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Health & Fitness

Financial Aid Office: Friend or Foe?

Many parents think that their friendly college financial aid officer will help them qualify for grants, scholarships and other financial aid.

I don't blame them.  A quick survey of a few websites of popular, competitive colleges turns up language like this:

"We are committed to meeting the diverse needs of the student population."  

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"We have a long-standing commitment to need-based financial aid and continually seek new ways to provide access to a [fill in the name of college]education.

Whew - that's a lot of "commitment!"

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But what are colleges really committed to?

They have things on their mind other than showing you how to pay them less.

Things like “getting behinds in seats.” The world of college college admissions competitive, but not only for applicants.

It’s growing increasingly competitive for the COLLEGES too.

That’s why colleges hire personnel like Chief Marketing Officers, who earn between $200,000-$400,000 per year.

That’s why colleges like Northeastern University sent out 200,000 pieces of direct mail last year.  They paid a tidy $15,000 to access the data, then $.70 per name.  Plus printing and postage.  

What did that cost, five bucks a head?  Do the math.

One more thing:  where did Northeastern get this data?  From the “non-profit” College Board.  And you thought the College Board was in the SAT business!

What other expenses take up a modern college’s budget?  Payroll.  Especially for "full-time" professors who teach a whopping two classes per semester - that's something like eight hours of classroom instruction and a handful of office hours per week.

And paying university presidents hefty salaries - deep six-figure ones, sometimes seven figures (not only the colleges you’ve heard of. The guy from Mountain State (?) made 1.8 Mill two or three years ago.)

Ever tour a faculty lounge?  Probably not - most college tours will not venture there because parents might put two and two together (or twenty-five and twenty five...thousand) and think:  "So that's where my tuition checks will go."

Of course the college defends their well-appointed, luxurious faculty lounges on the grounds that they help recruit highly qualified professors.

They're probably right, but COME ON!!!!

All of these facts help explain why college costs go up in down economies, and go up in good economies.

You can see that they're certainly not spending it all on student education - the amount of student spending per capita has dropped over the last 15 years.

So if you call up your friendly financial aid officer, who works for an institution that wants your money to pay for these expenses, don't expect to get too far.

I always compare it to calling the IRS and asking them about any hot new tax loopholes that you can use to avoid paying taxes.

You won't get too far with either phone call - despite all of their "commitments" to helping college kids.

Here’s another fun exercise:  go to the websites of your favorite colleges.  Now, try to figure out the deadlines to file your financial aid forms.  (Hint:  no, it’s not January 1.  Hint Number Two:  if you’re applying Early Decision or Early Action, your financial aid deadline could be weeks, even months earlier!)  

How do you beat these colleges at their own game?

By learning the rules of the game - how some assets count against you more than others, and some not at all.

How to play competing colleges off against each other.

Loopholes for self-employed people.

Loopholes for separated or divorced families.

You could read the financial aid regulations, but they take up more than 1,100 pages, last count.

Another source of info is to attend a f.ree workshop on the “secrets” of college finance.  I'll bet at the West Babylon Public Library November 13th, 7pm.

(There's also a web-based version for those of you who can't wait!)

Your best defense against needlessly overpaying for college is a good offense.  

Your Correspondent,

- Andy Lockwood

P.S.  Workshop seats are given out first-come first- served, so don't be angry if your workhop has no more room.

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