Research and Organization

Researching colleges can be a big job.  I don’t see why parents shouldn’t help with it, as long as parents aren’t trying to influence the decision that their children are making by only presenting the information that supports the colleges they favor.  I do think that it shouldn’t be only the parents’ job to do this however.   The person who is going to go to the university should be involved in all aspects of the college search, application, and getting financial aid, and the only person involved in some aspects.

There can be a huge number of deadlines to keep track of,  if the student is applying to more than a few universities.  It can be particularly helpful if the parent makes a calendar of these deadlines to keep the student from missing one.  Other organizational tools like notebooks or folders could also benefit the student during this process.  Even making folders on the computer could be helpful.  Perhaps finding information that the student will need for their applications is another organizational task that a parent could do to assist in the process.

Here’s what Shawn Abbott, Director of Admissions of Stanford University, has to say about parent involvement in a YouTube video:

Financial Aid Process

I see no reason why a student shouldn’t be involved in the financial aid process, although some parents may want to keep their financial information private.  Because of that, filling out the FAFSA is probably something that more parents than students do.

The only part of the financial aid process that only the student should do is writing essays for scholarships that are independent of the colleges.  Even here I see no harm in parents reading those essays for grammar, spelling and to see whether the essays convey the points the student is trying to make.

I hope that gives you an idea of what you can do to support your student during the search and application process.

Blessings,

Bonnie

With the beginning of the school year, there’s also a new SAT schedule.  Test dates this year are:

October 9, 2010

November 6, 2010

December 4, 2010

January 22, 2011

March 12, 2011

May 7, 2011

June 4, 2011

You can still register for all these dates, but you will have to register late for the October date.  The fee for regular registration is $47, while the fee for late registration is $71.

SAT Scores

The College Board, which administers the SAT, released the average US scores for 2010 College Bound Seniors.   These did not change much from last year,  with the Critical Reading average score staying at 501, the  Math average score going up one point to 516, and the Writing average score dropping one point to 492.  So what does that mean in terms of your student?

Well, if your student fancies Harvard, hitting the average scores won’t help him or her get there.  According to Harvard’s admission data for the class admitted in 2009, the middle 50% of those who enrolled had Critical Reading scores between 690 – 780, Math scores between 690 – 790, and Writing scores between 690 – 780.   These figures don’t include the lowest and highest 25% of those who enrolled, but it still gives you an idea of the kind of SAT scores needed to get into Harvard.

By contrast, the class admitted to the University of Texas in 2009 had far lower scores.  The middle 50% of those who enrolled were Critical Reading: 530 – 660, Math: 570 – 690, and Reading: 530 -660.  Of course in Texas you get accepted to UT if you are in the top 10% of your class, regardless of your SAT score.  There’s even a rumor that some parents are taking their students out of good high schools and putting them into poorer high schools so they will qualify for UT.  Seems like that would ultimately backfire since the student would be less prepared for college work that way and might not graduate.

If  you’re curious what the SAT scores are for the university that your student is interested in, the easiest way to find that information is to put the name of the college followed by “SAT scores” into Google or another search engine.  Of course, SAT scores are not the only criteria that schools judge by,  but it is one of them.  Also, some schools award academic scholarships based on SAT scores.

What Parents Can Do To Help

When the SAT average scores were released they were also broken down by sex, race, type of high school, family background, and what courses the students took in high school.   Private school students tended to do better than public school students. The higher the education level and income parents have, the better their children do on the SAT.  At this point parents probably can’t do anything about their education and income, but they can encourage their children to take more  years of English and Math classes. The more years students take English and Math classes,  the higher their scores are.  Taking AP/Honors classes gave students the highest scores.  The more classes a student took in English the higher that student’s score was in Critical Reading, Writing, and even Math.  The same held true for the math classes — the more math classes, the higher the scores for all subjects.

One last way of helping -  I think that expecting your children to do well in school and giving them the encouragement to do well is another factor in helping your children do well on the SAT and in school.   Letting them know that you value education is an important step in helping them do their best.

Blessings,

Bonnie

Eligibility Change

More people will be eligible for the IBR Program, because now eligibility is based on either the balance of the loan when it entered repayment or the current balance, whichever is greater. (Borrowers’ loan balances can increase during periods of deferment or forbearance due to accrued interest.)

Married Borrowers

Married couples who both have federal student loans will no longer have to pay higher payments than unmarried students.  If the married borrowers file joint tax returns, lenders must use the combined loan total and the combined income to calculate the loan repayment amount under IBR.  In the past lenders used combined income, but not the combined amount of the loans, resulting in higher repayments.

Another thing to consider

While the IBR Program can be a welcome relief, especially in difficult times like these, one result of paying lower payments is that you also pay for a longer time.  This  means you will pay more interest on a loan.  The 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan offers a lower total repayment on federal student loans.  It works just like credit cards.  If you may a lower amount for a longer time, the total paid will be larger.  Something to consider if you are thinking about applying to the IBR Program.

IBR Calculator

If you would like to determine if you qualify for the IBR Program and approximately what your loan payments would be, use this calculator provided by the Federal Student Aid website.

Blessings,

Bonnie

Pell Grants

Pell Grants are based on financial need, costs to attend college, the student’s status as either a full-time or a part-time student and whether the student plans to attend college for a full academic year or less. The maximum Pell Grant award for the 2010-11 award year (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011) is $5,550.   Any Pell Grant eligible student whose parent or guardian died as a result of military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 is awarded the maximum amount if the student is under 24 years old and was enrolled at least part-time in college at the time of the parent’s or guardian’s death.

A student can receive up to two consecutive Pell Grant awards during a single award year to accelerate the program toward the student’s degree. The student must be enrolled at least half-time and in a program that leads to an associate or bachelor’s degree or certificate.

Income Based Repayment Program

Much of federal student financial aid is in the form of loans.  However, a new program called the Income Based Repayment Program makes federal loans less painful.  Borrowers who participate in this program will have monthly payments capped at 10 percent of the income a borrower has left over after covering basic needs and after 20 years any remaining debt is forgiven.  If the borrower becomes a teacher, nurse, member of the armed forces or other public service worker, the remaining debt is forgiven after 10 years.  Federal loans were already a much better deal than any private education loan, but with this new program, they become even better.

Current Income Based Repayment Program (IBR)

Right now students are eligible for IBR if their monthly payments under this plan are less than their monthly payments calculated under a 10-year standard repayment plan.  Also students have to pay for 25 years and meet other requirement s before any balances of their loans are canceled.  However, public service workers already can have the remainder of their loans canceled after 10 years.

For more important information about IBR, go to IBR Plan Information. Or, to download an IBR Fact Sheet in PDF format, click here.

Fill Out the FAFSA to Qualify for Federal Student Aid

Remember, students must fill out the FAFSA to qualify for federal student aid, so even if you think you make too much money to qualify for grants, it is always smart to fill out the FAFSA.  Some of the loans are not dependent on income level, so they are going to be available no matter what your income.  Interest is lower for federal loans and the new Income Based Repayment Program makes federal loans even more attractive.