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CIP Preparing for College
Guide for Parents: Ten Steps to Prepare Your Child for College
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Investigate and choose a
savings vehicle.
There are many options available, including U.S. Savings Bonds,
bank accounts, mutual funds, and state savings or prepaid tuition
plans.
- Begin saving as early as possible.
Whatever savings vehicle you choose, you will be much better off if you
start saving early. For example, if you put aside $50 per month starting
when your child is born, at 5 percent interest, you will have saved more
than $17,000 when your child is 18. If you start saving the same amount
monthly when your child is 8 years old, you will have saved only $7,000
by the time your child is ready for college.
Elementary and Middle School
- Encourage your child to
challenge him or herself academically, develop good study habits, and
become involved in school- and community-based extracurricular
activities.
A positive school experience that is both academically
challenging and rich in extracurricular activities is important in
itself and as preparation for college.
- Discuss career and college
options with your child and encourage his or her aspirations.
Many students assume that higher education is not for them or
that the jobs they are interested in don't require college. Today, some
form of formal postsecondary education or training is required for
almost every well-paying job. With $60 billion in financial aid
available, college is possible for almost every American. So encourage
your child to aim high, explore all the options, and plan to attend
college.
- Make sure your child starts on
a college
preparatory track in middle school or junior
high.
If students don't take the right courses in middle school, they
may be shut out of the college preparatory track in high school.
The U.S. Department of
Education recommends that middle and junior high school
students take Algebra I in 8th Grade, Geometry in 9th Grade, and
English, Science, and History or Geography every year. Foreign language,
computer, and visual or performing art classes are also
recommended.
High School
-
Meet with a guidance counselor
to map out your child's high school
curriculum and familiarize yourself with the college
admissions and financial aid processes.
If your child has taken the right courses in middle school, he or she
should be ready for a college preparatory curriculum in high
school .
Your high school guidance counselor should also be able to provide
you with information on the college admissions and financial
aid processes, or point you
toward the right reference materials.
- Help your children research
colleges and narrow their options.
There are many resources available, both in print and on the Internet,
to help you search for colleges by special characteristics or academic
offerings and learn about specific colleges (check out
the Choosing the Right College
Resource Library). After
you've done some initial research is the right time to add any special
considerations, such as price, distance from home, or religious
affiliation, to your child's list of college options.
Although it is important to make these decisions before your child has
his or her heart set on a specific college, eliminating schools before
you have hard information may limit your child's choices unnecessarily.
For example—after financial aid is taken into
consideration—a private college can cost about the same as a
public institution. Without that information, you might overlook a
college that would be a good fit for your child simply because of an
incorrect understanding of the cost.
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Make sure your child takes any
required college admissions tests and submits all admissions, financial
aid, and–if necessary–campus housing paperwork on time.
Meeting all the requirements of applying for
college is a good lesson
in itself, but most students will require some help. Setting up a
calendar with all the various tasks and deadlines can be very helpful
for both you and your child.
- Learn all you can about
financial aid and assist your child in filling out the application
forms.
Most financial aid comes in the form of grants and scholarships or
low-interest loans. The federal government, states, colleges, and
private organizations all sponsor student aid programs. Colleges will
provide you with the forms you need to apply for most federal, state,
and college aid, and are a great source of information about the various
types of aid available.
In addition, many books and websites are available to help you search
and apply for private scholarships. In most cases, you will have to
supply some information about your family's income and assets on
financial aid application forms, so be sure to have those records
assembled. Visit the Paying for College Resource
Library for more
information on print and Internet resources that can help you to learn
more about this complicated—but vitally
important—topic.
- Devise a budget with your child
and determine how much will be covered by financial aid, how much you'll
provide, and how much your child will contribute by working and/or
borrowing.
After you've received your financial aid award statements, it's
essential to sit down with your child and make a realistic budget that
includes both fixed expenses, such as tuition and books, and variable
items such as rent, clothing, and transportation. Once you have
completed your budget and subtracted the grant and scholarship aid your
child has been awarded, you can determine how much you will contribute
and how much your child will have to come up with from savings,
earnings, and student loans. Your child could end up working long hours
while in college or borrowing more than she really needs unless she
puts herself on a budget and makes conscious decisions about how
she'll meet her financial obligations.
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