Don’t Be Like Most Parents And Waste Time: How To Start The College Application Process Right Now

 

I have a story for you. Two of my close friends recently sent their kids to college back in the 2018 fall semester. This was the first kid either of them was about to put through college so it was an important milestone for both parent and child.

 

They dropped off their teenager’s suitcase, helped set up the dorm room and then waved goodbye to their little kid, all grown up now and at the very beginning of their new adult life.

 

Now, both of my friends are well aware of what I do for a living so they each told me about their experience with the whole college process.

 

One of my friends, let’s call him John for the sake of privacy, is very happy with where his child is going to school. His kid got into her dream school and she was not even the top student of her graduating class. Her school offers the major she is interested in which was hard to find on most other campuses and there are a ton of clubs for her to try out and explore.    

 

My other friend, let’s say Ryan…well, he is pleased that his kid is going to college, but he is also extremely stressed about the mountainous pricetag of the next four years. He is concerned if he will be able to afford the yearly cost of his child’s tuition and all of his regular expenses. He might have to get a second job or dip into his savings.  

 

At this point, You may be making some guesses about the difference between my two friends. You may think that John must be sitting on a fortune of money and the cost of college is no big deal for him. Maybe you are thinking that Ryan bit off more than he could chew and should make his child go to a more affordable school.

Well, both of those assumptions are far from being correct.

 

John is a school teacher and makes an average amount of money in his field. He works at an afterschool program throughout the week and continues teaching throughout the summer to make sure all his expenses are taken cared for and he can support his family.

 

Ryan is the founder of a successful business and has quite a large income. He is able to take a month off of work every year and vacations with his family in a new place each time.

 

There is only one contributing factor that is the reason why each of my friends is having completely different experiences of putting their first child through college and it is this:

 

The start date of their college planning process.

 

Let me explain. Getting into college is not as simple as just filling out an application and crossing your fingers that you will get in.

 

Parents have to build a strategy.

 

So, why is the start date of your college planning process so important? Well,  let’s think about Thanksgiving dinner.

 

Let’s imagine that it is your first time having the family over and you have promised to do all the cooking yourself. Are you going to start cooking the turkey, the stuffing and the pumpkin pie all around an hour before your family shows up? I hope not!

 

What’s more likely is that you will plan out your menu a couple of weeks prior, make a grocery store run a few days before and start cooking everything early Thanksgiving morning or you may even start the night before.

 

The point of this example is that when it comes to getting the best results, the results that you are hoping for, you have to plan way in advance.

 

If we go back to my two friends, one of my them started planning for college when his child was in her first year of high school. The other started the application process when his child was in his senior year of high school. Can you guess which one is which?

 

The main reason John is incredibly happy with his child’s college acceptance and stress-free about the yearly cost is that he started planning for the results that his family wanted early.

 

Ryan on the other hand, waited until his kid was a senior in High School to begin the college process and because of his lack of preparation, he is nervous and unsure about his financial future due to the high cost of college.

 

Now, if you find yourself in a similar situation to Ryan. Maybe your child is about to be a senior and you still have no idea how to successfully navigate the application process, then all is not lost.

 

The #1 best decision you can make as a parent for your aspiring college student is to craft a strategic plan to not only be accepted into your dream school but, to have an affordable financial aid package. You have to know the rules of the game you are playing.

 

Now, the game of getting into college without breaking your bank account is not an easy game to beat. And why would colleges want to make it simple to get into their establishment? Keep in mind that colleges are a business and they will not give away money so fast.

 

That is exactly why I founded College Planning Experts back in 2004. Our experts are professionals with years of experience in the college planning process. We want nothing more than to help families get into their dream schools in as affordable a way as possible.

 

We do not want to see any more parents waste precious time while their child is in High School.

 

Do one of these two things today to start planning your strategy to successfully get into your top school.

 

1. Call us at  (818) 201-4847 to schedule a FREE initial consulting session with one of our experts to discuss your specific situation and how we can help you.

 

1. Meet us in person at one of our weekly workshops. Visit this link to see when our next workshop and how you can sign up to be there.

 

If you would like to contact us for more information, you can always reach us at any of these places:

 

Our Website:  https://collegeplanningexperts.com/

Our Phone:   (818) 201-4847

My Email: brian@CollegePlanningExperts.com

Written By Brian Safdari

Founder and President Of CollegePlanningExperts.com