Search Articles
Browse Categories
It’s Spring! Plant the Seed...
By Heather Bruce
...for a Successful College Career
The upcoming spring and summer months are a time of new growth and new beginnings. The weather is warmer, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming. What better time than now to plant the “college” seed in your high school student! Whether the student is a freshman, sophomore, or junior in high school, he or she should be proactive with the college search and preparation process. Any effort put into college planning early on in the high school career will take a tremendous amount of pressure off the student and family during senior year. Believe me, senior year will be busy enough and getting ready for college may seem like a part-time (or even full-time!) job. Save your student and your family from unneeded stress. Start planning now!
If students take proper action in their freshmen, sophomore, and junior years of high school, senior year will not be as nerve-racking and stressful as it turns out to be for too many students and their families.
Start by planting the seeds now!
Research colleges and visit schools. What are your interests or potential majors? Do you want to go far away or stay close by? Take time during the nice weather of the upcoming months to visit colleges and see what you would like and dislike in a school.
See your guidance counselor about scholarship opportunities. Local scholarships have a smaller applicant pool than national scholarships. Begin determining eligibility for any scholarships you may be eligible for.
Get involved! Volunteer in your community, take on leadership roles, secure a summer job, and be active in your school. Involvement in activities shows how well-rounded a student is and is increasingly important on college applications.
Maintain or improve grades. Just because it’s warming up outside doesn’t mean you should forget about keeping those grades up! If appropriate, challenge yourself with higher level courses and subjects. High school transcripts and standardized test scores are very significant in the college admissions process.
Contact Education Funding Solutions now, before your senior year in high school. Be sure your family’s finances are in order so you will know ahead of time how much you will be expected to pay for college, and how much financial aid you should qualify for. Very few students get a “free ride” to college.
Do you have a plan in place when that first tuition bill arrives? Education Funding Solutions can explore options for your family, evaluating strategies to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses (A college education ranges from $10k - $30K for a state/public school to up to $50k + for a private school, with an average increase of 6% each year. Be prepared!).
Determine how to apply for financial aid. Even if you think you may not qualify, apply for federal and institutional funding anyway. The cost of college keeps increasing, which means that even families with incomes over $130k may still receive some funding. Applying for financial aid also gives you access to merit-based scholarships and low-interest student loans that may not have been available if you had not sought out funding.
Education Funding Solutions can help you make sure you have the necessary financial aid paperwork for each school you are applying to. We’ll even fill out the forms for you!
Unrated
Comments
- No Comments Found. Submit Comment
|
Article Options |
Share your Opinion and WIN!
Take our quick survey & enter to WIN a gift certificate.