241. Unstack the Odds--16-Point Advising Plan

Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!

by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

17. 16-Point Advising Plan

Over the 10 years of its existence, our Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP) has developed and implemented the following advising plan for high school students.

1) Undertake a career exploration to identify matches between a student's strengths/interests and various fields/occupations, emphasizing preparation required and job-opportunities, perhaps via post 100 “Going To College: Step-by-Step” on the MVCAP blog website at http://mvcap.blogspot.com/2010/08/100-going-to-college-step-by-step.html

2) Begin a college search by determining which schools may best suit desired areas of study and academic programs as well as family finances, again via post 100 on the MVCAP blog website at http://mvcap.blogspot.com/2010/08/100-going-to-college-step-by-step.html

3) Get information about preparation, fee-waivers (if applicable), and registration, either online or mailing by deadlines, for the ACT and/or SAT.

4) Use an online estimator, like that on the website of the ACT (www.act.org/fane/) to determine financial need by calculating the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for the first year of college.

5) Compare EFC to costs of any colleges of interest, via a website like the link on the ACT site.

6) Search local resources, college viewbooks, and Internet sites to identify scholarships, tuition-discounts, and gift-aid.

7) Consider the advantage of Early-Decision and Early-Action options vs. regular admissions.

8) Select 3-6 colleges to apply to, based on the following student data:
a. strengths and interests;
b. desired career fields and corresponding academic programs;
c. high school curriculum completed;
d. grade-point average;
e. ACT/SAT scores; and
f. opportunity for financial aid, related to need (EFC) and merit (GPA, ACT/SAT score.)

9) Schedule a campus visit; evaluate your visit to consider “goodness of fit.”

10) Complete and submit online or paper applications for admission by deadlines.

11) Undertake the online PIN application process (for student and a parent), complete and submit, by priority deadlines for financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the web (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/).

12) Interpret the Student Aid Report (SAR), received after submitting the FAFSA, to determine EFC and financial need.

13) Interpret and compare Financial-Aid Award Offer letters from colleges to figure the “bottom line” (i.e., out-of-pocket expenses), monthly payments, and loan-debt.

14) Comply with “verification” process or request “reconsiderations” of financial-aid packages.

15) Decide a college to attend and which financial-aid package component(s) to accept.

16) If eligible, complete and submit an MVCAP Last-Dollar Scholarship Application by June 1.