[00:00:00] Welcome everyone. My name is Julie Shields Rutyna, and I am the director of college Planning education and Training at MEFA. And today we’re gonna talk about college admissions.

So a little bit about MEFA before we start. MEFA is a state authority and we’ve been around since 1982 working to help families plan, save and pay for college. And we continue to do that today and we work with, with your students, your families, but also we. Really want to support you in your, in your job as counselors and advisors, uh, giving guidance to students.

And so this webinar, this, this talk is about the, um, is part of the MEFA Institute, which is MI a’s professional Development series for counselors. And you can, uh. [00:01:00] Receive professional development points for, uh, attending these webinars and reviewing these lessons and it’s, it’s very easy to do. So you’ll be able to do that right from our website.

Today’s topics are going to be the current trends in college admissions, your college list, so that’s how you work with your student to help them develop a college list. And then we’ll talk a little bit about campus visits, the application process, um, and we’ll touch upon financial aid all the while talking about our free resources.

But please note that we have many more lessons that get into much more detail about financial aid. So you might wanna check out those lessons as well. Alright, so what are some trends in college admissions today? Well, one is that. Students and you see this are applying to a greater number of colleges, um, that continues to, to be the case.

And part of the [00:02:00] reason for that is just because of the, um, the competitiveness. And students wanna make sure that they apply to enough colleges that they have good choices and options in the spring of their senior year. And because of that, something called demonstrated interest can be a factor. So when students applied to fewer schools, way back when, if a college received an application from a student, they were pretty certain that that meant that the student really wanted to attend their college.

But with students applying to so many colleges now, um, they’re not necessarily sure what that means. They’re not sure if that means that their friend, a student’s friend, you know. Put that college on the list and the student just added at the last minute, or if they’re really interested. And so some of the ways that a college can, uh, think about.

Is the, is the student really interested? Is they’ll see, did the student reach out to us? Did they come and do a campus tour? Did they have [00:03:00] come and do a campus to on campus for a presentation? Did they reach out to an admissions counselor or ask some questions of one of the students that works in our office?

Um, all of those ways. Can show a college that the student is interested in attending and can be a helpful statistic in the admissions process. Now let me be clear, some colleges don’t look at that at all. Uh, so I guess the way that I would talk to students about it is just that if they are really interested in a college, they should make sure to make some connection or contact, um, in case that can be a factor.

And let’s talk a little bit about social media. So really. To be honest, social media is, can be a, a, a big positive in the college admissions process. Uh, colleges have social media accounts. There’s a lot going on on those accounts, so students can really use that as a source of information about a college to [00:04:00] see what they’re posting, what’s going on on campus.

They can really learn a lot. So that’s a terrific use of social media in the college admissions process. But the caution is that with students and all of their information out there on social media, we want to continually tell students that they should really be. Make sure that their profile that is outward facing should be one that they would be proud to have anyone look at, uh, a potential job, a future college, um, or anyone else.

So they should just make sure that their social media profile, um, is exactly how they want it to be out there. Uh, another trend is just that cost, um, is a bigger factor than ever. Uh, and in a way that’s a good thing. Uh, cost has always been high and has always, uh, been a lot for families, but. Families seem to be paying a little more attention to that now.

Uh, you hear [00:05:00] conversations about return on investment and, um, you know, looking deeper into programs and how many students graduate and how many students, um. Graduate with what debt and all of that. There’s a lot of information out there and I will show you a couple of sources. Um, it’s just good to pay attention to that upfront because really, um, you want your students to choose a college that’s good academically, you know, a good fit socially, and also that’s affordable for the family.

Um. During the pandemic, many colleges, uh, when students couldn’t be on campus, many colleges started a lot of virtual programming where you can take a campus tour online. They, they’re holding webinars online. Um, they’re having virtual. Question and answer sessions, all of that. And none of that went away after the pandemic.

So [00:06:00] now colleges want you to come to campus, they want you to visit, they wanna see you, but, um, but they have left, kept all of their virtual programming. So that’s a great thing to tell your students that, uh, if a college is far away and they can’t visit, they can absolutely, um, you know, participate with the college, um, in some of their virtual.

Programs to learn more. Um, there are more test optional colleges. That means those are colleges of course, that don’t require the SAT or a CT. I think you probably have heard, uh, there are. A number of colleges who are now requiring it again. And, um, that seems to have grown a tiny bit, uh, where there are colleges that want to have an SAT or an a CT score, but there are plenty that don’t and don’t require that and really don’t look at those scores.

So, um, that’s another trend, uh, because college is so [00:07:00] competitive and students are applying to so many colleges. Another trend is that wait lists are long. And if a student gets on the wait list, there’s no guarantee that they will, um, you know, get into that, that school. Um, it’s different for every single college.

And lastly, there’s another, uh, new trend called direct admissions. And you might’ve seen this with some of your students, that some colleges. Are sending out admissions offers without receiving an application from the student. So maybe the student, um, you know, has a profile in Common app or the student, um.

Took a college board test, something like that. And so there’s some information about the student out there and colleges think, Hmm, this student would be a great fit for us. We’re gonna send them an admissions letter. And, um, that’s before [00:08:00] the student even applies. And at first that seemed a little crazy, um, because it was new and different.

But you know, there are some real benefits to that where usually then if a student follows up and does submit an application, it’s usually a much shorter application. Sometimes there’s not a fee. Um, the student can just fill out a little bit of detail and then. Solidify that admissions offer. So the admissions offer would usually say, we’d like you to come, you’re admitted, but we need you to follow up with your transcript and you know, do a FAFSA for financial aid or something like that.

And then if the student does those things, they can be admitted to that college. So I’ve heard some good stories from students where maybe a student hadn’t thought of a particular college and they receive a letter like that and that, you know, gets them considering that. So that’s another trend. Um, an important step for a student is to just stay organized with this whole college [00:09:00] process.

Um, MEFA has this tool called the college Application Manager online, but I think students can just put together their own spreadsheet as well. But we just advise and guide students to, to keep track of things so, you know. Put, put a chart like this together where all of the schools that they’re interested in and what’s the admissions deadline, what’s required as part of that admissions process?

And then do they need to do a standardized test? What’s the financial aid deadline? What financial aid forms are required? And any notes, just so they can keep track of all of that. And here are some tools to help students really begin the process reaching colleges without ever leaving. Their homes or your office or whatever.

And, um, that’s college navigator.gov and college scorecard.ed.gov. Those are federal, uh, websites, government websites that have lots and lots of information [00:10:00] about colleges. So you can see on the right of your screen this university, UMass Boston, it gives information about where it’s located, the graduation rate.

The average annual cost, the earnings of graduates, you know, you have to take some of this data with a grain of salt, but there’s a lot of data out there and it’s, it’s a nice thing for students to be able to explore that. And then some other college searches that are popular. Our big futures website, that’s the college board, big future.college board.org has a great college search where a student can put in information about what they’re looking for.

Do they wanna stay in New England? They, do they want to go to Florida? Do they want to, are they interested in science? Uh, put all of that in, and then have a list of colleges that they wanna peruse further. Pop up for them. And MEFA has our own MEFA pathway. At MEFA pathway.org, [00:11:00] students can go in and create a free account and there’s so much information in MEFA pathway for them.

And it’s also a college search based on preferences. And what should students consider when they’re thinking about colleges to apply to, um, institution size and location? Um, that’s really important. Location, they might have an idea of upfront, many may not have an idea of size. So it’s helpful if you can guide them to thinking about, um, looking into some larger schools, some medium schools, some smaller schools to get a sense of what they might like about size.

Um, you know, I sometimes ask students questions. About, would you like to go to a college where you feel like over the course of your four years, you’re gonna get to know everyone in your class? Or would you like to go to a college where you never know everyone? So you continue to meet new people each year and students might [00:12:00] think differently about the answer to that.

Um, of course, academic fit, US counselors have a really good sense of that. Uh, but. It’s good to have students be in an environment where they’re with like students and, uh, so they can look at the profile that the college has put out about the statistics from the last class, GPA standardized test scores, if there are those, and, um, really get a sense of what the student body looks like.

Of course, we want students to, if they know their intended major, we want them to apply to colleges that have that major. And then from high school, they may have a sense of their learning style. You know, do they learn best in a small classroom with a lot of. Classroom discussion or do they like to sort of sit in the back, take it all in and go study later.

And that’s how they really retain the information and learn best. And that kind of [00:13:00] plays into institution size and the type of classes, uh, that, that are held on campus. Even though there probably are mix of all kinds of classes, it’s just good to have a sense. Uh, some colleges may have more smaller classes versus more larger classes.

Uh, and campus culture, uh, that is nice when a student can visit a college and, and get a little bit of a sense of that, that could include, is it a big football school? So Saturdays in the fall is everything dedicated to around the big game. Um, is it, does it have a religious, um, component? And is that sort of.

Seen on campus, um, someone might like that or not like that. And then for the other things, activities, study abroad, programs, career and internship services. I feel like most colleges have all of that. And you know, I. I think you do the same of encouraging students to, when on campus, take advantage of [00:14:00] all of those things.

But if a student has a particular interest, like I know I wanna study abroad in South America, um, they might want to just inquire about that. Are there programs that that allow that? Um, or they’re really interested in doing paid internships. Does the college have access to a lot of paid internships?

Things like that. And then the affordability piece, um, they, they do want to look at the cost, but again, the cost is the, the cost minus financial aid that they’ll receive is really what they wanna think about. They really wanna think about what their family is gonna have to pay. And there’s some tools that they can use to help them do that.

And you know, we always encourage. Campus visits, uh, students of any age can get on a college campus informally and walk around and check it out and go to a sporting event, go to a [00:15:00] play, go to a concert. Uh, but once they get to be a junior in high school, it’s a good idea to make sure that they register with the admissions office and do a formal visit, meaning maybe they.

Sit in on an admissions presentation, they talk to someone in the admissions office, they take a tour so that they can see the dorms and the, uh, dining hall and the library and the sports fields and all of that. Um, so, and again for that demonstrated interest piece, it’s nice to be able to log in that I was here and I, I had a nice, um, time here.

Another place where students can learn about colleges is at college fairs. And the two big organizations, um, here in New England are NACAC and ne A a and both hold college fairs. So Stu students can go to those websites, find out where and when they are, and [00:16:00] it’s good to go in with a plan. You know, maybe they wanna look at the colleges who are going to be at that fair.

Sometimes it’s hundreds upon hundreds. And think about those that they wanna visit. So they go in with a, with a plan, because otherwise it can be somewhat overwhelming. And usually those fairs also have people to help with financial aid questions, admissions questions, major questions, all of that. Um, and the, I do know the NACAC fair, um, is in Boston this year, in the spring,

and then. How does a student think about developing that college list? Uh, you want them to search far and wide to think about all of their options, but here’s some things that they probably should think about. Most of the colleges that they’re applying to, they should feel like they will likely be admitted.

So in other words, they’ve really checked out the [00:17:00] college, they’ve looked at the profile of the students who attend that college. They know their own grade point average and what they’re interested in, and they find that this college is a pretty good match. It’s likely they will be admitted. So that is, um, how they should think about a lot of the colleges on their list because again, they really wanna maximize their options in the spring when they’re making a decision.

But we talked about competitiveness and so they also might have some colleges on the list that they, they really like and they think they’re a pretty good fit. It’s very competitive. It’s either a very small institution or just a competitive institution, so it’s possible they’ll be admitted. But they’re not sure of that.

But they’ll probably have a couple of colleges like that on their list. And then they might also fall in love with what we call reach schools, meaning it’s a really competitive college and [00:18:00] it’s not a guarantee for ev anyone, no matter how great your grades are or any of your credentials. Uh, there are just some schools such as the Ivy League colleges that we all know where it’s.

They just receive so many applications from qualified candidates each year that they just cannot possibly take them all. So you could be the best student with the best grades and uh, still maybe not get in to those types of institutions. So that’s a reach, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be on your list. It just means you should have plenty of likely and possible colleges on your list as well.

And then let’s talk about the college application types. So regular decision means that, um, there’s usually a. An early January deadline. Sometimes right after the break, colleges have their admissions deadline, and that means that the student would apply early [00:19:00] January and then would probably receive their admissions offer and financial aid offers maybe in March, definitely by April, because then they have to let.

The colleges know by May 1st, which college they’re going to choose. That’s national Decision Day, but many colleges have early action. They just allow students to apply earlier, and those early action deadlines are usually in November or December. And all that means is that the student applies in November or December and then they hear back from the college much earlier, sometimes before that winter break, but if not, maybe in January or they hear back much earlier.

But they still don’t have to let those colleges know until May 1st. So that’s nice. If they feel ready, they can do that with a couple of colleges even, because it’s sometimes it’s nice to just hear you’ve been admitted to one college that you like kind [00:20:00] of. Takes that anxiety level down and a student can feel good.

Um, so that’s how those go. There is something special called early decision, and that’s a little different. So early decision has deadlines that are earlier in November or December. There’s early decision one early decision too sometimes. Now that is a binding agreement when a student decides to apply to one college early decision.

They are saying to that college, if you admit me, I will attend. That’s what that binding agreement is, and the student signs off, parents sign off, counselor, you sign off. And just saying that the student really understands what they’re saying there. So I would usually tell a student that three things really have to be in place for you to apply early Decision number one, that the college you’re applying to is by far.

Your top choice well above all [00:21:00] the others. And number two, you have to be sure that you can pay for it, and we’ll talk about that in a minute. And number three, not only do you have to be sure you can pay for it, you have to be comfortable with the fact that. You could receive much more money from another college, but you’ll never know because you’re agreeing that you will come.

And you’re also agreeing. You will, if you are admitted, that you will withdraw your applications from the other colleges so that you never learn if you’re admitted to them. You never learn what the financial aid would’ve been at those other places, and you just accept at the early decision college. So that’s a lot to have in place.

To file for early decision on the plus side. You know, we talked about demonstrated interest. That’s that, that looks very positive to an admissions office when you are, uh, saying. I’m applying early decision. Um, so there can be a slight [00:22:00] advantage on the admission side with that because you’re really saying, if you admit me, I will, I will attend.

Um, I mentioned that you have to be sure you can pay for it. So I’m gonna show you some calculators in a moment like net price calculators they’re called where you can go in and a family can put in information in those to get a sense of what financial aid the student would receive and therefore what.

The student would have to pay, and the family has to feel really comfortable with that. Um, so they should do all of that research upfront to feel comfortable. Now, let’s say they do all of that, but when they finally get an award package from that school, it, it really is not affordable. Well. Then that’s the case.

But, um, it, it doesn’t look great to break that binding agreement. And so the student really needs to do all of that legwork upfront, uh, to go into an early [00:23:00] decision application, really with a full good faith effort. Alright. Then we have rolling admissions. That’s, sometimes colleges just open their doors and say, you know, you can apply anytime November through May.

I usually encourage students in a situation like that to apply on the early side in case there is any money that could potentially run out. And then there’s open admissions that would be like our community colleges here in Massachusetts that will accept, accept students who’ve, you know, um, met the requirements.

Um, high school graduation, GED, and um. We’ll accept students into a community college. So that’s open admission. However, there are programs that community colleges have, such as nursing is, is one that are capped at a certain number of students. And those can be small programs. And so it doesn’t mean that you can get into any program at a community [00:24:00] college, um, anytime.

So some of the programs could be, could be limited, but. You can get into the community college to begin taking general classes.

And then here are some of the college application forms that colleges will tell you. Um, they accept the common app, which is a form that students go into the Common app. It’s available August 1st before their senior year, and they complete that online, and then they can choose the colleges where it should be sent so they’re not having to repeat what they’re.

Typing into that form for every college. So that’s a really nice benefit to these types of applications. And a college will just say, we use the common app and a student will go and do that. Uh, then there’s the Universal College app, the coalition app. Similarly. So if a college requires um, or allows one of those applications, a student can go [00:25:00] online, do that application, and then send it to the colleges that they’re interested in.

Sometimes colleges have a website application or even a paper application. Um, so you can look for that as well.

And what are the components of a college application? So requirements vary at different colleges, but most include the application form that we just mentioned, the high school transcript. Um, standardized test scores if required by the institution. Usually between one and three letters of recommendation, an activity list or a resume.

A personal essay. So a lot of the colleges require that. And the three at the bottom, an interview, audition, and portfolio, those are less common. Um, some colleges [00:26:00] do offer an interview, um, but many don’t. And then auditions and portfolios are usually required for very specific programs, like an audition for a theater program, um, or, um, a music program.

Or a portfolio for an art and design program.

And so what are colleges looking for when a student submits an application, um, they’re really looking for academic readiness. That is number one, far and away the most important component of a student’s application. Colleges wanna know that the student is not only gonna be able to do the work, but they’re gonna succeed.

And, and graduate and, and move on in their career and having had a great experience. So that’s what colleges want. So grades that transcript, that high school transcript is very important. Um, they wanna see that the student put in a lot of effort in high school. [00:27:00] Now, a big question that’s asked a lot, you get this all the time, I’m sure is, should I?

Get better. What’s more important? Good grades or challenging classes, and the admissions professionals that I know all give the same answer, which is that college admissions. Administrators like to see that students challenged themself with their high school classes. So they like to see a student take an honors class, take an e AP class, they like to see that.

Um, however, they also wanna see the good grades. So, um, I think students need to really challenge themselves, but not just take all AP classes. Uh, because they feel like they have to take every single one and overwhelm themselves so that their grades start to suffer and they are under a lot of stress and all of that, [00:28:00] that’s not worth it.

Um, you can take a mix, but uh, if you’re challenging yourself as a student, that’s gonna show up on your transcript, and colleges are going to like that. They’re also going to like, um, to see improvement over time. So let’s say a student got a bad grade as a freshman in high school, but then, you know, the rest of their transcript, you know, is looking better and better colleges understand that.

And, um. So that, that, that works. Uh, but they do like to see a student maybe exceed the minimum req requirements and, um, try to really show that they put a lot of effort in in high school. Um, if the student is, has a very specific major in mind engineering, um, the grades in math classes, for example, will be very important.

So that relevance to college plans. And then for Massachusetts public institutions, there is a sliding scale of you have to have a certain [00:29:00] GPA at certain colleges and universities that can be offset with standardized test scores. But you can Google, um, sliding scale for mass public college and, and universities to make sure that, um, that your students, you know, you’ll, you’ll know where the student is gonna fall.

And so we mentioned that standardized tests, um, may be required at some colleges and may not. At the bottom, you can see fair test.org provides a list of nearly 2100 test optional. Colleges. So students, if they think they’re going to apply to a college that is gonna accept a standardized test, gonna require it, uh, they should do that.

And that would be either the SAT or the a CT and um. Then submit that test score to the school that requires it, but then they can hold back and dec make a decision about sending that [00:30:00] test score to other colleges. If other colleges are test optional, the student does not need to send that score. Um, and they.

Should probably only send that score if it’s excellent and, um, really going to enhance their application. If it’s average, they might just wanna hold it back and if they didn’t do well, they definitely wanna hold it back. Um, so for the SAT for example, the student takes the PSAT early on and that can be a, just a great practice test.

See how when that comes back, what your score was, what answers you got wrong, and study up on those. And there is free SAT and a CT prep and advisors have always told me that. You know, it’s, it’s just important to practice SAT questions or a CT questions, whichever one you’re gonna take. And either one is okay and accepted, but maybe take both tests as practice, you know, the student can see how they, they [00:31:00] do and decide, all right, I’m just gonna study for the SAT, or I’m just gonna study for the a CT and.

Do those practice questions, take some time to tests. That seems to be, uh, the best way to improve your score on those. An AP exam, that’s when a student, you know, takes an advanced placement class in your high school and when the class is finished, they take, uh, the AP exam. And that can look really great on an admissions application, um, because it shows that they can do college level work.

And then colleges do like to see an activity list in a resume. But, and, and right on the common app, they can put information about this or they can submit something else. Uh, but the bottom line is the colleges just wanna see what the student is doing when they’re not in school or studying and. It can be anything.

A student doesn’t need to [00:32:00] pad their activity list and resume with 20 activities. Um, the, the colleges just wanna see that they have some other interests and wanna know how they’re spending their time. And that activity could be sports, it could be music, it could be volunteering, it could be, uh, going home and taking care of younger siblings after school.

It could be a job. And all of those things. Are equal. They’re just, um, how the student is spending time and if there’s some depth to the activity. The student joined a club at some point in high school and then became the chair person of the club or, um, organized an event for the club. All of that looks good on to a college when they’re looking at what a student brought to that.

Organization that they were a part of,[00:33:00]

and the essay, um, you know, students stress about this essay, but, um, really they shouldn’t. Um, they should just get started on the essay early. And I’m gonna actually go to this next slide because the common app has prompts for essays. And you can see these are wide ranging. So I’ll just read a couple reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea.

What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? So that just gets a student thinking about something that they could write about. And here’s another one. Describe a topic idea or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you wanna learn more?

So these are suggestions to get a student thinking about what they might wanna write about and the students should start early. I know sometimes probably in the English classes in your schools, students get started on [00:34:00] those. Uh, but really they should share something that’s meaningful to them and personal.

And that’s the role that the essay plays in the application process. Um, so they can try. A few different drafts and then they can share it with a teacher, share it with a friend, share it with a parent to just get feedback, but not have any of those people write that essay or tell them what they should write.

Uh, really it’s just to get feedback on, I think you should elaborate on, um. You know, this event that you said was so important to you thing, things like that. And, um, students should not plagiarize. It should be their own ideas. This, this is important, um, but leaving time also leaves enough time for careful grammar and spell checks and all of that.

And then letters of recommendation again, uh, usually one to three letters of [00:35:00] recommendation are asked for, and usually the advice is that a student should look to their junior year teachers in their main subjects. English, math, history, science, foreign language. Those are good people. To write a recommendation for them because it’s recent.

Uh, and again, it’s in one of those core subjects. However, the second most important thing is a recommender who knows the student really well. So if that does happen to be a coach or someone who is the head of the volunteer organization that the student is a part of who can really write about. The students specifically and their strengths, um, that can work too.

Uh, so it really should be someone that knows the student well and they should ask that person late in junior year, give the person plenty of time [00:36:00] to write, thank them. Um, and the more that they can tell the recommender, you know, I’m applying, applying to these types of colleges, um, because I’m interested in this.

Career. And, um, I chose you because you saw how I really, my thinking really blossomed in your history class last year, something like that. Um, so, and I would say, I know sometimes people wanna submit multiple letters of recommendation, but if two letters of recommendation are asked for, and you send five.

That college is probably gonna read too, and you won’t have a say in which two they read. So be careful about that and try to send the number of letters of recommendation that is asked for. And then we talked about the fact that interviews, um, are not as common, but if a college requires an interview, the students should find that out early, have that on that [00:37:00] spreadsheet list to make sure they set up that interview.

Within the deadline. Sometimes that’s during the application process. Sometimes it’s after you submit the application that you would do an interview. Um, and there are two types in informational and evaluative and, um, informational really is just that you are sharing information and getting information from the college representative.

Evaluative means it is. Definitely a part of the admissions application, and you sort of almost get a score as part of your application on how that interview goes. So, um, if, if colleges require an interview. Do it and get on that scheduling that soon. Um, and if not, if it’s optional, it’s still a great option to take advantage of because you can learn so much and have a chance to, uh, share information about yourself with the representative.

So that can be great. [00:38:00] Um, and really just, I think you must encourage students to really. Investigate the college that they’re going to meet with so that they have a good sense of the college and they don’t ask a question that they could find out on the front page of the college’s website. And they should also just do some thinking about themselves.

What movies have I seen lately with friends? What books have I read? Um, what’s my favorite class? How do I spend my afterschool time? Um, do I have a job that I enjoy? It’s gonna be very conversational. These are, uh, college administrators, sometimes college alumni that just enjoy talking to 18 year olds and enjoy this part of their, um, you know, of being part of the admissions process at their college.

So, um, students should just kind of relax and expect an open-ended conversation.[00:39:00]

So then the admissions decision, when it comes time for the colleges to send their decisions, um, students could be admitted, which is the best number one. Uh, they could be deferred. They could apply early action or early decision, and they could be told, we’re gonna bump you to the regular decision pool that happens.

They could be denied. You know, we know they prob someone. Most students will be denied at least to one school. Um, maybe not, but, but maybe. And so, you know, just trying to talk with each student about how this is part of the process. You know, admissions offices have their strategic plans. They need to bring in a class.

They, they have all kinds of priorities about doing that, about. Accepting people from multiple states and international students and, um, different students interested in different majors and students who bring different skills to the college. So, [00:40:00] uh, it’s not about them and they shouldn’t be crushed by that.

We know it’s hard. Students are, it’s, it never feels good to be rejected. But the more we can talk with them about it just being part of the process, the better. And then students could be waitlisted. And that’s also tricky ’cause I feel like students need to do two things if they’re waitlisted. Um, if they’re still interested in the school where they were waitlisted, they need to.

Get in touch with the college and say, I’m on the wait list and I wanna stay on the wait list. I’m still very interested and they may not wanna do that just once. They may wanna continue to do to do that every couple of weeks, just so that the college knows they are still interested as time goes on and as other students accept other offers.

But at the same time they’re doing that, they do need to shift their thinking and they need to just make a decision about a college where they have already been admitted by May 1st. So, um, that’s hard to keep [00:41:00] both of those things in mind, but they need to find another college where they’ve been admitted and submit a deposit by May 1st.

Now, if that original school where they were on the wait list accepts them later. If they may still decide to go, but they’ll probably lose that deposit. Um, but so students will have to do two things there. And then let’s just talk briefly about college affordability. And as I mentioned, MEFA has a whole webinar on applying for financial aid and all of the details of that.

But these are the things that early on, um, students and families should start to think about with college affordability. They should find out what is the cost of attendance at different colleges that the student is looking at. But in addition to that. Also what financial aid is available and what would I be expected to pay?

And I’m gonna show you a calculator in a moment. And then they should find out what financial aid applications are required, um, [00:42:00] to apply for financial aid and when are they due? And they should find out does the school award. Need-based aid, merit-based aid, or a combination and need-based is based upon a family’s financial circumstances that are on the financial aid applications.

And merit-based aid is based on a student’s skill or attribute. Students with higher GPAs, higher grades may be able to receive more merit aid at different institutions if, if an institution offers it. And students can also start looking for outside private scholarships, um, either through their high school, town, parents, employers, um, or using some of those online scholarship tools, um, where they can put in information about themselves and receive a, a list of scholarships.

Just we have students never pay for a scholarship search. [00:43:00] No one can guarantee a scholarship. And so this is that net price calculators. All colleges have this, and this is a great tool for a family to go in, put in information as they would on a financial aid forum, and get a sense of what type of financial aid offer they may get from that institution.

So this is really useful for a student who’s doing that. Um. Early decision and needing to have some sense of is this going to be affordable or not? Upfront. Also, these net price calculators, um, if they ask questions about G-P-A-S-A-T scores, that might mean that that college has some merit money. So it can even give a sense of what type of merit award a student might be able to receive based on, on some of those factors.

So these are great calculators for families. And then when it comes time to applying for financial aid, which families should think about doing in [00:44:00] October of senior year. The main form is the fafsa, the free application for Federal Student aid. Um, it opens on October 1st, the year that the student is a senior, and, um, this year will open October 1st, 2026, and it’ll be asking families about their 2025 income.

So I always say the last tax return that’s completed. All colleges re require that the student do the fafsa, and in fact, the student should just do the fafsa. Um, even if a student is planning to go to community college, which is free here in Massachusetts, um, no matter what, they still need to do the fafsa.

That’s just part of the process. So, so we’d like to just talk fafsa, fafsa, FAFSA once it comes to senior year, fall. Some colleges require an additional form, and usually that forum that’s additional is the CSS profile of the college board. So 200 colleges and scholarship agencies require that form. [00:45:00] Um, also available October 1st, senior, the, when the student is a senior also will ask about 2025 income.

That form can have a fee. So, um. So students may have to pay a fee. Um, they may have the fee waived if the family is low to middle income, um, but they may have to pay a small fee. Well worth it though in that the colleges that use the CSS profile usually have pretty robust, uh, grant scholarship programs.

Then some colleges may have their own college specific financial aid application. So when, when a student is, is looking online at different colleges that they’re interested in, they should just look at that in the financial aid section. Let’s just talk a little bit about Massachusetts State aid. So as I mentioned, community college in Massachusetts is free for all.

Uh, through two programs, mass Educate and Mass Reconnect. Um, and that can [00:46:00] include tuition fees and a potential book allowance. Uh, student does need to do the FAFSA for that because then that way the student is applying for, you know, federal aid before the Massachusetts aid kicks in. Uh, so that is a great program and can seriously reduce the full cost of college if a student goes two years to a community college.

Um, also the four year colleges in Massachusetts do have, um, a newer program or an expanded program, I should say, mass grant plus expansion. And that can give free or reduced tuition and fees for low and middle income students and a potential book allowance. So lower income families could potentially send a a, a student to a four year public institution in Massachusetts.

And not have to pay that tuition and fee cost. So that’s also great. Um, tuition equity law is something here in Massachusetts that, that allows some [00:47:00] undocumented students to receive Massachusetts state aid. And in-state tuition rates, uh, they’re not eligible for federal aid, but can potentially receive that mass state aid.

Um, and those students cannot file a FAFSA form because that’s for federal aid, but they can file the form here in Massachusetts called the Mass F-M-A-S-F-A and go to that tuition equity link and find that forum. Um, and that could put students, um, in the running for. Some financial aid and in-state tuition here in mass and for that free community college, all of that.

And then mass transfer allows students who start at community colleges to then transfer to four year institutions. So, um, that’s a great program. And that website site mass transfer, uh, dot org is, is a, is a great website to look at all of those different paths. And then [00:48:00] something called tuition break is through the New England Board of Higher Education that allows students to, uh, go to a public institution in a neighboring state and potentially pay in-state Massachusetts tuition and fee costs.

So for certain programs, uh, students can actually pay Massachusetts prices, even if they’re going to St. Connecticut or New Hampshire or Maine, Rhode Island. And here’s a timeline, uh, for staying on track through senior year, and I mentioned at the very beginning, MEFA Pathway. It’s me a’s free college and career web portal for students in grades six through 12.

Uh, students can go in and sign up. Make an account all for free. And the things that are in there are skills and interest assessments, career exploration, college search, financial aid and scholarship information. And it’s very [00:49:00] engaging so that once the student goes in, they’ll have their digital portfolio that they can update all the time to sort of keep track of what they’re doing in high school and how that’s going to, um, move them toward their, um, their college and career.

Um. Yeah, really, uh, great, great tool. So just something for you to also know that uh, MEFA has more MEFA Institute webinars like these for counselors who work with students. Um, so you can check out our full array of MEFA Institute webinars, um, and also. We have so many resources for students and families as well.

So if we can help you give those to you in any kind of format that’s as helpful as possible for your students, we’re happy to do that. So you can look at that QR code, look at what we have, and let us know if there’s any way we can help you help your students. [00:50:00] And here are all the ways you can connect with MEFA on social media.

Um, for you, we post a lot on LinkedIn, uh, for your students. We talk a lot about scholarships, uh, on Instagram. We also have a MEFA podcast and all kinds of topics. So check out all of these things. And you can always call or email us with any questions you have. We are, you know, always happy to talk with counselors to support you in any way possible.

So please don’t be shy or don’t hesitate to give us a call and write or write to us about something you might need, um, at your school to help your students.

Thank you so much.