The College Whisperer™ | Navigating The Road To College

R.S. of Woodmere, NY writes:

My child will be a college freshman this fall and is covered under our family health insurance plan. Do we need to purchase health/medical insurance through the school?

The College Whisperer responds:

While one would surmise that a covered person, including a student dependent, would be similarly covered for routine health care and medical emergencies while away at school, as he or she is at home, this is not always the case.

Just as not all health care providers -- whether doctors or hospitals -- take all insurance, so to does acceptance of health insurance plans vary widely from campus to campus.

Here, as elsewhere, an educated consumer is the the best protected, both in times of health and sickness.

Check with the college's health services office to see if your insurance plan is accepted and, even if it is, what is and what is not covered.

For instance, campus health services may accept your insurance coverage, as either full or partial payment, for, say, a routine flu shot (co-payments may apply), but if Junior sprains his ankle running to class or to that Thursday night frat party and requires emergency medical attention, your coverage may do you no good at all, leaving Junior -- or you -- to foot (pun intended) the bill.

Also, should your child need medical attention beyond the campus, such as at a local hospital, you want to be certain that the hospital accepts the insurance you carry. Your health insurance provider can give you a list of participating doctors and hospitals in close proximity to the college your child will be attending.

Most colleges offer accident and sickness plans, varying in both price and coverage. Private coverage for students away at college is also available. You should read the material provided for these plans (often available online on the college website) carefully before you sign on or pay up, looking to see how such plan shapes up against existing coverage, whether the overlap of covered services negates any savings to cover the gap in coverage, and whether the benefit of such coverage, particularly where the student is otherwise covered by the family's health insurance plan, is worth the extra cost.

Typically, students who are covered under their parents' health plans can waive required coverage as is provided (for a fee) by the school. Whether this is a wise decision is dependent upon several factors, including the scope and breadth of both the parents' plan and the college plan, the cost attendant to additional coverage, and one's tolerance for the risks associated with the possibility of additional out-of-pocket expenses should Junior require medical care on campus, either for sickness or accident, while away at college.

As a general rule, if the student is otherwise covered by your health/medical policy, you do not need to buy in to the college's plan (unless the school requires that you do so as a prerequisite for admission) or to purchase additional private coverage. Again, coverage and benefits may vary.

One final thought: Under the newly enacted health care reform, children (whether or not students or dependents on their parents' tax return) will be covered under their parents' policies (those that offer dependent coverage) until age 26. Hopefully, they will have graduated college by then. ;-)

For an interesting read on health insurance at college, check out the Wall Street Journal article, Don't Get Sick on Campus.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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K.B. of Lake Success, NY writes:

I have an UGMA account for my child, who will be entering high school this fall. Should I also have a 529 account? Which is better? Can I rollover the UGMA into a 529 Plan?

The College Whisperer responds:

The old "UGMA versus 529" debate.

Not much of a debate, really, when one looks at the benefits of a 529 account juxtaposed against the drawbacks of an UGMA or UTMA account.

UGMA (Uniform Gift to Minors Act; UTMA -- Uniform Trust -- in some states) is an irrevocable gift to a child which can be used for the child's benefit (other than for parental obligations) until he or she reaches legal age (18 or 21, depending on the state), and then becomes the sole property of the child/now legal adult.

Then, the question may become, "College, or that Audi convertible?"

Back in the days before 529 Plans, the savings vehicle touted by financial advisers, short of E-Bonds and Cloverdale accounts, was the UGMA/UTMA account. These were literally out-and-out transfers of assets to the child, which could be tapped by the parents for Junior's benefit (need not be college, or even education). At legal age, the assets belonged to Junior, to do with as he pleased.

Benefit of UGMA/UTMA? Primarily, a presumed tax savings, as the accounts (or a portion thereof) are taxed at the child's rate, typically lower than that of the parents.

Drawbacks? Almost too many to mention.

UGMA/UTMA accounts are taxed. Transactions (i.e., the sale of assets) are subject to tax. Gains are subject to tax. Rollovers into other accounts, including 529 Plans, are taxed.

The assets are owned by the child. Good luck using that money for college if your now "of age" son has other plans for it.

As the assets of an UGMA/UTMA are owned by the child -- and this is a big disadvantage -- colleges consider the assets as those of the child in determining financial aid awards.

With the advent of the 529 Plan -- SEE New York's version at nysaves.org -- UGMA/UTMA's generally fell into disfavor among the savvy parent or grandparent saving for college.

Why? Well, consider the following.

Money contributed to a 529 Plan (which can only be used for expenses related to higher education, both undergraduate and graduate) may provide a hefty tax deduction. [In New York, a married couple filing jointly may deduct up to $10,000 in annual contributions from their NYS income taxes. Not too shabby!]

Money invested, which is owned by the parent (or grandparent/guardian), grows tax-free, and may be withdrawn (again, only for college-related expenses), tax-free, for the benefit of the child (who is the beneficiary, not the owner).

Assets of a 529 Plan are NOT considered the assets of the child, and are NOT included in the FAFSA test for determining EFC -- Expected Family Contribution. In other words, unlike UGMA/UTMA assets, the 529 Plan will not have any impact on a college's financial aid award. And since Junior is the Plan's beneficiary, and not its owner, no chance he'll use the dough you've stashed away for a summer share on the Jersey Shore rather than for room and board at State U.

Should Junior decide not to go to college, not to worry. 529 Plans permit owners to change beneficiaries, without penalty, or, if necessary, to withdraw funds outright, albeit with penalty, including a 10% federal penalty, in addition to tax consequences.

Taking the leap of faith that the kids will go to college, the 529 Plan is the best bet for saving and growing money for college, while UGMA/UTMA should be relegated to the likes of saving for a down payment on Junior's first house.

Can you rollover your UGMA/UTMA into a 529? The short answer is yes, with the proviso that UGMA/UTMA assets must be liquidated to do so, triggering a taxable event. [There are also contribution limits established by the 529 Plans, so be aware.]

For more on the benefits of a 529 Plan, check out savingforcollege.com and www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/intro529.htm.

Be sure to consult with your financial adviser before investing, and with your college planning counselor before setting out on that long road to college.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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T.F. of Glen Cove, NY writes:

What's the difference between a subsidized Stafford Loan and an unsubsidized Stafford loan?

The College Whisperer responds:

Interest, my friend. Interest.

Stafford loans are low-interest loans (5.6% for undergraduate, subsidized; 6.8% for graduate and all unsubsidized), the lender nowadays being the federal government (Direct student loans) through the Department of Education, private lenders having been legislated out of the Stafford loan market.

Aside from interest rates charged on such student loans, there's the benefit of deferment -- of payment, on both subsidized and unsubsidized loans (typically, repayment plans do not kick in until 6 months after the borrower is no longer attending school at least half-time), and (now hear this) of the accrual of interest while the student is in school.

On an unsubsidized Stafford loan, while repayment is deferred until after graduation, interest accrues from the date loan money is disbursed.

On a subsidized Stafford loan, both repayment AND the accrual of interest is deferred until after graduation. [Technically, the feds pay the interest that accrues on your subsidized loan while you are in school, but who cares, as long as the money does not come out of your pocket?]

In other words, if you are awarded a subsidized Stafford loan by your college of choice, the money is, in effect, INTEREST-FREE while you remain in school at least half-time.

Not bad, right? Like having a rich Uncle pay your college tuition tab, or at least a part of it, offering you the option to repay the loan, in full, without a penny in interest, within six months of graduation.

Should you take the Stafford loan, if offered as part of the school's financial aid package? Certainly, if you need it. Never borrow money needlessly, as the old saying goes, or recklessly, for that matter. Still, as concerns Stafford loans, there's no better bargain around. Interest rates are relatively low. The student builds credit-worthiness. Repayment, and interest on the subsidized loan, is deferred. The loan can, under certain circumstances, be forgiven.

Even students (and their parents) who don't need the money to cover tuition might consider taking the subsidized Stafford loan, if offered. [Subsidized Stafford loans are usually offered on the basis of financial need, which varies from school to school, based upon the computation of your EFC -- Expected Family Contribution.] The loan pays part of the tuition bill. There's no interest until after graduation. Your money stays in the bank, earning interest, for four years or more. You repay upon graduation (or sooner, without penalty), interest-free.

Gee. You may actually make a dollar or two on the deal! Talk about a gift horse from your Uncle Sam...

How does one apply for a Stafford loan? Simple. Complete and submit the FAFSA Online. Your school's financial aid office will consider the student for a Stafford loan (subsidized, unsubsidized, or a combination of both) as part of the financial aid award.

To learn more about Stafford loans, and other college lending programs, visit StaffordLoan.com and The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.

In these difficult economic times, with college costs continuing to rise substantially, thoughtful and creative financing is in order, and a strategic plan on just how you're going to pay for college, getting the most bang for your buck, is a must.

From advice on saving for college in the long-run and short-term, to finding the money to pay next semester's tuition bill, College Connection can help. Give us a call at 516-345-8766 today for a free telephone consultation.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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Jeff of Lynbrook, NY writes:

I am completing my junior year in high school. I've been hearing quite a bit about high school resumes, and how critical they have become to the admission process. Just how important is the high school resume, and what should it contain?

The College Whisperer responds:

Remember when your teacher told you that your high school record would follow you throughout your life?

While most of us are still waiting for that record to catch up with us, the high school resume, on the other hand, will -- and, by all rights, should -- follow you, at least through the college admissions process.

Your high school resume is, quite literally, a snapshot of your achievements and activities, and the astute applicant will make it part and parcel of his or her college application. [HINT: Attach your resume to the Common Application. Your college planning counselor will show you where it goes.]

Aside from grades and standardized test scores, over which you do not have complete control (admonitions from both parents and teachers aside), there are two areas where you, as college applicant, can showcase your talents, abilities, and accomplishments. The personal essays (more on those in future posts) and your high school resume.

Remember, to the college admissions officer, you -- and the thousands of applicants just like you -- are little more than a matrix on the computer monitor. Your four years of high school life, from the classroom, to the playing field, to the community, are condensed and reduced into a single screen shot.

More and more, college admission officers are looking at the big picture -- the whole person, so to speak -- to distinguish one applicant from the other.

That which you can control -- and, as an applicant, that on which you must focus your efforts (beyond the SAT, ACT and AP exams) -- requires a particular acumen as, to put it succinctly, this is your one chance (barring an admissions interview) to stand out from the crowd.

In terms of your high school resume, to paraphrase, "build it and they will read." Form and format matter, almost as much as content and substance.

Just as a professional resume is more likely to help one land a job than is that hodge podge of words upon the page, the high school curricula vitae must appeal as much to the eye as, once gleaned, to the mind.

Brevity counts. Keep it to a single page, unless you've found a cure for the common cold and need to elucidate. Keep it neat. Nothing tells an admission officer that you're not college material (at least not for her college) like sloppy. Spelling counts. [You do have spell check, don't you?] Proof your work, then have someone else (Mom, Dad, your college planning counselor) give it the once over.

Include academic honors and awards, employment history, clubs, sports and extracurricular activities, community service, and, of course, anything that would naturally set you head and shoulders above the rest.

Should you enlist the help of others in creating and refining a high school resume? Absolutely. This is your voice. You want it to sing, not cackle. In this highly selective college market, the competitive edge is a necessity, not a luxury. The best of the best have a coach!

At College Connection, we will help you build and present a resume that shines a spotlight on the significant endeavors and achievements of your high school years.

Of course, prudent planning also means getting an early start (think Freshman year) in plotting out your future. The electives you take. The community service you undertake. The clubs and activities you engage in. For your high school resume to become you, you must become your resume. Once you are starting your senior year, it's "woulda, shoulda, coulda" for the things you should have, could have, and, had you given it some thought, would have done.

Ahh. The places you will go. Provided, of course, your high school resume eloquently, proficiently and vividly highlights the places you have been!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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Walter Kirn, author of the novel Up In The Air, wrote for The New York Times Magazine:

Class Dismissed

According to the unwritten constitution that governs ordinary American life and makes possible a shared pop culture that even new immigrants can jump right into after a few movies and a trip to the mall, the senior year of public high school is less a climactic academic experience than an occasion for oafish goofing off, chronic truancy, random bullying, sloppy dancing in rented formal wear and interludes of moody, wan philosophizing (often at sunrise while still half-drunk and staring off at a misty river or the high-school parking lot) about the looming bummer of adulthood. In films like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Dazed and Confused” and “High School Musical 3,” senior year is a do-little sabbatical from what is presented as the long dull labor of acquiring knowledge, honing skills and internalizing social norms. It’s a spree, senior year, that discharges built-up tensions. It’s an adolescent Mardi Gras. And it’s not an indulgence but an entitlement. Remember that line in your yearbook? Seniors rule! And they rule not because they’ve accomplished much, necessarily (aside from surviving to age 18 or so and not dropping out or running away from home), but because it’s tradition, and seniors crave tradition. They crave it because they know, deep down, they’re lost, and tradition helps them hide this fear. From juniors.

This year of licensed irresponsibility, this two-semester recurring national holiday, was threatened recently in Utah by a Republican legislator’s proposal to do away with 12th grade entirely. The idea was advanced as a budget-cutting measure — a way to shave millions from the cash-strapped state’s expense sheet — and it called forth the sort of instant, intense hostility that often signals that an inspired notion, truly innovative, truly new, has, by some miracle, entered politics. The proposal drew scorn from teachers and students alike (another tribute to its possible genius) and swiftly spread across the news wires, eliciting such hostility and controversy that its sponsor flinched. Aware, perhaps, that his offbeat plan was drawing unwelcome attention to a state that has spent the modern era in a permanent defensive crouch thanks to a Mormon religious culture that many view as joyless and eccentric, the lawmaker suggested that 12th grade — that ritual time out from the march of time itself — be made optional rather than nonexistent.

But did he compromise too readily? For many American high-school seniors, especially the soberest and most studious, senior year is a holding pattern, a redundancy, a way of running out the clock on a game that has already been won. When winter vacation rolls around, many of them, thanks to college early-admissions programs, know all they need to about their futures and have no more reason to hang around the schoolhouse than prehistoric fish had need for water once they grew limbs and could crawl out of the oceans. As for students who aren’t headed to four-year colleges but two-year community colleges or vocational schools, why not just get started early and read “Moby Dick” for pleasure, if they wish, rather than to earn a grade that they don’t need? Kids who plan to move right into the labor force are in the same position. They may as well spend the whole year in detention — which some of them, bored and restless, end up doing. Twelfth grade, for the sorts of students I’ve just described, amounts to a fidgety waiting period that practically begs for descents into debauchery and concludes in a big dumb party under a mirror ball that spins in place like the minds of those beneath it.

It’s not just one Utah lawmaker who has noticed this. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has, too, it seems. In the interest of speeding students on their way to productive, satisfying careers, the foundation intends to give a $1.5 million grant to a project organized by the nonprofit National Center on Education and the Economy. The goal is to help certain students leapfrog the keg party and go directly from 10th grade to community colleges after passing a battery of tests. The goal is not to save money but precious time, and the program is modeled on systems now in place in Denmark, Finland, France and Singapore — countries whose young folk, in many cases, speak English more grammatically than a lot of American high-school seniors do. One of the fledgling program’s backers, Terry Holliday, Kentucky’s commissioner of education, calls the program’s approach “move on when ready.” Compared with the prevailing current system, which might be termed “move on when all your friends do” or “move on when stir-crazy” or just “move on,” it seems both more pragmatic and humane, not to mention more likely to raise the G.D.P.

If senior year were to vanish from our high schools, either completely or in part, would its infamous excesses, feats of sloth, dances and stretches of absenteeism shift to junior year? To some degree. But what also might happen is that the education process, if it was shortened and compressed some, might help kids think more clearly about their paths in life and set out on them on the right foot instead of waiting to shape up later on. And what would they miss, really, under such a system? As someone who left high school a year early thanks to an offer from a progressive college that I didn’t seek but hungrily accepted (anything to escape those hours of “study hall” that we passed by folding sheets of paper until they couldn’t be folded any tighter, at which point we flicked them at one another’s heads), I guess I wouldn’t know. But I did learn from my visits home that my former classmates’ senior years did them few favors maturationwise, other than to make one an unwed mother and a couple of them into victims of major car collisions. That’s why, to my mind, Utah should feel free to ax senior year, bank the savings and see what happens. My hunch is that nothing will happen. Nothing much. Just the loss of a year when nothing much happens anyhow.

Walter Kirn, a frequent contributor, is the author of “Lost in the Meritocracy” and the novel “Up in the Air.”

The College Whisperer Responds:                                                                        

Senior Year As Time Well Spent

As a college planning counselor, I beg to differ with Walter Kirn’s conclusion that the senior year of high school is a “do-little sabbatical” or an “adolescent Mardis Gras.”

Indeed, far from the “year when nothing much happens anyhow” (presumptuous, perhaps, coming from Mr. Kirn, who admittedly skipped his senior year), the vast majority of high school seniors with whom I work – toward admission in some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges – spend that “descent into debauchery” earning college credits through honors programs and AP courses, ardently preparing for the rigors of college life.

Rather than to “run out the clock,” they are intent at padding their lead, bolstering their college prospects in a most competitive market, polishing skills, and nurturing mature mindsets that will serve them well, in college and beyond.

While some exceptional students will thrive in early-admission to college after their junior year in high school, most encountered by this writer flourish during their senior year, neither slacking off nor “party(ing) under a mirror ball” (though there is certain merit to the occasional celebratory tome), gaining necessary momentum and invaluable insight in preparation for what may be the most challenging years of their academic lives.

Even assuming that Mr. Kirn is correct in defining the senior year as little more than a “holding pattern,” in these times of economic uncertainty, when jobs are scarce, and staying in school is preferable to standing on the unemployment line, what’s the hurry?

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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C.S. of Cedarhurst writes:

 

My husband and I are Orthodox Jews. I lean a bit more toward modern views on life, particularly as concerns the role of women in society. My husband, on the other hand, is very much of the traditional mindset, believing, among other things, that girls, whose role is marriage and place is in the home, have no need to go to college. I would like your opinion on the subject, as my daughter will be entering her senior year of high school in the fall.

 

The College Whisperer responds:

 

Oy!

 

Ordinarily, The College Whisperer, more adept at college matching than matchmaking, would tell you to consult your local rabbi, as to both custom and practice.

 

Since you ask, however, I will opine…

 

First things first. College!

 

Boy. Girl. Everyone should have the opportunity to excel, to achieve, to “go for it,” and, most assuredly, to attend, or at least apply to, the college of her choice.

 

With due respect to your husband’s views on college and the sexes, as arcane as some may find them, let me be blunt. We live in 21^st Century America, not 19^th Century Poland.

 

The times they are a changin’, as the Bob Dylan song apprises. We should, too.

 

In an economy where both spouses often must work outside the home, as of necessity, to put food on the table and clothes on their backs, college is essential, not a luxury.

If you have a son or daughter in high school, in all likelihood, college is on the horizon. [A shidduch (traditional Jewish matchmaking) may or may not be too far down the line, but, short of calling upon Yente the Matchmaker, what better place to find a nice Jewish boy or girl than the university of your choice? ;-)]

Kidding aside, and with more than a passing tome to tradition (The College Whisperer saw Fiddler on the Roof four times, after all), custom must yield, if not to the times, then, certainly, to practicality.

You should discuss your concerns and respective considerations with your daughter (as well as with your rabbi, should that give you comfort). Ultimately, the decision should – no, must – be hers!

With colleges becoming increasingly selective, and the competition for admission particularly keen, students (and their parents) need all the help they can possibly muster in negotiating the application and admission process, successfully navigating the road to college.

At College Connection, we help match your child – boy or girl -- if not with that perfect chatan (groom) or kallah (bride), then certainly, with a college that's as close to beshert (destiny) as you can come in this world. 

In addition to college matching, College Connection's comprehensive counseling services include admission strategies, application enhancement, essay development, mock interviews, resume building, academic/testing evaluation and advice, financial aid/scholarship sourcing, and so much more.

Think of College Connection as the ultimate wedding planner, only for college (and without having to invite and pay for the entire congregation).

Yes, college is much closer than it may appear in the rear view mirror. The time to start planning is now.

Give us a call today (516-345-8766) for a FREE, no stress, no obligation telephone consultation. Mention College & Kallah and receive a 10% discount for all college planning services. [Offer good through July 20th or Tisha B'Av, whichever comes first..]

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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James A. Boyle of College Parents of America writes:

How aware do you think students and parents are of tuition refund policies? College Parents of America recently began to offer tuition insurance and I hope to get a read on the perception of need.

The College Whisperer Responds:

Jim, clearly the need for tuition refund insurance is there. The knowledge regarding tuition refund polices? Not so much.

Not many parents I work with (and even fewer students) are aware of the tuition refund policies of the colleges to which the students apply, let alone tuition insurance options, where available.

Where tuition insurance programs are offered, they are certainly worth a look-see in terms of cost versus benefit.

New York University (NYU), for instance, with one of the highest tuition rates in the nation, offers just such a tuition refund insurance program. The cost is relatively low, and the peace of mind such insurance offers to students and parents alike, given that tuition refunds are ordinarily only offered, on a pro rated basis, for a short time after classes begin (typically a matter of weeks), could well be priceless.

At College Connection, we discuss tuition payment and reimbursement options with our students and their parents, together with the often more pressing concern of financing that sheepskin, and tuition insurance is an integral part of the conversation.

Glad to see that College Parents of America is not only offering a tuition insurance program, but is also engaged in concerted efforts to make the public aware of the existence of as well as the need for tuition insurance.

After all, you wouldn't book an expensive vacation without trip cancellation insurance, would you? Why take the chance that something may upend college plans, risking thousands of dollars in tuition?

While neither The College Whisperer nor College Connection endorse any particular tuition insurance plan, we do encourage students and their parents to check out them out. An ounce of prevention, as they say, is worth a pound of cure!

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D.G. of Mineola writes:

My son will be a high school senior this fall. He's an A student and is considering taking several AP courses, as recommended by his guidance counselor. Are AP courses really worth the extra time, work and effort?

The College Whisperer responds:

To paraphrase the GEICO commercial, Does Elmer Fudd really have trouble with the letter "R"?

AP -- Advanced Placement -- courses do a whole lot more than set the stage for college, preparing young minds for the rigors and challenges of university study.

They tell college admission officers that the student is serious about his studies, and is capable of undertaking -- and, hopefully, excelling in -- college-level work.

Do well on the AP exams and you could receive college credit, which may serve to accelerate earning that college degree, save you money you would otherwise pay for college credit, and free up the schedule for electives or a lighter load of courses (as in that semester of organic chem or when pledging for that Fraternity ;-).

Taking college-level courses while still in high school through AP or local colleges that offer high school programs, or both) may also give one insight into prospective majors, minors, or particular courses of study.

For those who view the senior year of high school (or all four years of college, for that matter), as party central, doubtful AP courses would be in the mix, or even in the offing. For the serious college-bound student, however, Advanced Placement offers an opportunity which should be pursued. A challenge most worthy of the work, time and effort.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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M.B. of West Hempstead (by way of Binghamton) writes:

I just completed my Junior year in college (doing very well, thank you), and am preparing to take the GRE this summer. I bought the review book (did I really have a choice?), and find it so perplexing to not recognize so many of the vocabulary words, let alone to not find them in Webster's dictionary. I understand that graduate schools want to admit only the cream of the crop, but is the GRE really necessary? [By the way, I'm an English major, and I'd swear the folks who prepare this test make some of these words up!]

The College Whisperer responds:

Is the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) necessary? No. Is it required by many graduate schools as a pre-req for admission? You bet.

You hit the proverbial nail on the head in intimating that you've already shown your "aptitude," having apparently scored sufficiently high on the SATs to gain entrance to Binghamton University, the Ivy of public colleges. Surely, you've shown your academic prowess, as well, having completed three years of a most rigorous course of study.

So why the GRE?

Like Mount Everest, because it is there, and the folks at ETS (Educational Testing Service) in Princeton, along with the fellas who offer the overpriced and only marginally helpful GRE review courses, would be out of work if undergrads didn't have to take the GREs, LSATs, MCATs, and similar standardized tests as a rite of passage into graduate school.

While many grad schools post minimum GRE requirements, some strictly observed, others not, most graduate program admission officers recognize these tests for what they are -- essentially meaningless in demonstrating either what you've learned or that which you are capable of achieving.

So, my dear soon-to-be college graduate, grin and bear it for the next couple of months, hone up on the vocab, take as many practice exams as you can find (in addition to the book, there are FREE study resources and materials available online at http://www.ets.org/gre/general/prepare/), and you will do just fine.

Oh, and by the way, they do have little old men (and a retired Scrabble champ, or two), locked away in the ivory tower, making up words, creating senseless analogies, and wringing their hands, fiendish smirks upon their faces, in the hopes that unsuspecting students will be drawn into the lair. [Stick with the Keebler elves. They're a more grounded bunch. Besides, the cookies taste a heck of a lot better than chewing on those Number 2 pencils...]

Best of luck!

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G.P. of Williston Park writes:

I am starting college in the fall and will not be applying for scholarships or loans. Should I still complete and submit the FAFSA?

The College Whisperer responds:

Let me think about this for a second. DUH! Yes, you should file the FAFSA, and, given that most colleges have already made or are in the process of making financial aid decisions for the fall, do it today!

FAFSA, as its full moniker more than implies (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is FREE. No cost to complete. No cost to submit. No penalty for applying for money -- including grants and scholarships -- to which you may be entitled.

Most schools require the submission of the FAFSA form -- which is found at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ -- in considering the award of financial aid, including their own scholarships, fellowships, and grants (read as FREE MONEY), which never has to be repaid.

Are you in the habit of throwing away free money? Even Rockefeller would have filed the FAFSA.

In addition to scholarships, colleges often require the FAFSA as a pre-requisite for student loans, including the federal Stafford loans, low(er) interest loans that do not have to be repaid while you are in school. [More on Stafford loans, both subsidized and unsubsidized, in future postings.] If the prospect of work-study is in your future, you will likely need to have filed the FAFSA for that, as well.

Also consider this. While you may be rolling in dough today, a change in circumstances, such as a parent's unemployment, divorce, or a sudden drop in the stock market (yeah, right. Like that could ever happen), may find you in need of money to pay for tuition, books, or related college expenses.

Forgo FAFSA, and you're out of luck.

Is there a downside to submitting the FAFSA? Certainly not at this point, after you've been accepted. [Some schools, believe it or not, do consider whether you will be applying for aid in the admission process. (Such instances are rare. Consult with your college planning counselor.) Most, however, are what is called "need blind."] Submitting the FAFSA leaves the door open for asking for money from or through the college should you need it.

And who knows? Submit the FAFSA and the college of your choice may just threaten you with cash, nominal though it may be.

It shouldn't take more than an hour or so to complete and submit the FAFSA online, once you have the necessary paperwork (i.e., tax returns) in hand. Your college counselor or financial adviser can help.

For those looking for an early start on the financial aid process (hint: high school juniors), check out the FAFSA4caster for an estimate of your eligibility for financial aid.

FAFSA is free and relatively easy. It could also mean money in the bank. And who couldn't use just a little more of that?

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.

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