1. Pomona High School September 20th , 2017
How to Afford College
Pomona High School
September 20th , 2017

2. Questions
Does your child expect you to cover the cost of “whatever college I want to go to”?
- in a T. Rowe Price survey, 62% of 8-14 year olds said they expected their parents to cover costs
As a parent, do you have the resources to cover the costs of ”whatever college they want to attend”?
- in the same survey, 65% of parents said they would only be able to contribute “some” toward college
There is clearly a disconnect between student and parent expectations!

3. Questions continued
Parents, do you feel bad about not being able to give your kids what they want?
- in the same survey, 63% of parents felt guilty that they won’t be able to pay more for college
Would you be willing to take on $25,000 of debt for your child? How about $100,000 of debt?
- 57% said they would do $25,000, while 20% said they would take $100,000
These emotions are leading parents into dangerous territory. In addition to pulling money from retirement accounts or short-changing plan contributions, parents are going into hock. How are these people ever going to retire if they are servicing large debt loads. 76% said they would delay retirement, and 68% said they would be willing to get a 2nd job.

4. Before you say “but I have to make sure my kid gets a college education and I don’t want them burdened by student loans”, let’s look at your options for making that come true without compromising your lifestyle or retirement.

5. How to Afford College
The single most important decision you make concerning your post-secondary education is where you will go to college and what you will study.
Controlling the cost of going to college is easier than finding money to pay for a more expensive education.
Do not let anyone tell you that one college will provide better earning power than others simply by attending that college. There is no evidence of this. What will determine your child’s success will be his or her talent, determination and work ethic, and the career path that he or she elects to pursue. Warren Buffett said, “I don’t care where someone went to school, and that never caused me to hire anyone or buy anyone’s business.”
Princeton Economics professor says, “Recognize that your own motivation, ambition, and talents will determine your success more than the college name on your diploma”.

6. Our definition of “college”
Any post-high school training, certification, or degree. This could be at a trade school, 2 year college (Community college or Junior college), or 4 year college or university.
Harvard Study- in % of jobs will require a BA or higher degree, 57% of jobs will require technical training, credentialing, or an AA degree.

7. Affording College- Picking the School
Have frank discussions with your student about college affordability and college choices:
- if affording a college education 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

8. Comparative costs of Colorado Schools – 2017/18 ( costs shown are per year)
School T & F R & B Total CU
CSU-FC
UCCS
CSU-P
UNC
WSCU
CMU
UCD
Metro DU
Regis

9. How about 2 year colleges - 2017/18
School T & F R & B Total
NJC
CMC
FRCC
RRCC
( FRCC and RRCC are figured for full time students taking 15 credits per semester.)
Maybe even consider 2-year colleges in Wyoming. They have a great community college system that operates in the WUE system and offers tuition much cheaper than out of state tuition rates, and many offer dorms to get that college experience. (Full time at Casper College = $2076)

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

11. Federal Money FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
Process:
Set up an account- the student and parents both need an FSA ID number
The FAFSA can be filed starting October 1st (so very soon), using your 2016 tax and income information. You can use the Data Retrieval Tool to import directly from your tax return. Complete the FAFSA as soon 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
COA (tuition, fees, room, board, books, other expenses)
- EFC (Expected Family Contribution- formula based FAFSA)
= Need based financial aid (Award Letter)

12. Types of Federal Aid
Pell Grants- up to $5920/year ( ) 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.

13. Merit Based College Scholarships
Almost all colleges offer automatic scholarships based on a combination of GPA, SAT scores, and/or class ranking.
Other departmental or foundation scholarships- many times requires a separate application
Examples of automatic merit aid:

14. Colorado Mesa University
Academic Achievement Award- $1250/year
3.2 GPA, 1120 SAT, top 20% of class
Presidential Scholar- $3000/year
3.5 GPA, 1190 SAT, top 15% of class
Trustee Scholarship- $3500/year
3.5 GPA, 1270 SAT, top 10% of class
Distinguished Scholar- Full tuition and fees
3.75 GPA, 1340 SAT, top 5% of class
First Generation- $1000/1st year
3.0 GPA

15. CSU- Pueblo Welcome to the Pack- $1000/year
3.2 GPA, 1110 SAT, top 20% of class
Promising Scholar- $2500/year
3.5 GPA, 1220 SAT, top 15% of class
Distinguished Scholar- $5000/year
3.75 GPA, 1290 SAT, top 5% of class
Presidential Scholar- $8000/year
4.0 GPA, 1400 SAT, top 2% of class
Commitment to Colorado- $1000/year
file FAFSA and receive a Pell Grant
First Generation- $1000/year- renewable w/3.0

16. UNC- Greeley Bear Scholar- $2000/year 3.0 GPA and 1020 SAT
Provost- $2500/year
3.4 GPA and 1160 SAT
Presidential- $3000/year
3.6 GPA and 1280 GPA
Trustee- $6000/year
3.8 GPA and 1350 SAT

17. University of Colorado- Boulder
Joseph Sewall Award- $5000/yr for 4 years
4.0 GPA, 1480 SAT
Horace Hale Award- $3500/yr for 4 years
4.0 GPA, 1410 SAT
James Baker Award- $2500/yr for 4 years
3.9 GPA, 1310 SAT
3.8 GPA, 1370 SAT
First Generation- up to $1000 per semester
based on need

18. 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

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

20. Private Scholarships Myths
there are thousands of unclaimed scholarships out there and all 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. There are no “secret” scholarship sources. They use the same databases available to you for free.

21. Private Scholarships- con’t. _______________________
Reality-
- finding scholarships takes a tremendous amount of time and hard work by the student or parent. Best advice- start early and make the time for it.
- 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.

22. Private Scholarships- con’t. ______________________
CollegeNet.com- over 600,000 in database
Naviance for scholarships-
- students know their log in, access from the Pomona website
- local based, Pomona category
Other data bases: handout available
- College in Colorado, Scholarships.com, Princetonreview.com, CollegeBoard.com, CommonApp.com, FastWeb.com

23. Raise Me
Through a new program called RaiseMe, students can guarantee scholarships from 250+ colleges as early as 9th grade, making it easier to plan financially for school. RaiseMe has proven to be a great tool to motivate students in high schools throughout the U.S.
As an example:
• Get an A in a course ($100 - $1,000)
• Get a B in a course ($50-$600)
• Participate in a school club or sport ($25 - $250)
• And much more, like attend college fairs or make a college visit.
Pomona is among the first in the country to take advantage of this opportunity, which was launched with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and U.S. colleges. Here are a couple of easy ways to support your students in using this unique tool:
1) Ensure that your student creates an account at
2) Encourage your student to regularly add good grades, community service, extracurricular activities, and other achievements to his or her RaiseMe Portfolio to earn micro-scholarships from colleges.
3) Visit for more information.
Colleges in Colorado that are participating include: Regis, DU, Metro, CSU-Pueblo, Western State.

24. Students
Work study- definitely take advantage of it if offered, it does not count against the next year’s financial aid
Outside job- yes, you have time for work
- 168 hours/week
hours sleep
hours in class
hours study
= 72 hours for work and recreation
Most importantly- register for the College Opportunity Fund (COF)
- go to
- this year, this will lower your tuition bill by about $2000

25. Parents Suggested reading: - “Debt Free U”, Zac Bissonnette (2010)
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

26. Contact your Counselor
A-Fe Dan Borkovec
Ff- Lz Sandy Austin
M - Rn Bonnie McCarty
Ro- Z Chuck Runge
For answers to questions about the college application process, find the Prepared Panthers Guide on the Pomona website in the Counseling link.
Please complete the short survey for this presentation.

27. FAFSA Use the website, https://fafsa.ed.gov/ lots of great info
After completing the application:
- you will receive the SAR (Student Aid Report) which is a recap of the info you filled out on the form- check it for accuracy
- the SAR does not tell you how much aid you will get
- if you applied for admission, have been accepted, and have sent FAFSA results to the school, they will determine your aid level and send you an award letter
- the letter could come as soon as spring or as late as just before school starts. Most will send it early enough to consider which aid package is best for you
- send your FAFSA to all schools you might apply to, better to send to extra schools.

28. More FAFSA How the school determines aid:
Cost of Attendance (COA) which will include tuition, fees, room, board, books, other expenses
Your EFC is an index number that college financial aid staff use to determine how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend their school. The information you report on your FAFSA is used to calculate your EFC
COA – EFC = financial need
The college will breakdown how much aid and from what sources will be offered to meet your financial need (combination of grants, student loans, work study, parent loans)
Become friendly with the college financial aid office. A school’s financial aid staff can consider circumstances such as unusual medical expenses, tuition expenses, or unemployment and can adjust your COA or some of the information used to calculate your EFC.

29. Even more FAFSA
If you listed a school on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) and have been offered admission by that school, the financial aid office at the school will send you an aid offer (often electronically). The offer includes the types and amounts of financial aid you may receive from federal, state, private, and school sources. This combination of aid is your financial aid package.
Because your financial aid package is created for you and is based on the cost of attending a particular school, your aid amounts will vary from school to school.
Also, because your aid offer might include student loans, it’s important for you to compare the amount of debt you would be taking on at the schools you are considering. 
If you find that you’ll need to take out a larger amount in private loans at one school than at another, you should pay special attention to the terms and conditions of the private loans so you understand what your obligations would be.