“College Campus Shopping, Food for Thought for Parents”
As families prepare to embark on college campus tours with their high schoolers, financial expert Beth Walker has some important advice: think of shopping for college as you would for a home. Walker, who is the author of “Buying College Better” and “Never Pay Retail for College,” emphasizes the importance of budgeting and planning ahead when it comes to college expenses.
Walker recommends that families start thinking about college affordability as early as 9th or 10th grade to ensure that parents and students are on the same page. She warns against the common pitfall of students applying and getting accepted to schools that are out of their financial reach, leading to a heavy burden of debt.
Mike McKinnon, from the National Institute of Certified College Planners, defines the ideal college as one where a student can be happy, safe, successful, and graduate with a marketable degree with minimal debt. He advises families not to automatically assume that Ivy League schools or other high-prestige institutions are the best choice, especially if it means taking on significant financial strain.
Todd Fothergill, founder of Strategies for College, echoes the sentiment that it’s crucial to assess affordability early on. Fothergill created a free calculator called CostHero to help parents determine their financial resources available for college expenses. The calculator provides a range of affordability and a debt-to-income score to help families make informed decisions.
Fothergill also developed ListHero, which gauges a student’s competitiveness at a given school and their eligibility for tuition discounts based on reported data from admissions officers. He advises students to focus on applying to schools where they have a strong chance of being in the top 25% of admitted students to maximize their chances for merit-based aid.
In addition to financial planning, students can take steps during high school to reduce college costs, such as excelling on standardized tests, taking AP courses, or finding opportunities for free college-level courses. By starting the research and budgeting process early, families can avoid undue stress and financial hardship down the road. Walker emphasizes the importance of being intentional about the college selection process to set students up for success in the future.
