1 / 28

Reality Bytes for Parents

Reality Bytes for Parents. Getting Ready for College Early Presented by the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association . Revised 8/2003. Reality Bytes for Parents. Getting Ready for College Early. What is “College”?. Public and private four-year colleges and universities

oswald
Download Presentation

Reality Bytes for Parents

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Reality Bytes for Parents Getting Ready for College Early Presented by the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association Revised 8/2003

  2. Reality Bytes for Parents Getting Ready for College Early

  3. What is “College”? • Public and private four-year colleges and universities • Two-year community or junior colleges • Business schools • Proprietary schools (programs such as truck driving and cosmetology) • Vocational-technical schools

  4. Keep Your Options Open • Does that mean your child needs to know now, what they want to do “when they grow up”? NO!

  5. Then, why think about college now? • College can be the key to the kind of life you want for your child • It gives your child choices in - • The kind of jobs they can choose • How much money they will make • Ways they can help others

  6. There’s money if you need it • Every student can afford to go to college. • Every student is eligible for some kind of financial aid.

  7. Steps to getting you and your child ready for college

  8. Step 1: Helping make the decision • Research career options - • Talk to your children about their dreams • Help your children to • identify several career options • find the educational requirements for their career interests • talk with people about their interests (job shadowing) • find articles about their career interests

  9. Step 1: Helping make the decision • Importance of college – • Choose careers based on interests • More career options • Increase earning potential

  10. Education Pays….Unemployment rate by education level for 2011 (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)

  11. Step 1: Helping to make the decision • Choose the type of “college” – • Four-year college (university or college offering a bachelor’s degree or above) • Two-year college (community or junior college offering a training program, certificate, or associate’s degree) • Technical schools (skill centers and other schools offering occupational programs)

  12. Reality Byte: • You can encourage your child to research career options. Changing their mind about a career choice is okay, Failing to plan ahead is not. For More Information: www.mycareereducation.org www.mois.org

  13. Step 2: Getting Ready • You, your children and their school are working together to prepare them for a good life after graduation. • Taking the right courses for their future starts NOW! • Help them get the most out of high school - encourage challenging courses EACH YEAR. • Meet with your children and their counselor to help them plan.

  14. Step 2: Getting Ready Consider this – • Research shows that if students take challenging courses that make them think, they are more likely to go on to college. • These courses can also help them get into college.

  15. Step 2: Getting Ready • High school graduation requirements under the Michigan Merit Curriculum include: • Mathematics – 4 credits • English Language Arts – 4 credits • Science – 3 credits • Social Studies – 3 credits • Health and Physical Education – 1 credit • Visual, Performing and Applied Arts -1 credit

  16. Step 2: Getting Ready • Many colleges require additional courses in – • Foreign Language • Fine & Performing Arts • Computer Science

  17. Reality Byte: • Course selection: Easy is not always best - • Many times a student will choose based on what is fun and easy. • It’s up to you to encourage the challenging choices throughout high school.

  18. Step 2: Getting Ready • College credit while in high school – • Advanced Placement (AP) - college level courses offered by the high school • Articulation - occupational courses in H.S. or career centers that “transfer” to some college programs • Dual Enrollment - taking college courses while in high school that may apply to both the high school degree and the college degree

  19. Step 2: Getting Ready • College entrance exams – • Encourage your child to take the ACT or SAT in their Junior or Senior year • www.actstudent.org • www.collegeboard.org

  20. Step 3: Planning ahead • What Does College Cost? • Costs can vary a lot, depending on the type of school. • Parents and students need to begin saving NOW! • Tuition, fees and books are only part of the cost. • Additional expenses include housing, transportation, food, clothes, entertainment, etc.

  21. Step 3: Planning ahead • You can start your research on college costs at the U.S. Department of Education’s website on college affordability. http://collegecost.ed.gov/catc/Default.aspx

  22. Reality Byte: • Don’t eliminate any college because of cost - Even the most expensive college may be affordable after you look at all your options.

  23. Step 4: Paying for college • What you and your child can do - • Save • Use Federal income-tax credits • Use Student Financial Aid • Gift Aid - grants and scholarships that do not have to be paid back • Work Aid - a job during college to earn money • Loan Aid - money for college that must be paid back

  24. Step 4: Paying for college • Other sources - • Military service scholarships (full-time and part-time service) • Americorps, community service program • Civic groups and organizations, foundations and businesses

  25. Step 4: Paying for college • Cautions – • Scholarship Scams • Compiling debt • Excessive student loans • Credit cards

  26. Reality Byte: • It’s all about choices - Boat, cars, snowmobiles, pools or…. COLLEGE for your son or daughter You make the choices!

  27. Reality Byte - Final You can change college from a dream into a reality, so… Make planning for college part of your child’s daily life. Think College Early!

More Related