Along with the final high school transcript sent to the college committed to, students who have been placed on wait-lists might send a final transcript to those schools as well. While there's no guarantee that submitting a final transcript will boost their chances, it doesn't hurt to try.
In a normal year, students would have completed their roommate preference surveys, submitted housing and health forms, and taken whatever subject placement tests their college requires.
If the student is a D1 or D2 athlete, the NCAA also needs a copy of their final high school transcript.
A Parent's Right To Know What's Going On Is Not Automatic
When a student reaches the age of 18, they are considered adults and thus have certain rights of privacy. Parents should know that the college won't automatically give you the right to access your child's educational and financial records. They won't be able to comment on the health of your child, either. This is because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA. To have access to all of the above, your student will have to sign a form explicitly allowing you, as parents, to access certain information.
Here is a sample waiver Proxy Access and Authorization. Please check the college’s website on how to gain access to your child's accounts.
HS Juniors: Thinking Ahead
Because the number of college applications has declined so much (the exception being the "brand-name" institutions where applications have increased exponentially), the smaller regional colleges are at risk of merging with other institutions or of closing their doors altogether. Since 2020, we've seen at least 57 public or nonprofit colleges close, merge, or announce closures or mergers. There are consequences to the towns these campuses inhabit, especially those in rural spaces.
If the college your child is considering is seeing a shrinking student body, the town can suffer in ways that may negatively impact the college experience.
As an example, there is the town of Montgomery, West Virginia. When West Virginia University decided to move West Virginia Tech to Beckley, a bigger city an hour away, Montgomery effectively became a ghost town. Even the pizza parlor was forced to shut down.
One aspect of the college search that isn't usually considered includes learning the financial health of a college and its long-term viability as an institution of higher learning.
This can turn out to be very important information to have. The last thing you want to find out is that at the end of your student's sophomore year they will have to transfer because the college is closing. This link lists the credit ratings of 937 colleges and universities.
Real Estate, Business Values, and Farms Are Being Counted Against You
There are parents who receive income from real estate rentals. These parents mistakenly believed that their real estate was a business and therefore wouldn't be counted in the financial aid formula. To the contrary, rental real estate is considered an investment.
However, the FAFSA now asks for the values of any business or farm the family owns. However, there is another option: Instead of filing a Schedule E, discuss with your CPA or accountant the creation of a U.S. Corporation and file an IRS 1120. The income you take is ordinary W-2 income and a portion of the rent can be taken as a loan. Yes, the income is taxable but you can reduce your tax liability in any number of ways.
Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA the values of any business the family owns is included. Businesses with hard assets and inventories will be assessed and could reduce or eliminate any need based financial aid that would have been available prior to the 2024-2025 school year. The only type of business that is excluded are US Corporations that file IRS Form 1120.
But the value of the business is just the equity. Liabilities are deducted from the market values. Also until now, family farms were excluded from the aid formula. Now the equity, acreage, and the equipment are counted against those families.
Unless Congress repeals the law or the parent persuading the college to use it's Professional Judgement to exclude it.
This May, the price tag of a student transferring to New York University at $99,000 for the coming year. As a student transferring to the film school the student qualifies for no institutional aid or scholarships. This students aid package included $6,500 in loans and $3,000 in non-guaranteed Federal Work Study. That leaves the family to pay $89,500 out of pocket.
I can't imagine any parent wanting to be in this position. The best thing to do is seek guidance from a professional college funding advisor. That way, a parent can learn about options and the benefits and burdens of each one.
Comments