College Admission Help

High school seniors anxiously await word about their college admission futures
By MARÁ ROSE WILLIAMS
The Kansas City Star
March madness is over. Now it’s April anxiety for high school seniors waiting to hear from colleges — whether they are in and how much money they will get.
In this economy, even more than in years past, how much money a student gets in federal grants or scholarships, or from an institution, can be the deciding factor in choosing a school.
Beyond waiting on financial aid, the situation is complicated further for students hoping to attend a Missouri or Kansas university.
Schools in both states have promised that tuition increases will be small — or, in some cases, nonexistent — if legislators limit state funding cuts.
Chris Kimberling, 18, a senior at Oak Park High School, has been accepted at Pepperdine University, Texas Christian University and the University of Missouri. He has a 4.0 grade-point average and has gotten some scholarship money. But he is still waiting to hear how much assistance he will get from his top schools.
“He’s gotten in, but now he’s waiting to find out — can he go?” said Lori Dameron, an Oak Park teacher who works with students and their parents on college acceptance and financial assistance.
“There is a lot of money at stake,” she said.
Some of the top schools, especially the private ones, can cost more than $50,000 a year to attend. And like a lot of students, Kimberling “can’t go without financial aid.”
Kimberling said he did get financial offers from Pepperdine and TCU, but “it really wasn’t enough, so I had to appeal to them for special circumstances. Now I’m waiting to hear back. It is really very stressful. I’ve been working toward this the last four years and now it’s down to the wire whether we can afford it or not.”
Kimberling’s classmate Andrea Pope, a Merit Scholar, is breathing a sigh of relief this week. She had been waiting and hoping for money from the universities of Southern California, Miami and North Carolina.
USC has offered her a scholarship to cover half the tuition there. But North Carolina has offered her a full four-year ride. She’s leaning toward North Carolina.
But what about students who don’t get the money they’re hoping for or into the school they’ve always dreamed about?
Not getting into your top-choice school is very likely this year, even if your grades are top-notch, said Kristen Campbell, a spokeswoman for Kaplan’s division of college test preparation and admissions service.
“All the reports out now say that rejection rates are higher than ever because schools are getting record applications,” she said. “The 2009 high school graduating class is one of the largest in history, so colleges and universities are inundated with applications for admissions and for financial assistance.
“The more competition for limited slots, the more rejections.”
And because of job loss and the market’s fall, more families have applied for federal financial aid, making competition for those dollars tough as well.
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Here’s help
Here are a few tips to help students and parents figure out their next steps when it appears that all the options for college admissions and paying the tuition have been exhausted.
What if you get rejected?
•Don’t despair. See your high school counselor about why you were not successful.
•If it’s a dream school and you plan to reapply in another semester, follow up with the college. Find out why you were rejected. Fix it before making a second application.
•Take a hard look at the schools that accepted you. They may be better fits, or they may offer financial help.
•In early May, the National Association for College Admission Counseling maintains a list of colleges that still have openings on its Web site, at www.nacacnet.org.
•Check out community colleges. They can be a good steppingstone to a four-year school. Most have open admissions and are less expensive.
•If you go the community or two-year college route, look for a school that routinely sends students to the four-year college you ultimately want to attend.
What if the financial aid package isn’t enough?
•Check with the school’s financial aid office. Most schools will try to help with any extra money or work-study programs they might have, or suggest other alternatives.
•Ask about government-subsidized loans first. Unlike many regular loans from private lenders, subsidized student loans allow the borrower to wait until after college to pay it back.
•Sometimes, borrowers must rely on private loans in addition to their federal loans. Private student loans should be considered only after all other options have been exhausted. Some school financial aid offices keep lists of possible lenders.


High school seniors anxiously await word about their college admission futures