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Biggest Secret About Financial Aid And Connecticut Colleges That Connecticut Parents Don't Know

One of the biggest secrets that Connecticut parents of college-bound students don't know is that by accepting a financial aid award offer from a Connecticut College you are not required that your student attend that college.

Hear me when I say this...

Your child is not required to attend a college simply because you sign and accept an awards offer!

So if you are like the thousands of Connecticut parents who are juggling timelines from many different schools then accept the initial awards if you are worried and then compare the rest as you receive them.

Let's take a look at this example to see how you could get the best of both worlds.

A student had applied and been admitted to four Connecticut colleges. He received a financial aid award offer from College 1 on February 13th. The award contained a $10,000 per year scholarship for the four years of college. The award offer had an acceptance deadline of March 21st. However, the student had not yet received his award offers from College 2, College 3 or College 4. The student then contacted College 1 and requested an extension of time to accept its award letter. However, the college denied his request and restated that the deadline for accepting its award offer and scholarship was March 21st.

The student then contacted Colleges 2, 3 and 4 and asked them to send their award offers to him before March 21st so that he could compare all four colleges' award letters. Colleges 2, 3 and 4 informed the student that they would be unable to send him their award letters until after March 21st. At this point, the student was faced with a huge decision. Should he accept College 1's award offer by March 21st, without knowing what College 2, 3 or College 4 would offer him, or should he wait until he received their award offers and miss the deadline (and lose the scholarship) for accepting College 1's offer?

Fortunately this student's parents had sought the expertise of a Connecticut college consultant and had attended Connecticut college admission counseling and as a result the student then signed and accepted Connecticut College 1's award offer. By accepting the offer, he safeguarded the award offer and scholarship. Nonetheless, the student was not obligated to actually attend College 1. The student then had time to receive the award offers from College 2, College 3 and College 4 and to review and compare the award offers from all four colleges.

If you are concerned about getting the best financial aid package at a college in Connecticut and do not know how to compare them then click on the link below to get dozens of free tips, strategies and insider secrets that will give you the specific knowledge that can help your student.

Connecticut parents find out how to send your child to the school of his or her dreams...without getting trapped in a financial nightmare of high rate, high payment, expensive debt! Click Here.

Find out the single biggest mistake 9 out of 10 parents make when applying for aid to Connecticut Colleges that literally cost them thousands of dollars! More importantly, how to avoid this fatal error! Click Here.

How to double, or in some cases triple, your eligibility for FREE grant money for Connecticut Colleges. even if you are dead broke or a millionaire making a good six figure income.

The Facts About College Financial Aid

Most American families are offsetting the high cost of college by applying for some degree of financial aid by submitting their FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) on or after January 2nd. Unfortunately, this is not a simple process as the college financial aid system is anything but user-friendly. There are an endless number of pitfalls in the application process, and it is far too easy for families to lose some or all of the aid they are eligible for.

Many families fail to even attempt application because they don't know how to, or they incorrectly assume they are not qualified, or simply because they are intimidated by the complicated and confusing process and all its paperwork. With far more qualified applicants than desks in all of America's colleges and universities, it is reasonable to expect a system intentionally designed to eliminate all but the most knowledgeable and persistent applicants.

According to a disturbing statistic from the US Dept. of Education, the majority of all financial aid applications are rejected for errors and inconsistencies! As financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, the loss of time in the resubmission process results in thousands of dollars of lost financial aid to eligible families who braved the college funding process blindly and alone.

This being the case, what's a family to do with one or more college-bound students facing as much as $160 to $300 thousand dollars (and still rising), to send their kids to a 4-year college? Many make the mistake of relying solely on the advice of guidance counselors, college financial aid officers (FAO's), and even their accountants. Sadly, these families are not getting all of the financial information they need and are in for a rude awakening!

Nationally, guidance departments are facing their worst crunch ever, and are overloaded with as many as 800 or more students for each counselor! Budget cuts have added to the problem causing schools to increase the responsibilities of guidance counselors in areas other than guidance, leaving them with even less time for their students - and there is no relief in sight!

Despite these obstacles and to their credit, guidance counselors still manage to effectively advise students in career planning and college selection. However, when it comes to college funding, they come up short in providing the necessary financial information that could save families thousands of dollars!

Counselors have little time and lack the expertise to show parents how to reduce their Expected Family Contribution (EFC), the minimum the federal government determines that each family will pay for any college, based on the information submitted on the FAFSA. Additionally, knowledge of specific legal financial aid strategies and their correct application would help families avoid or reduce an array of assessments that could cost them thousands of dollars for each year their students are in college!

For example, parents are unaware that students have no asset protection allowance. Consequently, students with assets in their own name are assessed by the federal government at 20% for each year they are in college! Thus, a student with $1,000 will be assessed $200 for each year the $1,000 remains in their name. After 4 years, they will have lost $800 in financial aid for having only $1,000 worth of assets! This is tragic as it can be legally avoided - if you know how.

Periodically, guidance departments present "in-house" Financial Aid Nights which focus on filling out financial aid forms and understanding the basics of the process. Nevertheless, year after year, the majority of families applying for financial aid continue to be rejected for filling out their forms incorrectly. Clearly, parents are not getting enough guidance on the college funding process.

Well-meaning guidance counselors invite FAO's to speak at their high schools, trusting them to put the best interests of the students above the financial interests of their college. By evening's end, parents are often left with a false sense of security that the college of their choice will award their student its best possible financial aid package. This is hardly ever the case!

Much like frugal employers whose goal is to hire the most talented applicants for the least amount of pay, FAO's seek the most promising students for the least amount of financial aid. Relying on an FAO to cut your college costs is like expecting an IRS agent to help reduce income taxes! FAO's can be helpful, but their loyalties are with their schools - not their applicants!

Accountants may offer some assistance, but far too few have experience with college funding. Although they are experts with income tax forms and tax strategies, college financial aid forms and college funding strategies are a horse of a different color. The good-intentioned application of accounting principles to college funding can actually hinder a family's chances of getting all the financial aid they are entitled to!

There is an endless amount of misinformation on the subject of college funding, and a good deal of it is from so-called reliable sources. Oddly, while many families seek professional counseling for their income taxes, few seek the expert advice of college funding professionals despite the fact that the average cost of one year in college far exceeds the average tax bill!

College funding professionals, a small group of admissions and financial aid experts, offer parents assistance through the college funding process and help families provide their students with the best possible education for the least possible cost. One would naturally assume they are in great demand and buried with invitations to lecture at America's high schools. Sadly, this is often not the case!

It would surprise and outrage parents to learn that, on a national scale, many guidance departments still refuse the services offered by college funding experts and authors, often stating that bringing in "outsiders" is against school policy, even when such services are offered absolutely free! Thus, every year parents enter the college funding arena without the necessary ammunition to do battle with the system - and severely overpay for college!

Reecy Aresty has been a financial advisor since 1977, and is founder and president of College Assistance, Inc., located in Boca Raton, Florida. He is the author of "How To Pay For College Without Going Broke," an invaluable, critically acclaimed, parent/student manual, (updated from its previous edition, "Getting Into College And Paying for It!"). Arguably the most revealing book ever written on college admissions and financial aid, it is also the only book of its kind available in Spanish. For the past 28 years, Reecy has helped thousands of families send their kids to the college of their choice for less than they ever dreamed possible. For more information on admissions & financial aid, and to checkout the best college book on the market today, please visit Paylessforcollege.com

Myths About Money For College Attendance

There are many myths about college and the college experience. The information below is to assist you in dispelling the some of the myths about attending College.

Myth: Your school college advisor can provide you with all of the information you need to know about attending college.

Fact: College advisors can only give you limited information about college acceptance, attendance and financing. With the increased level of competition to enter college, it is imperative that you seek out resources on your own.

Myth: Most parents (and students) have a savings plan for their child to attend college.

Fact: Very few families save in advance. If you have not started saving by now, the best way may be to obtain funding through scholarships and grants or through implementing the tools to attend college for FREE. Financial aid is another possible resource and can be an effective way in helping you with the cost of college.

Myth: You have to be really smart to attend college.

Fact: There is a college for everyone who wants to attend and everyone who is willing to study and put forth the effort to graduate.

The Numbers

14.5 million students are enrolled in the 3,638 US based Colleges; 12.5 million are enrolled at the undergraduate level.

79% of students attend public colleges; 21% attend private colleges.

56% are full time students.

23% are minorities.

70% are enrolled in the college of their first choice.

81% attend colleges in their home state.

50% of all college freshmen come from families with incomes of $30,000 to $75,000.

45.2% of American adults have some college education.

U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Education.

With economics being the way they are, and the cost of living continuing to increase, we wonder why more people don't attend college. Many are of the belief that college is still an unreachable goal. This may be because their parents never attended college. It may be because those around them have told them that college is difficult or that they will never make it through the college process. And, this cannot be further from the truth! Anyone who wants to attend college can go to college and a college education is the best way for you to guarantee professional success.

A college education shows that you have the tenacity to take the next step in academic achievement. A college education shows that you made the decision to become a well rounded individual and that you've taken the time to study a few subjects that may be out of your comfort zone. Yes, you will have to study English, math and science. You may even have to study chemistry, physics and biology, but when you finish, you will have knowledge on numerous topics that you could not acquire any other way. That is the true purpose of college at the undergraduate level. To make you a generalist, with the intent of you becoming a specialist in a specific vocational area.

A recent study indicated that 78% of high school students want to attend college. This study further detailed the three top reasons why most students don't attend college. The third most frequently cited reason why students don't attend college is because their parents didn't attend. But there are many things that you do that your parents didn't do. Your parents didn't have 3D video games, your parents did not have MP3 players nor did they grow up with the concept of going green. Throughout your lifetime you will do numerous things that your parents have not done. So saying that your parents didn't do it is a weak excuse.

The second most cited reason why some students don't attend college is because they don't know what to study. Many people are not sure about what they want to do with their lives. Just because you're not sure of your future does not mean that you need to become stagnant. College will expose you to many professions and opportunities that you may not be aware of. College will make you aware of vocations within vocations and professional opportunities that may be perfect for your personality. So this is definitely not a good reason not to attend.

The number one reason cited as why students do not attend college is finance. Money! And once again this is ridiculous. Financial resources should not serve as a hindrance to your attending college. Funding is available through various sources, through various organizations, through various means for anyone who wants to attend college. And anyone who takes the time and a little effort can quickly and easily find and make use of these resources.

Last year over $300 billion dollars was available in college scholarship and college resource funding, and a high percentage of this funding was never accessed due to students not searching, not applying and not making use of the resources available.

Paul L. van Putten II, Ph.D. is an educator, entrepreneur and business consultant in the areas of social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial start-up, marketing, media management and leadership engagement. Dr. van Putten has seamlessly transitioned between both academic and corporate environments having served as a College President and Corporate Executive. He has also served as a consultant with national and international organizations and is the author of Attend College for Free and Five Dollars to Freedom. http://www.nationaletc.com

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