A Very Different College Admission Season — A Note from Deacon John Wilson
Your Family Challenges in Picking College This Year
A Note From Director, Deacon John Wilson
I have been helping students get to college for over 20 years and I would have to say that this year is by far the most challenging due to the COVID-19 Outbreak and related City, County, State and Federal orders. I have spoken to college admissions partners and colleagues and, most importantly to God, and have some very important observations and suggestions for parents concerning the selection of college by or for your youth.
01
More than ever, this decision needs to be financially sustainable for all four years.
It’s quite clear – and most economic experts agree – that there will be post-income loss effects on certain families depending on which employers are selected to be subsidized by Congress. These effects need to move you as a parent even more into a position of heavy debt avoidance – especially if considering Private College. The last thing you will need with job uncertainty or unemployment is a 10-year loan for $80,000 to $140,000. Many of you would have done that normally, but now should seriously re-consider.
However, now, it is important that you have a conversation about this with your youth if your job/career situation could be tenuous at best given where the economy will be by May 1st - which is, as of now, still the National Decision Day for College.
In summary, please review your company where you work and whether it’s having serious losses due to the slowdown and what steps the company is taking. Remember, every industry cannot and will not get a government subsidy or adequate government subsidy.
02
Your youth will be selected to schools that they cannot visit. They really should not attend those schools.
As I have stated in the past, students should not attend colleges that they do not visit. The 3 arguments for this do not suddenly diminish or disappear with this current crisis.
Here are the 3 arguments to only attend a college which has been visited by the youth:
There is no sense of the “feel” or “atmosphere” of a campus without a visit. What do the students think about their college? How friendly and nice are the people? Is the staff helpful and accommodating? Remember, a college campus is PEOPLE not buildings. This is not something you can get from an ONLINE virtual tour. Selecting a college without visiting is like buying a car without test driving or a house without touring it. It’s not like buying clothes online like some of us do! It’s all about the PEOPLE on the campus when selecting a college.
The next reason to attend a college only if your youth has visited is that over my over 20 years, I have observed that when youth have visited a college that they later attend, there is more determination, school spirit and educational tenacity. These all make a student work harder through the inevitable adversity that always comes in college. Students will give up if they do not feel an actual “buy in” before enrollment.
2-Year college or a local CSU is a perfectly good alternative and keeps open the possibility of transfer to a 4-Year College that a student prefers – and that you might be able to better afford without non-sustainable financial stress. We have 2 great 2-Year college partners, El Camino College Project Success (In-house enrichment program that has a 85% success rate) and LA Trade Tech College. Contact me if you have additional questions about these schools.
Finally, if the National Decision Day is changed to June 1st (like many college experts think will happen), you should plan a visit to the college for your student before depositing to the college. Of course, this may be a cost, along with orientation and move-in costs, that cannot be absorbed at that point.
If after seeing the above, you have additional questions about selecting a college during this unique situation please contact me at once.