A Beginner’s Guide to Financial Aid Part I

As most parents and students are aware, if you need money to go to college then you deal with the financial aid department. These are the people that are in charge of awarding grants, scholarships, student loans, and work-study packages. Figuring out how the college determines who gets money and who doesn’t can often times seem tricky, so let’s try to look at this process in as simple a format as possible.

Now, the concept is that financial aid goes to those families who need it the most. To determine this, colleges use two factors: Cost of Attendance (COA) and Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). Then, the financial aid department uses a simple formula: COA – EFC = NEED.

Your COA is pretty straightforward. It is the cost of tuition, room & board, books, fees, transportation, and an allowance for miscellaneous fees. The COA at a college can change every year, so financial aid is recalculated every year. Remember to include all of the items I just mentioned in your budget, since that is exactly what the college is doing when figuring out your financial aid. If you forget to factor in the cost of textbooks, you may not have enough money when you head off to college in the fall.

Your EFC is a bit more complicated because the college is trying to determine how much money they think your family can afford to spend on college. Unfortunately, your EFC is never going to be as low as you would prefer (unless of course it’s $0), but it is important to know what factors impact your EFC. There are many different things that go into the calculation of your EFC, but four of the biggest influences are Parent Income, Parent Assets, Student Income, and Student Assets. We will cover all of these in more detail in future blogs, so stay tuned as we continue the posts. Other factors that can influence your EFC include the number of family members in your household, the number of students in college at the same time, the ages of each family member, and even what state you live in. If this seems complicated, plenty of other families are thinking the same thing. Much like how a CPA can help you with your taxes, a good college advisor should be able to help you understand your EFC.

The last step in the process is to determine your NEED. This is high much financial aid you may be eligible for. Let’s say for example that your college has a COA of $50,000 and your EFC is $20,000. This means your NEED is $30,000 ($50K-$20K=$30K). Now, does this mean that you’re going to get a $30,000 scholarship? Not usually. Most colleges will award you some combination of grants/scholarships (free money) and work-study/student loans (self help). Keep in mind that money you receive based on this formula is called “Need-Based Aid”. Scholarships that you get for having a really high GPA or good SAT scores are called “Merit-Based” and are awarded based on separate criteria. Even if your EFC is higher than a college’s COA, you could still receive “Merit-Based” aid (so study hard!)

Next time we’ll talk about your EFC in more detail and explore the fact that there are 2 possible EFC formulas a college could use, each with a different set of questions.

About the author: Justin Munio is a Business Development Manager and Financial Aid Consultant with College Planning Strategies, LLC. With a degree in mathematics from SUNY Geneseo and over 3 years working in the CPS Financial Aid Department, Justin is at the forefront of the financial aid process for the families of CPS and the Toolkit.

About Smart Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

5 Things I Wish I’d Known About MONEY When I Started College

At Grockit, we’re all about education and getting you ready to move on to the next stage in your life.  But we’re not just teachers; we’re all former and/or current students, too, and we’ve got more than just test preparation tips to share with you!

There’s a good chance that you or your parents are making a significant investment in your college education from loans or savings.  The stereotype of the “broke college student” exists for a reason: many college students really are living on a TIGHT budget.  Learn from a few of the money mistakes I made in college so you can avoid them yourself!

            1.         Credit cards are not “free money,” and they can make your life miserable if you misuse them.  They might look innocuous, all decorated with Van Gogh’s Starry Night or your school mascot or whatever, but the interest rates will kill you if you’re not careful; get one for emergencies if you must, but try to pay it off in full every month and don’t let yourself get into the habit of thinking that new boots or late-night pizza orders are “emergencies.”

            2.         There are weird little opportunities to make a little extra cash all over the place at most universities and colleges.  Have a couple of hours to spare between classes one day a week?  You might be able to spend them as a model for the art school or a mock patient for med students.  Think outside the usual part-time job box to explore seasonal opportunities or small gigs that only crop up periodically.

            3.         Unless you become a celebrity or get a really plum job involving some kind of consumer goods, you will never again get as much free stuff offered to you as you do in college.  So take the t-shirts, the boxes of sample toiletries, and the promotional water bottles; a penny saved is a penny earned, right?

            4.         Speaking of free things, if you’re smart about it you can get a whole lot of free food just by going to extracurricular activities like lectures and club meetings.  It’s an opportunity to not only score some pizza (and it will almost always be pizza), but also to learn about something, whether it’s swing dancing or quantum physics, that you might never have discovered otherwise.

            5.         There are resources available to help you through the rough patches.  It probably won’t kill you to eat nothing but ramen noodles for the last two weeks of the semester, after you’ve burned through all of your loan money, but it’s not exactly great for you, either. And more importantly, it’s probably not necessary.  Many schools have emergency short-term loan programs in place to help students out of a tight spot, so if you need help, ask for it!

What kind of helpful knowledge have you picked up about your finances?  Share it in the comments!

About Grockit: Grockit is a fun and engaging learning community that encourages students to learn from group study, game play, expert tutorials and solo study. Students that prepare with Grockit have proven to achieve higher scores on college admissions tests.

About the author: Andrea Alexander is a current graduate student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. She's been teaching test prep for about eight years and have picked up lots of helpful knowledge along the way. She specializes in the verbal aspects of test prep, since her education and career experience as an attorney, freelance writer, and editor have given her the background for that.

Tips for Graduating Early

Whether you’re looking to graduate early, within the standard four years, or trying to get ahead in your coursework, the course of action you take is virtually the same.  If you take advantage of the suggestions below then you can complete your college curriculum within any time frame.

Take AP Classes in High School

Try and take as many AP classes in high school as possible.  Students who take AP classes can earn college credits or receive advanced placement upon entry into college, based on their AP Exam scores.  These college credits will allow you to get a head start on your major.  Some students opt to take upper level courses with this opportunity, others pursue a double major because their required coursework per semester is not as strict, and some will use the credits received to lighten their course load and take fewer courses per semester. 

Take Summer Classes at Your College or University

Use the summer to your advantage and take one or two summer classes at your college or university.  These classes can be electives or core courses applicable to your major.  This is a great opportunity to get ahead and to spread out your course load.  Taking summer classes allows you to focus more attention on one subject at a time and for some, can allow for vast improvement grade wise.  Taking summer classes at your college or university will also guarantee the acceptance of credits and grades received.

Take a Course Away or an Online Course

If you can’t take a summer class at your college, think about taking a course away at a community college or taking a course online.  However, you must pay particular attention to the policies of your college or university.  Many times, colleges and universities require students to fill out forms with the course name and description they wish to take at another school.  These courses must be approved by administration in order for credits to be accepted and transferred to the students’ primary college or university.  This should be taken advantage of during the summertime, as well.

Take a Winter / Spring Intensive

Check to see if your college or university offers winter and spring intensives.  Intensives are courses that are delivered in consecutive full-day sessions for one week or for five Saturdays in a row.  This is a great way to complete a required course quickly and efficiently.

Use your Pass/Fail Elective in a Semester Where Your Course Load is Increased

Some colleges and universities give students a pass/fail option.  Though the policies differ from school to school, generally students can only use pass/fail for elective classes.  This allows students to take a more challenging elective without the risk of jeopardizing their GPA.  Instead of receiving a grade for the class, students will simply receive a P for pass or an F for fail.  When opting to use a pass/fail option, consider increasing your course load that semester.  Taking six classes as oppose to five will allow you to get ahead in your work.

By taking advantage of any of these suggestions, you can lighten your course load during the year while still graduating on time, or you can expedite the process and graduate early!

About the author: Alecia Coleman is currently a senior at Bentley University.  She is majoring in Accountancy and minoring in Law.  She was recently a recipient of the MSCPA Women’s in Accounting Scholarship and intends to get her Master’s in Accountancy at Bentley University, as well.

About Smart Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

5 Things I Wish I’d Known About HOUSING When I Started College

At Grockit, we’re all about education and getting you ready to move on to the next stage in your life.  But we’re not just teachers; we’re all former and/or current students, too, and we’ve got more than just test preparation tips to share with you!

There’s no avoiding the fact that you’ll make mistakes in college—just like you will in other parts of your life.  But that’s no reason to go in blind.  Here are the five things I wish someone had told me about housing when I started college.  Or maybe someone actually did tell me, and I just didn’t listen; that’s totally possible.  But hopefully you can learn from some of the things I did wrong and at least make some different mistakes.

            1.         If you have the opportunity, live in the dorms for your first year.  Being a freshman is really overwhelming, and I can’t imagine how I would have managed to stay on top of all the changes in my life if I’d had to worry about making sure the electric bill got paid on time and cooking my own food.  Besides, living in a dorm allows you to get to know a much wider variety of people than you would meet otherwise; that broader perspective is invaluable to your intellectual growth.

            2.         Often, you have to choose between living in a “party” environment and living in a “study” environment.  When faced with that choice, no matter how fun-loving you are, there’s a lot to be said for the “study” environment.  You can always go somewhere else to party, and you’ll be glad to have a quiet place to come home to.

            3.         Most people find themselves in cramped living quarters in college, and the best way to prepare for that is to get organized.  Even if you’re a lifelong slob, you’ll make your transition to college life much smoother if you take a trip to the Container Store to stock up on clear plastic storage bins for everything from toiletries to extra blankets.  Your roommate will thank you for the preemptive efforts at tidiness.

            4.         Find a home away from home.  There are going to be times when your living situation—whether that’s a dorm, an apartment, or a co-op—feels intolerable.  That’s one of the unfortunate side effects of living in cramped quarters with lots of people.  You’ll be much better at coping with it if you can escape to a coffee shop, a quiet corner of the library stacks, or your fraternity/sorority house.

            5.         Becoming best friends with your roommate is amazing if it happens, but becoming roommates with your best friend is generally not.  You may have known and loved your buddy since the second grade, but that friendship might not survive the fights about dirty dishes, mismatched sleep schedules, and loud music that plague many college roommates.  Live with a stranger; you’ll get to know someone new, and you’ll have nothing to lose if you end up being nothing more than polite acquaintances.

What do you wish you’d known in the past about housing, that you know now?  Share it in the comments!

About Grockit: Grockit is a fun and engaging learning community that encourages students to learn from group study, game play, expert tutorials and solo study. Students that prepare with Grockit have proven to achieve higher scores on college admissions tests.

About the author: Andrea Alexander is a current graduate student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. She's been teaching test prep for about eight years and have picked up lots of helpful knowledge along the way. She specializes in the verbal aspects of test prep, since her education and career experience as an attorney, freelance writer, and editor have given her the background for that.

The "true" Cost of College

 

Have you ever looked on a college’s website under the “Tuition & Fees” section? I’m guessing if you have, then you’ve probably also been pretty shocked at the amounts listed. $30,000 - $40,000 - $50,000 - $60,000! This is the cost of college nowadays. It makes a person wonder if families are actually paying this exorbitant amount of money every year. Well, in most cases they aren’t.

42 % Off! That's the average percentage discount reaped by students attending a private college this year!  I know that seems shocking -- especially if you're just tuning in -- but as we've been saying, colleges today routinely and intentionally discount their 'published prices' to lure students to their campus.  It is, as the Washington Post reported, creating a 'polite bidding war' for desirable students and considered a 'common post-recession scenario.'

We work with these numbers and scenarios everyday, but I can certainly appreciate how for many, this sounds absurd - Colleges do not 'roll back' prices.  So we wanted you to see for yourself - simply Google 'Common Data Set ____________ (your college here)' and find the section on Financial Aid.  Do the same for a few other schools you like or are on your preliminary college list and compare the results.  This, by the way, is data that the schools are required to report-- and it is information that is used by the College Board as well as by us to compare colleges and compile reports for our clients.

It's a common misconception that you wait until you know where your student is attending before applying for financial aid and other scholarships.  Today the inverse is true! You can’t even decide where to apply until you understand the amount of financial aid and other 'beyond need' inducements offered by each of the schools you are considering.  The difference in 'discounting strategies' among otherwise similar schools is often substantial and should be the chief driver of your student's admissions strategy.

The college game has changed.  Learn the new rules, you win. Stay in the dark and you could sacrifice thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants at great schools that you would have otherwise qualified for. Even if you could afford to pay full price, why in the world would you want to?

One of our office headquarters is conducting two Boston area workshops this month where we'll break down all of this and show you other techniques and strategies that you need to know about applying to, getting into and most importantly, making a great college affordable. These workshops are free and open to the public with no strings attached. If you have a student that you would like to send to college someday, we urge you to attend. If you don't but know someone who does, please forward this to them - they'll thank you for it!

~ Murray Miller

p.s. Check us out & like us on Facebook where we will be post tips, deadline alerts and resource notices. Write your comment or question on our wall, and we'll be sure to respond!

Tips to Keep in Mind during Freshman Orientation

Over here at the Smart Track™ Toolkit we understand how nerve racking it can be to attend freshman orientation having no idea what to expect and seeing no familiar faces in the crowd.  However, freshman orientation is a great way to meet fellow classmates and is the first step towards becoming part of your college’s community.  The following are a few tips we share with our seniors, as they get ready for orientation.

1. Familiarize yourself with the campus and with other students.  This is a perfect opportunity for you to get to know other students and to familiarize yourself with the campus.  Not only will you meet other freshmen, but you will be able to introduce yourself to upperclassmen orientation leaders and faculty members.  This is a great way to network and to get advice from students who have already experienced college for a couple years.  Also, make sure to familiarize yourself with the campus.  Know your surroundings; this way, you can have an idea of what buildings classes are held in, where the cafeteria is and where freshman housing is located, before the upperclassmen move in and things become more hectic.
2. Don’t miss your placement exams or registration time!  Be sure to follow the agenda given to you by your orientation leader.  You don’t want to miss a placement exam, as finding a time to reschedule can be difficult with all the other summer activities taking place.  You don’t want to start off the year on the wrong foot by being placed in a class that is either too easy or too hard.  Also, make sure to meet with an advisor before your scheduled registration time.  They will help you choose a course load that is most beneficial to you, and geared towards your interests.  Again, don’t miss your registration time or the classes of your choice may be closed.
3. Don’t forget a sleeping bag or bedding for overnights!  When preparing for freshman orientation, don’t forget bedding.  You don’t want to be the one stuck sleeping on an old, twin mattress for a couple nights, so pack accordingly.
4. Have Fun!  Make the most out of your freshman orientation experience.  Bring a deck of cards or an iHome with you.  This way, you can hang out and have fun with other students in your down time.

Remember, all freshmen are in the same boat.  No one knows anyone else, so don’t be shy.  Introduce yourself to as many people as possible.  This is a great way to meet other freshmen before move in day.  Keep in mind that you may just find your future roommate and close group of friends!

About the author: Alecia Coleman is currently a senior at Bentley University.  She is majoring in Accountancy and minoring in Law.  She was recently a recipient of the MSCPA Women’s in Accounting Scholarship and intends to get her Master’s in Accountancy at Bentley University, as well.

About Smart Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

5 Things I Wish I’d Known About HEALTH When I Started College

At Grockit, we’re all about education and getting you ready to move on to the next stage in your life.  But we’re not just teachers; we’re all former and/or current students, too, and we’ve got more than just test preparation tips to share with you!

My freshman roommate and I used to joke that college was a disease, and the symptoms were malnutrition and exhaustion.  Quite honestly, though, I can’t blame feeling lousy on college itself; it had a lot more to do with the way I chose to treat my body when I was an undergrad.  Here are a few ways you can keep yourself healthy as you begin your college life.

            1.         The dreaded “Freshman 15” can absolutely be avoided, and you don’t have to completely abandon late-night pizza or that soft-serve machine in the cafeteria to do it.  Just develop healthy habits from day one: try to eat something from the fruit or vegetable family at every meal, get some exercise, and don’t go crazy with the all-you-can-eat aspect of dorm food.

            2.         Speaking of exercise, get to know your campus fitness facilities!  Many colleges and universities have free access to gym equipment, swimming pools, aerobics classes, and other great fitness opportunities that you’d have to pay real money for at an off-campus gym.

            3.         Get some sleep.  No, really—I know there’s always something more interesting going on somewhere, but studies show that people who don’t sleep enough gain weight more easily and have weaker immune systems, exposing them to more illness.  Sleep is free and pleasant, and it keeps you looking and feeling your best; why not get 8 hours of it when you can?

            4.         If you share a shower with someone else, wear flip-flops.  One thing you can’t control is your roommates’ or dorm-mates’ foot funk, so take precautionary measures.  I know it’s a gross thing to think about, but I assure you, it’s a much grosser thing to have to rectify if you DON’T wear the flip-flops.

            5.         Most schools have a health services center, and it probably has more resources than you would expect.  For example, you hopefully know that you can go see them if you have the flu or a sprained ankle.  But you may also have access to mental health services, nutritional counseling, or preventive care, among other things.  Take the time to explore your health services center’s website to acquaint yourself with their offerings—most of the services are probably included in your tuition and fees, so you might as well take advantage of them!

Any health tips you wish you’d known before that you know now?  Share them in the comments!

About Grockit: Grockit is a fun and engaging learning community that encourages students to learn from group study, game play, expert tutorials and solo study. Students that prepare with Grockit have proven to achieve higher scores on college admissions tests.

About the author: Andrea Alexander is a current graduate student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. She's been teaching test prep for about eight years and have picked up lots of helpful knowledge along the way. She specializes in the verbal aspects of test prep, since her education and career experience as an attorney, freelance writer, and editor have given her the background for that.