Shrinking the Cost of College

1. Shrinking the Cost of College Lynn O’Shaughnessy

2. Lynn O’Shaughnessy • Author of The College Solution • New York Times, BusinessWeek, Money Magazine, USA Today • Blogger: TheCollegeSolutionBlog.com • College blogger: CBSMoneyWatch.com

3. Discounts Galore • Colleges priced like airline tickets. • Average tuition discounts: • Private schools: 33.5% • State universities: 15%

4. Tuition Discount Examples • Boston College: 40% • Vanderbilt University: 34% • Rice University: 31% • Washington University (St. Louis): 22% • University of Southern California: 39% College discount could exceed $60,000

5. Discount vs. No Discount • No discountsDiscounts • Columbia U. NYU • Amherst College Carnegie Mellon • Williams College Emory U. • Pomona College USC • Georgetown U. American U.

6. No Loan Schools • Examples of No Loan Schools • University of Michigan University of Virginia • Northwestern U. Wesleyan University • Stanford U. MIT • Cal Tech Tufts • Find list at ProjectonStudentDebt.org

7. Identify a College’s Financial Fingerprint • Common Data Set • Google “Berkeley” and “Common Data Set”

8. Federal College Navigator • Google: “College Navigator”

9. MeritAid.com • $11 billion of merit aid • Directory of merit aid from schools across the country. • One out of four students receive merit aid • Usually no extra forms. • Merit aid: Better than private scholarships. • $7 billion private scholarships, usually one year.

10. Broaden Your Horizon • Students who attend their own state schools: • Texas 87% • California 84% • Florida 74% • Illinois 67% • Missouri 58% • Pennsylvania 55% • Massachusetts 43%

11. Use Talents as Leverage • Singing • Acting • Art • Volunteerism • Leadership

12. By Lynn O’Shaughnessy Scholarships: Not Just For The Needy Why schools are giving more scholarship money to affluent kids The sticker price of some colleges and universities now rivals the $210,600 cost of the median American home, and even wealthy families feel the pain when they start writing those large checks. But affluent parents shouldn't assume they will have to pick up the whole tab by themselves. Far from it. A growing number of top-notch schools have begun handing out thick wads of cash to households that may not appear to need it. Why? "Wealthier families, who have students who excel, are desirable because they prop up the school's profile in the college rankings, and they can also pay a significant portion of their education.”

13. Misconceptions about Athletic Scholarships

14. Athletic Odds Men’s football: 1 million high school players < 29,000 football scholarships Average value: $13,000 Women’s track: 603,000 girls 9,888 track scholarships Average value: $8,100 Where the Money is: Division III Jocks have 40% greater chance of admission at Ivy League

15. Use Gender as Leverage • Women represent 56% of college students • Boys have advantage at LAC’s • Girls have advantage at science/tech schools • Example: MIT acceptance rate: • Males 9% Women 22%

16. Use Diversity as Leverage • Minorities in Demand at Elite schools • Example: • Middlebury College • Acceptance rate: 17% • Acceptance rate for African-Americans: 68%

17. Finding the Right Academic Fit Is teen in top 25% to 33% of applicants? Sources: Common Data Set, College Board, Fiske Guide, Princeton Review Bad test taker? More than 820 schools are SAT/ACT-Optional

18. Check 4-Year Grad Rates • Duke 90% • Harvard 87% • U. of Chicago 82% • U. of Wisconsin 44% • U. of Arizona 30% www.CollegeResults.org

19. Check Four-Year Grad Rate • UCLA 66% • Berkeley 61% • UCSD 56% • UC Santa Barbara 50% • UC Davis 43% • California Maritime 43% • Sonoma State 25% • Cal Poly SLO 21% • San Diego State 20% • Cal State San Marcos 12% • San Francisco State 11%

20. Finding Wonderful Schools Forbes versusUS News Rankings

21. Great Unsung Colleges CenterforCollegeAffordability.org Top Western Schools With Ranking Higher than UCLA/Berkeley Mills College (CA) St. Mary’s College of California (CA) George Fox University (OR) College of Idaho (ID) Pacific University (OR) Linfield College (OR) Willlamette University (OR)

22. Matching Making • Zinch.com • Cappex.com • CollegeBoard.com • Federal College Navigator

23. Biggest Financial Aid Myth • Saving for college ruins chances for financial aid assistance. • Families receive an asset allowance • Parents assets only only assessed by 5.64%. • Save: $100,0000 • Asset allowance: $50,000 • Rest of assets assed at 5.64%: $2,820.

24. Private vs. Fed/State Aid • Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) All schools use FAFSA • CSS Financial Aid PROFILE < 200 schools use PROFILE

25. Biggest Influencers of Fin Aid • Income from tax return • Parent non-retirement assets • Number of children in college • Children’s assets and income

26. FAFSA Formula • FAFSA ignores: • Retirement accounts • Home equity • Family-owned business with < 100 full-time employees • Income from non-custodial parent

27. PROFILE Formula • PROFILE asks for: • Home equity • Adjusted net worth of business or farm • Financials from non-custodial parent

28. Run the Numbers • Run the numbers as early as freshmen year in high school. • Federal methodology: • FAFSA4caster (Google it.) • Finaid.org calculator • Institutional methodology • CollegeBoard.com • Finaid.org

29. Expected Family Contribution • Calculators will produce: • Expected Family Contribution (EFC) • Example: • Cost of Stanford: $51,000 • Family’s EFC: $30,000 • Max Fin.Aid: $21,000

30. Increasing Chances for Aid • Apply for aid promptly • Fill out FAFSA after Jan. 1 • Complete PROFILE in fall of senior year • Estimate taxes • Pay attention to base year • Don’t withdraw from IRA • Don’t convert traditional IRA • Ask how school handles divorce/home equity

31. Appealing Award Packages • Negotiate, but don’t use the “N” word. • Update on circumstance • Try “sketchy” reasons • Share other award letters • Have teen make the call • Provide a specific number

32. Questions? Lynn O’Shaughnessy • Consultant • Speaker • Journalist • Blogger: CBSMoneyWatch.com TheCollegeSolutionBlog.com