College Bound?
Proper planning and AFSCME can help you pay the way.
Like most working families, the Gibsons operate within a tight budget, but they wanted to make sure their children, Melissa and Tony, could have a college education.
“We sent our children to parochial high school,” says South Dakota Local 519 (Council 59) Sec.-Treas. Gary Gibson. “We told them that after they graduated, we would put aside the same amount of money each year for college. They would have to raise the rest of the financing through loans and grants.”
Their plan seems to be working. Melissa is already attending college, and Tony starts next year. They have become experts at filling out forms and applications.
“Parents, early on, should stress good grades, because it has a bearing on scholarships,” says Gibson. “They should also encourage a really good involvement in the community, in extra-curricular activities.” He feels that Melissa’s outside activities — band, volunteering at the food pantry, and involvement in political campaigns — really helped her get private scholarships.
“Keep very good records, and keep copies of the records — because they can be lost,” says Gibson. He recommends that “students should become well acquainted with their counselors,” and admonishes, “Don’t be ashamed to fill out the forms.”
The big picture. In the information age, education is more important than ever. Some families are able to start saving when their children are small. Some can’t start until their children are older.
Wayne Fujikane, education specialist with the Hawaii Department of Commerce, says families should focus on the big picture.
“When you save for education, it should be part of a bigger financial plan,” says Fujikane. That plan may include buying a home and preparing for retirement in addition to saving for educational expenses.
The Hawaii Government Employees Association/Local 152 executive board member recommends seeking help from a financial planner. “Go to free or low-cost seminars,” he says, “and take good notes.
“Education is a pretty sizable and important investment,” says Fujikane. “It determines your entire life and what kind of future you and your kids will have.”
Making the system work. The good news today is that everyone is beginning to acknowledge the role education plays in making our country stronger. This means more resources are available today and it is easier to find the information and help that families need.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton signed legislation that gives workers and their families greater access to education with two new tax-credit programs: the HOPE Scholarship, which provides a tax credit of up to $1,500 for the first two years of college; and a Lifetime Learning Credit, which applies to the junior and senior years of college, graduate and part-time study.
Currently almost 40 states offer or are planning state-sponsored college savings plans and/or prepaid tuition contracts. The plans vary in coverage and quality, but most allow tax-deductible contributions to an account that will be used for an individual’s education.
Some programs freeze tuition: Families buy tomorrow’s education at today’s prices. Other programs invest in carefully administered funds with a good rate of return. In some states, the student must attend a state school; others have no such limits.
Connecticut has a savings plan in operation. John Siegrist, who has administered federal student aid programs for the past 33 years, sees it as a good opportunity. “How can you be opposed to something that encourages people to save money?” asks the Local 1303 (Council 4) president.
“Most middle-income families who send children to college pay for it through savings, current income or future income,” Siegrist explains.
His experience proved helpful when he was putting his own children through college. “I understood how to fill out the forms,” he says. “If you get someone like a guidance counselor to help you out, you have an advantage.”
Being resourceful. Most experts discourage families from paying for help in applying for financial aid. There are many low-cost or free resources readily available to the public — books and computer Web sites. States and the various colleges and universities also have staff who can provide information and advice. They want to help, and it’s good to contact them — particularly since each institution has its own system, its own deadlines and its own way of providing scholarship information.
Maria Kreger has worked in the Financial Aid Office at New Jersey’s Rutgers University for 21 years. Part of her job is providing information for students over the phone.
“Our counselors have special high school nights,” says Kreger. The school you are considering might also have such outreach programs.
“The [financial aid] form has become very simple to fill out, but people still get confused. We walk them through the form,” says the Local 1761 (Council 52) steward.
“The most important thing is to find out the school’s deadline,” she advises. “So many people don’t know the deadline, and they miss it.”
Kreger recommends that parents needing more detailed help meet with a college counselor. Look for help wherever you can find it. Write an appeal letter if you think the financial aid award is too small — or if there has been a change in your financial status since the aid form’s cutoff date.
Here's to the future. The Norths are preparing for their younger sons’ education: Alex is 14, and Derek is 10. Their oldest son, Nathan, 21, is going to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, so the Norths have some experience with the process. But they have recently been through hard times.
“My husband was a coal miner, and he was laid off,” says Stacy North, a family services supervisor in Kingwood, W.Va. “We’ll never get back to the lifestyle we had. Just keeping our heads above water is all we can imagine; saving and planning are tough.
“Alex is interested in computers and robotics,” she says. “They have a computer programming school in Fairmont, but it’s a technical school, not a college. So he’s wavering.” Derek may find his calling in politics. North, who is a Local 3261 member and recording secretary of Council 77, took him to AFSCME’s Lobby Day at the state capitol. “He had a great time running around and meeting with folks. He wants to be a page,” she says. He has already lined up a legislative sponsor.
Whatever Alex and Derek finally decide, it will take careful planning to make their dreams come true. Stacy and Willie North are hard at work making those plans.
By Susan Ellen Holleran
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Read All About It
If you walk through any bookstore, you’ll find shelves of books on financial aid. Here are four you might find useful:
College Costs & Financial Aid Handbook 1999 ($21.95) gives detailed descriptions for 3,100 colleges; Financing Your College Degree: A Guide for Adult Students ($15.95) offers practical advice for returning students, often neglected by publications; Meeting College Costs: What You Need to Know Before Your Child and Your Money Leave Home ($13.95) is in an easy-to-follow workbook format. Many of these may be in libraries, but you can order them from The College Board, Two College Way, P.O. Box 1100, Forrester Center, W. Va. 25438, or call (800) 323-7155.
The Best Way to Save For College ($22.95) lists, describes and rates state-sponsored college savings plans and prepaid tuition contracts. Author Joseph Hurley is a CPA who details the tax implications of the various plans. If your local library or bookstore doesn’t have it, order your copy from BonaCom Publications, 1850 Winton Road South, Rochester, N.Y. 14618, or call (716) 244-2000.
Last but not least, there’s the award-winning website, FinAid. It’s user-friendly, and even non-techies may get hooked on it. Probably the most comprehensive site on the Web, it is a public service, free for all users. If you don’t have access to the Internet, your local library may be able to get you connected.
