Turn off the boob-tube and the Play Station and haul your butt to that student loan/financial aid workshop.

The “We Don’t Qualify” Syndrome

According to many financial aid experts, too many families are of the belief that they just don’t fit into the financial aid scheme, not qualified for state or federal aid, won’t be eligible for any scholarships or grants. In most cases, they are wrong.

Not only this, but the whole financial aid process has become one big mish-mash of processes, that should require you have something akin to an agent to decipher. Okay, so you don’t get a personal agent, but there is a new movement afoot: financial aid workshops. The Rocky Mount Telegram today reports,

“As seniors grind through the final months of their high school careers, now is the time for those planning to attend college to think about their options to pay for it. It’s a process with many nuances, and one that financial aid advisors say is often misunderstood.”

The New Trend in Financial Aid

In our era of self-help books and workshops for everything from cooking to healthcare, investing and retirement planning, of course the trendiest new workshop movement is student financial aid.

From catchy workshop names like the “Cash for College” workshops offered to students in California, slated for a run of well over 300 programs, to on the spot scholarships such as the $1,000 award offered at the regionally offered Sallie Mae Paying for College workshops, are becoming a necessity.

College Goal Sunday is a nationwide program that was so successful when it first was launched in Indiana that now the program, with funding from generous organizations like USA Group, Lilly and Lumina Foundation, is available in almost every state. Students and parents are encouraged to attend beginning early in their high school careers. For those on the brink of college, Coal Goal Sunday leaders even offer help with FAFSA filing. The form is long, complex and leaves many families alienated from the process:

“Many students don’t access the thousands of dollars in aid available from the government, or don’t make it through the complicated application process, college administrators say. The money could benefit students forced to drop out for financial reasons.”

College Goal Sunday time is now. Check the website for workshops in your area.

Today’s Scholarship Good Word

Are you a high school female with even the slightest interest in pole vault?

Seriously, if you can manage an 11-foot vault, you could win a college scholarship for the pole vault. A component of the Track and Field arena, pole vault has only welcomed women for the last ten years and it is currently one of the most wide-open fields for a female athlete as far as scholarships go.

College costs are a leading topic of conversation in the higher education realm, especially when FAFSA season rolls around. It’s human nature. At tax time the talk is about taxes, at Christmas it’s about all the money we’re putting out on gifts and so on. When it’s in, it’s in.

Putting Off the Inevitable

Right now there are even more college cost conversations underway, many that have sat dormant and now are all rising to a big head. Each year about this time parents have the job of sitting down and completing their college-bound kids’ FAFSA form. In order to do that a careful summarization of their last year’s income is tallied and submitted online to get back the dreaded Expected Family Contribution (EFC)—a figure that ranks your eligibility for and level of financial aid.

Expected Family Contribution—a Narrow-minded Figure

The manner in which the EFC is calculated is the same throughout the U.S. Newsday today raises the question: what about families who live in areas with a very high cost of living? For example, what about families who live in California, or New York, New Jersey and Connecticut; their income may seem “well-to-do” compared to many in the country, but

“The government’s formula for determining financial aid, used by many of the nation’s 2,533 colleges, factors income but does not account for the costs of housing, energy, insurance or sales and property taxes.”

Neglected or Overlooked Processes Cost Too

For some maybe it is the EFC that strings them precariously along the financial aid spectrum, for others, reports the New York Times (“Cracking the Books for Financial Aid to College,” Chura), college costs may mount in more elusive places, like simple ignorance of the whole process, such as deadlines and availability of aid resources, the limits of 529 accounts and a slew of other factors:

“People shortchange themselves if they wait to understand their options until they are in the thick of filling out aid applications.”

For those who have some investments and the recommended 529 accounts, apparently there are “mistakes” that can be made that cost you even more when all is said and done:

“Mistakes range from giving money directly to a minor to selling investments in the year that an aid application is made.”

For example, many parents have had the wherewithal to open custodial accounts and/or 529s, but they must have enough advance notice on college plans to be able to use them effectively. Using funds improperly, even the financial differences between types of colleges and programs, could cost in fees, lost interest and other ways that may just be too late to see.

Half Empty or Half Full?

Again, many Americans simply neglect financial chores, the FAFSA and other aid forms being big chores. Miss deadlines for financial aid and you stand to lose thousands. If you don’t look for scholarships, you also stand to lose. They have deadlines, too, by the way.

Add up everything you have to lose and it’s enough to drive you to drink, but think about all you may gain, and you may just pull out all those forms you’ve stacked up and simply get it done.

Your world of scholarships might seem a tangle of long-standing college endowments, perpetual merit and need-based awards and perennial corporate-sponsored “big” prizes like Coca Cola Scholars and Microsoft Scholarships. But even these scholarships had a beginning once upon a time, most likely heralded by press releases and blurbs in local or national news lines. You’ve come to take them for granted. They are just there.

With scholarships quickly taking on the visage of a business necessity these days, it’s important to recognize the nature of such a business.

Origin of a Species

Whether you know it or not, each new day, or week, often is greeted by scholarship news from somewhere: “college/university adds more money to its coffers,” “company Z launches new scholarship,” “celeb sponsors scholarship.”

Your scholarship search is a dynamic process. The playing field is changing daily.

So given the fact that scholarships should be big news, but likely only hang out in the bigger maw of media, how do you best go about keeping current and ahead of the scholarship pack?

The Early Bird…

I propose that one way to get a leg-up in college scholarships is to simply be good at surfing the net, including the ability to quickly scan and dispose of information at the speed of light and an eye for what’s important to your needs. Almost all the current news you could possibly take in is flung out into cyber space on a 24/7 continuum; it’s non-stop.

If you had been “up” on the current Education news bites over the last week, and poked and prodded the maw of material to cull only those newsworthy for scholarships, you would have accumulated a fresh scholarship list that looks like this:

• Missouri students could see the state double needs-based scholarships.
• Oklahoma’s OHLAP program to get much-needed funds for longevity.
• 50-KFC Colonel Scholarships; up to $5,000 per to be awarded this year; awards renewable.
• Penn State College of Agri Sci to get $100,000 endowment for undergrad scholarships.
• Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation (SLEMCO) in LA will give 20-$2,000 scholarships to employees and dependents.
• Residents of oil town El Dorado, AR hit the jackpot with $50 million in scholarship dough from local oil company.
• Celeb Alicia Keyes new scholarships–$5,000 to students in NYC, Jacksonville, FL; Atlanta, and New Orleans.

Well, this is actually only a partial list. Which underscores my point. These snippets represent millions of dollars in scholarship news, happening as we speak.

Accessing Information

Get the latest Education news en masse via RSS feed or on Google News, my preferred method. Information too overwhelming? Chop out the unnecessary vegetation with a more granular filter/search term like “college scholarships.”

You find the programs that may work for you with daily diligence; overlook something and you could miss out. Remember: the early bird gets the worm.

If you are seeking an online degree consider going to a college which helps subsidize your education costs via financial aid.

The Online Education Database recently commissioned a study which ranked accredited online schools by the percentage of students who are receiving financial aid.

Over 50% of students at the top 10 ranked online universities receive tuition assistance, with Grand Canyon University coming out on top.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Affirmative Action is under fire in the college/university realm. At the epicenter is Michigan, which has recently passed a proposition—a.k.a. the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative,—a la California’s Proposition 209 passed in 1996. California’s landmark law made it illegal for state colleges and universities, as well as any other public institution, to consider college admissions and financial aid on the basis of gender, color, race, creed or nationality.

But for the last few decades that is exactly how colleges and universities have diversified. The last decade itself saw scads of science, engineering and technology (SET) scholarships targeted specifically and unabashedly to minorities and women. If you listen to such watch-dog organizations as the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) then you will likely be influenced to believe that higher education is now turned on its ear racially. Others argue for the gender side—white males are a minority on college campuses, thanks to years of preferential scholarships for minorities and women.

Yes, it’s one big messy Pandora’s Box and everyone has a gripe.

How We Do “Race-Blind”?

“Race-blind” is the new buzzword in college admissions. But the issue encompasses gender as well. For college students all this political rhetoric and positioning portends a muddle of scholarship and financial aid shifts, including careful rewording of applications and criteria and selection rationale. But will it change anything, really?

The New York Times (Colleges Regroup After Voters Ban Race Preferences, Lewin) today suggests that colleges and universities en masse will scramble to find their way around the issues, alter application criteria to include more ambiguous terms all the while staying ON race:

“At Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, a new admissions policy, without mentioning race, allows officials to consider factors like living on an Indian reservation or in mostly black Detroit, or overcoming discrimination or prejudice.”

Popular Vote—Who’s Popular?

Michigan’s Proposition 2, it’s noted, was passed by a “popular vote” of 52 to 48, “despite strong opposition from government, business, labor, education and religious leaders.” Since the issue now polarizes voters, and it’s unclear how many of those are college students registered to vote, the question becomes WHO exactly is getting out the vote?

If you’re looking at colleges, especially public, this will likely affect you, regardless of your color, race, creed or sex. And the issue is becoming pervasive:

“Both defenders and opponents of affirmative action say the lesson of last fall’s campaign in Michigan…is that such initiatives can succeed almost anywhere.”

It would be interesting if the demographics of the vote in Michigan were available; for instance, how many African American, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and women voted for the measure? Better yet, how telling it might be to actually see the numbers of registered college voters that participated. Because once all is said and done this may be THE minority group we’re talking about.

Even though the CEO and others may argue that race is sucking the life out of college admissions and financial aid, there are just as many others that argue killing Affirmative Action will assuredly set off a juggernaut of racial inequality on campuses across the U.S. How do they suppose that?

Race-Blind Undoes Diversity Measures

Follow-up to the California Proposition 209 and similar measures in Texas have proven the theory. UCLA’s numbers on Blacks, Hispanics and Asians entering next gen classes have been incrementally dropping since 209 was passed. In fact, according to the NYT Black freshmen at UCLA are at a “30-year low.” Texas universities revealed similar scores, which subsequently impelled officials to once again include race in the admissions criteria for public universities.

Since it seems that nationwide campus diversity will continue to be a bugaboo for institutions regardless of the “popular vote,” which I’d argue is largely post-college, what can be done to maintain fairness and diversity?

Wayne State University in Detroit set one of its law professors on the problem. His job was to develop a workable plan that jumps through Michigan’s new legal measures, while at the same time it discreetly circumnavigates the brouhaha. Carefully worded language and rephrased criteria that summarily avoid the word “race,” instead troll for students based on:

“…first in the family to go to college or graduate school; having overcome substantial obstacles, including prejudice and discrimination; being multilingual; and residence abroad, in Detroit or on an Indian reservation.”

New Age of Scholarships and Financial Aid

Yes, there are changes afoot, but how drastically they will change is hard to say. Colleges and universities know they must find a way to stay the course with diversity measures at the same time they must respect the law. In the future you will find that your “disadvantage,” whatever it may be, must be approached from a more subtle aspect. Students who mention race, gender and any other Affirmative Action-related labels and terms may be pushed aside in the name of the law.

Do you write about politics?

If so, please submit your application for the chance to win $2000 towards your college education.

You can read more about this contest at The Political Scholarship page.

Also, you may nominate a friend if you yourself are not eligible. Good luck to all!

CNN has reported on a recent survey in which it seems a surprising sample of college students prove their “first choice” was just too expensive.

Over 270,000 students were surveyed for the annual UCLA Higher Education Research Institute poll. This perennial poll is a tool that’s been useful over the years for underscoring current collegiate tides and emerging trends. This newest current is fomented by the fact that college costs continue to rise faster than other costs in life:

“Average tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose more than 6 percent last year to $4,836, and prices are up 35 percent over the last five years…”

A few days ago, we noted the latest interest cuts accorded to big student loan providers in the realm of federal loans, all in the name of making college more affordable. A White House statement associated with the cuts called on colleges and universities to take their responsibility to heart for the unchecked tuition costs. These additional findings will, of course, continue to sharpen the criticism of college pricing.

Savvy Shoppers

Think you are the only one to be concerned about first-choice costs? Get this: nearly one third of the close to 50% who’d gotten into their first choice, ended up at a second, third or fourth choice due to cost issues.

“ The survey found 32.7 percent of freshmen were attending college somewhere besides their first choice — the highest percentage since 1988 and the second-highest ever.”

College students are among the newest savvy shoppers: many pick the top schools, and for the most part get accepted. And like smart shoppers, they opt for the deal at the store down the street, where the item is similar, but far more equitably priced. Is there simply a satisfaction in knowing you “made it” into your top pick?

Might the degree and overall experience at Number 2 or 3 be just as valuable as the one turned up at Number 1?

“Many students at second- or third-choice schools flourish, and eventually decide it was the best place all along.”

“Survey Says…”

Because the survey question about “first choice” was new this year, evidence of any trend is still to be collected. Guess we’ll wait patiently for UCLA’s future surveys before we have any conclusive trends taking shape.

The biggest news in “Education” yesterday made headlines in the New York Times (“House Cuts Interest Rate for Some Student Loans,” Schemo), the Chronicle of Higher Education, and every other mainstream rag online and off with their ear to the rail. Seems like the Senate has gone ahead and passed a bill that might cut both ways but not without much ado about it. Essentially the new regulations intend to incrementally slug away at guaranteed student loan interest rates charged by the big corporations, such as the ubiquitous Sallie Mae and Citibank, among a rank of others. The plan slashes interest rates in half over the course of the next five years. The purpose, say scores of bipartisan Senators, is to make college more affordable for the middle class.

“According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the bill would save the average student who starts college next year about $2,300 in interest payments over the life of a 15-year loan.” (NYT)

This is good news for the middle class, right? Or does the political rhetoric serve as smokescreen for the real issue(s)?

Cost of Affordability

Ironically enough, at the same time such legal and political measures are promulgated as beneficial to the constituency, you have to wonder if the ramifications loudly argued by Big Lenders are now set in motion to counter any positive actions—kind of a typical lesson in Newton’s Third: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The bill, of course, costs the government a reported 6 billion dollars. According to the Chronicle, though, the largely Democrat-driven plan delegates a share of the cost to the biggest lenders, whose “profit-margins” will be chopped in the federal loan program:

“’This program, which has been highly reliable and serves students attending 80 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities, cannot sustain annual deep budget cuts without the quality of services to borrowers being hurt,’ the bankers’ group said.” (Chronicle)

Semantics of the Problem

The issue at hand could open a huge Pandora’s box of conjecture on a range of issues. Not only do the new measures seem to pit the college public against the good of big banking, but it also pits small lenders against large and challenges politicians across the board who will not risk alienating their “middle class voters” (NYT). In fact the real issue might be out of this particular ballpark, altogether—the college and universities themselves whose costs rise faster than the middle class paycheck to cover cost of living and inflation.

The only party, surprisingly, that pointed to this neglected player was the White House, which summarily opposes the new measures:

“The White House statement…said access to higher education should be improved by containing costs. The responsibility for helping families, the statement said, ‘must be shared with colleges, which also have a central role in making higher education affordable.’” (NYT)

Maybe we’ve become a nation very much at home negotiating and haggling for our big purchases, including cars and our flea market finds. Now, according to a recent New York Times article, “More Please,” by Eric Dash, more and more folks are of the idea that colleges are up for haggling as well. Business savvy negotiations are cleverly being pushed upon admissions counselors so applicants can position themselves to earn better scholarship and grants packages.

Negotiation Not Publicly Encouraged

While the process has been welcomed at a few universities, it remains distasteful and discouraged at most others, “at least publicly.” In fact, even consider bargaining for your college funding and you may just shut yourself out altogether. But while colleges and universities want to be perceived as subscribing to the ideal, there must be “someone out there…negotiating:”

“Most financial aid officials will reconsider your package, in what’s called a professional judgment review, if you have new financial information or expect unusual circumstances…”

Don’t be misled by this information. Even if you hear that others are able to muscle their way to a bigger purse of college aid. Still “only 2 percent” of colleges or universities actually budged when pitted against a competitor’s package.

Hearing May be the Only Way to a Negotiation

If you really think you want to give the process a try, experts suggest you try the hearing approach. Pursue the angle that you would prefer this institution to the other, but because of financial circumstances you will be forced to consider the other offer. “Then ask if the college would reconsider its offer.” Do not play The Godfather role. There is no documentation of a college that is receptive to those “who try and bully their way to more financial aid.” Right now any negotiation is played successfully only with finesse and very carefully worded appeals.

Go for Scholarships and Other Perks

In fact, according to some financial aid officers, schools are quite willing to rework the numbers for their merit scholarships, which are offered by almost every college and university. This may be your only “in” as far as negotiations. University of Virginia admissions officers regret the loss of “students last year to competing colleges that assured perks…” With that in mind you might begin to see some changes slowly, but surely creep into the college and university admissions process, making the process even more challenging and misunderstood.

Hurry up!

You could be out in the cold on federal and state funding if you are not on the ball (read “early”) in getting started on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Follow the best advice of Sallie Mae, the largest student loan provider in the country, and get your paperwork handled early. The charge is led by an article today in the The Southern outlining just how many pieces of the FAFSA puzzle you risk missing.

The article emphasizes the importance of filing well before the deadline. But what exactly you might ask is the deadline.

The Deadline

Check out these FAFSA deadlines for federal and state funding. The deadline concept is important: you must consider that every entity that loans money has a deadline for the FAFSA. This means you must make the earliest date to catch them all: federal, state and college. The next most important concept is that there are quite a lot of funding opportunities tied to the FAFSA. It’s much more than just a tool to get a Stafford Loan:

“’The cost of missing a deadline can be measured in real dollars,’ said Martha Holler, a financial aid expert with Sallie Mae. ‘Some states have lots of free money, but if you apply after their deadline, you jeopardize your chance of getting some. And when it’s gone, it’s gone.’”

Filling out the FAFSA is not something to be done over a 10-minute coffee break, either. The FAFSA, it’s already been charged, is a long-winded, dinosaur of a document whether you do it in hardcopy or online—it’s eight long, grueling pages. Not only does it require you provide all manner of information short of the kitchen sink, you also need to apply for a PIN ahead of time. The PIN allows you both access to the electronic version, which is preferred, as well as a means by which to electronically sign the behemoth document before you file online.

Also, make sure you are up to snuff on your home state’s requirements, too. In some cases you may also need to fill out their application to qualify for specific state funds, including loans, grants and scholarships. And of course, make sure you know the deadline for this form if one is required.

The Right Documents

Here’s a list of personal documents you will need to collect in order to get ‘er done:

• Last year’s tax returns. Haven’t done them? Better hop to it. Yours and your kid’s.
• Bank and investment statements and records.
• Drivers license number, social security number, and/or alien registration number.

Think you might make too much income to sign up for federal loans? Don’t waste one more minute trying to run the figures: fill out the form no matter what.

Here is the FAFSA website for your reference.