A. Should You Start with a Junior or Community College?

One way to reduce college expenses is for your child to attend a two-year program after high school, and then transfer to a four-year program. Junior and technical colleges cost significantly less than four-year colleges and universities, making them a good place to complete general education requirements, such as math and language courses.

Two-year programs also lower your financial risk. Lets face it — some students have a hard time to adjusting to the demands of college. A two-year program provides space to mature, without costing you a fortune if your child struggles academically or even drops out.

Nevertheless, there are two potential problems with this plan. First, not all of your childs credits may transfer to the four-year program. If they do not, youll end up paying for your child to take the classes again at the four-year school.

Also, be aware that some schools limit financial aid packages to transfer students. Before committing to a two-year program, check with your childs top choices of four-year schools to see what limits they place on credit transfers and financial aid packages.

B. Establish this relationship prior to Admittance!

Most parents and students lack an understanding of the relationship they should develop with financial aid officers and the role that the financial aid office can play in reducing college costs.

First of all, it is very important that you establish a personal relationship with the aid office at your potential schools. The old saying, Its easier to help someone you know than a stranger certainly applies.

Second, you should understand that college financial aid is big business and that the goal of each individual financial aid office is to meet enrollment goals set by the institution with the best fit student at the least cost to that university.

That being said, the Director of Financial Aid has broad discretion when it comes to adjustments made to your financial aid application. This is referred to as professional judgment and allows the director to change items as he or she deems fit in order to more accurately reflect your financial situation.

Special circumstances include such things as one-time bonuses, loss of employment, disability and large medical expenses. Be sure and document these expenses and notify your financial aid office of these special circumstances as they occur.

And dont leave out the Bursars office!

So, when researching your choice institutions dont just pay attention to the traditional search criteria such as courses offered, academic reputation, geographic location and athletics. Additionally, be sure to inquire about special scholarships, installment plans, guaranteed cost plans and tuition reductions for good grades. Just remember, if you dont ask, they cant say yes!

C. Use this FREE Resource

“You’re not living up to your potential!” This phrase is an age-old favorite in the parental arsenal of phrases to use when discussing a child’s academic performance. But when it comes to college, how do you truly know whether your child is living up to his or her potential?

Could your daughter cut it at an Ivy League school? Your son dreams of going to a west coast college, but does he have what it takes to compete with the region’s other applicants and which schools should he apply to? What are the chances of sending your child to their chosen college on scholarship money?

If these and other questions related to your child’s college ambitions are keeping you up at night, stop losing sleep and start getting answers with the College Opportunity Calculator. All you need to get started is the following information about you child:

SAT/ACT scores
Colleges in consideration or area of consideration

Within minutes, the College Opportunity Calculator will determine your child’s potential to get into over 3,600 universities or earn over 2,000 scholarships. This handy tool will save you hours of research time into past college admission scores, the highest ranking colleges in a state or region, and college costs. You can search schools by national rankings, by cost or by your child’s best chances of being accepted based on the information you entered.

So, start living up to your potential as a smart and savvy parent of a college-bound student and find your child’s potential by using our FREE College Opportunity Calculator as often as you like.