Your student should have a sound college plan prior to their senior year in high school. Not having a plan is like taking a sailboat out into the ocean with no map or GPS. You might get lucky and wind up on a beautiful tropical island. However, you are much more likely to get lost or eaten by sharks.
If you think getting eaten by sharks is painful try paying for 5 or 6 years of college just to get your student an undergraduate degree. I think I would rather take my chances with the sharks!
Nationally only 35% of students are getting their undergraduate degree in 4 years and only 51% in five! I hear many people blame the colleges. It is not the colleges’ problem, after all the longer your student stays the more they make. If you and your student do some homework ahead of time there is a good chance he or she can graduate in 4 years and beat the odds.
Here are some things you need to discuss with your student early in the process:
What is your student going to major in and why?
Will their degree help them compete in this tough job market?
What kind of job do they want when they get out?
Why do they want that job?
What is the outlook for that job?
If your student gives you intelligent well thought out answers that is a good sign. In my experience it gets awful expensive when they don’t have answers to these questions. The kiss of death (or in this case wasted money) is when you get the response, “I’ll just go in undecided”.
In addition, here are some good questions to ask the admissions office on a college visit or phone call:
What is the four year graduation rate?
What is the five year graduation rate?
How hard is it to get enrolled in classes that they need for their major?
Do they accept AP, IB or CLEP?
If so, what specific courses and what are the required scores?
This is just a partial list of all the things you need to do to ensure your student has the best chance of graduating in 4 years. However, being prepared and doing your homework can save you $20,000 - $80,000 on the cost of college.