Juniors, you’re going to be high school seniors before you know it, and with the first grading period comes the anxiety of filling out college applications.  At this point, you should have a pretty good is of the college and universities you’re going to apply to.  Visit their web sites and find the requirement for an essay or personal statement.  Some won’t be published yet for the next school year, but there is enough that are provided that you can get a good start on your writing.

The first thing to do is compare all the writing requirements.  Write them down and look to see how any of them are similar.   Consider how the same basic essay may be used for different requirements just by changing the opening and closing sentences.  Some schools will except any sort of personal statement  or one you’ve written for another school.  Get it organized so you know exactly what you have to write and how much, and start brainstorming ideas. 

Your essay is a tremendous opportunity to showcase yourself as a person and a community member, but for goodness sakes, if the instructions tell you not to send an essay, don’t send an essay.  To do so will only demonstrate to the college that you can’t follow instructions.  

Here are some tips provided by the College Board:

A great application essay will present a vivid, personal, and compelling view of you to the admissions staff. It will round out the rest of your application and help you stand out from the other applicants. The essay is one of the only parts of your application over which you have complete control, so take the time to do a good job on it. Check out these tips before you begin.

A great application essay will present a vivid, personal, and compelling view of you to the admissions staff. It will round out the rest of your application and help you stand out from the other applicants. The essay is one of the only parts of your application over which you have complete control, so take the time to do a good job on it. Check out these tips before you begin.

Dos

Keep Your Focus Narrow and Personal

Your essay must prove a single point or thesis. The reader must be able to find your main idea and follow it from beginning to end. Try having someone read just your introduction to see what he thinks your essay is about.

Essays that try to be too comprehensive end up sounding watered-down. Remember, it’s not about telling the committee what you’ve done—they can pick that up from your list of activities—instead, it’s about showing them who you are.

Prove It

Develop your main idea with vivid and specific facts, events, quotations, examples, and reasons. There’s a big difference between simply stating a point of view and letting an idea unfold in the details:

§  Okay: ”I like to be surrounded by people with a variety of backgrounds and interests”

§  Better: ”During that night, I sang the theme song from Casablanca with a baseball coach who thinks he’s Bogie, discussed Marxism with a little old lady, and heard more than I ever wanted to know about some woman’s gall bladder operation.”

Be Specific

Avoid clichéd, generic, and predictable writing by using vivid and specific details.

§  Okay: ”I want to help people. I have gotten so much out of life through the love and guidance of my family, I feel that many individuals have not been as fortunate; therefore, I would like to expand the lives of others.”

§  Better: ”My Mom and Dad stood on plenty of sidelines ’til their shoes filled with water or their fingers turned white, or somebody’s golden retriever signed his name on their coats in mud. I think that kind of commitment is what I’d like to bring to working with fourth-graders.”

Don’ts

Don’t Tell Them What You Think They Want to Hear

Most admissions officers read plenty of essays about the charms of their university, the evils of terrorism, and the personal commitment involved in being a doctor. Bring something new to the table, not just what you think they want to hear.

Don’t Write a Resume

Don’t include information that is found elsewhere in the application. Your essay will end up sounding like an autobiography, travelogue, or laundry list. Yawn.

§  “During my junior year, I played first singles on the tennis team, served on the student council, maintained a B+ average, traveled to France, and worked at a cheese factory.”

Don’t Use 50 Words When Five Will Do

Eliminate unnecessary words.

§  Okay: ”Over the years it has been pointed out to me by my parents, friends, and teachers—and I have even noticed this about myself, as well—that I am not the neatest person in the world.”

§  Better: ”I’m a slob.”

Don’t Forget to Proofread

Typos and spelling or grammatical errors can be interpreted as carelessness or just bad writing. Don’t rely on your computer’s spell check. It can miss spelling errors like the ones below.

§  “After I graduate form high school, I plan to work for a nonprofit organization during the summer.”

§  “From that day on, Daniel was my best fried.”

This article is based on information found in The College Application Essay, by Sarah Myers McGinty, which is available through the College Board online store. 

I can’t stress enough, the importance of the personal statement and/or essay  that is submitted  with the application.  The process of writing needs to begin early and continue through the application process.  Spring of the Junior year of high school is not to soon to begin brain-storming ideas and putting notes down on paper.  If writing is not strong skill, it is even more important to practice writing, share your efforts with family and teachers and rewrite and rewrite until you feel you have a polished piece that truly sets you apart.

As I pointed out in Chapter 8, the essay is the one thing that hangs over every would-be college student’s head.  It’s the one thing that could make the difference between getting in to your dream school or ending up attending a college or university that’s farther down on your list.  The dreaded essay won’t go away.  It will always be a part of the application process because it is the tool admissions officers can use to make those hard choices between two equally qualified students.  And it may be used to determine who gets the scholarship and who doesn’t.

Because so much of the colleges’ and universities’ non-need based scholarship and grant money is administered by the admissions offices, your first impressions, made with your application and accompanying essays, becomes critical, not only in getting “in” but also in “buying in” to merit-based assistance. 

Write an essay about yourself?  Sounds like a fairly easy task, even when they impose some restrictions.  You can’t merely summarize your life.  You must focus on a person or experience that profoundly effected you or speak to personality traits that portray who you are.  Getting tougher?

Marketing yourself is so much a part of the process that it can’t be emphasized enough and the essay is your golden opportunity to shine.

You need to keep in mind that there are two concerns with regards to the admissions process—getting accepted and earning merit-based assistance.  In the majority of colleges and universities, merit aid is handed out through a review process that takes place in conjunction and at times in concert with the review for admissions.  At some schools the financial aid office is responsible for both need and non-need assistance.  It’s important to figure out who holds the purse strings.

What is helpful is that those qualities and qualifications that will help get your son or daughter accepted will also put him or her in the running for school scholarships.  What are the areas of interest being scrutinized by the college administration and which factors count most in the selection process?

The admissions staff will generally try to select a well-balanced class, one that enriches the college-going experience for all students.  Colleges and universities seek to admit students who will contribute to challenging academics, a rich cultural environment, strong athletic programs, and varied extra-curricular activities.

It could be that the college is trying to achieve more specific recruiting goals.  For example, one school may be trying to increase the size of its student population, hoping this will create new academic departments and increase the size of the supporting faculty.  A different university may be seeking

greater student diversity.  Another may be attempting to raise their academic profile by raising admissions standards.

This demands that the schools develop certain criteria, standards, and recruiting policies.  Needless to say, colleges can only meet these specific recruiting goals by carefully screening each individual applicant.  Considering the thousands of applications that they must review, your student’s job as an applicant is to help them by making his or her selection for admissions as easy as possible.

Should you find out what the recruiting policies are for the schools you’re interested in?   Only if you want to get paid to go to college.

In general, admissions staffs emphasize the importance of a solid high school transcript. They look to see whether you’ve taken the most challenging curriculum available to you.  They check how well you fared in those classes.  Most colleges are swayed by students who take advantage of opportunities and don’t just settle for the easy “A.”

If Jamal took all honors and AP courses during high school and maintains a 3.3 GPA while Kaitlin is cutting a 3.8 GPA in all standard level classes, admission officers will more than likely look more favorably at Jamal.

Of course grades indicate a student’s capabilities and motivation; however, grades are only significant in light of the student’s curriculum.  Class rank allows colleges to measure your academic performance in comparison to your classmates.  In fact many colleges today reassess a student’s GPA to try and level the playing field.  In her Wall Street Journal article, “Why Colleges Scoff at Your Kid’s GPA,” Anne Marie Chaker discusses the problem of non-standardized GPA.  She explains, “The problem is that GPAs—always somewhat erratic because curriculums differ so much—have in some cases become almost meaningless as high schools experiment with a raft of ways to measure students.”  Certain institutions drop the pluses and minuses, while others disregard the entire freshman year of high school.  John Hopkins eliminates all but the core subjects and recalculates the GPA.  Some schools, like Haverford College in Pennsylvania, throw out the GPA altogether and look to the student’s class standing to determine entrance qualifications.

However manipulated, make no mistake; grades in conjunction with test scores are an easy way for colleges to screen thousands of applications down to a manageable number.   This is especially true at larger institutions.

Colleges and universities do use scores differently, however.  There are those that will set minimum cut-off for admission.  Then there are those that don’t require them at all.  The majority, however, have a more complex procedure for reviewing test scores.  A former dean of admissions for a prominent private college described their procedures as first considering the quality of program, quality of performance in that program, and how that performance is corroborated by teachers, counselors, and heads of schools in an application.  He also pointed out that tests are important, too, but they will control what admissions does, only if an applicant’s academic program is unchallenging and academic performance is poor or mediocre.  Even then, tests will always be looked at in the light of the student’s educational, linguistic, cultural and socioeconomic background.

The student’s grades and test scores say more about him or her than he or she may think. a director of admissions at a major mid-west university  ,pointed out, and if the admissions staff sees a student with 1500 SATs but a C average, that usually means he or she isn’t trying.”

Extra-curricular activities are becoming more important to the admissions process.  These after-school activities demonstrate the student’s leadership, teamwork, and commitment to a given pursuit.  Colleges don’t value one activity more highly than another.  They’d rather see students who maintain a high level of commitment to one activity than those sporting a list of twenty they only dabbled in.

These extra-curricular activities could also be the ticket to scholarship money if the school values your student’s attendance because he or she will participate in similar activities there, thus enhancing the school’s programs. Sports, leadership, performing arts, language and community service–don’t underestimate the power of after-school activities.   The question is, of course, what’s important to the school your student is applying to?   Find out.

Personal qualities are the hardest to define.  Through the essay, letters of recommendation, and interviews, the admissions committee draws their

A recent report from The College Board showed that tuition, fees, room and board at public colleges and universities rose 7.1% in 2005, an average $12,127 a year, while private institutions saw a 5.9% annual increase to $29,096 on average. If you want to make even the most stalwart investor weak in the knees, calculate how much four years of education will cost ten years from now.

So what are parents to do? Where and how much does a family need to save?

Financially, traditional college savings calculators are too simplistic often resulting in an investment that is an unreasonably high figure. But consider whether most folks paid cash for their home–probably not. So they shouldn’t expect to pay cash for college. If they have four years of college expenses saved by the first day of college, they are, in effect, paying cash for college. That’s unnecessary and unrealistic. Most families simply cannot save that amount of money, nor do they need to. In that regard, the government doesn’t expect the family to pay the entire cost of a college education, only their fair share based on their financial circumstances. Thus enter the financial aid formula for calculating Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This is the method the Department of Education uses (or The College Board via the CSS Profile) to determine the student’s fair share of one year’s cost of education, and then their financial aid eligibility.

The bottom line is, parents don’t have to save the whole enchilada, but they need to invest something. If they can have a year or maybe two of college expenses ready when the student begins college, they’re in good shape. They have options–choose to pay for college from loans, from the investment account, from your income or a combination of all three. They can also take advantage of the monthly installment plans.

Yet for parents with college bound children, it seems that it’s a choice, more often than not, between saving for college or saving for retirement. Without thought as to the long term effects, parents open 529 plans and begin dutifully investing for their child’s education. While their intentions are good, it would serve them to consider exactly what they are trying to accomplish and the tax, investment and financial aid implications of their choices, because a sound strategy for one area of financial interest may not be compatible with other areas.

Every investment vehicle has a purpose, but every investment vehicle is not appropriate for every investor. We’d all agree that a hedge fund would probably not be a good idea for a senior citizen on a limited budget. But what about college savings plans? Is a 529 Plan appropriate for every college investor? There a number of things to consider before answering that question.

Is there another sibling or family member intending to pursue a college education? Are there estate planning considerations? How much is the family actually going to be able to save on an annual basis? What is the age of the student, and once they reach college age, will he or she qualify for student financial aid?

A 529 plan locks up your money for qualified educational expenses at accredited institutions. If you don’t spend it for this specific purpose, you can either pass it on to another family member or remove the money at which time you will be penalized by the IRS. A single child family should seriously consider this before heading down the 529 path, unless there are other considerations at play such as estate planning for the parents or grand parents with larger sums of money being deposited for the use of the college-bound beneficiary.

Based on your anticipated cost of living raises as compared to the rate at which college costs are increasing each year, a projection of the student’s financial aid eligibility would be prudent. The latest tax laws stipulate that a 529 Plan is to be considered an asset of the owner (parents in most cases) and as such, will impact the outcome of the parent’s contribution from assets when calculating the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Using today’s rules and tomorrow’s projections, financial aid eligibility can be quickly estimated and a determination made as to whether or not, a reduction in the parent’s assets would positively affect the EFC. If so, a 529 may not be the most practical alternative for college savings. Consider that a family whose child could not qualify for financial aid today because mom an dad make too much money, may vary well qualify ten years from now as the cost of college outpaces one’s salary increases and asset accumulation. What was the last cost of living increase you received? Was it any where close to six or seven percent?

Based on the family’s budget, how much can practically be put aside each year for college — $5,000 or $10,000? For most middle-income families, investments are mom and dad’s 401k plans at work and the monthly budget allows for very little wiggle room. Starting early is certainly a wise decision and savings becomes a habit and that contribution to the college fund is not missed. Borrowing against a 401k may be an option, but because the loan must be repaid in a given amount of time or be considered a distribution for tax purposes, taking from pension plans should be the last resort. Not only does it affect retirement, it can potentially create a tax penalty.

The fact of the matter is parents can save for college and retirement at the same time. Current tax law allows both the husband and wife (even if they have pension plans at work) to each contribute $4,500 a year in after-tax dollars to a Roth IRA if their combined modified AGI is less than $150,000 a year (between $150,000 and $160,000, the amount they can each contribute decreases). If they’re over 50 years of age, $5,000 a year can be contributed, given the AGI parameters. The money grows tax-free, like a 529 plan. Withdrawals from Roth IRAs can be made without penalty to pay for qualifying higher educational expenses in the year that the expenses are incurred. Sound very much like a 529 plan, except that if the money is not used for college expenses, it’s still there for the parent’s retirement. One caveat, for persons who are not yet 591/2, withdrawals from a Roth IRA fall under the 72T provisions, which mean principle is withdrawn first which is tax free, then deferred earnings which are taxed as ordinary income. Withdrawals from a 529 plan, principle and earnings are tax free.

Having control of your investments is also a major consideration. Using 529 Plans, unless there are other over-riding reasons, takes control away from the investor. You are forced to invest in set series of portfolios, or you can only change your investments once a year. Since most 529 Plans use only one mutual fund company as the manager, you are limited to that array of funds as well, and your college investment is dependent on the success or failure of their fund managers. Using a Roth IRA housed in a brokerage account, you have the entire universe of securities to invest in and you can change your portfolio any time you wish.

529 Plans have certainly provided families a convenient means to save for college, but educational savings plans are no different than any other purchase. Before you jump in, do your homework. We can help.