Families that work with us normally have a good idea of what keeps them up at night when it comes to sending their children to college. For some families, it may be the grades and standardized test scores. Some parents are scared they will have to borrow $100,000 to give just one of their children an education. Some parents worry that their children don't know enough about the world to choose what they want to do with their lives.
These worries sometimes lead families to ask whether we can provide à la carte services for only one or two components of the college planning process. But at Ensphere, we don't believe in choosing between educational planning OR financial planning. Successful college planning involves educational planning AND financial planning. The two go hand in hand when a family defines a well thought-out plan for sending their children to college.
When we define the "family corporation" at Ensphere, we think of the family as a tripod: if one leg fails, it all falls down. The first leg of the tripod is the student's. What can the student do to maximize his or her chances of getting into the best college that fits his or her needs and provides the best shot at a successful future? The second leg is the parents' leg, part of the financial side of the process. The third leg is both the parents' and students' responsibility: how are we going to pay for college?
1) The student's responsibility is to study hard, receive the best grades possible in high school, and prepare for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT. Although parents can encourage their children to strive for the best, it is ultimately up to the student to decide whether he or she wants to put in the effort to get the results needed. Picking a career path that will direct the student toward the correct college major at the right school is the pinnacle of the educational planning side.
2) Many parents are under informed about the financial process that their family will go through when sending their children to college. They may not understand why the FAFSA is asking them certain questions, and they don't realize that filling out just one question wrong can significantly reduce their chance at financial aid. Parents need to know how their income and assets drive the amount that colleges expect to come out of their pockets each year. Telling their children that they must pay 100% of the cost of college may not be fair when the parents' income is ultimately determining the cost.
3) The third leg, how are we going to pay for this, is a combination of the first two. Every family has a philosophy on the best way for the college bill to get paid. There isn't necessarily a right or wrong philosophy because every family is different. But this is really where the educational planning and financial planning come together. All the hard work that students put into their grades and standardized test scores will determine the schools that will accept them and the merit scholarships they will be offered. The work the parents have done to understand the financial aid process and how their wealth will affect the price of college will determine the college the family can responsibly afford. The ultimate "right-fit" school will be the school that offers the student the best chance at a successful college and work-force career, and the school that offers the best financial package to fit their family's needs. College isn't a four-year choice, it's a forty-year choice.
Educational planning and financial planning for college isn't a matter of one or the other. They go hand in hand to ensure the family has a rock-solid plan in place to send their children to the right college without blowing up their retirement plan. You can't lose weight without eating healthy AND working out, you can't get to a new area without a road map AND a vehicle, and you can't successfully send your children to college without an educational plan AND a funding plan.
Chris Horan, College Planning Specialist
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