Financial Fit

Decision day for most colleges was yesterday. Some universities decided to postpone the date since the rollout of the new, “simplified” FAFSA has been such a nightmare this year. It is hard for many families to sit down and have tough financial conversations with their 17 and 18-year-old children. Some families decide that if their child gets into a “dream” school, they will figure out how to finance that education later. This tends to leave teens heartbroken when they have gotten their heart set on a school only to find out that the financial aid package is not what the family was anticipating.

It is advised for parents to sit down with their teens and discuss what is affordable for the family and what isn’t. There are some great resources to search for schools based on how much merit aid (what we used to call scholarships) and need-based aid they typically give to students.

When families have these challenging discussions ahead of time and make financial fit be part of the overall discussion of a right fit school, their children are more likely to end up with a list of schools that they will be happy to attend and will also fit within the family’s budget. Feel free to send me a private message or a text if you would like me to share those resources with you.

(By the way, some schools will cost more than $100,000 per year starting next year. That’s a story for a different day!)