Colleges will trim and revise financial aid offers for the next few years. High school Class of 2020 and 2021 will be the first to feel the impact.



Those statements are, admittedly, my own reckoning. I have no insider information. What I have is the ability to add 2+2+2 and come up with 6 as my answer.

• The ongoing corona-virus precautions are generating new expenses (sanitizing alone!).
• The onset of the pandemic wreaked financial havoc -- the closing of campuses.
• The tanking of our economy is pressuring everyone -- citizen and university alike.
• Every college in America is anticipating reduced enrollments and, consequently, reduced revenue.
• Looking to the U.S. Treasury for bailouts?  Get in line, right?

• Parents
  • Read again, and thoroughly, the agreements and contracts you and/or your student signed for financial aid awards. The colleges have language in there that is a backdoor for them. Understand what your rights are under the terms of the agreements, and what the college's prerogatives are.
  • Anticipate reductions in "scholarships" and other grants-in-aid (non-federal). Reductions in financial aid grants may not come this fall. You may see them Winter Term; and definitely anticipate revised financial aid offers for the 2021-2022 academic year. Revised -- what I mean is, you may not be proffered the same amount of financial aid for 2021-2022 as you received 2020-2021.

• Students  
  • Now more than ever, devote yourself to academic pursuits. You do not need to make straight A's. Don't put that kind of pressure on yourself. You must, however, demonstrate maturity, along with focus and commitment to academic achievement.
  • Do NOT "cut" any college classes (i.e. skip school). Less-than-100% attendance will be a first consideration (my prediction) for modifying financial aid awards. If you miss because of illness, follow carefully the requirements to be excused. Read your student handbook.
  • On the same track do NOT veer astray of standards of conduct, honor codes, campus security, etc. Stay away from alcohol, marijuana, non-prescription drugs, and whatever else your peers are indulging. Violation of codes of conduct will result in revised financial aid awards.
  • Do NOT spend any cash deposited to your student account on personal-pleasure trips, non-academic gadgets, etc. Food, shelter, clothing and academic supplies only! Save those dollars to offset any reduced financial aid realities in your sophomore year, and so on. A school audit of your use of financial aid is not out of the question.

Financial aid appeals will, I predict, flood college offices in the spring of 2021. Staff will be overwhelmed and will grab the "Denied" stamp reflexively. Any deviation from excellence in academics, or personal conduct will be all of the justification needed.

Hang on tight, my friends. The decade of the 20's promises to be a wild ride.
 

Did Hough High school students really receive $14,000,000 in scholarships?

That is how the headline read in the blog "Cornelius Today."

"How come my student didn't get that kind of money?" you may painfully wonder.

"I'm going to find those scholarships for my child!" you may resolve.

Take a deep breath and let's dig into the numbers.



Click this link and see the table breaking down all high schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg's system.

$13,953,220 awarded in 287 scholarships. I could go on all day, but I will refrain and make just four, simple points.

• There were approximately 700 seniors in Hough's Class of 2020, and 287 scholarship winners reported. +/- 400 students (apparently) were awarded $0.00.
• Do the math and the average scholarship is $48,618, yet the cost-of-attendance at most UNC System universities is under $26,000
• At the bottom of the report critical data is noted: over $23,000,000 were athletic grants-in-aid. That is NOT "Scholarships." Athletic-grants-in-aid are awarded to athletes for athletic prowess. Some athletes report only modest academic achievements.
• Finally, the $48,618 average scholarship is an aggregate number. In other words, as students heard back from 4, 6, 8, 10 (or more?) colleges, and as each college tendered an offer of, let's say $3,000 per year, or $4,000 per year, maybe even $10,000, all of the numbers were added together for that student to aggregate at $48,000+

Let me tell you about Michael. He was awarded (rounding off) $30,000 by Rose-Hulman, $28,000 by Rennselaer Polytechnic, $3,000 by the University of Maryland**, and $22,000 by Virginia Tech. Using the criteria above, I could have reported that my student, Michael, was awarded $83,000 in scholarships. Instead, my report is that Michael is at Virginia Tech paying in-state tuition as an out-of-state student. An excellent deal for his family!

As the saying goes, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Before I go, here's a final, encouraging note. Michael will pay around $100,000 - $110,000 for his bachelor's degree in engineering. Do you want to guess how Michael is spending his summer, between college junior and senior years? As I write this (June 18) he is starting an internship with General Motors in Detroit, working in the autonomous, electric vehicle research division.** I expect him to be amply rewarded for his excellence in academics, and to recoup that $100-G's quickly.

** University of Maryland and General Motors will not hyperlink. Copy and paste the URLs here:
https://umd.edu
https://www.gm.com/masthead-story/electric-vehicles-AV-EV.html

I'm a parent. I'm nervous about my child going to college. What advice do you have?

#COVID-19. #CORONAVIRUS. #GEORGEFLOYD. #BLM. #ANTIFA. #CIVILUNREST. #SOCIALDISTANCING. #WEARAMASK. #PANDEMIC.

Parent and grandparent that is, first and foremost, my self-awareness; so, I get it. My advice is:

• Trust your parenting. High school students are in their late teen years. The truth is their character, values and self-image are formed and functioning. This morning I watched a video showing a great woman confronting two reprehensible children. At the end you hear her lament, "This is wrong. This is just wrong." Watch it. It may surprise you.

• Safety is another issue. I can vouch for the colleges that, despite the preponderance of left-wing, political sentiment pervading college faculty and administrations, the safety of the students remains paramount. The Federal government, years ago, enacted legislation mandating colleges to improve safety protocols The Cleary Act.

• Not being a qualified medical or health business, Succeed Where It Counts will not comment on the likelihood of a student becoming gravely ill while at college either attending classes, or in a dormitory, or at a social event. Confusing reporting about the incidence of infection and mortality among young adults leaves my mind spinning (and perhaps yours, too) . Colleges are all working hard to figure it out how to open campuses, safely. Recognize and remember, every year students attending college become sick. Some gravely ill, others merely a bump along an otherwise healthy road, but college students getting sick is a fact of life.

• What are your student's options? 

  • Work for a year after high school? First, good luck finding a job right now. Second, the public sector is certainly no more safe than a university campus.

  • Attend Community College? See the previous answer.

  • Stay at home? Do you agree, that is the worst choice possible? Unless we're talking about a young adult with a seriously comprised immune system (yup, I have a granddaughter in that group) we have raised them to make their way in the world, confidently and successfully. Graduating from high school commences the moment of truth.

  You may be asking yourself about now, "Is this guy a politician, or what?!" Did I dance around the question; talking without answering? Here is my answer right up front: if you were planning on college a year ago (or longer) nothing right now should cause you to change those plan.

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