Health & Fitness
BLOG: Who's at Fault For College Scholarship DisQualifications?
Every year it happens: Students apply to California colleges and then are disqualified from CalGrant when they COULD HAVE QUALIFIED. Here's why.
Every year it happens. Students apply to California colleges. Every year, they apply for government and institutional aid. Every year, they aren't told until the senior year, often right before the CalGrant submission deadlines, what their CAL-Grant GPA is.
And many are disqualified when they COULD HAVE QUALIFIED.
We had a student of a single mom, completely ready to go to her first choice college, hen, WHAMMMO! Her CalGrant GPA was .02 short of the threshold. That two hundredths of a point cost the family $13,000 the first year of college ... and traditionally, another three years of tuition and fees. (Another $39,000, so that .02 cost the family $52,000 over four years of college.)
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CalGrant GPA is a special calculation that is NOT on the transcript, and the time span is the sophomore and junior years in high school. By the time the student finds out they fell short, it is too late to do anything about it.
Why can't guidance departments of high schools send home the CalGrant GPA at the end of the sophomore and mid term junior years? If the GPA's are a teeny bit short, this will at least give students a chance to make up the shortfall. Yes, the parents should be more proactive, but sadly, many aren't, as they don't know the process.
Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Many families don't know that there are income and asset thresholds to receive the CalGrant. Actually, many guidance counselors don't know that either. In fact, I have been to "Senior Night" where the parents hear about the college admissions process and it is a joke at most high schools. Those who are looked on to advise wisely actually tell parents: "Just apply and hope for the best," or "You never know until you apply." Irresponsible and inaccurate.
If you are a parent of a high school student, ask your PTSA or guidance department to invite us in to speak to parents about the college admissions and financial aid process. We are a valuable resource for information that makes the college admissions process much easier and more accurate.
Tell all your friends about our next seminar at our office in the harbor, 9 a.m. June 16. For free seminars, WEBinars, and useful tools to help guide the college planning process, please go to www.GetCollegeFunding.org and sign up for our "7 Mistakes Most Parents Make When Planning For College."
