Paying for College Pomona High School October 23, 2013

“Educational Death by PowerPoint” From the Denver Post, 7/28/2013. “ I sat in classroom after classroom where entire class periods consisted of a dimmed room, a clip-art heavy 80-slide PowerPoint deck, reams of printouts of the same presentation (the “notes”) and the monotonous drone of an instructor faithfully reciting bullet points until the bell rang. I called this Educational Death by PowerPoint.”

A Sobering Statistic  Reported by College in Colorado: “83% of students and families believe they will receive scholarships… 7% actually do.”

The Major Sources of Money for College  Federal Government  Merit Based Scholarships from Individual Colleges  Private Scholarships  Students  Parents

Federal Money ______________________  FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)  Process:  Set up an account- anytime, and get a PIN  Use the FAFSA4caster to project your EFC (Expected Family Contribution), use this anytime with estimated financial info  Complete the FAFSA as soon after Jan 1 st as possible- have it sent directly to colleges  Your college might request additional information- send it right away, then await your Award Letter with the amount of aid  Types of Aid:  Grants, work-study, student loans, parent loans

Types of Federal Aid  Pell Grants- up to $5635/year (2013) depending on need based on EFC  Work Study- based on availability at the college  Student loans- either subsidized or unsubsidized  TEACH Grant- up to $4000/year if you plan to teach in a high need field in an area servicing low income families  Parent loans- low interest loans  After submitted- family and college will receive a report with the EFC- then the college will send an Award Letter outlining what aid is offered.

Merit Based College Scholarships  Almost all colleges offer automatic scholarships based on a combination of GPA, ACT scores, and/or class ranking.  Other departmental or foundation scholarships- usually a separate app.  Examples of automatic merit aid:

Colorado Mesa University  Academic Achievement Award- $1000/year 3.2 GPA, 22 ACT, top 20% of class  Presidential Scholar- $2500/year 3.5 GPA, 25 ACT, top 15% of class  Trustee Scholarship- $3000/year 3.5 GPA, 27 ACT, top 10% of class  Distinguished Scholar- Full tuition and fees 3.75 GPA, 29 ACT, top 5% of class  First Generation- $1000/1 st year 2.5 GPA, 21 ACT, top 25% of class

CSU- Pueblo  Welcome to the Pack- $1000/year 3.2 GPA, 22 ACT, top 20% of class  Promising Scholar- $2500/year 3.5 GPA, 25 ACT, top 15% of class  Distinguished Scholar- $5000/year 3.75 GPA, 27 ACT, top 5% of class  Presidential Scholar- $8000/year 4.0 GPA, 30 ACT, top 2% of class  Commitment to Colorado- $1000/year file FAFSA and receive a Pell Grant  First Generation- $1000/year

University of Northern Colorado  Bear Tracks- $1000/year index score  Provost Scholarship- $1250/year index score  Presidential Scholarship- $2000/year index score  Trustees Scholarship- $5000/year 137+ index score

CSU- Fort Collins  Green and Gold Scholarship- $4000-$16000 total, competitive application process, limited number  Commitment to Colorado- up to ½ to full tuition competitive, adjusted gross income under $57000

Private Scholarships  Myths - there are thousands of unclaimed scholarships out there and I have to do is find them and fill out the application and I will get the money- this is why 83% of families think they will get a scholarship. - if I pay a scholarship “expert” they will find scholarships for my student. They use the same databases available to you for free.

Private Scholarships- con’t. _______________________  Reality- - finding scholarships takes a tremendous amount of time and hard work. - your student can compete for a scholarship if they have great grades, high test scores, have documented community service, or they write a great essay.

Private Scholarships- con’t. ______________________  Naviance for scholarships- - data base search by category - local based, Pomona category  Other data bases: - College in Colorado, Scholarships.com, Princetonreview.com, CollegeBoard.com, CommonApp.com

Students  Work study- definitely take advantage of it if offered, it does not count against the next year’s financial aid  Outside job- cover books, spending money  Most importantly- register for the College Opportunity Fund (COF) - go to - last year, this would have lowered your tuition bill by about $1000

Parents  Suggested reading: - “Debt Free U”, Zac Bissonnette  Save money instead of borrowing: “Downsize your way to college savings”  Avoid borrowing against your home or your retirement savings  It is never too late to start saving money for college. Check out 529 plans at CollegeInvest.org

Parents  Have frank discussions with your student about college affordability and college choices: - if affording will be a real hardship, consider going to a local college and living at home. - room and board at a college costs more than tuition and fees

Parents- con’t - comparative costs of Colorado schools SchoolT & FR & BTotal CU CSU-FC UCCS UNC CWU CSU-P Mesa Metro

How about 2 year colleges  SchoolT & FR & BTotal NJC CMC FRCC RRCC

The Dos and Don’ts of Paying for College  Do not fall in love with a college based on its name recognition, campus, or a few professors you happen to meet. Every college is a combination of great professors and lousy professors, cool students and not so cool students.  Do not let anyone tell you that one college will provide better earning power than others. There is no evidence of this. What will determine your child’s success will be his talent, determination and work ethic, and the career path that he elects to pursue.  Most of all: Do not look at college as a rational investment, not a coming-of-age ritual where money is no object. Skip expensive college guides, and don’t obsess over reputations, specific programs, and locales. You’re picking a college, not a resort.

Contact your Counselor  A-DiKarina Wilson  Dj-LaJennifer Sullivan  Lb-RdPaul Oser  Re-ZChuck Runge  For answers to questions about the college application process, find the Prepared Panthers Guide on the Pomona website in the Counseling link.