The #1 Question to Ask Your College Counselor If You Care How Much You Pay for College

Whether you’re working with a high school college counselor or hiring a private one, you’ve probably asked all sorts of questions about the process. But if you’re like so many well-meaning parents – including me -- you may not think to ask the one question that could be the most important to your teen’s future.

It seems logical to want to know which schools their previous students have been admitted to and whether they’ll review your student’s essays, for instance.

Yes, you want to know the answers to both…and so much more.

Don’t get me wrong.  Those questions are important. But not the most important if you’re concerned about your child graduating with college debt or spending your retirement on college.

If you’re the least bit concerned about the cost of college, the #1 question to ask right away is whether your counselor will consider cost when creating your student’s college list.

Will they recommend colleges you’ll be able to afford?

In other words, is cost part of “best fit?”

It was 2009, but I remember like it was yesterday.  As Rebecca’s college counselor shared the list of colleges she was recommending, I asked how much each school would cost.  (Seems reasonable, right?)

I was shocked when the counselor said she didn’t know.

How could that be?

Isn’t cost always part of any purchasing discussion, especially one upwards of $150,000?

Like so many other parents, I had presumed that college counselors help with college costs as well as college admissions.  But most don’t. They focus on getting students into the highest-ranking colleges possible.

It became very clear right then that we parents must take control over skyrocketing college costs for our own families. 

No one is ever going to care more than we do about whether our kids end up drowning in college debt or we spend our retirement and savings to pay for college.

That was eleven years ago… before American students had $1.6 trillion in student debt.

Before $72,000 per year for some colleges was a reality.

And before a pandemic brought financial hardship to so many.

What do you do?

In addition to applying to colleges with varying degrees of admissions selectivity, I strongly suggest all students apply to Target, Reach, and Safety Schools for cost, too.

The only way your student can go to a college your family can afford is to apply to schools you can afford.

Twice last week alone, parents shared their dismay that the college counselors they were speaking with don’t provide information on the cost of college.

It is reckless not to make cost part of college planning. Even if you decide later to take out big loans or work longer or down-size your life, create options.

I am often am hired by families that have first worked with other college counselors.

When asked if she can suggest some less expensive schools, one popular private counselor responded, “Oh, I don’t do that.”

But the pandemic has raised the stakes.

All the uncertainties make it even riskier to over-spend on college, burden our families with college debt, or deplete our retirement and savings accounts to pay for college.

Is the coronavirus shaking up your college plans? Get “Navigating College Planning Through a Pandemic: Staying Safe, Sane & Strategic Saving on College & Supporting Your Student’s Dreams” HERE.

Got questions?  Want help? Email me at [email protected]