It could be quite a year: the schools say they’ll dispense more money than ever, but they are getting craftier about how they do it; new methods of allocating aid could leave unwary families in the dust. ““If you don’t understand the process, you are going to pay and pay,’’ warns New York college planner Kalman Chany.
Here’s what you need to know about how the financial-aid game is played today.
COLLEGES ARE TRYING THEIR darnedest to hold costs down and give out more aid. ““The numbers are bigger than ever,’’ says Ted Bracken, who monitors the 30 highest-priced schools in the country. He reckons that student costs have gone up by 58 percent over seven years, while grants have better than doubled. At Kenyon College, one fifth of the school budget goes back to students in the form of financial aid. Other schools are offering tuition relief: Clemson University and Guilford College froze fees for the second year in a row; Princeton, among others, is boasting its smallest increases in a decade.
Students will benefit, too, from a pre-election bidding war in the last Congress. Federal work-study programs were upped by more than a third; with matching funds from the schools, that makes close to $300 million in job aid that wasn’t there last year. How to get your piece of the pie? Ask early! When the funds are gone, they’re gone.
IF YOU HAD $50 BILLION TO hand out, wouldn’t you want to make sure you got something for it? Colleges are getting smart about aiming their aid. ““You’ll sweeten the package for students who are more attractive,’’ concedes Johns Hopkins’s Robert Massa. ““Attractive’’ means more than just leadership activities and good grades. Schools are flocking to companies like the USA Group Noel Levitz, which uses computer models to profile which students will come at what price. Clients like Ohio State figure they won’t waste money on applicants who’ll come anyway: they’ll aim bigger bucks at fence sitters who’ll contribute to the school’s geographic, ethnic or religious mix. Hopkins throws more cash at humanities majors, University of Rochester boosts awards to New York state kids, while Clemson tosses more to students who come from outside South Carolina.
How can you play this game? Scout for schools that really want you for your major, musical ability or geographic contribution, and avoid being overanxious, lest you show signs of a come-at-any-costs mentality.
WILLIAM STANFORD, DI- rector of financial aid at Lehigh University, remembers when April was a month for reading thank-you notes from happy parents. But that was before the never-take-the-first- offer era. Counselor-coached parents argue every offer in the belief they can bid up their deal. This year, many schools claim a defensive stance: no negotiating with terrorist dads or moms. But there’s a loophole. Schools still adjust awards upward for ““new information’’ like higher SAT scores or medical costs that don’t show up on aid forms. At ““we never negotiate’’ Ohio State, three of four appeals are rewarded with a better deal.
To bump up an award, ask for a re-examination, and scour your finances for any details that might make you look worse off than your aid forms do.
COLLEGES PRO- test parents who shift assets to get aid they don’t need, but the current system penalizes students who save. Ten thousand dollars in a student’s bank account will cost his parents $3,000 in aid they’d have received if the same funds had been in their name. Advisers like Rick McCallister tell families how they can get that money out: students should give money to siblings and buy their own cars and computers while their parents bank comparable amounts of cash. Students matriculating with their own nest eggs should run down those funds first; it may lead to a better sophomore-year award.
SCHOOLS ARE GETTING EVER more creative in helping parents find the cash that aid won’t meet. Kent State lets freshmen lock in four years’ tuition at today’s prices with a three-year monthly-payment plan. Columbia University muscled bankers for loan plans that are $800 better than the students could get themselves. Eastern Michigan U offers to shave $8,000 off a degree for students who can handle doing four years in three. New York’s Marist College hit up local businesses for specialty stu- dent aid; now the school boasts McDonald’s scholars.
It’s something students can sink their teeth into while they’re waiting for manna from Washington.
STERN’s e-mail address is 72160.1546@compuserve.com.
