Wed, June 28, 2023 11:30 AM

The third most common college mistake families make is assuming their student will get a full-ride scholarship. Now don’t get me wrong, you should be super proud of your son or daughter’s academic success in high school, but unfortunately, not all schools play by the same rules. Although your student is very intelligent or talented, public and private colleges only offer a small number of full-ride scholarships every year. Many families who were counting on their student being offered the big money are often disappointed in the spring of their senior year when they only receive a partial scholarship. The best way to avoid this disappointment is to do your college research ahead of time and always have them apply to backup colleges that will work with your family budget.

You and your student should actively search for scholarships to see what types of opportunities exist at the colleges directly and those they can pursue in the private sector as well. Upon doing your research, have your student reach out to their school guidance counselor or college and career readiness coach to explore other scholarships that are offered to students at their high school. It is possible these individuals will have scholarships only they have the ability to nominate students to receive, so making it a point to visit them on a regular basis throughout the senior year can lead to your student being selected. Don’t forget to pursue outside private scholarships as well – the more chances they take – the more likely they are to find extra money to help pay for college.

If you haven’t taken the time yet to run your Expected Family Contribution or identify what your students top 3 colleges will give them, then today is a great day to take action and run your College Money Report. It takes less than 5 minutes to input your financial and factual data and is FREE to complete. You won’t regret completing this early.

Need help with the College Admissions Process, Finding Scholarships, or with Financial Aid?

Schedule your Meeting with Dan Bisig – TODAY!