I occasionally encounter parents who have a high school-aged child or children, and they’ll say something like, “I don’t know how we’re going to pay for college.”
That statement always causes me to react in a shocking way. That will never not happen because I’m a financial planner. That response happens because I’ll never understand why people decide to wait. Like seriously. If you knew that you wanted your child to attend college (because most don’t just randomly decide that when they get to high school), what stopped you from starting the planning process shortly after they came out of the womb?
I understand that as a parent (because I am one), you have a ton of competing priorities. However, I’m not saying you have to have it all figured out from the beginning, but you have to start. I recommend starting something (financial) for your child soon after their birth. That’s why I generally remind people to read a piece I wrote called 18-year head start.
Some people reading this might feel like I’m being critical, and it’s because I am. And it’s not that I want to make you feel bad, but from my experiences as a financial planner, I’ve heard countless horror stories that have prompted me to do more. I’m constantly working to educate parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and anyone concerned about getting these babies off to college and ensuring they don’t graduate with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.
And, for those parents who have waited, know that you’ll need help getting your kid to college. Student loans will always be an option, but let’s do more to avoid those. Speaking of things to avoid, I researched the top mistakes parents make when applying for college funding. Parents made more than 30 different mistakes (from various experts), but I boiled things down to the top ten.
Top 10 mistakes parents make when applying for college funding:
- Not doing research to understand financial aid and merit scholarship formulas
- Procrastinating to start the process until your student’s senior year
- Assuming the cost and process of college admissions are the same as when you went to college
- Having your student take the lead without you being involved in the process
- Relying solely on your high school guidance counselor
- Waiting to apply for college at the deadline
- Saying you’re “too busy” to attend college fairs
- Having your student concentrate on their major instead of their career
- Assuming you won’t be eligible for financial aid because you earn too much money
- Going through the financial aid process alone because it’s more affordable
Please share this list of mistakes with a parent who has a high school-aged child or children. If we can avoid these mistakes, our babies will be much better off in the long run.
The #BuildWealth Movement® works tirelessly to Disrupt Generational Poverty® for everyone so their kids, kids, kids can live a life of privilege.