Nice upbeat title...check. Puzzled look on readers face...check. Contemplating new title - How I paid for college with only $500 a year out of pocket...uncheck. Keep original title...check.
Ok. For all of you worried about college or how to pay for college, here is my story. It might help you. It was a process that took some time to learn and quite honestly was the result of my mom's tireless efforts.
Read some tricks below.
First. Accept that you are struggling, you might even consider yourself poor. Well, you know what it is the best thing possible when you are trying to go to school. These are tough financial times. I feel sorry for the saps who are still making 250K and trying to send their kids to school. In other words, do not try to put on a brave face. Every little expense is killing you. And you want to keep it a secret...don't. Shout it out - be proud. And make sure the financial aid office knows it. I'll explain how later.
Ok it's later now. Here is a step-by-step process for getting more financial aid from the university of your choice. Personally, my experience was for a very elite private school in the Chicago region. Tuition/housing hovered around $21,000 per year in 1990. Lots of dough and my parents never made more that $25,000 per year. Still don't for that matter.
Step 1: Get accepted. Apply for all available federal grants, GSL, and any other money you can think of. Don't call too much attention to yourself right now. Take what they give you. Attend your first day of classes and get through any probationary period.
Step 2: While you are attending classes for that first quarter, have your family (Mom/Dad) document any unanticipated expenses. Tires went out on the car - unanticipated. Furnance needed repairs - unanticipated. Little sister needs braces - unfortunate. Everything. I mean everything. Every penny, pfennig, shilling, or franc. One more time, everything.
Step 3: Before (do I need to repeat this - I hope not) the end of your second month in school, go introduce yourself to the Director of Financial Aid at your school - Assistant Director will suffice. Say hello. Take 10 minutes to meet the nice man/woman behind the counter. Look respectable. Nice sweater - khakis (buy a pair if you need to). DON'T TALK MONEY YET. Wait for it. Make an appointment to come back in in 2-3 weeks. Mention (as an aside) that things are changing a little bit with your family and you'll know more about it in a couple of weeks.
Step 4: Go to the appointment - armed to the teeth with facts. Write a nice letter spelling out all of the unanticipated financial hardships your family has suffered in the last three months. You would be surprised how someone who works at a university understands how little things can really blow a budget. Of course if your Dad just bought a 60" flat screen, you might want to stop reading here. Austerity is the word.
Step 5: The Killer Close. Calmly but forcefully explain the situation. Walk the financial aid officer through the letter - explain in great detail. This is your 15 minutes on stage - it's showtime baby. Now for the kill... Well, first a little secret. Universities are businesses -- baawhat? Yes. That's right. They are businesses. They run their operations like any other business. They want to purchase their products (you) for the lowest possible price. You know that bullshit financial aid package they gave you in August. Well, it was bullshit. They knew it. You knew it. But you like everyone else accepted it. Well, you did back then. But not anymore. You are bringing out the big guns now (lots of war imagery here). And the biggest gun of all ... wait for it.... wait for it... YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL... sigh. How sad. Well, it's bullshit and you know it. But they don't. It's a business and you are in a complex negotiation and you need leverage. YOU NOW HAVE LEVERAGE.
Step 6: LEVERAGE. For any credible, elite, self-important school, the most important statistic is the 4-year graduation rate. It is the one they covet and the one that US News and World Report obsesses about. It is the difference between Top 20 and the school your mom went to. Now that you have attended at least 1 semester/quarter, you affect this statistic. If you drop out, you are a black mark against their good name. Now at every university, a certain percentage of freshman just can't cut it - drugs, drink, pregnancy, lack of intellectual horsepower. That's not you or your kid. This is financial. The university does not want a black mark on their good name if maybe an extra $1000 or $1500 bucks can prevent it. Think of the rankings!!!! Now, don't over do it. Just matter of factly state that if you don't get additional financial aid...loans, work study hours, and free money, you just won't be able to make it.
Step 7: The polite thank you. Walk out of the office. Thank the professional financial aid officer for his/her time. Tell them that you will need to know an answer before registration occurs and wait.
The Result: YOU WILL GET MONEY! It may only be $750 or it may be an extra $1500. But you will get more. Now think about it. You spent 2 hours preparing and participating in a meeting and you made a thousand bucks. How many work study hours at minimum wage is that??? Hmmmm? K.
Finally, it may be more GSL money. See earlier diary. I say take it. It's cheap money. You'll pay it back.
Now here is the real BIG secret...do this every quarter (I repeat every quarter) until you graduate. You must do it. Unless your folks win the lottery. As a personal example, I paid $500 out of pocket each year. The rest came from work study, GSL, Pell (oh those were the days), and university grants. Play their game. It's a business relationship and you need to come out on top!