On this episode Ariel is joined by Elisia - Howard, the founder and CEO of College Insights – a private college consulting company – based in the greater Seattle area, who will educate us on how to prepare for college and point us in the direction of finding scholarships from college. It’s never to early to get started, if you have kids in middle school through high school you’ll want to hear this information.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The best time to looking at the colleges and universities they would like to attend is around junior year, but do it earlier, middle-school even. It doesn’t have to be formal, if you’re on vacation or a road trip and there’s a school nearby, why not stop in and look around. Then you’ll have a better idea of what you want one you do get to that time.
Schools are ranked on a lot of things, and if people knew they wouldn’t use them so much. Objective things like how many books are in the library, have the professors published and how much have they published, how much land does the school own? At the end of the day, how does that help me as a student go to a school where I can’t even talk to my professors because they’re researchers.
The application process, from junior high school to being in your dorm room, involves 4steps: 1) Creating a list of 8-12 colleges that you want to go to which takes about a month. 2) The essay process, average of 30 essays per kid which takes about 6 months because it’s hard to get a teenager through that many essays. 3) Applications (common, coalition, some schools have their own applications), perhaps 2-10 per school. 4) Financial aid, in senior year of high school you’re going to have to fill out the FAFFSA (free application for federal student aid) in October and every year subsequently when you’re in school. It’ll shoot back a number, the EFC (expected family contribution) – don’t worry about that number for now, it’s just a number that doesn’t make sense. The colleges will give you an award of money based on that number. It’s not free money, it’s the dollars used to pay the cost of college (scholarship or grant, which are free money, but it could be money you’ve saved in your 529 account, mutual funds, trusts, loans.) A lot of different funds make up financial aid and can be awarded differently at different schools.
I have low-cost classes to help you navigate the process themselves, or there are packages. The small one is where I help you craft the list of colleges and essays and help with financial aid, or you can give me complete control of the process. I can save you £12,000-$15,000 in my sleep, minimum, and you’ll pay me a fraction of that. I had 6 students who went for free this year.
BEST MOMENTS
“There’s no map, you can’t fit how you’ll like the professors, are the dorms open, is it easy to make friends, are there clubs you’re interested in. It’s hard to do that with an SAT score.”
“How does a high school student know what they’re looking for? They don’t!”
“We’ll start with a list of 30 schools then narrow it to 10-12. Each application costs between $50-$100 and takes about 3 hours.”
“If you can’t write a cheque to pay for your kids’ school, we have to be very strategic with financial aid and how to make those dollars go. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of loans.”
ABOUT THE GUEST
Having lived abroad for six years, Elisia loved being an expat and has traveled extensively around the world, learning about many different cultures and exploring new places, and especially loves spending time at the beach.
She is a self-proclaimed nerd who enjoys reading, particularly non-fiction, and learning about all things she finds interesting. One of her favorite subjects is personal finance (she likes it so much she was actually considering a career as a financial advisor before deciding to go into college consulting).
Elisia loves the sport of CrossFit and is a self-described avid CrossFitter and meditates almost every day.
Although she taught at the university level, she actually loves working with children and used to teach preschool on the side for fun, as well as volunteered as a baby holder at orphanages around the world.
She has a master’s degree in Education, specializing in education policy, is a member of NACAC, a Certified College Counselor, and is the only Certified Financial Aid Advisor in Washington State.
Elisia has been in education for fifteen years and worked in college admissions for five years before starting College Insights in 2015.
Website: https://collegeinsights.com/
ABOUT THE HOST
Ariel is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Registered Clinical Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master, Empath and Psychic who has been involved in holistic healing since 1988. She is also an educator, speaker, author and mentor for empaths, spiritual seekers and medical professionals. To reach Ariel, go to www.arielhubbard.com, where you will be able to contact her directly. Please let her know you heard her on the podcast and the assistance you need or question you have.
Website: www.arielhubbard.com Online Courses: http://hubbardeducationgroup.myclick4course.com Podcast: Woman Power Zone on all major platformsLinkedIn: @arielhubbardIG: @arielhubbardFacebook: @HubbardEducationGroupYT: @arielhubbard11CH: @arielhubbard Pinterest: https://pin.it/6Z6RozS Pre-order form for Ariel's educational, hilarious and spicy dating book: The Empowered Woman's Guide to Online Dating: Set Your BS Tolerance to Zerohttps://eworder.replynow.ontraport.net/
