One of the most common reasons students withdraw from college is due to medical issues. If your son or daughter has a serious or chronic illness, tuition insurance might be worth looking into. Be forewarned though, that some pre-existing conditions require a 6-12 month “waiting period” before coverage kicks in, possibly negating the point of having a policy.

Because the vast majority of college age students are in excellent health, it often does not make sense to tack on the additional expense of tuition insurance. However, if you are paying for all or most of the tuition and other expenses out of your own pocket, tuition insurance can provide you with peace of mind.

So, what exactly is covered under these policies? Coverage generally includes illness, injury, or death of the student, parent, or guardian. Some policies also cover involuntary job loss or relocation, mental health withdrawals, voluntary withdrawal, and dismissal or suspension for academic or disciplinary reasons. Be sure to ask whether coverage is full or partial and for a list of exclusions.

Policies are issued by the college or a third-party. College-issued tuition policies—big surprise—favor the college and tend to be stingy. Third-party policies are issued either through select colleges or group plans. For more information on these, click here.

I know you have a lot to think about already, but keep in mind that refund policies can be complicated. Federal student aid, for example, is prorated. If your child completes 60% or more of the enrollment period*, they have earned 100% of the aid and you would not need a refund on any of the aid. But if your child completes less than 60% of the enrollment period, financial aid that has not been used must be returned to the government or student loan lender. College refund policies are not regulated like federal student aid, so they can basically do whatever they like. Some colleges will refund all or a portion of tuition and room and board within 30 days. You’ll need to check with the Admissions Office of your student’s college for their specific policy.

And, as with all insurance policies or legal documents, it’s in your best interest to read the fine print and ask questions of the insurance provider to ensure you clearly understand the policy and its terms.

*Enrollment period usually ranges from the first day of class through the end of final exams.

I am about to sound like your mom, but to be on the safe side, follow up with the appropriate college office within a week to ensure your paperwork was received. Also, save all email correspondence. For your follow up calls, be sure you note the date, time and the name of the person you spoke with, then create a file and save this information for your records. Colleges are very careful with your paperwork, but with so many new students to enroll at one time, some documents may get lost.

Finally, and most importantly, don’t lose focus during these last few weeks of school! College acceptance—and especially financial aid—is usually dependant on you maintaining your grades.

Your College Enrollment Checklist:

Submit signed acceptance letter by college deadline

Submit signed award letter by deadline

Mail housing deposit ASAP.  Housing is limited; you don’t want to be without a room!

Confirm housing deposit received

Notify colleges where you were accepted, but not attending

Notify colleges if you want to remain active on their waitlist

Verify tuition deposit received by deadline

Submit final high school transcript. Required by most colleges.

Confirm orientation date and register for orientation

How much time do you spend every day on the computer, using social media (like Facebook and Twitter), and on your cell phone?  Think you can forgo all of them for 24 hours?  The thought of being disconnected to friends and family…well, it’s not a pretty one.  The mere idea of it probably fills you with emotions resembling dread, horror, and disbelief, among others.  I mean, you might as well be living in a cave if it comes to that.  Even astronauts can email and text while in orbit. (I know they are close to the communication satellites—just go with it!)

A newly published study conducted by the University of Maryland actually found that students suffered from the same physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms as alcohol and drug addicts when they went without social media and their cell phones for 24 hours.  Really! 

I first read about this study in an excellent article published by The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Researchers at the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda asked 200 students to give up all media communications for an entire 24 hours (gasp!) and then blog about their experience. In “24 Hours: Unplugged,” researchers reported that students displayed addiction-like withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, misery, and being jittery. 

One student blogged the following: I started to feel isolated and lonely….By 2:00 pm I began to feel the urgent need to check my email, and even thought of a million ideas of why I had to. I felt like a person on a deserted island…. I noticed physically, that I began to fidget, as if I was addicted to my iPod and other media devices, and maybe I am.

Another student felt particularly disconnected from his social life: Texting and Facebook allow me to make plans to meet up and act socially, whereas without these two devices I had no easy way of making plans unless I happened to run into the person I wanted to do something with.

This person I could sympathize with, because I like to listen to music all day while I work: It was really hard for me to go without listening to my iPod during the day because it’s kind of my way to zone out of everything and everyone when I walk to class. It gets my mind right.

It should be noted that social/digital media addiction is not recognized as a medical or psychological addiction by “the powers that be.”  I agree with ZDNet blogger Zack Whittaker, who was quoted in the Chronicle article, that social media enables socializing on a grand scale.  We are social creatures; to be without our social network and feel like we’re missing out on whatever is going on is very discombobulating, isolating, and upsetting.

So, do you think you could go 24 hours media-free?  What would you do with your time?

As you well know—or are about to find out—trying to figure out which colleges suit your personality and academic and extra-curricular interests is not easy.  With thousands of colleges and universities to choose from and only enough time to visit a handful or two, it can be a little like searching for a ring in the sand on the beach in the pitch dark.

We really want to help you find that “ring,” so here’s our shameless plug. . .

WiseChoice can definitely make it easier.  Think of us as the eHarmony^® of the college search process.  We don’t just give you a list of colleges with relevant stats, we also give you reviews and ratings from over 110,000 current college students to help you make a more informed choice about where to apply. 

Sign up for a free Guest account and check out some of our useful features:      

Personality Assessment.  This can be really eye-opening. We ask questions about your social personality, achievement, motivation and study skills/learning styles.  This is where your search begins to find the right colleges for you. Every college has its own culture or “vibe” and it is important to find out if it is one that fits you. It can be the difference between a miserable college experience and a rewarding one.

College Matching Profile.  We developed a program that combines the results of your personality assessment with your academics, preferences, priorities and goals (academic, athletic, career, and otherwise).  The result?  A recommended list of colleges and universities with compatibility ratings from 0-100.  Isn’t technology great? 

Explore Schools.  The fun part!  Look up the schools you are interested in, read their profiles and reviews, save your favorites, and even compare them side-by-side. 

Scholarship Finder.  As we like to say, there are scholarships for everyone, not just valedictorians, 1^st seat violinists, and star athletes.  Our comprehensive database is bursting with information on over 2.4 million scholarships valued at over $14 billion, and best of all we tell you which ones you’re eligible for!

Quick EFC Calculator.  As I mentioned here last week, trying to figure out how to pay for college can be a major stressor.  Use our EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) calculator so you know what the financial aid office will expect you to contribute toward college before you start exploring. 

Career Assessment.  Show of hands: Who knows what they want to be when they grow up?  Figuring out a major is hard; figuring out which career path to choose can be harder.  The results of our career assessment detail career and work environments best suited to you, and we even provide the salary range and education requirements for each option. 

What are you waiting for? Start exploring now

Because you don’t want to graduate from college saddled with crushing debt, much of your decision on where to attend college may be based on the size of the financial aid packages you were offered. If your top choice(s) did not open up their wallets wide enough, and you still have time to meet your award letter deadlines, all is not lost!

Under certain circumstances, you may be able to appeal the award:

Your parent’s financial situation changed for the worse after you filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Loss of employment, illness, relocation, bankruptcy, and significant declines in investment values are valid reasons to appeal financial aid packages.

Your family has significant expenses that the FAFSA does not consider. If your family spends a large portion of its income on care-giving expenses for a parent or grandparent who doesn’t live with you, you can appeal.

Another college with similar degrees of selectivity and academic rigor offers a better package. If your second choice college offered you a better aid package, appeal to your top choice. Make sure to emphasize how much you really want to attend their school as your primary message.

Your grades or standardized test scores improved significantly during the second half of your senior year. Better grades and test scores could make you eligible for (additional) merit aid, thus reducing the amount of loans in your financial package.

Your personal circumstances will lead to a higher cost of attendance than the average student. If a medical condition means you need to travel home on a regular basis for treatment, colleges may adjust your financial aid package.

It is important to understand that your appeal is a request for help—not an opportunity to haggle or negotiate on price, as you would for a new car. In fact, do not even use the word “negotiate” with the financial aid office. To do so will give a negative impression of your intentions from the very start.

Appealing your award does not always work, but it’s certainly worth a shot. Even though this can be a very emotional process, remember to be polite, respectful, and realistic. There is only a certain amount of financial aid any school has to provide to its students and you are probably not the only person requesting additional funds. Also, spring is a very busy time for financial aid offices, so be as patient as possible (easier said than done!), and be prepared to provide proper documentation to support your award appeal (financial statements, foreclosure notices, other award letters, report cards, etc.). Good luck!

No, a gap year has nothing to do with the classic clothing company.  A gap year is simply a productive year off from school, typically in between the transition from high school to college.  Amongst students, gap years are becoming increasingly more popular. They understand the need to become more independent, discover areas of interest to study, and mentally prepare for college. Then, students apply what they’ve learned during the gap year at a college that is best suited for their success. And, more and more colleges are beginning to view gap years as an alternative, but favorable, path to college – students know what they want, are better prepared, and focused on reaching their goals at school.

Sound too good to be true? Well, there’s a caveat – if you spend your gap year as if it were an extended summer vacation, then colleges aren’t going to support your gap year decision.  The key to a successful gap year is in the planning.  Whether you want to work, participate in community service projects or volunteer, take courses at a local community college, or travel – have a strategy.  Should you choose to take a gap year, follow these tips from a USA Today article about how to prepare for your gap year (specifically between high school and college):

Secure a place in college first. Then defer enrollment for a year if allowed. This is less hectic than spending the gap year doing applications.
Have a plan. Set goals and create structure to prevent simply hanging out at home for a year.
Respect your social needs. The year represents a break with the crowd, so it’s important to plan strategies for making new friends and staying in touch with old ones.
Plan ahead for health insurance. Some policies won’t cover adult-age dependents if they cease to be full-time students. Check your policy several months in advance, then explore temporary insurance if necessary.

The possibilities with taking a gap year are endless.  Use your time wisely and effectively so that you don’t lose sight as to the advantages a gap year has to offer.  Should you choose to take a year off, plan, plan, plan, and then jump into the gap.

I imagine you just read that sentence, and thought to yourself, what is Whitney thinking?  But hear me out.  Regardless of whether you want to catch up, stay on track or get ahead, your summer break is a prime time to dedicate toward setting yourself apart from the rest of the college applicant pool.  So get it out of your mind that summer school is for losers.

Summer school provides you the opportunity to take prep courses, or prerequisite courses that prepare you for advanced coursework.  Let’s say you really want to take that Calculus class next year in high school, but you don’t have the prerequisite course.  Take it during the summer! That way you’ll be able to enroll in Calculus in the fall, and you’ve taken an extra math class. Your dedication to academic excellence and enthusiasm for learning will impress any college admissions office.

Or, how about enrolling in advanced coursework or classes at a community college? Not only will you expand your knowledge and exhibit initiative, but you will expose yourself to college-level courses.  This provides reassurance to a college admissions office that you’re serious about focusing on your school goals.

And, of course, summer school provides an opportunity to retake an important class (like math or English) to fix a poor grade. An improved grade could increase your GPA and give you that extra edge to get noticed by college admissions.

With summer school, you can take multiple courses or just focus all of your attention on one class. You can truly apply yourself, dive into a subject, and maybe even discover an interest you never knew you had.  So now that you know the truth about summer school – that it’s not for slackers – hop right into action this summer, and reap the benefits of summer school.

Last week, one of his posts was titled “The coming meltdown in higher education (as seen by a marketer).”   He argued that most colleges, even the top ones, are homogeneous and therefore interchangeable; that they all game the system to appear more selective rather than just focusing on improving their schools’ curriculum; that it doesn’t matter where, or if, you go to college, and that the college experience is more important than the actual college education.

Did we mention Seth’s posts were thought-provoking?

Let’s explore the arguments he makes in each of his stated positions.  In my experience, he is (mostly) speaking the truth.

1. Most colleges are organized to give an average education to average students.

Seth challenges you to sift through your child’s college brochures, scribble out the names on the cover, and then try to pick out which is which.  He’s betting you cannot, and to some extent this is true.  Many colleges look nearly identical on the surface, offer similar coursework, and boast that they have the best college life, the best professors, the best whatever.  Simply put, schools have become mass marketers.

Bottom Line:  The brochures may look the same, but once on campus you will quickly realize that each school has its own personality, its own vibe, and offers different learning environments.  It is important to look beyond rankings and brochures, and find a school that is compatible to your child’s personality, social activities, academic ability and fits your family budget for the best chances of a rewarding college experience.

2. The definition of ‘best’ is under siege.

How many college brochures did your child receive in the mail?  10, 20, 45?  Colleges go berserk sending out thousands upon thousands of brochures to ensure that, in return, they receive thousands of applications.  Why waste all that paper, time, and money?  Because they are gaming the system: the more applicants they reject, the more selective they appear to be, and the higher they rank in the annual US News & World Report ranking, and elsewhere. As Seth puts it, “Why bother making your education more useful if you can more easily make it appear to be more useful?”

Bottom Line: Choose your college based on its compatibility to your interests and goals, not on rankings and selectivity. The “best” college is one that meets your academic, social, and financial needs.

3. The correlation between a typical college degree and success is suspect.

According to Seth, where you go to college doesn’t matter as much as what you do when you get there.  (Now granted, Seth has an MBA from Stanford, but we’ll let that slide.) 

Case in point: A very good friend of mine is a highly successful international real estate attorney.  He is worth millions, has a lovely family and tight circle of good friends, has been named Top Lawyer several times in the state where he practices law. Guess where he went to law school—Harvard? Princeton? Nope. Syracuse.  But he was top of his class and, as a result, pursued by high-profile law firms when he graduated.

Bottom line: It is up to your child to make the most of his or her college education—no matter where or whether the college is private or public. Simply attending an Ivy or college that is ranked highly will not guarantee success without effort.

4. Accreditation isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.

Finally, Seth argues that college is not the only way to gain a valuable education.

Yes, there are cheaper ways to earn an education: such as a gap year or a research internship. Many people take a year or more off after high school to pursue a non-traditional education (think the Peace Corps). Many then decide to attend college and get a traditional education, while some do not.  And there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Bottom Line: Explore other education options that may fit your child’s interest. And, if college is the path for your child, it is important that your child chooses a college that is right for him or her—one that is compatible with his/her learning style, social activities, and personality.

One of the first decisions she had to make was whether she wanted to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree in Dance.  Many performance dancers opt for a B.F.A., as the training and education is very specific to the major.  My sister decided she wanted a broader degree and chose a B.A.   Like any other student, she had to first consider if she could get into a college based on her grades and test scores, and then she had to evaluate the dance program based on her interests and her skills.

When visiting performing arts college, she met with the dance department and shadowed an entry-level dance class.  This was an important evaluation tool to gauge if she would be interested in the program and if the class would challenge her level of dance.  Think of it as the department auditioning for you, so you can judge if the program would be a good fit.  If your art is more of a solo process, see if you can observe a student’s private lesson. You should also check out the practice space.

After being accepted into a performing arts college, schedule an audition to qualify for your program of interest.  My sister attended a group audition similar to an audition scene from the television show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”  Each participant was issued a number and the group was taught specific choreography.  After performing, participants were separated based on level of ability.  As my sister confirmed, this was a high pressure, competitive situation. 

A private audition she attended at another performing arts school was more relaxed.  For that audition, she prepared a short solo piece, which she had practiced and tweaked extensively at her dance studio.  Immediately prior to performing her solo for the department Chair, she willingly participated in a freshman dance class.  It was a great way to ease into the audition and it boosted her confidence.  After her solo performance and a brief interview, the Chair informed her that she would be accepted into the Dance program. Other schools might not tell you on the spot, however.

The important thing about a performing arts program is that just like the college itself, you have to make sure the program is right for you.  Take the time to meet with the department Chair, research the performance requirements and opportunities provided to existing students, check out the practice space, and most importantly, check out some of the classes/lessons.  If you can visualize yourself at the school and in the ensemble, chances are you’ve found the program for you.  Find out all of the audition details and schedule yours.  Approach it prepared and confident, and soon you may be on your way to a career in the arts.  Bravo!

For students with any sort of learning difference, being your own advocate when applying to college is even more important. So what does this mean?  It means understanding exactly what you need to be a successful student, feeling comfortable in discussing those needs, and asking for help meeting those needs.

Know your needs. Understand exactly what your learning differences are.  Before you head off to college, talk with your support team at home.  Go over your Individualized Education Program— IEP—to understand your challenges and the accommodations you qualify for and how those services may help you. Practice discussing your learning difference. Learn to state your limitations and challenges in a concise and informative way.  It helps to know what you need in the classroom and in your living space to be a successful student.  Maybe you need a note taker, or maybe you need to sit in the front of the class.  Maybe you would do best in a single dorm room, or maybe you would thrive with a roommate.  The point is, you need to be in-tune with your needs and be comfortable discussing them.

Understand the process.  As mentioned, go over your IEP with your current support team. Find out what documentation your college requires for special services and ensure your college meets the requirements.  Often colleges request records of IEP evaluations no more than three years old.  It’s important that you understand the evaluation process and what the various documents reflect so that you can explain your needs to your college.  You’ll want to get to know the people in the student services department because they will facilitate your classroom accommodations. Know that they are there to support you.

Know yourself.  Going off to college is a new experience for everyone. It can be exciting, frightening and challenging, all at the same time.  The important thing is to remain calm. Reflect on how your needs might best be met, and make the student services department your ally. Remember, you are the one who is ultimately responsible for your success. The student services department is on your side, but you must articulate what you need. Remain confident and calm and you’ll be able to handle most everything in stride.

Do you have any advice to share with others on how to successfully managing a learning difference in regards to preparing for college or while attending college?