The information below is meant to be a primer on how to select, apply and pay for college.  These tips are just the “tip of the iceberg” and are, by no means, a comprehensive guide. If you have questions or need individual help, please refer to the College Consulting subpage or contact me at 717-476-0166.  More detailed information can also be found on my links page.


There is no one “right college” for you!
There are probably multiple colleges that will fit you.  There are over 3,800 Colleges, Universities, Trade and Technical Schools in the United States.  The trick is to start the process early and find the schools that fit you best.  Granted, in order to do this, you must know what you are looking for.  Personality assessments, talking with recent high school graduates and current college students along with their families will help you in this pursuit. 

How many years of school?
Students and parents must understand the different levels of educational attainment before they select the one that best fits their individual situation.  Some students are better suited getting specialized training (a few months to 24 months) at a trade or technical school or an associate’s degree (2 years, usually at a community college) as opposed to a bachelors degree (4 years).  Some students wish to combine their bachelors and masters degrees at the same institution while others want to graduate and pursue graduate work (masters, doctorate) later in life.

Why is college selection so important?
In addition to the fact that the better job that you do with college selection, the easier the application process will be, consider that only about 51% of all students who start college finish a four year degree within six years.  The US is in the top five of proportion of young people who go to college but 16th in proportion of people who finish!  Further exacerbating this is the fact that approximately 67% of all college students change their majors.  There is a gigantic push in our country to go to college but many students do so without careful consideration of a setting that has multiple options for them should they decide to change their majors.

Pick a major
For most students, this is a good starting point.  Realistically, many students change their minds on college majors.  Job shadowing is helpful in either ruling out an intended major or confirming a student’s idea as to what possible jobs may interest them.

Size matters
One of the biggest complaints that lead to dissatisfaction and transfer is that the school is either too big or too small for the student.  Most students figure this out after they have arrived on campus for freshman year.  Smart students go for a visit and then a second overnight visit to get a more genuine feel for the campus.  This second visit usually helps a student to determine if that campus truly does fit them.  Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond?

How close to home?
So many students say they want to get as far away as possible but regret that choice once they have gotten there.  I have found that there is an approximately 200 mile comfort zone for the average teenager.  If they are outside of this comfort zone for extended periods of time, they tend to get homesick.  This can lead to a difficulty attaching to the campus and an increase in the risk of a desire to transfer.  A true residential experience means moving away from home and becoming independent.  This is tough to do if you live too close to home while attending college.  There are many exceptions to this rule so test yourself by spending varied amounts of time away from home while you are still in high school to gauge how far is too far.

Visit early and often
The best way to begin to find out what schools fit you best is to visit as many as possible.  This needs to start while you are in your early years of secondary schooling.  If you do not begin the process in earnest until senior year of high school, you are behind!  Thoughtful students visit the campus, take a tour and sit through an information session.  Smart students go back for an additional overnight visit to get a better feel for the campus.  When you visit, talk to students around campus not connected to the admissions office to get a better perspective on the good, the bad, and the ugly that many students are happy to share with potential classmates.

Long list
At some point in the process, you need to develop a long list of colleges.  This long list should include schools that fit you based on your specific search criteria. Ideally, this list should have between 25-50 schools.  Some students use college guides to help in the process but there are many helpful links (see my links page) that will help you streamline this process.

In order to arrive at a long list, reorder these criteria based on your preferences:
Cost
Location/Distance from……
Size/Student Body Demographics
Majors
Housing
Academic Rigor
Selectivity (GPA/Rank/SAT)
Physical Facilities (Library/Gym)
Faculty-Student Ratio
Name recognition
Honors Programs
Compaction Options
Pre-Professional vs. Liberal Arts

Taking a long list down to a short list
Once you have your long list of colleges, the next step is to narrow it down to a shorter, more manageable list.  Attending college fairs, visiting a college’s website, taking virtual tours, and talking with representatives who visit your school will help you in this step.

Sticker shock - expect it
Once you total up the tuition, room, board, fees, books, etc and consider that you will be spending that amount for four to five years, plus inflation - you will arrive at the conclusion that college is not affordable.  More on that concept in the pay section below.  In order to have a solid list of schools that may fit, just accept that the cost may be daunting but you are going to take a big leap of faith and assume that the funding will be there in some type of financial aid package.

College fairs can be a big waste of time.
If you spend your time at a college fair wandering up and down aisles, collecting free pens and hoping that you will “discover” the perfect school, you will likely waste your time!  Go to college fairs with a game plan.  Do a search of schools based on your intended major and find out which of these schools will be attending before you even get to the fair.  Figure out who you want to talk to in-depth.  If that booth is busy, skip it and come back later.  Talk with the representative in depth about what you are looking for in a school.  If it seems as though it may not be a good fit, be bold and ask the representative who they would recommend in your situation.  I know this can be intimidating but I have found that most of these representatives really do want to help you find the school that is right for you, even if it is not their school.  Chances are they know far more about numerous colleges at the fair seeing as many of these representatives travel together on these college fair circuits every year.  At each of these booths, ask them who they think they compete with for potential students and consider visiting these booths also.  Only after you have done this, should you go wandering the aisles.

Local vs. National College Fairs
Try to get to a local college fair (one that has about 100-150 schools represented that all hail from your general geographic region) as early on in high school as possible.  This may be a matter of just showing up and not accomplishing much as a ninth grader, but it will be helpful to get over the hesitation of going up to a table and talking to a stranger. Try to get to a national college fair in tenth or eleventh grade as this will help to broaden your search and test the theory of staying close to home versus going far away to school.

Go deep
In addition to visiting and attending college fairs, go deeper than the surface level information that is available.  Ask to be connected with a professor who teaches in the department of your intended major.  Sit in on a class and speak with students in that major.  Request an interview, if your potential school does this, so that you can address questions in greater detail while allowing the school to get a better idea of who you are.

What role do rankings play in the process?
Americans love lists.  Rankings are lists. Often times, families will rely on rankings as a point of reference.  Do not fall into the trap of thinking that a numerical ranking in a certain magazine is the true benchmark of quality.  For instance, did you know that 25% of one of the most popular rankings come from opinion surveys of fellow college administrators.  That’s right….it is a fancy popularity contest.  I have known many students who pursue certain colleges because of the name recognition, only to find themselves much more content at a less well known school.  College rankings turn the process into a game in that some families strive for the right  bumper sticker to put on the back of the car announcing to all those lucky enough to be following them down the road that their son or daughter attends a particular school.  College admission is not a trophy to be won, it is a step towards seeking out higher education and hopefully launching you into a successful career. 

Popular vs. Good
What makes a college popular?  What makes a college good?  Each of us has our own opinion on this but there are some things to look for.  Popularity and/or a high ranking is not always indicative of a school that will be a good fit.

What makes a college popular?
Number of applications received
Selectivity (how many are accepted versus how many applied)
High average SAT scores or GPA’s of incoming freshman class
Famous alumni
Creative marketing
Good football/basketball team
Attractive/persuasive tour guides
Proximity of the closest beach or Starbucks store

What makes a college good?
Ability to interact with professors
Yield (how many are accepted versus how many enroll)
Is it the best fit/match for an individual student’s search criteria?
Percentage of students moving on to graduate schools (and what schools)
Results of student surveys such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

Retention (Rigor?)
Does the school you are looking at have a fantastic retention rate (the number of students who stay enrolled)?  If there are few drop-outs and transfers, is that because the school has designed a highly effective mentoring/advising program for freshmen?  Or is it a sign that the academics are not all that challenging?  In the same respect, consider that a lower than expected retention rate may indicate that the academic program is extremely challenging and therefore it is a high quality school.  A low retention rate may also indicate that a school has an epidemic of students dropping out or transferring.

Don’t follow the herd.
Avoid the herd mentality.  Don’t select a specific school primarily because many of your high school friends or a partner in a budding relationship intends to attend there.  Other herd mentality things that you need to watch out for are wanting a major at a specific school because of a TV show that has made a career popular (CSI) or, more recently, a school that has started a game design major because of student interest, but it is still too new to determine the effectiveness.

Get a wall calendar
One of the best steps that you can take to minimize family discord involves buying a monthly wall calendar.  The student should be responsible for updating the calendar with all deadlines and intended submission dates.  The parent is responsible for checking the calendar to see what type of progress is being made.  Post the calendar in a place that it can be seen by all parties.  It will help to cut down on parent frustration because they do not know either what is being done and how soon and student frustration because their parents are too involved in the process or nagging them.


It is not called the Office of Denials!
It is called the Office of Admissions - give them reasons to accept you.  The average selectivity (the percentage of students who are accepted versus how many apply) for all schools combined is about 70%.  Many admissions officers are looking for reasons to accept you! Give them what they want.

How many schools should I apply to?
This is a question repeated over and over again in homes and guidance offices around the country.  If all you are looking for is a number, here it is, you should apply to between one and six schools.  Anymore applications than this and you are probably spending too little time on producing quality applications.  Honestly, the answer to this question is tied into the level of stress that you are capable of handling and how much free time you have.  I encourage students to apply to one safety school (that they know they will get into), two or three target schools (that they think they will get into) and one or two reach schools (that they may not get into based on GPA or SAT score, but they want to try anyway).  Students have been hedging their bets by applying to more schools as the competitive nature of college admissions has been made worse by record number of graduates moving on to college over the past few years.  Sadly, this only adds to the competitive nature of college admissions as some students have collected multiple offers of admissions at schools that they do not intend to go to so that they have a few fallback options.  Meanwhile, students who actually intend to go to those colleges may be edged out because offers of admission have gone out to students in the first group.  I am often reminded of the terms “zero sum game,” or “trickle-down” when describing this to students.

When do most students apply?
Most students finally submit their applications between the end of November and the end of January.  This usually happens because when Aunt Carol asked the student at the Thanksgiving dinner table where they are applying; mom and dad were embarrassed when their student said that they have not submitted anything yet.  The ride home is tense and the next few weeks are spent in a hyper vigilant state where parents are closely monitoring/helping/nagging their students to “just get it done already!”  Students - do your part to keep the peace - get your applications filled out and sent in early and enjoy telling Aunt Carol all about how you have sent them off and where you hope to get accepted.  Just promise me one thing, you need to make sure that you clearly state to a college if you will be taking the SAT or ACT again so that they do not process your application until they receive all test scores.

Should I apply early?
Yes.  Regardless of what admissions plan your intended schools have, you should apply early on (October) because it sets you apart and shows your ability to be organized and take tasks seriously.

Should I apply through an Early Action, Early Decision Plan?
No.  Unless you read the fine print and understand that caveats associated with the plans at all of your intended schools, do not apply early.  You need to be aware that applying through an early plan at a school that has it may be the only way that you have a fighting chance at being admitted.  At many colleges, applying through their early plans increases your chances of being accepted by 17-35%!

Send it in October
If you are able to collect all of your application materials and send them off by the beginning of October, you should consider yourself a success. Granted, in order to do this, you must begin the college selection process in earnest in your junior year and begin working on your college applications in August, prior to returning to high school for your senior year.  You will need to work on your essays, establish multiple online accounts, and collect letters of reference among other organizational duties at this point in the process.

Send it all in one package
Are you aware of how much paperwork the average admissions office receives on a daily basis during the height of the admissions season?  I’ve seen it for myself and it is staggering!  Make their job easier by sending everything in one package.  This also makes you look good because you come across as a highly organized and focused potential student.

Be different
By sending your application in early, with all of the supporting documentation in one package, you are making a statement to the college.  They will be left with the impression that you are industrious, serious about applying to their school and organized.  All of those traits make you look good, and let’s face it, the goal in submitting your application is to impress the school as a strong candidate for admission.  Another way to be different includes writing up an academic resume.  Do not do this unless you are unable to reflect all of the information well enough in the application.  If you do this and just restate what you have already put down on your application, you are being redundant.

Being different doesn’t mean being cheesy
Sending a cast of your foot (one foot in the door), home baked goodies or anything else that you think will sway the process usually does no good.  Many times, it is counterproductive and can be downright annoying when the admissions staff has seen the same gimmick from different students over the years.  Getting in is not about bribery, swag or goodie bags, it is about how strong of a potential student you are in comparison to all other applicants in that particular year.

Do you really want to come across as lazy?
It amuses me how many students want to know if they “really have to do the essay on the application?”  There are very few cases where it is optional.  If you chose not to do it, you are not allowing the admissions office to get a better sense of who you are, how you write, and what is most important to you.  A carefully crafted essay is not dashed off at 11 p.m. so a student can “just get it over with.”  It should be drafted, proofed, re-written and carefully reviewed by those who know the student best to ensure that it has no errors and it hits the intended target.

How not to bore an essay reader
Be unique.  Every year, admissions officers sit for many hours straight, plowing through applications.  This usually takes place in the dead of winter, when there is very little daylight.  So many students use the same essay topics that it becomes a “parade of the same” broken up by a few unique, well-written essays.  I have found that the more essay examples a student reads, the easier it is to determine what makes an essay more interesting.  There are many example essays available online and you can find links to them on my links page.

What if I am not funny?
This is not the time to experiment with new writing styles.  If you are not funny, don’t try to write a funny essay.  If you are funny, make sure that it would be funny to an average adult by having multiple adults that you trust read it for you.  If many people give you a puzzled look and do not “get it,” then it may be time to pick a different type of essay.

How to get the best letters of recommendation
Devise a cheat sheet that the teacher can use that includes your academic credentials, adjectives that describe you and remind them of particular situations or anecdotes that you would like them to highlight.  Almost all teachers will appreciate this as opposed to feeling like you are being too pushy.  Give them plenty of time to complete the letter as more popular teachers are asked by many students and usually develop a backlog.  If you want them to mail it for you, give them an addressed and stamped envelope.  Ask two or three teachers, one in a major subject and one in the subject area that you intend to study.  Ask someone else (coach, manager at your job) for a letter also as they can include information about your character that may be addressed differently than by your teachers.

When do I interview?
Some campuses have admissions officers who interview students, some use current students and some use alumni.  Some schools mandate interviews, some schools will conduct them if requested and others will not do them even if you ask.  This is why it is important to be genuine in your application.  There are many ways to come across as impressive in an interview and if you will be facing this task in your admissions process and need individual help, feel free to contact me.

What if they only accept between 9-25% of all those who apply?
If you are applying to a highly selective college (competitive college), you must understand all facets of the admissions process (the rules), the background and qualities of other students who usually apply (the competition) and you must formulate a strategy (game plan) in order to have a chance to receive an acceptance letter.  I mean no disrespect to college admissions staff by correlating parts of the process to a game, but it helps to think in these terms in order to take such a daunting task and begin to examine how you will go about earning an acceptance letter at a competitive college.  First ask yourself, do I have the credentials (SAT, GPA, Class rank)?  Then consider how you fit them (what will I contribute to their campus)?  Then how do they fit you (will you be happy there)?  Lastly, and most importantly, what makes you so special as compared to so many other qualified applicants that the school will have to say no to.

BWRK vs. Angular
An admissions term that has become popular in the past few years is angular.  Colleges used to look for bright, well rounded kids (BWRK), they now get excited when they come across an angular student who is involved in a few things but is a superstar in one or two.  There are many ways to be angular.  It really comes down to what excites you, how have you created learning opportunities beyond the classroom and can you back it up with examples of how you have actively pursued your passion?

What are some of the “Tip Factors” that may make me a unique applicant?
This depends on the school.  From year to year, certain types of students, or groups of students, are recruited more heavily.  Keep in mind that grades in your college prep courses, standardized tests scores, class rank and essay are four of the most important factors in admissions (according to the NACAC Admissions Trends Survey).  Tip factors are those factors that may play an important role in the process.  Maybe you play the oboe, maybe you come from a distant geographic region, maybe you represent an underrepresented group or will be seeking out an undersubscribed major.  There are many factors that could be considered tip factors but the one constant is that they change from year to year and from school to school.  Keep in mind that admissions officers are building a freshman class and they are looking at the big picture. 

What do you mean it is not there?
If you apply online, the moment you complete your application and pay for it online, your file is marked incomplete because you need to have a transcript (and possibly other documents) matched up to your file before you can be reviewed.  You are coded as “missing items” and an e-mail will be sent periodically reminding you of this.  Expect that this will happen and know that there is a lag time between when these documents are sent (usually in the mail) and when they are posted to your file and your file is coded as being ready to be reviewed.  This lag time varies for schools depending on how many files are open at any one time.

What happens after I send in my application?
After your file is complete, you are reviewed.  At some schools, this may mean a numeric calculation based on GPA and SAT score.  At most schools, it involves a more personal approach.  After review by one or more admissions officers, either a decision is made or you are presented to a larger committee.  You are then accepted, denied, deferred or waitlisted, in which case you will need to submit additional data, mid-year grades, updated test scores, and any other supporting documentation that adds to your overall appeal to that particular school.

Congratulations………..now give us some cash.
When you receive your acceptance letter, it will contain information on depositing.  Students usually send in a deposit to the school that they have selected at whatever point in the process that they are ready to commit.  This secures their place in the incoming freshman class.  It also shows the college that the student is serious about attending and they begin to plan accordingly (housing assignments, class size projections, staffing needs).  There is a standard Candidate Reply Date of May 1st for students who may want more time to decide or may need to wait to compare financial aid packages.  If you are going to wait to reply until later in the process, it is best to correspond with the school to tell them this so that you can be coded accordingly.  Most students send back the deposit and then begin to focus on housing, meal plans, placement testing and orientation.  Do not be among the small amount of students who double deposit.  A small number of students send in a deposit to two schools.  They think that by reserving a spot at two schools they can extend their decision making period.  It only serves to keep another student who will gladly attend that school from being able to do so until you formally back out and open up another spot.  Think of it this way, would you want to be one of two people that your date asked to the prom and you made plans only to find out at the last minute that another person will be attending your prom with your date?

Additional areas that you may need help with:
Standardized testing
How a business card, website or PowerPoint can set you apart
Consistent style/theme in your application
Academic index   
Recalculated GPA & Rank
Visitation game plan
Expressed interest


I strongly encourage you to College Gold by Mark Kantrowitz.  It is one of the best books that I have read on the financial aid process.  So many financial aid books are either glorified scholarship listings or so full of technical jargon that they are barely comprehensible by many families.  This book is different in that it is easy to read and understand.  One concept that Dr. Kantrowitz discusses is the need to think of college funding as three equal parts.  One third of your ability to fund college should come from savings (past), one third from your current income (present) and one third from your debt threshold/willingness to take on loans (future).

Don’t pick a college based on sticker price
Even if you complete all of your financial aid paperwork in a timely fashion, you will most likely not receive your financial aid package until March or April of your senior year.  This means that you are taking a big leap of faith during the college selection and application process.  It also means that you should include at least one school that you believe that you can afford with little to no financial aid (a financial aid “safety school”).

Three main types of financial aid:
Grants/Scholarships
Loans
Work study

Grants
Grants are usually based on student and parent income and assets.  There are both federal and state grant programs.  Additionally, there are some school based grants which are also referred to as institutional grants.  Grants are like scholarships in that they do not have to be paid back.

Scholarships are not financial aid
I’ll bet that got your attention!  So many students and parents hear someone say financial aid and instantly switch into thinking about scholarships.  Scholarships only make up about 7% of all financial aid.  So why is it that there is such a focus on only 7% of the pie?  Free money, that’s why.  Scholarships don’t have to be paid back and that is why there are so many websites, articles, reputable information and illegitimate information surrounding scholarships.

Loans
Many families seek out loans through the Stafford and PLUS loan program.  How many loans and what terms you secure change drastically based on present and future considerations.  Before you seek out loans, it would be wise to enlist the help of a financial planner in order to ensure that your college funding strategy does not impede your ability to meet other debts and responsibilities (both now and in the future).  Recently, there has been an increase in the number of families who also seek out home equity and personal loans in order to help fund their college expenses.  Alternative loans have been increasing in popularity as the cost of college goes up.  These loans are marketed well but have many strings attached so please maximize your opportunities to borrow through the Stafford and PLUS loan programs before seeking these out.  While the amount of debt that you are willing to take on depends on many financial considerations, consider that the average debt load for students who borrow money to help pay for college is just above $20,000 and climbing every year.

Work study
Work study is a job (usually on campus) that pays the students a paycheck as they work through the weeks in a semester.  I have dealt with some students who are able to work off-campus making more than they would through work study so if you will be taking advantage of work study, consider your options and how they may change as you get more familiar with the town around your college.

What do FAFSA, EFC, SAR, DRN and FICO mean?
Who cares?  Well, you should!  These acronyms may affect you down the road in the financial aid process.  You can find a financial aid glossary on my links page to help decode the many acronyms that are a part of the financial aid process.
   
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
This is probably the most important financial aid form that you will fill out.  Unfortunately, for some families, it is an exercise in futility.  Based on your income, you may not qualify for much.  This reality has caught many a parent by surprise.  The fact remains that you will not know what you qualify for and you may be excluded from certain programs unless you submit a FAFSA form.  While the FAFSA form causes stress in many households, it is free to fill out.  Additionally, there are companies that will assist you, for a fee, with filling it out.  There are also many workshops hosted by financial aid offices and state financial aid agencies that are designed to help demystify the form.  The form should be filled out after taxes have been done.  For most families, this is around the beginning of February of the student’s senior year.  Some families opt to fill it out earlier in the year submit the numbers that they project will be the final numbers and then submit a FAFSA update or correction form later on in the process.  Unless your intended school pushes for this, it is advisable to use the FAFSA4caster (www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov) to find out what federal financial aid you might qualify for.

CSS/Financial Aid Profile
If you think the FAFSA is bad, imagine having to fill out an additional, more comprehensive financial aid form.  Some schools require a second form called the CSS Profile and those schools are listed on the College Board website.  Unlike the FAFSA, this form may be started in the fall of the student’s senior year.  There is a fee to file this form, so ensure that you must do it before beginning the process.

Scholarships
If you will be applying for scholarships, it would behoove you to secure a copy of your school’s local scholarship listing/bulletin.  This is where the most active scholarship seekers maximize their time as fewer students are competing for local scholarships.  In addition to staying on top of local scholarship opportunities, it is wise to conduct a national scholarship search in the spring of your junior year and again in the fall, winter and spring of your senior year.  There are many scholarship search engines available online to help you conduct your search for free.

Scholarship scams
The Federal Trade Commission has set up a website devoted to making sure that you do not get scammed while you are looking for scholarships (www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams).  If you receive an invitation to a local hotel for a meeting regarding financial aid and you are not sure if it is legitimate, bring the invitation in to your high school counselor and ask for their input.  Some of these meetings have good content while some are designed to scare you into parting with your money in the hopes of learning the secrets of qualifying for more financial aid.

Why didn’t I find the true cost of attendance on the college’s website?
Many students and families see a figure on the college’s website or in their literature and are misled into thinking that figure will be what they have to pay.  Usually, the tuition is well publicized but you need to dig deeper to figure out what the real cost will be.

Expected Cost of Attendance (ECA)
ECA is a figure that represents what it will cost you to attend a certain school.  ECA includes tuition, room, board, travel, fees, books, supplies personal expenses.  Because this figure is different from student to student, it is usually not as well publicized as the tuition.

Just tell me what to do and when to do it!
So many students and parents get exasperated and tell me this line.  I don’t blame them, it is not laziness, it is related to the confusion that is inherent when dealing with financial aid.  In December you should be gathering and organizing financial documents, getting PIN #’s (to sign the FAFSA electronically) and conducting a credit check to ensure that there are not unaddressed blemishes in either the student or parent(s) credit histories.  In January, taxes should be filed and the FAFSA should be submitted along with (possibly) the CSS Profile.  In February, you will receive a Student Aid Report that informs you of your Expected Family Contribution (what you are projected to be able to afford to pay out of pocket for the next year’s college bills).  In March and April, financial aid award letters begin to get sent out.  This is also the time when families secure loan applications and promissory notes.  Over the summer, students receive the bill for the first semester.

Apples to apples
When the time comes to compare award letters, do your best to take the numbers off of the different award letters and put them on a common spreadsheet.  Almost all award letters are formatted differently and this causes further confusion.  Very few parents take the data and put it into a spreadsheet, but I can attest to the fact that those who do find it to be a valuable resource in comparing the schools in a side-by-side fashion.

I’ll take a year off and work = boneheaded move
When a student tells me they are planning on taking a year off to work and save for college, I try to dissuade them for two reasons.  First, life happens.  I have seen so many students graduate, intend to go to college after a year, then something happens and it is five to ten years before they are able to get their life in order and attend college.  Second, approximately 20% of the student’s income is a primary factor in what needs to be paid, out of pocket, for college before other aid sources are utilized.  Students usually understand that even though they are being industrious, they are making a poor financial decision by working for a year because it may mean that they qualify for far less financial aid.  Family obligations, economic conditions and other factors may, however, override this concern and make it necessary for the student to work as much as possible.  In this case, I would recommend that the student enrolls on a part time basis while working.

Creative financing
There are many other creative ways to address your financial concerns.  If you need in-depth help in this area and want to contact someone who focuses solely on College Financial Planning, I would direct you to the National Institute of Certified Financial Planners (www.niccp.com).  Other considerations may include websites that provide links between consumers and private citizens willing to make loans are available online.  Payment plans are available at almost all campuses in order to help with short term funding issues.  529 Plans have become increasingly popular over the past few years and there are two main types.  Prepaid Tuition Plans allow you to buy tomorrow’s credits at today’s prices.  College Savings Plans sometimes also fall under 529 territory and they are more of an investment plan that can grow or shrink in value.  Affinity programs such as UPromise are another way to build up value in the years preceding college.

Sobering statistics
The Consumer Price Index (benchmark for inflation) usually runs at about 3%.  Over the past few decades, college tuition inflation has increased at a rate (6%), which is double that of inflation.  This means that the value of a tuition dollar has been diluted very quickly over time.  One explanation for this is because many colleges have raced to keep up with each other and have taken on huge building projects.  This, in addition to rising energy prices and other economic factors, has led to tuition rates rising at a breakneck pace.