There are several alternatives for people that want to return to college. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 paved the way for the creation of what is called the TEACH Grant Program, or the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education which will give to each recipient up to $4000 per year for students that intend to teach at elementary or secondary schools.

They would rather give more aid to the better student for a couple of reasons. One may be because the probability is higher that a better student will be around for all 4 years (collecting tuition from a family for four years is better than just one or two years if the student doesn’t cut it and leaves). Another reason is the better student’s grades and SAT scores help the college look better – as in more selective – in the “college ranking” game. (Parents, before you go complaining how “unfair” that sounds, if you’re helping your student select colleges based on name recognition, you’re part of the reason the colleges are playing this game).

To see this in action, let’s say we have two students, Sarah and Jamie. Both girls’ families, according to the financial aid formulas expected to pay $5,000. That’s the minimum amount the schools and the federal government are expecting the families to contribute to their students’ college educations. (It’s called the Expected Family Contribution or EFC.) Both girls are applying to the same public university.

Sarah is a borderline admit at this particular school (not at all of the schools on her list, but at THIS particular school). Her grades and SAT scores put her in the lower 40% of students admitted to the college. Her scores are just good enough to allow her to be admitted, but the school decides not to award a lot of financial aid to Sarah because of her stats.

Jamie, on the other hand, is above the norm, at this particular school, in terms of the typical student at this particular school. Her grades and SAT scores put her in the upper reaches of admitted students.

The cost of attendance at this particular college is $20,000 and both Jamie and Sarah’s families, according to the financial aid formulas, have an expected family contribution of $5000. They both have a financial aid need of $15,000. Here’s how the two girls’ financial aid offers ultimately stack up:

Not only did Young Lady Number Two’s family save $4000 MORE the first year, her parents SAVED $16,000 MORE than Young Lady Number One’s family over the course of four years!
What made the difference? Young Lady Number Two studied and prepared, including spending about $600 on an SAT Tutor. While her parents mildly complained at the time when they had to pay for the tutor and Young Lady Number Two groaned when I told her she should be studying at least 1-2 hours per week, they heeded the advice and went along with the plan.

But, let me tell you, they quickly forgot their annoyance when they saw their return on investment. 1-2 hours per week + $600 = higher score ( a 200 point improvement over her personal best score and 50 points better than her friend!) = $36,000 staying in their pocket. That’s money that could be used for another child’s college education, saved for retirement, pay for a wedding…basically anything the family wishes because it’s money that stays in their pockets instead of the school’s!

The better the student, the better the money to help you pay the bill. Period

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