During a workshop in which I was teaching preteens and teens how to create a budget, I asked a 16-year-old if she was planning to go to college.
“Absolutely,” her mother volunteered.
And how, I asked the mother, will you pay for her college education? “Oh, we plan on her getting scholarships,” the mother responded.
“What if she doesn’t get any scholarships or grants?” I inquired.
I got a blank stare – like the look in the eyes of a deer that once ran into the driver’s side of my van. The mother’s look told me what she later admitted – that she didn’t have a penny saved to send her daughter to college.
Many parents and their children approach the college process much like that deer running into the road. They just dart out there and hope for the best.
Given how much a college education costs, you need to plan and know how to navigate the twists and turns of the financial-aid process. That way, you and your child can avoid being hit with a tuition bill that can cause serious damage to your financial future.
To help you get started, for the next few months I will be recommending several guides to read for the Color of Money Book Club.
This month I’ve chosen two books. The first is “FastWeb College Gold: The Step-by-Step Guide to Paying for College,” by Mark Kantrowitz with Doug Hardy (Collins, $21.95). Kantrowitz is a financial-aid expert and publisher of FinAid.org. Hardy is the general manager and editor in chief of Monster Careers.com. (By the way, FastWeb.com is one of the leading sites for information about scholarships.) The second book is the 2007 edition of “Paying for College Without Going Broke” by Kalman A. Chany with Geoff Martz (Random House/Princeton Review, $20). Chany is founder and president of the New York-based Campus Consultants Inc.
Let me warn you: These aren’t beach books. Yet despite the heady topic, both books do an excellent job of walking you through every aspect of saving and paying for higher education. Each book provides explanations and worksheets to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which is the needs-analysis document students must use to apply for financial aid.
Kantrowitz’s “FastWeb College Gold” will appeal to high school or college students. It’s full of advice from their peers, tips that can be found in boxes labeled “I Wish I Had Known ….” To illustrate its points, “FastWeb” relies on a fictional family, the Gordons, whose eldest child, Matt, is just finishing his junior year in high school. You watch as Matt and his parents agonize over his choices and the pros and cons of each.
The book is supported by a free companion website at collegegold.com. Throughout the guide you’ll find a box titled “Book to Web” with a recommendation for certain downloads and interactive tools. One download maps out two years of things a school student should do before leaving for college.
The book-to-Web references are marked with a code that you enter on the collegegold.com home page, making it easier to find the information online. It’s a brilliant bonus. It can be so frustrating navigating some websites.
“Paying for College Without Going Broke” is also a good guide. I love the way it’s organized into bite-sized chapters, allowing you to skip around to the chapters most relevant to your situation.
Both books emphasize that the financial-aid process should be a family venture, even if you have no intention of giving your child a single penny to pay for higher education.
To become a member of the Color of Money Book Club, all you have to do is read the recommended books. Then we chat online with the author or authors. In addition, every month I randomly select readers to receive copies donated by the publisher.
For a chance to win either a copy of “FastWeb College Gold” or “Paying For College Without Going Broke,” send an e-mail to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Include your name and address.
To discuss this month’s book selections, join me online at washingtonpost.com Nov. 30 at 10 a.m. MST. Kantrowitz and Chany will be my guests and will take your questions about saving or paying for college.
Contact Michelle Singletary at singletarym@washpost.com or c/o The Washington Post, 1150 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071.
