03/11/2023
I happen to believe that the US, higher education system is the best in the world...
but...
The US, financial aid landscape definitely leaves much to be desired. Now, the college aid machine has really come a long way (remember paper FAFSAs?), and it really does try to accommodate the 2 MILLION+ new students that enter college each year. It's robust. Almost too robust. Especially for parents of high schoolers who are already running on calendar fumes as it is. "Financial Aid" is a big, umbrella term, and if you're still trying to figure out how to get the most financial aid with only Net Price Calculators and spreadsheets, you're still thinking through the College Aid 1.0 lens...
To help busy parents get a handle on things, I've categorized financial aid into four key categories. Because of how robust this space has become, it's necessary to distill "financial aid" down into different college aid "buckets". I call this College Aid 2.0 - because it's time to get smart about your college costs proactively - time to up your game. As parents, we can't be playing checkers with our kids' futures while the colleges are playing chess.
So what's College Aid 2.0? It's when we stop just looking at net price outlooks for college and really dig deep into OUR family's "true cost" outlooks that doesn't leave money on the table.
It start with looking at these four areas: need-based aid, merit-based aid, private (3rd party, outside-of-college) scholarships, and strategic opportunities that are unique to my family - I call this Strategic Aid.
Need-based Aid: these are the dollars that come from the financial aid forms - the FAFSA and the CSS Profile.
Merit-based Aid: these are the dollars that are awarded to our students based on their academics and test score(s).
Private Aid: these are dollars that come from private businesses, organizations, and individuals. And these opportunities are for students as young as elementary school.
Strategic Aid: things like tuition reciprocity, CLEP, co-ops, appeals, and many more - can play a key role in making college more affordable for your family.
Now, more than ever, parents should be double thinking the loan burdens they are their students are taking on. These loans can become barriers to fruitful careers for our students and obstacles for peace of mind in retirement.
College Aid 1.0 - look at net costs only and be a passive participant in your college costs
College Aid 2.0 - be proactive in the four pillars of financial aid and play chess with college costs, instead of checkers.
-Mike Escobar, CEO
