How to get into an American university with the highest cost performance?

The royal study abroad answers for you.

The following royal study abroad teacher will provide you with guidance steps to choose the best school at least from the financial point of view.

Calculate the net expenditure. First of all, add up the tuition and room and board fees of all the schools to be selected.

In order to pay all the expenses, you must include other expenses. According to the data of American College Board, students in four-year schools spend an average of $65,438+0,265,438+00 on books and $65,438+0,060 on transportation. Other extra expenses that should be paid attention to include materials and laboratory fees, parking fees and health insurance fees, but if parents' insurance plans cover their children, schools sometimes exempt students from health insurance.

If there are unclear fees, students' families can find out by consulting the school website or asking the admissions office.

What you have to do next is to deduct the subsidies and scholarships that each school can give from the total cost. In this way, we can get the "net expenditure" figures of each school, including the loan amount.

Chris, the advertising director who lives in Middleton, New Jersey? Chris Noah ruled out several schools that admitted his son Derek because their net expenditure figures were not competitive. Derek is now a high school student. He plans to choose Allegheny College in Midvale, Pennsylvania, and major in environmental science.

Noah said that the excellent scholarship of $65,438+$5,000 provided by the school "greatly increased the feasibility of attending this school".

Estimate the cost for four years or more. After students register for school, many families ignore the trend that fees will increase year by year. According to the data of American College Board, from the 2007-08 academic year to now, even after deducting inflation, the average tuition and fees of non-profit private universities have climbed by 13%, and the average tuition and fees of four-year public universities have surged by 27%.

Brian, a consultant who advises schools on pricing strategies? Brian Zucker said that some schools are trying to control the rising costs-they even keep the tuition unchanged-but you should get some warnings from the previous rising education costs.

To be on the safe side, students' families should calculate the expenses according to four or five years, because many students spend more than four years from enrollment to graduation. According to the data of the U.S. Department of Education, only 53% non-profit private university students and 365,438+0% public school students can graduate on time.

Bonnie, a school consultant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania? Kerrigan? Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder suggested that if you can raise enough money for the first year, "you should think twice before accepting the admission". She said that in many schools, freshmen get more subsidies than senior students.

Kantrowitz said that, on the whole, about 50% colleges and universities implement the subsidy advance system, which means that freshmen get more subsidies than senior students.

Look carefully at the fine print in the excellent scholarship terms. In order to achieve the admission index and improve the ranking of schools, many schools offer generous "excellent scholarships" to outstanding students. However, most of these excellent scholarships do not adjust with inflation. Some of these scholarships are valid for only one year, while others require students to meet other conditions.

Students' families should consult the school, whether the scholarship will be adjusted accordingly if the cost rises, and whether additional conditions are needed for renewing the scholarship every year.

Another question that needs to be asked is: If a student gets an off-campus scholarship, will it affect his off-campus financial aid plan? Usually, the school will reduce the financial aid for students who get off-campus scholarships in proportion, but the adjustment method will be different: the school can reduce loans, subsidies, or both.

Weigh the reputation of the school and the cost of learning. Chandler, a high school student in Berlin, Massachusetts Like other students, Chandler Walsh is faced with a dilemma: whether to enroll in a school with lower tuition fees or a school with higher reputation. Walsh said: "when I enter some schools, I don't have to worry about tuition;" But if I want to go to another school, the pressure will be great. "

Dean. Dean Skarlis is the chairman of the Advisory Committee of new york University, which aims to work with students' families to solve problems related to university entrance and financial aid. Scalise suggested that hesitant families should think more about the total cost of four years. He asked, "Is this school really worth spending an extra $22,000 a year for four consecutive years?" He said: "This question can keep everyone awake when weighing which school is better."

Kantrowitz suggested that if the difference between the net expenditure figures of the two schools does not exceed $65,438+$0,000, the one with better reputation should be chosen. If the difference in net expenditure figures is higher than $5,000, "then choose a cheaper school". He also said that students with heavy loan burdens are less likely to continue their studies, and they may be forced by economic pressure to choose jobs with higher salaries and give up jobs that are more suitable for them. In addition, these students are more likely to be overwhelmed by paying off school debts.

Reasonably control the loan amount. Kantrowitz said that according to his experience, students' total debt at graduation-including their parents' repayable loans-should not be higher than their starting annual salary after graduation. He added that the debts parents should bear for all their children should not exceed the amount they can pay off within ten years or before retirement, whichever comes first.

Lauren, president of the Association for College Admission and Success? Lauren Lauren Asher said that federal loans are the safest way to borrow, because of its special guarantee mechanism and repayment options, such as repayment according to income level. As a supplement to the federal loan, the Stefo loan is also particularly attractive, in part because the interest is not calculated until the repayment period begins.

Families planning to apply for federal parental loans should act as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible for loans. Since the federal government tightened the lending standards for parents' loans last autumn, the rejection rate of such loans has been rising.

Nancy, deputy director of the student financial aid department of the University of California? Nancy couric suggested that you should know more about various loan options, including private loans, "because you may not get all the funds you need from the federal government". The federal government usually does not allow non-self-reliant undergraduates to borrow more than $365,438+$0,000 in government-supported loans.

Complain about the lack of financial assistance. Justin, president of the National Association of Student Financial Assistance Managers? Justin Draeger said: "If the financial aid you get doesn't meet your expectations, then go back to the financial aid office and make it clear to the staff that it is absolutely harmless."

In order to attract the attention of many applicants, you should submit documents about changes in family circumstances, such as unemployment, large medical bills, or large expenses that are not reflected in your financial aid application form, such as the expenses needed to take care of elderly parents.

Scaris said that one of his clients got a higher grant after complaining that the property sale that made his family get a large cash income was only an independent event. He also said that the acceptance letter from a school with the same weight may also help, especially when your child's test scores or scores are in the top 25% of that school.

Pay attention to academic performance. According to a national survey released by the Institute of Higher Education of UCLA this year 1 month, the proportion of freshmen who thought getting a good job was "very important" reached a record 88% last year.

In order to obtain the information of academic performance, students' families should pay attention to the four-year graduation rate and six-year graduation rate, the default rate of student loans, the average debt of students, and the starting salary and mid-career salary level of graduates. Students' families can find such information on the following websites: university navigator, college insight under the American Association for College Admission and Success, and PayScale, a salary survey website.

At the same time, students' families should also pay attention to the above unfavorable factors. If fewer students borrow money, even if the average debt level is high, it is not a big problem. Liberal arts graduates may have lower salaries at first, but they will increase over time. In addition, the salary data does not take into account the students' graduate studies. In addition, the more schools adhere to the "liberal" admission standards, the more likely it is to have a low graduation rate.

Some schools will voluntarily provide the average loan amount of graduates, while others will only disclose the average loan amount during the repayment period, regardless of whether the borrower graduates smoothly or not. This reduces the average student loan amount of those schools with high elimination rate.

Deborah, a financial planner from San Diego and founder of Fox College Fund? Deborah Fox said that students' families should also ask in advance what kind of help the school can provide to help students polish their resumes and improve their interview skills. The number of students who can continue their graduate studies and which institutions they attend; What kind of employers will participate in campus recruitment, and so on.

Eli, a real estate executive in Scottsdale, Arizona? Eli Castronova said that his daughter Naomi is now a freshman, and she chose Barrett, the honorary college of Arizona State University, in part because 70% of its graduates will go on to graduate school.

"If you want to excel in the workplace, you need the aura of graduate students, but the channels we have are very limited; The advantages of Barrett Honorary College in helping students prepare and apply for graduate students are obvious to all. "