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Weak and Vulnerable

Posted by Hans Hanson

Colleges view parents as weak and vulnerable.

Operating from a position of strength means to have knowledge of the college process, otherwise, you will be vulnerable to the whims of the college, acquiescing to their interests rather than protecting your own interests. It's just that simple.

Your job is to learn the college perspective, understand their way of doing business, and know the rules of the game. You can learn the critical factors upfront or pay for them for years later. You can allow the colleges to dictate your outcome, or you can dictate your own outcome. Saving college costs must be a conscious decision and plan of each family.

Here are 4 more of our top strategies for saving on college costs, courtesy of our book- Dissecting the Big Business of College.

1. Understand how the college does its business and what factors influence scholarships, grants, and financial aid rewards; tip- as each college differs, you must do your homework and be prepared to ask the right questions

2. Choose the right college based on expected outcomes for education, experience, cost, and post-college opportunity; hot tip- don't be overly swayed by the enamor of college rankings, rather, be guided by good fit

3. Have a definitive plan to graduate with a meaningful degree of study; tip- study forward for the jobs of the future, not backward for the jobs of yesteryear

4. Have a definitive plan to graduate on-time; tip- if you don't have a plan to graduate in four years, then the college will plan an extra year for you

My advice is to focus on your drivers for college success, such as-

- building quality relationships
- landing preferred internships
- being assigned to relevant research projects
- studying abroad in desired locations
- having quality job opportunities

Combining knowledge with proactive engagement will create advantages for getting college right and saving college costs. It's that obvious, yet that elusive.

CollegeLogic leads the pathway for families to get college right and save on college costs.

To find out how we do it, call or email us today.

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Speaking of getting saving college costs, this book is an absolute must read-

Dissecting the Big Business of College

Hans

Founder CollegeLogic
Office # 203.470.3704

Saving College Costs

Posted by Hans Hanson

Colleges are masters at molding their interests into the behaviors of society.

Although no one wants to, everyone will overpay for college to some degree, how much depends on what you know, or don’t know. Intimidated, unprepared, soft, vulnerable, and un-savvy are all descriptions of parents made by college admission officials. They know the parent’s tendencies and seeming inability or unwillingness to change. In fact, parents typically feed right in to it as colleges across America build their endowments.

You see, college is a purchasing decision that should be made in accordance with a buy-sell process reflecting the significance and importance of the purchase. Few people engage the college in this context, rather, most people act like they are buying a color television, just looking for the top brand and all too willing to pay the asking price. But a color television can be easily discarded or replaced, not so with a college education. If families would pursue the college process in the same deliberate, well-planned, negotiated way they do when buying a house, they could save thousands on college costs and improve their outcomes. But they don’t, and why not?

· They don’t see it as a purchasing decision, rather they view it as an obligation
· They’re not familiar with the selling-side of the equation, aka the college perspective
· They’re not even familiar with the buying-side of the equation, the parent responsibility
· It’s not their college, they don’t have to live there; if it were, the process would change
· The college decision is often emotionally decided upon, driven by family pressures, not desired outcomes
· Finally, too many college decisions are left to guesswork and random chance

Each of these reasons reflect a weak position of parents and the colleges know it, exploit it, and laugh their way to the bank leaving families in debt and parents complaining. This is all too typical and predictable.

What can you do about it? You can learn the college perspective, understand the big business of college, and know what they want from you. You can focus on desired outcomes and financial goals. You can choose to work from a position of knowledge and strength. Altogether, this could save you thousands on college costs in helping to get college right.

Here are 4 of our top strategies for saving on college costs, with 4 more to come next week, all coming from our book- Dissecting the Big Business of College.

1.     Work from a college list built around a student’s qualifications and interests, along with the parents interests and needs; tip- this can’t be left to a computer-program or Naviance

2.     Differentiate yourself by building unique credentials beyond grades and SAT/ ACT scores (everyone has these); hot tip- create a blog site related to your interest in college studies

3.     Get started early, be involved, engaged, and proactive in becoming known in the admission office; tip- don’t be a “stealth-applicant”

4.     Have a plan and strategy to submit applications, applying early (by Labor Day) for preferred admission acceptances and higher scholarships; tip- add colleges in the mix which will establish a platform of affordability

My advice- don’t get away from treating this as a buy-sell process. You are in the market to purchase educational services while the college is in the business of selling educational services. You are the buyer and client; they are the seller and provider. However, they will never let you feel like a client. It’s up to you, the parent, to turn that around. Yes, it takes strength, not weakness; knowledge, not ignorance; and, action, not indecision. Weakness, ignorance, and indecision will compromise your child’s college options and put your family finance at risk. Strength, knowledge, and action will create advantages for getting college right and saving college costs.

CollegeLogic leads the pathway for families to get college right and save on college costs.

To find out how we do it, call or email us today.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of getting ahead, this book is an absolute must read if you would like to save on college costs-

Dissecting the Big Business of College

Hans

Founder CollegeLogic
Office # 203.470.3704

Nov. 1, the Date that Validates Being Early

Posted by Hans Hanson

"We preach, teach, and coach the value of submitting applications early for good reason."

Long in advance we plan to have college admission applications submitted by Labor Day. We know-

- many schools give preferred acceptances and increased scholarships on early applications

- once senior year begins, students get busy with school activities delaying applications

- with Nov. 1 deadlines for EA and ED, students are left scrambling to get their applications submitted

Why do so many people think that just beating the deadline equates to being on-time? It doesn't!

Last minute and rushed applications are easy to spot by admission counselors, reflecting tardiness and less serious interest. They compromise admission acceptances and potential scholarships. It's that simple, yet that elusive.

So here we sit on November 1, with much of the country's high school seniors hurrying to get their Early Action or Early Decision applications submitted; many who don't even have their essay finalized. This is a prescription for denials and deferrals.

As this day arrives each year, it's living proof for the value and benefit of getting applications done early.

While others are scrambling, our students and athletes are following up and following through to facilitate their acceptance and enhance their college situation. You can too.

CollegeLogic leads the pathway for families to take action and get college right.

To find out how we do it, call or email us today.

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Speaking of getting ahead, this book is an absolute must read if you would like to save on college costs-

Dissecting the Big Business of College

Hans

Founder CollegeLogic
Office # 203.470.3704

Building Relationships, a life-long lesson here...

Posted by Hans Hanson

"The key to building relationships is to genuinely care about the other person."

That sounds pretty obvious, and though it's quite logical, it's anything but typical. Let's use college visits as our example. Most people visit a college, drive around a campus, go on a college tour, maybe sit in an information session, then leave the college without having met anyone meaningful in the college acceptance and scholarship process. There's no relationship building there, do we agree?

Some people will at least visit with the Admissions Office and meet a counselor. They will answer a few simple questions and pose a few on their own, all done without any meaningful engagement. This lends itself to becoming a missed opportunity for building a meaningful relationship.

So think of this, why are you there in the first place? As you sit with the admission counselor, you have come to enhance your admission and scholarship status. Do we agree on this?

The goal is to be validated as a prospective applicant.

The strategy is to validate them as an important person.

Validation works when you leave an impression. Enhancing your admission and scholarship status occurs when the counselor remembers you! They will not fully validate or remember you without you first validating them.

Here are 4 questions and 4 tips for doing this effectively-

Questions-
1) How are you doing?
2) Why do you do this job?
3) What college did you attend and why?
4) What are your biggest challenges?

Tips-
1- Greet them with a smile and a firm handshake
2- Always look them in the eye
3- Speak slow and use tone of voice in discussion
4- Pay attention to their responses

Our students and athletes enhance their college situation by building relationships. You can too.

CollegeLogic leads the pathway for families to take action and get college right.

To find out how we do it, call or email us today.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of taking action, this book is an absolute must read if you would like to save on college costs-

Dissecting the Big Business of College

Hans

Founder CollegeLogic
Office # 203.470.3704

The Importance of SAT and ACT Scores

Posted by Hans Hanson

"SAT scores have never been higher. So when you land a big score, what will you do with it?"

Some people think that SAT/ ACT scores are not as important as they once were. Well, frankly, that's a bad thought and one that may cost a child their college opportunity. SAT/ ACT scores are very important. How important? When it comes to college rankings, SAT/ ACT scores of incoming freshman is the 4th highest factor of fifteen, carrying a weight of 8.125%. This signifies its importance. Note that GPA is not one of the factors.

With the August SAT and September ACT results in, what are you going to do with them? No doubt that higher scores improve admission odds and possible scholarships, but more than anything else, they open the door for college opportunity, a door that few students will walk through.

Here's the problem, most students who score high on their tests believe that's all it takes to win admissions and earn scholarships; and that their work is done. I disagree. At each school, there are many more academic-qualifying applicants than there are acceptances provided. This means that admission offices must choose among the qualifiers, who's invited in versus who is left out.

To be invited in, it's important to walk through that door for meeting the people who will decide on your application and scholarship. It's that simple, yet that elusive.

CollegeLogic leads the pathway for students to walk through their doors of opportunity.

To find out how we do it, call or email us today.

Speaking of opportunity, this book is a must read if saving on college costs is important to you.

Dissecting the Big Business of College

Hans

Founder CollegeLogic
Office # 203.470.3704