Tuesday, 7. September 2010
It’s that time of year, students are furiously studying for the SATs and/or the ACTs (if you’re not, you should be!). Not only are these scores important in getting noticed in the admissions office and getting in at the colleges, they become even more critical when it comes to deciding how much money you get in the financial aid office.
Although grades and classes carry the most weight in the admissions office, standardized test scores, in the form of either the SAT or the ACT, are also important. However, once you’re admitted and the financial aid office is determining your financial aid package, your SAT or ACT score takes on a much greater significance.
They would rather give more aid to the better student for a couple of reasons. One may be because the probability is higher that a better student will be around for all 4 years (collecting tuition from a family for four years is better than just one or two years if the student doesn’t cut it and leaves). Another reason is the better student’s grades and SAT scores help the college look better – as in more selective – in the “college ranking” game. (Parents, before you go complaining how “unfair” that sounds, if you’re helping your student select colleges based on name recognition, you’re part of the reason the colleges are playing this game).
To see this in action, let’s say we have two students, Sarah and Jamie. Both girls’ families, according to the financial aid formulas expected to pay $5,000. That’s the minimum amount the schools and the federal government are expecting the families to contribute to their students’ college educations. (It’s called the Expected Family Contribution or EFC.) Both girls are applying to the same public university.
Sarah is a borderline admit at this particular school (not at all of the schools on her list, but at THIS particular school). Her grades and SAT scores put her in the lower 40% of students admitted to the college. Her scores are just good enough to allow her to be admitted, but the school decides not to award a lot of financial aid to Sarah because of her stats.
Jamie, on the other hand, is above the norm, at this particular school, in terms of the typical student at this particular school. Her grades and SAT scores put her in the upper reaches of admitted students.
8 hundredths of a point in GPA and 50 points higher on the SAT resulted in $4000 MORE in merit-based financial aid. BUT, it didn’t end there… both scholarships were guaranteed for four years providing the girls maintained certain GPAs (which were completely realistic).
Both families were delighted to be on track to save money on the college bill. Number One and her family were looking at saving at least $20,000 on her college education. But, Number Two was on track to save at least $36,000.
The other program that is available is through the new stimulus package courtesy of the Obama administration which will allow single moms to earn up to $10,000 in free grant money for their college education. To qualify you must have an economic need and be willing to apply yourself to a two-year program to earn a degree through an online university.
Jamie, the stronger student, was offered a better financial aid offer. Why? Because the college WANTED her to come and was motivated to make it happen. Sarah, on the other hand, is competitive enough to get in, but, the college isn’t motivated to move heaven and earth to make it happen. They’re happy to “allow” her to come if she’s willing to pay. If she doesn’t want to pay, she doesn’t have to go. And the college appears to be okay with that.
Regardless of your situation — no need, some need, all need — the better the student looks at a particular school, the easier it is for him or her to get in and the better the financial aid package. Period
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