Parents wonder whether $40,000 a year will pay off
As the parent of a high school junior beginning her college search, I have my doubts about the steep tuitions charged by the selective, four-year, private liberal arts colleges my daughter is considering. As an alumnus of such a school, I appreciate the value of a humanities-based education at a well-regarded school yet wonder if it warrants today's price tag of almost $40,000 per year.
A.L., HinghamFiguring out the value of a college education may require a master's degree in economics if you measure its worth solely in terms of dollars invested and later earned. What future salary would compensate for the debt incurred by parents and students? Does an Ivy League credential really lead to greater earnings than a diploma from a less prestigious college? Is maximizing earning potential even the point?
Most high school students have been encouraged by counselors and admissions representatives to apply to the schools of their choice, even if the price looks prohibitive. The rationale: Scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study programs combined with parental and student contributions should make tuition payments possible. It sounds great in theory, yet few families and students want to shoulder a mountain of debt.
Your daughter should treat the pricier schools on her list the same way she'll approach college selection in general: have safeties, reaches, and reasonable options. If a pricey school comes through with a financial aid package that makes attendance possible, great. If not, you still have choices.
Some schools have the resources and the initiative to offer greater need-based scholarships than others. Some schools looking to enhance their academic profile will be generous with merit-based scholarships. A seasoned guidance counselor should be able to open your daughter's eyes to the sorts of packages particular schools offer.
My daughter is concerned with how she can make herself look good in the eyes of a college that does not require interviews. Also, how big of a role does community service play?
J.O., BostonAdmissions committees often first look for strong grades in challenging courses and high SAT scores when working through their pool of applicants. If the candidate meets their criteria, the personal statement can be the factor that distinguishes two comparable applicants. Since a personal interview is not an option, your daughter will want to pull out the stops on her essay. She and her English teacher can discuss how she can write an essay that reveals her character.
With more and more high schools offering, if not requiring, community service, many students choose to write about that experience in their personal statement. While some of these essays prove poignant, many end up sounding as obligatory as the experience they chronicle. Yes, colleges want a well-rounded, civic-minded student on their campus. That said, they tend to look for students whose volunteering stems from compassion rather than coercion.
I am helping my fourth child go through the college application process. What can I do to make it fresh and new?
P.R., New HampshireChoose schools in exotic, tropical locales, and plan a summer of college visits. Kidding aside, consider asking your other three children to sit down with their sibling and discuss the trials and successes they had when choosing a school. An honest talk about what they would or would not do again should help your child and lighten your load.
Ron Fletcher teaches English at Boston College High School. Fletcher and Ellen Peterson, a fourth-grade teacher at Union Street School in Weymouth, alternate writing the Globe's advice column for parents and college-bound students in the Sunday Education section. To submit a question, e-mail asktheteacher@globe.com. Questions, at reader's request, can be printed anonymously.
