wide range of disciplines, as well as give you addition time to think about how to plan for your future. You are still in college, however at a fraction of the cost.

Scholarships are a Little Tricky

After a students starts applying to college, many also start searching for scholarships as well. It makes perfect sense to try to find ways to cut your out-of-pocket cost regardless of the school you decide to attend. This USA Today article provides excellent information about explaining particulars with financial aid packages and scholarships.

For students who successfully secure scholarships that are not related to the institution you need to understand how accepting the scholarship could affect your financial aid package. Colleges regard outside scholarship as additional 'resources' or money, so they often will not apply your outside scholarship to meet any additional need you may have. Rather than add your outside scholarship with the institutional money they are offering, they will take away institutional dollars. In other words if the school had offered you $5 in aid, and your scholarship is worth $5 the school will likely let you spend your $5 and take their money back, so in the end you are still paying the same price.

This is not to discourage you from finding outside scholarships, you just need to be very strategic on which funds you accept, as well as prepared to still have to come out of pocket even when it seems that everything should be paid for.

Visit Before You Decide

Its the time of year that seniors everywhere are making the final decision on where they want to attend. Although the brochures are nice to look at, and the phone calls from students help to answer some of your questions, the best way for students to students to make their final decision is to go visit their top choices. For some this can be an expensive or time consuming venture, however this is a major decision that requires complete attention. Other experts agree with the necessity to visit a school before you decide in the article recent Olympian Newspaper article.

Gearing Up For Next Year

College Strategies has changed its pricing structure for the 2007-08 academic season. Because we are now offering our services primarily through an online format it is allowing us greater flexibility to work with students so we are able to drastically reduce our fees. For students who are gearing up for next school year, please take a look at how we can help you successfully maneuver through the college admission process. College Strategies Educational Consulting

Decision Day- May 1st

Many of you may still be debating which school you were accepted to is right for you. You either fall in one of two categories: 1. You haven't paid your deposit to any school yet since you haven't decided; or 2. You have put down multi-deposits and you still haven't decided. Just remember that May 1st is the unofficial deadline for many (not all colleges) as to when you can get 100% of your deposit back.