Last week, the counselors in our Collegewise office in Newton, Massachusetts calculated that so far, their seniors had been awarded a total of $776,250 in scholarships for the 2017-18 school year. That doesn’t even include loans or work study. Almost a million dollars of free money that doesn’t have to be paid back. And that’s just for those applicants who applied early action and early decision.
What’s notable here is that like the rest of our Collegewise offices, our Newton counselors don’t offer scholarship services.
Collegewise counselors don’t do scholarship advising or matching. We don’t assist with financial aid paperwork. We don’t run a complex analysis of schools’ records of financial aid generosity. We’re happy to try to answer questions around these areas. And of course, we make sure our Collegewise families know what forms need to be submitted and when to apply for need-based financial aid. But we don’t profess to be financial aid or scholarship experts. So that’s not a service that we sell.
So how did our Newton office do it? They helped their students (1) find the right colleges that fit, (2) apply to a balanced list of schools that include plenty where they have a reasonable chance of admission, and (3) submit compelling applications and essays. A student who does those three things dramatically increases the chances of receiving a generous financial aid package.
Financial aid isn’t just a measurement of cost and what your family can afford to pay. Financial aid offices have a lot of power to offer more generous packages to students they think are right for the school and are more likely to attend. That’s why finding schools that fit, balancing your list, and submitting strong applications is a powerful financial aid strategy.
The mission of the financial aid office is to help those admitted students make up the difference between what they can afford to pay and what the school costs. But the specific aid package you’re offered, and whether or not that package is even more generous than what you’re eligible for, can have a lot to do with how badly the admissions office wants you at that school. A strong student who fits well with that college is more likely to get a generous award package that has more free money, with fewer loans or work study components.
In fact, a particularly desirable student can often receive a scholarship that has absolutely nothing to do with financial need. That’s why every year our Collegewise seniors across the country receive generous—and often unsolicited—offers of financial aid and scholarships from their chosen colleges. It’s not our focus. It’s a byproduct of what we do best.
If you want more financial aid, find the schools where you fit, including those that are most likely to accept you. Then convince them of that fit with your applications and your essays. That strategy is available to any student of any means who rejects the idea of applying to a long list of colleges based on name only and embraces the idea of matchmaking.
As the parents of this year’s juniors start down the path towards applying to college, here are a few past posts to help families take some productive steps now to pay for one of those colleges that eventually says yes.
First, some financial aid strategies for 9th-11th graders.
Here’s some encouragement to talk with your kids about college costs.
And some advice about how to balance your college list.
Finally, a reminder that affordability is part of fit.
Congratulations to our Newton office and to their students. They proved once again that financial aid is where the fit is.