College Costs HOW MUCH?

I can buy a small house for that price and I still have other children at home. Since you are reading this article, you have probably had that same feeling of shock and disbelief. Providing a college education requires preparation beginning the first year of high school and continuing through the senior year.

College preparation isn’t just academic, it is financial as well. And financial preparedness is not limited to savings, 529 plans, pre-paid tuition plans, or trust funds.

Just as companies try to create products on which we want to spend our money, we need to create students colleges want on their campuses.
Colleges want students that will create a great college community. They need bassoon players for the band and orchestra; they need physics majors to keep the physics professors busy; they need creative writers for the newspaper. Colleges also want students that will make the college look good and eventually donate money to the college endowment fund.

You need to create a desirable student. Much like selling a Maserati rather than a VW, a desirable student will bring more college-based money (tuition discounts) than their “sub-compact” classmates. Desirable students have great grades. Desirable students push themselves to learn and grow. Desirable students are involved consistently in extra-curricular activities: student government, student newspaper, band, sports, etc. Desirable students are willing to give away their time through community service.

Colleges believe the habits formed during high school will carry into college and beyond. What your student does, or doesn’t do, during the four years of high school will determine if you pay the small house tuition price, or the discounted tuition price.