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Advanced Preparation Lowers College Costs
The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) claims that only about 40 percent of students graduate from college in four years. This ultimately impacts the cost of education. If a student takes five years to graduate, the total cost could increase 25 percent, and if a student takes six years to graduate, the cost could increase 50 percent. Therefore, helping your student find the right college may be one of the most cost effective ways to pay for college. But how can you help your student choose the right college to better the odds that he or she will graduate on time?

One of the more effective ways to help ensure timely graduation is for the student to have a career in mind prior to choosing a college. By starting with the end result of a college education, a career, you and your student can establish the minimum education required by the field and also determine what level of education will enhance the student’s employability.

After you know the education requirements, the next step is to help the student select six to eight colleges that will provide the appropriate level of education while also meeting the student’s criteria for an acceptable college. By applying to six to eight colleges,, a family can look at how the student matches the profile of other students attending the college. Cost and how colleges distribute aid to families should also be considered, as some colleges will only provide need-based financial aid, while others may provide more merit-based aid.

By careful planning and forethought, you can avoid the scenario described in the article “Are Four Years of College Financing Enough?” by CollegeBoard.com. The article mentions that many students take longer than four years to graduate because they switch schools. The article cites a NCES survey stating that “59 percent reported attending more than one institution during their undergraduate education,” and also states that the “National Research Center for College and University Admissions estimates that over half of students switch majors at least once.” Failing to initially find a proper fit between student, college, and major can therefore lead to increased time in college and ultimately increased cost.

But what if your student doesn’t know what he or she wants to do? This will definitely add to the challenge of finding an appropriate college. A systematic approach can then be used to create a student profile that identifies the skills, values, interests, and personality of the student. Once this student profile is established, various careers and occupations can be explored that have similar profiles as the student’s. This allows the student to narrow in on a career or, at the very least, a field of study that will be fascinating and hopefully motivating.

The student who is focused and who has a purpose for their education—an exciting career that brings satisfaction--is then more likely to finish his or her education on time. Not only may this translate into success for the student, but it may also translate into financial success for you, the parents.


"Are Four Years of College Financing Enough?" CollegeBoard.com. 2007. 31 Oct. 2007
http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/pay/scholarships-aid/36990.html.