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Connecting With: Making College Accessible
The value of a college education is well documented. In addition to the increased knowledge and personal satisfaction obtained through education, surveys show that a U.S. college graduate (when compared with a high school graduate):
- Earns nearly twice as much in their lifetime
- Has better health, as do their children
- Has more leisure time, hobbies, and life satisfaction.1
- Begin college searches via the Internet as early as the freshman or sophomore year in high school.
- Look at a variety of schools. There are nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone. Of these, about 1,600 are privately owned and 2,400 are publicly owned (by states or counties). Of the private colleges, 900 are faith-related (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and so on), and a little over 100 are part of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (requiring an evangelical faith commitment from all faculty and staff).
- Good college search resources include:
- U.S. Department of Education College Navigator web site
www.nces.ed.gov/
collegenavigator
- Council for Christian Colleges and Universities college information web site www.christiancollege mentor.com
- A campus visit while school is in session is important. It allows students and their parents to experience campus features such as classroom size, residence hall life, available programs and services, and so on. Try to schedule these visits during a student's junior year or fall of the senior year of high school.
- Each college has a slightly different application form, with varying requirements (SAT or ACT exams, essay, interview, recommendations, and so on) and deadlines. Read carefully and follow the directions!
- When applying for financial aid in the U.S., most colleges require the completion of a U.S. Government FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) by March 1. Information is available at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Financial aid procedures vary by region, so check the appropriate web site for your home state or country. And, colleges and universities can also give financial aidbe sure to apply for it!
- Learn who your admissions counselor is on each campus where you apply. They are an important source of information about the application process for institutional financial aid and deadlines (for applications, housing, course registration).
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