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Understanding Financial Aid Methodologies

Applying For Financial Aid

So you know you will be applying for financial aid and you’re hearing something about methodologies.

Well, you’re hearing right. Methodologies is plural. There’s more than one. In fact, there are actually two methodologies for calculating financial aid: federal and institutional.

The federal methodology is used by the federal government when you submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) while the institutional methodology is used by individual colleges who require you to submit the CSS Profile, which is actually administered by the College Board.

So, what’s the difference beyond the names?

Good question.

While the FAFSA is required by all schools, only a couple hundred private schools require the CSS Profile. So, if you’re applying to the University of Connecticut, you won’t be required to fill out the CSS Profile. If you’re applying to Wesleyan University, a highly selective liberal arts college, you will be required to submit the Profile and you will then be subject to the more stringent requirements for aid eligibility.

The institutional methodology most often shows that a family needs to pay more for college than the federal methodology due to some of the following reasons:

1. If you own a business, 100% of its equity will be assessed.

2. Assets held in the names of siblings will be considered parental assets and assessed as such

3. Your home equity will be considered an asset

4. Only untaxed social security benefits for the student will be excluded. Benefits for the parent will not be excluded.

5. Pre-tax contributions to flex-plans for healthcare and dependent care are assessed as untaxed income

6. Education tax credits are assessed as untaxed income

Essentially, the federal methodology is much more forgiving than the institutional methodology. Since private colleges are dipping into their endowments to award institutional aid to their best applicants, they want to make sure this money is being used wisely (a very subjective term, here).

So, at the end of the day, take a close look at which schools you are applying to so that you know who is going to require the CSS Profile. Not all private schools will, but the more selective the school, the greater the chance that it will be required. You can find this information on the school’s financial aid website of by visiting the list of participating schools and programs on the CSS Profile webpage.

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Eric Sep 25, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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How One Student Made The Most Of His College Visit

Making The Most of College Visits

I received a call the other day from one my students, Nick, who had spent the day at SUNY Oneonta, a regional state university situated in the middle of upstate New York. He was scheduled to attend their information session but had also called ahead to secure an interview with an admission counselor. With the school residing nearly four hours from his hometown, it wasn’t likely that he was going back for a second visit before application season takes off. The school had only recently shown up on Nick’s radar and with a day off from school for Rosh Hashanah, he and his dad made the trek to campus.

Once the interview was over, Nick and his dad decided to skip the information session. He felt they had already received so much good information from the admission counselor that sitting through a 45-minute presentation would be redundant. They took a chance and decided to go off the beaten path to explore campus on their own.

Nick is a prospective music industry major so they decided to visit the music building to take a look around. Once inside, they ran into a few students. They made small talk with the students and then happened upon a professor who was on his way to teach a class. After introducing himself, the professor offered to show them around the building. He talked about the program’s strengths, the opportunities that were there for a student like Nick and also showed them around the sound recording studios. But it’s what happened next that got me so excited for Nick.

Realizing the time had come for his class to start shortly, the professor invited Nick to sit in on his class.

Nick accepted this professor’s offer and spent the next hour and half getting a taste of what a college class would feel like.

I’m so proud of him for doing what he did and I couldn’t have scripted it any better even if I had tried. If Nick had just sat through the information session, he would have missed out on all of this. He never would have sat in on the class, he never would have had a first hand look at the studios and he never would have called me with the level of excitement in his voice that I heard that day.

Instead, he took a chance, struck up some conversations and ended up having an experience that may just end up being a game-changer by the time his applications have been submitted and the dust has settled.

Now, that’s how you make the most of a college visit.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a FREE 60-minute consultation.

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Eric Sep 08, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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A Conversation About College

A Conversation About CollegeLearn More at Dobler College Consulting’s College Admissions Workshop

I will be hosting a free workshop titled, “A Conversation About College” on Monday, September 30th at Sacred Heart Church in Southbury, CT. For more information or to reserve your seat, head over to my Events page.

The workshop shares strategies to help your son or daughter navigate the college admissions process while eliminating mistakes that tend to reduce their chances of admission. Topics include college lists, essays, interviews, campus visits and what you need to know about making college more affordable.

All workshop participants will receive informational handouts and will be eligible for special discounts off private college counseling services.

Don’t live in or near Southbury? You can easily get in touch with me to set up a free 60-minute consultation to help address your pressing college admissions-related questions and issues.

Also be sure to snag your free copy of the Top Ten Tips For Navigating The College Admissions Journey.

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Eric Sep 01, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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Applying For Financial Aid

Applying For Financial AidIf your son or daughter is going to college, then you already know that you need to apply for financial aid. What you may not know is that there are two different financial aid applications.

First, let’s talk about the application everyone needs to fill out before we talk about the application some of you will need.

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s the application that is required by every college in order to consider and then award financial aid to your son or daughter. The FAFSA is free and while it will take some time to fill out, if you organize yourself ahead of time it will be much easier.

The FAFSA is a smart form which you will find very helpful. Based on the information you enter, the FAFSA customizes the questions so that you only need to answer questions that pertain to your individual situation.

While everyone needs to fill out the FAFSA, based on colleges you are applying to, some of you may also need to fill out the CSS Profile.

The Profile is only required by a couple hundred private schools in addition to some scholarship programs. Unlike the FAFSA, the Profile is not free. It will cost you $16 to register and then an additional $9 per school for each school to which you send the form.

Starting your Profile application is a two-step process. First, you must register. And you must do this in one shot. There’s no saving and going back, so get your documents and information together first, register for the Profile, and then complete the applications.

To help yourself out with the FAFSA and the CSS Profile, you will want to collect the following before you get started:

  • Student’s social security number
  • Student’s driver’s license number
  • Statements for checking and savings accounts
  • Copy of last year’s tax return and W-2’s
  • Statements for any investment accounts
  • Current mortgage statement (Profile only)

Both applications go live on October 1st so it’s important to start your financial aid application planning now. While the college admissions process is about to take center stage for the next couple months, it’s also time to think about the financial end of things. It can get complicated with college visits, prepping for the ACT and SAT, completing applications and looking at the financial picture.

If you want some help and guidance to make sure you’re doing it right, set up an appointment today for a free consultation.

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Eric Aug 28, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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Four Ways To Explore Careers

Four Ways To Explore CareersConsidering I went to college with no idea of what I wanted to do, I spend a lot of time talking with my students about how they will make the most of college. I don’t expect them to have their life’s plan mapped out and ready to be laminated, but I do expect that they are ready to talk about their VIPS and how they can help direct them toward a major and, ultimately, a career path.

However, talking about career ideas will only get you so far.

So, here’s a few ideas on how you can get past talking and actually get into trying on mode:

Informational Interviews

Let’s say you’ve been thinking about being a lawyer but you don’t know what kind of law you would like to practice. Well, there’s no shortage of lawyers in any town or city so start calling up law firms and ask if any of the lawyers would be interested in being interviewed about what they do. Go in with a lot of great questions and you can learn a lot very quickly.

Job Shadows

While an informational interview can help you gather information, a job shadow is a great way to try on a profession for a day or two. Staying with the lawyer example, reach out to your family and friends (otherwise known as networking) to see if they know any lawyers. Then, ask for an introduction where you can ask about shadowing for a day or two to learn more about what they do.

Volunteering

If the job shadow goes well and you find yourself even more interested in being a lawyer than you did before you started exploring, volunteering some of your time now to help out around the office can be a great way to learn more and, ultimately, earn an internship, or part-time job later on. As a volunteer the tasks will be small, but the overall experience, interaction and networking can be incredibly valuable.

Summer Programs on College Campuses

They don’t come cheap, but some colleges host summer programs for high school students to explore career paths more in-depth. For aspiring lawyers, the Penn Pre-Law Summer Program lasts for an entire month and includes tuition, housing, meals, materials and weekend trips. A program like this should only be pursued if the previous three options have been exhausted.

Want some help navigating the college admissions journey? Give me a call now at 203.525.4096 or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com to schedule a FREE 60-minute consultation to discuss your college counseling needs.

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Eric Aug 04, 2013 , , , , , , No Comments