Those good grades your kids are getting in high school could be worth thousands of dollars when applying for college. Educational institutions look at grades and standardized test scores in their admissions process, but that’s not all those scores and grades are used for. They are also considered when colleges and universities make financial aid decisions. Just 10 points higher on an SAT score could be worth thousands of dollars. Why? Universities are businesses. They want students with high test scores, and they are willing to compete to get them. How? By offering students better financial aid packages. Money spent getting tutored for the SAT or similar standardized tests is money invested.
When families are deciding what university their children will attend, they often make the incorrect assumption that the pricey private schools are beyond their reach. It may surprise you to know that many of these schools have increased their aid budgets, and some so-called elite schools are less expensive than public universities. With some basic googling, it won’t be hard for you to find a resource that will give you a complete rundown by school of both cost and offsetting financial aid. It pays to shop around.
Getting your family’s fair share of the billions of dollars in merit aid on the table comes down to the scholastic performance of your children. Colleges compete for “A” students by giving discounts off of their sticker price. It is not unusual to visit a school’s website and find what amounts to an advertisement offering small scholarships for academic performance. One school, in order to attract high performers from other universities, offered what they called a “Transfer President’s Scholarship” — $7,000 for students who “distinguished themselves” in either college or high school. This school left open for discussion what it meant to have “distinguished” oneself. That means they will review the applications and take those they want.
Other colleges will spell out the criteria, such as a “$4,000 Provost Award” for students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their class or who have a GPA of 3.75 or better.
The point is, scholarships are out there. You have to look for them, and compete for them. There is no limit to how many small scholarships you can obtain. Every free dollar helps when it comes to paying for education. Some crazy scholarships we have seen include:
- Civil War veteran scholarship: $1,000 if you are a descendant of a veteran of the Civil War. You have to write an essay.
- Extreme sports scholarships: One school offered $8,000 based on skateboarding skills.
- Tall person scholarship: $1,000 if you are male and over 6’2”, or female and 5’10” or taller. You have to write an essay on “What Being Tall Means to Me.”
- Potato scholarship: The National Potato Council annually awards one $5,000 scholarship to a graduate student pursuing Agribusiness, which enhances the potato industry.
- The American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship – Compete for $2,000 by reading an essay about fire sprinklers and taking a 10-question test.
- Bowling scholarship: The United States Bowling Association offers a number of scholarships to bowling fans, with dollar amounts ranging from $1,000 to $2,500.
- Star Trek scholarship: If you are an active member of the Starfleet Academy (a club of Star Trek fans) and attend any type of post-high school learning institution, you could receive a $500 scholarship.
- Zolp scholarship: If you were born with the last name Zolp and you happen to be Catholic, Loyola University will award you its Zolp Scholarship. The amount is unspecified, but any amount would be some compensation for being born with the last name Zolp.
Other ways to trim costs There are other inventive ways to trim the cost of obtaining a college education:
- Cooperative education (co-op) programs are offered by many universities, and allow students to combine a job with their college education. It’s much less expensive and often makes it easier to get hired after earning a degree.
- Make appropriate adjustments in family assets. Financial aid formulas favor some tax-deferred accounts. Clients should work with a financial professional who is knowledgeable in this field to determine if moving some assets into a tax-advantaged status may help qualify a student for financial aid.
- Earn college credits while still in high school. Take advanced placement (AP) classes, if possible. Take “dual enrollment” classes if they are offered. You can take those credits with you when you start college. Look into College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams. Depending on the college and depending on your score, you may be able to trim a year out of the process.
- Start with a community college. If you go for a couple of years to a community college and then transfer to a more expensive school, you will get the same diploma as everyone else while saving a considerable amount of money.
All things considered, money is only green, wrinkled paper and numbers on a page, unless it has a purpose. I see too many people forfeit a sound retirement plan because their resources are drained in an effort to keep up with obligations, either real or perceived, to other family members. How sad it is to see someone generous of spirit left in undesirable straits through lack of planning.
As a professional planner, I work with budgets. From my experience in dealing with hundreds of situations, I believe that by the simple act of categorizing and prioritizing, we can balance our load when it comes to caring for family members. In most cases, we can do right by them without killing our own chances of a reliable retirement plan in the process.
Coach Pete and his team offer complimentary retirement strategy sessions to Chapelboro readers. Contact them at 919-657-4201.
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