Should I Start Planning for College?

There are 2 parts to the question – Saving FOR College and Saving ON College. First, you should start saving for college before your child is born, ok maybe not realistic but accurate. With the cost of college going up at an alarming rate, it is difficult to imagine that the average current cost for a public university is almost $100,000 for a four year degree (some students get done in 4 years, but the average is more than 5 years). There are many options for saving for college. The key is to start saving.


The second component is Saving ON College which is deadline based. My first recommendation is not to rely solely on the current system in our high schools. Much of that responsibility is put on the high school counselor, who usually helps over 400 students at any given time. So as much as they would like to help, it is physically impossible to give each student what the parent may expect. All is not lost, there are options. The key is not to wait for the current system to control your student’s destiny. Start having the college discussion with your student when entering high school. This will give them a chance to recognize the importance of high school, as it relates to getting into college. This is not a one-time conversation; their needs to be encouragement throughout High School. Early planning will allow for many opportunities to Save ON College (including the best chance for Financial Aid). The longer the family waits to address the financial aspects, the more likely they will pay full price for the education.

As an Independent College Consultant, I offer an amazing amount of help and support to my enrolled students, but it works best when the Family System is engaged. The Family System starts with educating the parents about the entire college admission process. Then, their role is to encourage and motivate the student. In addition, the parents should help the student to embrace the need for a successful high school experience. This in turn, will result in many options for a positive college experience. Starting at a very early stage in the process, the parents must be engaged and involved. The student must understand why high school academic performance, testing, and extracurricular activities are so important in determining their future collegiate experience.

An Independent College Consultant will play a vital role in getting students into the best college possible at the lowest cost possible. Are you aware that in certain parts of our country families start strategic college planning as early as 1st grade (this may be a bit early), while in other locations the process starts as early as middle school. When do you plan to start? Remember the competition is the students from every high school in the country plus the international students. Approximately 3 million students apply for college each year in this country. How do you plan to prepare?

Contact Ron Rotenberg, Independent College Consultant, if you would like to learn more about the planning process or would like to become a client. Located in Torrance, CA 310-377-0668, www.collegefinancialfunding.com