Get Going Workshops

by Joanne Levy-Prewitt

Student’s Financial Status Influences College Selection

Q: My daughter is a rising senior. She is bright, athletic and does volunteer work. She has A's in all her classes, very high SAT scores and will graduate high school with eight AP classes on her transcript. She will apply to small liberal arts colleges, and I assume she has a chance of getting into highly selective schools.

Because she has such high scores and grades, I expect that some of the less selective colleges on her list will offer her scholarships (merit aid). We will not be eligible for financial aid based on need, but I am not crazy about spending $45,000-plus a year for her to be at a highly selective college that won't offer merit scholarships. She could, however, get $10,000 to $15,000 in scholarships per year at a less selective school.

Am I hurting her by denying her the privilege to go to these highly selective schools if they accept her? Will she be successful and intellectually fulfilled at the less selective colleges? I don't want my penny-pinching to ruin her chances for the best possible life.

A: If all factors are equal, and by that I mean a strong faculty, programs, majors, small class size, commitment to undergraduates and excellent facilities, I think your daughter will be intellectually fulfilled despite the selectivity of a college.

However, there are other considerations. Let's assume that College A and College B cost the same. And let's assume that College A will be forthcoming with merit aid for students like your daughter, but does not guarantee to meet the expected financial needs of all its students. Moreover, let's assume that College B will meet financial need but does not award merit scholarships. When colleges have divergent philosophies about attracting students, there are significant differences in the "big picture" of the school.

Colleges that try to attract high-caliber students with financial incentives based on merit, like College A, are often trying to increase their standing in the published rankings by raising the profile of the admitted students. As they use scholarships to attract students with high GPAs and test scores, they also become seemingly more selective, thus raising their place in the rankings.

Some have argued that giving monetary incentives to accomplished students diverts money from educational programs and departments, as well as from the pockets of students with true financial need. If a college has fewer students with financial need, it might also have a less diverse campus, which, I think, will not benefit anyone.

To be fair, though, attracting a more accomplished student body, even with financial incentives, might eventually translate to a more interesting and intellectual student body. But colleges could also use that money to recruit high-quality professors and improve programs or facilities, like College B might do, with the same result.

So, how does this affect your daughter? I think it's better to be on a campus with a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, and that means being at a college that commits its resources to the classroom, the professors and the kids with financial need instead of committing its resources to increasing its place in the published rankings.

Will your daughter learn less at a campus dedicated to raising its rankings? She'll probably not learn less about math or history, and if she works hard, she'll not be less intellectually fulfilled or successful, but she'll also not have the chance to learn among an economically diverse student body, either.

I recognize that you, as do all families, have to consider many factors when determining the amount of money you can afford and are willing to pay for college, but I think there is more at stake than most people realize.

COPYRIGHT 2007 JOANNE LEVY-PREWITT