College financing is a quagmire right now. Those who are indebted are part of a $1 trillion tab that grows daily. Yet those entering college can still graduate debt free.

Every year, a parent asks me about how college financing can work in their favor. I believe that only in rare circumstances should one go deep into debt to finance a degree. Community and commuter colleges are one primary route. Scholarships and grants are another.

“The fact is, 1.7 million private scholarships and fellowships are available, estimated at more than $7.4 billion,” according to James Lewis, president of National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), based in Atlanta . “Unfortunately, too much of this sum is left on the table because students don’t think they qualify or simply don’t know these scholarships are available.”

PROMOTED

I asked Lewis how more students can obtain these grants, which don’t have to be paid back. He suggested the following:

·  Research, research, research. Most parents and students don't realize the breadth of scholarships available, regardless of academic merit, annual income, and more.

·  Don't assume you're not eligible. Countless private scholarships are available for athletics, minorities, STEM & STEAM, community service, music, and those from government and large corporations. And there are off-beat ones: Tall Clubs International offers financial aid to women taller than 5-foot-10 and men taller than 6-foot-2.

·  Do it right. National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) has a Your First Scholarship available to students who have not yet applied for or won one, and it walks applicants through the process. It also comes with "toolbox" for students to use in all their future applications. It stresses that there is no room for error – spelling and proper grammar are non-negotiable.

·  Apply early and often. Looking for a private scholarship requires research and time, so start early, even before senior year in high school, to kick-start the process of identifying and applying for scholarships. Most students don’t know that once they are in college they can continue to apply for grants and scholarships to help pay for sophomore, junior, and senior years as well.

To these tips, I would add that you need to search locally and nationally for scholarships. Community service clubs offer scholarships through local chapters and national offices. Both of my daughters received them.

While some scholarships may require essays, many do not. The variety of options is immense — from Burger King to underrepresented students. The key is to research and send out as many applications as you can, preferably when you know which colleges are on the top of your list.

Keep in mind that colleges rarely tell you all of the grant opportunities they offer internally. You have to press hard to find out. Don’t be shy about telling a preferred college that other aid offers are on the table from other institutions.

The internet is always a great place to start. There are several search engines that specialize in grants. Also keep in mind that above-average students automatically qualify for scholarships at most schools, often under the title of “Presidential Scholar” programs. And don’t forget that local businesses and chambers of commerce usually offer some kind of scholarships. But you need to apply for them.

Even if you’ve chosen a school, don’t think that all of your options are exhausted when your college of choice makes a financial aid “offer,” which often includes loans, which you don’t have to accept. Ask them if they have work-study or grant programs to avoid debt. Then do your own homework. It will pay off.

College financing is something that will impact the rest of your life, so regard it as a shrewd personal business decision. Be smart and tough. Negotiate!

By John F. Wasik

I offered my condolences to the father of a student turned down by their dream school. The father seemed to be taking the news in a calm, but disappointed, manner.

But his goodwill had its limits, which was clear when he talked about the letter his child had received. “The second half of this letter is absolute nonsense” he said. “It says, ‘You have a great deal to offer as a student, and we know your future will be bright.’ What is that all about? If he has so much to offer, then why didn’t they take him?”

Rejection letters are tricky things, to be sure, and it’s wise for colleges to offer as much support as possible when communicating a no. At the same time, these letters need to consider the cognitive domain of the reader as well as the affective domain. If all you have to offer is a hug after just saying no, that’s not going to confuse everyone—it’s going to anger them, which is what the colleges wanted to avoid in the first place.

What would have helped this rejection letter? Well:

Data Once a student is told they weren’t admitted, it’s pretty reasonable they’d like to know why. This is where a few basic numbers can be a college’s best friend. “We saw an increase of 14% in our applicant pool over last year, which meant we had to turn down many students who would have otherwise been admitted.” “The average high school GPA of our admitted students this year was a 3.7, a significant increase over past years.” Anything along these lines gives the student some idea as to where they stood, and why they landed where they did.

Institutional priorities Every college has its own quirks in the admissions decisions each year, and they aren’t always the same. A lack of engineering applicants increases the chances that students who wanted engineering are more likely to be admitted, while an increase in History majors means a smaller percentage of them are going to get a Yes. Some of these priorities are established at the start of the year, while others are shaped by the applicant pool. Either way, it’s not unreasonable to share them with applicants whose hopes have been dashed, since it provides context.

Encouragement to apply again This year’s applicant pool may be record setting, but that may not be the case next year. Following up a little bit of data with the suggestion they consider applying again, either as an incoming freshman or a transfer student, drives home the idea that the college really did think the student had possibilities. And with a big drop in high school seniors coming up, it’s not a bad idea to build next year’s applicant pool now.

That said, there is one thing that should never go into a rejection letter. Suggesting that the student wasn’t admitted because the college sensed the student didn’t align with the college’s mission or values statement is nothing short of insulting. Sure, oboe majors shouldn’t apply to engineering school. On the other hand, saying a student isn’t admissible because of some philosophical divergence is pretty cheeky. Would this student really not have been accepted if the applicant pool had dropped by 20 percent?