College shopping EXPLAINED
It’s no secret that going to college can be a very expensive experience, and selecting the right one may determine a student’s career success.
New York Times columnist Ron Lieber has written a valuable book for families planning to send their children to college. “The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make” (Harper Collins) is easy to understand and covers every important aspect associated with selecting and paying for the right college.
When I went to college in the 1950s and ’60s, even the most expensive colleges were available to middle-class students without incurring large debt. That is no longer the case. When I attended business graduate school at Carnegie
Mellon University in 1960-1961, the tuition was $500 a semester. Even without a scholarship, but with a part-time teaching job, I was able to obtain a master’s degree without any outstanding loan.
Regardless of whether you (or your children) attend an Ivy League school or a community college, you will find valuable information in the book.
Some of the most important sections cover unusual topics, such as the benefit of taking a year off between high school and college. Students who do this generally have higher grades, Lieber explains, and they seem to benefit more from a college education than those who attend right away.
This surprised me; I would never have thought that waiting a year would be good. Lieber said he expects his children to take a year off before attending college.
Lieber explains the financial aid process and how colleges decide how much aid to provide students. In many cases, they price tuition too high for most students, which allows them to then provide “merit aid” to lure students who can’t quite afford the school. We often assume that the price of a product or service is fixed, not negotiable. However, when it comes to college tuition, a student will only know the cost after he/she receives an offer from the school with the merit aid specified.
Many students will obtain a better offer if they don’t apply for early admission. The schools know that if you apply for early admission, you really want to attend, and you may not receive as much financial aid as if you waited to apply.
As for choosing among colleges, consider that many faculty members are more interested in research than teaching and, indeed, research is what the university hired them to do. Unfortunately, this means that many courses are not taught by senior faculty members. You should discuss with the colleges you are considering the extent to which teaching is done by adjunct faculty and graduate students.
One of the chapters discusses the potential advantages of small school sizes. Lieber points out that when class size goes up, undergraduates tend to drop out of school more often and take longer to complete their undergraduate degree.
The book is also informative on the topic of community colleges, providing excellent advice on determining which courses will be accepted at the four-year colleges students may want to transfer to in the future. Without the right courses, students may not be accepted at the school they want to attend later.
The chapters at the end of the book concentrate on financial issues, such as saving for college and tax-deductible 529 plans, a subject on which Lieber excels. He also discusses how to find the best merit aid, when and how to hire an independent college counselor or financial planner, and how to appeal a financial aid award (yes, you can do that).
Selecting a college is hard work. This book will help both parents and prospective students. I recommend it highly.