Go to A Less Expensive School
Let me state a fact that you may not want to hear...you might not be able to afford to go to the school of your dreams. It’s true. The myth that a lot of students are fed is that because you’re
investing in education, price should be irrelevant.
There are a lot of things in life that are important and education is one of them.
My home is important. It’s where I live. It’s where I spend most of my time. It’s where I create memories with
my family. But just because my home is important doesn’t mean I can spend any dollar amount
necessary to get my dream home. It doesn’t work like that. Now if I have the money to just pay
for it, that’s one thing, but my guess is you don’t. The same principle is true with cars, vacations,
and clothes.
What makes us think that education gets a free pass and that we’re justified in graduating with piles of debt?
Sure you may want a “nicer” education or _____________ (fill in the blank) but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford it. I’m sorry if you’ve had your heart set on an outrageously
expensive school, and now I’m raining on your parade!
Keep in mind that most companies and businesses aren’t as interested in the name on the degree
as we think they are. Now I understand that in certain industries and professions, where you
graduated from carries some significant weight. But most of the time, where the degree came
from means more to the person who got it than the person reading the resume.
The knowledge is valuable, not the name on the piece of paper.
now what?
1. Evaluate if you’ve got your heart set on a school you can’t afford. Why are you interested in that particular school? What makes you think you can’t find a similar experience at a less expensive school?
2. Do your homework. Can you find the same degree program for less elsewhere? Compare apples to apples and see if what you’re really paying for justifies the value of what you’re receiving.
Bargaining with the colleges
There is not only a lot of competition among students trying to get into selective schools, but there is also a lot of competition among colleges to attract the best talent. If you’ve ever purchased some big-ticket item such as a car, you know one of the best forms of negotiation is to find two different stores with the same product and put them against one another. “Over at XYZ Store, they have this same product for 10% less than you do. Can you beat that price?” Then you take the new price over to the original company and see if they can beat it again. You do this a time or two until you get the best possible price for the item.
It may not be talked about much, but this works with colleges. If you’re a high-quality student and multiple schools are interested in you, why not put them against one another? I’ve heard about this a few times from students but one particular student I spoke with went back and forth between two schools and got an additional $10,000 in scholarships!
now what?
1. Write out on paper what your full financial aid offers are from each school, so you can compare apples to apples. Don’t include outside scholarships or funding. Just what you would receive if you went to each particular school.
2. Contact the schools individually to tell them what the other school’s offer was and see if they would match it or beat it.
3. Keep going back and forth until you have received the best possible financial aid package from each school.
Let me state a fact that you may not want to hear...you might not be able to afford to go to the school of your dreams. It’s true. The myth that a lot of students are fed is that because you’re
investing in education, price should be irrelevant.
There are a lot of things in life that are important and education is one of them.
My home is important. It’s where I live. It’s where I spend most of my time. It’s where I create memories with
my family. But just because my home is important doesn’t mean I can spend any dollar amount
necessary to get my dream home. It doesn’t work like that. Now if I have the money to just pay
for it, that’s one thing, but my guess is you don’t. The same principle is true with cars, vacations,
and clothes.
What makes us think that education gets a free pass and that we’re justified in graduating with piles of debt?
Sure you may want a “nicer” education or _____________ (fill in the blank) but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford it. I’m sorry if you’ve had your heart set on an outrageously
expensive school, and now I’m raining on your parade!
Keep in mind that most companies and businesses aren’t as interested in the name on the degree
as we think they are. Now I understand that in certain industries and professions, where you
graduated from carries some significant weight. But most of the time, where the degree came
from means more to the person who got it than the person reading the resume.
The knowledge is valuable, not the name on the piece of paper.
now what?
1. Evaluate if you’ve got your heart set on a school you can’t afford. Why are you interested in that particular school? What makes you think you can’t find a similar experience at a less expensive school?
2. Do your homework. Can you find the same degree program for less elsewhere? Compare apples to apples and see if what you’re really paying for justifies the value of what you’re receiving.
Bargaining with the colleges
There is not only a lot of competition among students trying to get into selective schools, but there is also a lot of competition among colleges to attract the best talent. If you’ve ever purchased some big-ticket item such as a car, you know one of the best forms of negotiation is to find two different stores with the same product and put them against one another. “Over at XYZ Store, they have this same product for 10% less than you do. Can you beat that price?” Then you take the new price over to the original company and see if they can beat it again. You do this a time or two until you get the best possible price for the item.
It may not be talked about much, but this works with colleges. If you’re a high-quality student and multiple schools are interested in you, why not put them against one another? I’ve heard about this a few times from students but one particular student I spoke with went back and forth between two schools and got an additional $10,000 in scholarships!
now what?
1. Write out on paper what your full financial aid offers are from each school, so you can compare apples to apples. Don’t include outside scholarships or funding. Just what you would receive if you went to each particular school.
2. Contact the schools individually to tell them what the other school’s offer was and see if they would match it or beat it.
3. Keep going back and forth until you have received the best possible financial aid package from each school.