Embedded Video | Trey Parker and Matt Stone: The Flow of a Great Story.

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Sometimes a stellar student gets rejected from a university while a not-so-stellar student is accepted to the same institution for the same major. This happens because of the way the students communicated their ideas in their applications. An idea is powerless if it stays inside of you. If you never pull that idea out, that idea dies with you as if it never existed.

The way ideas are conveyed most effectively is through the telling of a story, and there are recognizable guidelines to a great story. When you communicate an idea in a way that resonates with the audience (i.e. admissions officers) who will read your application and personal statements, your chances of admittance are increased.

There is something magical about a good story structure that can generate a physical reaction in someone. Your reader can get a chill down his or her spine or a pit in his or her stomach. In the video below, Nancy Duarte explains how the structure of a story impacts the way the story resonates with its audience. Her discussion on the importance of great structure in presentations is analogous to the importance of great structure in personal statements.

Embedded Video | Nancy Duarte: The Secret Structure of Great Presentations (Analogous Reasoning to How Great Personal Statements Strategically Utilize Great Structure).

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Embedded Video | Andrew Stanton: The Clues to a Great Story.

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Decades ago, regional tuition exchange programs were created to give students in similar situations an affordable way to pursue educational opportunities offered in other states.  By giving out-of-state residents tuition breaks, colleges and universities avoided the costly and unnecessary duplication of programs and facilities (which is back-breaking for institutions in smaller states), and institutions were better able to devote their resources to improving the quality of their educational offerings (focusing on quality programing over quantity in degree programs).

Important: reduced tuition rates are not automatically awarded to all eligible candidates. Many institutions limit the number of reduced tuition awards each academic year, so research now and apply early to secure your discount!

Regional tuition exchange programs include:

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education: For residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

New England Regional Student Program: For residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.

Midwest Student Exchange Program: For residents of Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin.

Academic Common Market: For residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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Step 1: First, Determine If You Have a Viable Case for Your Appeal.

Financial aid appeals are most successful when there has been a significant change in your family’s financial situation that the FAFSA or CSS Profile could not measure because both instruments only measure historical financial data and neither account for expenditures you’ll need to make in the near or not-too-distant future owning to “special circumstances”. Special circumstances are defined as anything that differentiates a family’s finances from those of other families, especially anything beyond the family’s control.  Examples of special circumstances that can lead to your financial aid package being adjusted include:

• Investments demanded by your family business
• The actual or anticipated unemployment or salary reduction of a parent]
• Death of a wage earner
• High reimbursed medical bills
• Unusually high child care costs
• Unusual capital gains
• Private elementary or secondary school tuition costs (for the student’s siblings)
• An increase in the number of siblings attending college
• Parents themselves enrolled in college
• Etc.

Step 2: Contact Your College’s Financial Aid Office.

Talking with a financial aid officer can help you understand your college’s specific appeal process (e.g. the formalities and guidelines of the appeal, types of supporting documentation requested, etc.) and explore other options that might exist for you.

Step 3: Prepare Your Written Appeal.

Because appeals should be supported by material facts, be prepared to provide documentation that supports your request. For example, income statements and expense records that support your special circumstances. Your letter should summarize the unusual circumstances and stick to the plain facts because any adjustment in your award will be primarily fact driven.

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Need to get out of an early decision contract?  Insufficient financial aid is the only excuse a student can use to break an early decision contract without penalty (like forfeiting your enrollment deposit).  Therefore, you have no excuse not to apply to your dream school because of financial aid concerns.

Why This Exemption Exists:

Although early decision applicants get the first crack at financial aid money, the award offered by the university may not be enough for a student to afford the cost of attendance.  A university’s cost of attendance includes more than the cost of tuition.  It includes the cost of books, school supplies, room and board, plus personal costs like transportation.  Universities know that the sum of these costs can be too burdensome for a family to take on.

You Must Meet One Condition:

If you are admitted to a university as an early decision admit and discover that the financial aid awarded to you is not adequate, you must appeal the award and petition the financial aid office for more money. If the maximum amount of financial aid the university can give you falls below your needs, you should be able to break the early decision contact without facing a penalty. However, double-check with the campus in question to ensure that this is the case with its university policy (it usually is).

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A great group of friends can make or break a college experience.  An easy way to make new friends in college is by attending student organized events and joining conversations.  Look for small groups of people who are networking and standing in such a way that you can walk up and casually join their circle.

Look for groups of “open twos” and “open threes.”

When joining a circle, make sure you leave enough open space so you do not close the circle to other newcomers.  If you don’t feel a connection, politely excuse yourself (or slip away quietly if the circle is large enough) and find a new conversation to join.

See: “10 Ways to Make New Friends In College” (Pg. 10) in Student Health 101 magazine for more great tips.

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Perception:

Many students’ aspirations to become lawyers, CEOs, marine biologists, etc. begin with a TV show that romanticizes that particular job.  However, glamorized depictions of jobs are often misleading when it comes to the true nature of the work and its day-to-day responsibilities.

Reality:

In Network, a 1976 satirical American film about a fictional television network, three-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter Paddy Chayevsky provided actor Peter Finch with one of the most iconic movie speeches in film history, not to mention a role that won him an Oscar.  The speech begins with, “Television is not the Truth…We’re in the boredom killing business!”

NOTE: Embedding for this video has been disabled by Youtube: please click below and skip to 2:01.

2. Competency: Settle For What You Are Good At.

Embedded Video | Jim Kelley: The Two Other Factors That People Overlook

3. Security: Choose a Career For Job Security.

More Competitive:

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of The 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss, once made the observation that when most people flock to jobs perceived to be the most secure: those jobs become the most competitive and difficult positions to land.

Not Secure:

The University of Southern California’s Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies has challenged the entire concept of job security for years (granted a few exceptions [e.g. teaching tenure]).  Why? Because the cost of having employees is the single largest controllable expense that employers have.  Further, studies show that workforce reductions are increasingly common during economic downturns.  Staying with a company until retirement age has become extremely rare.  Hard working and dedicated employees are laid off from “secure” jobs all the time.  Did you know that California (and many other states) have at-will employment doctrines in law that allow employers to fire employees at any time, for any reason (unless the work contract explicitly states otherwise).

4. Wealth: Pursue a Career For the Money.

Embedded Video | Mark Forchette: You’re Going to Get Money Pretty Quick

5. Appease: Pursue a Career to Satisfy Other People.

Embedded Video | Donald Trump: Advice on Choosing a Career

6. Legacy: Follow Your Parents’ Careers Without Exploring Other Options.

Embedded Video | Margo Peffer: Career Choice Mistakes

7. Offer a Tip of Your Own: Leave a Comment Below.

See: 8 Secrets to Success in 8 Words

Niels Bohr, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, once said, “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” If you want to be an expert in anything you set your mind to, keep picking yourself up when you fall on your face in front of other people.

First Steps to Building Confidence and Skill

Embedded Video | Garret Hedlund: First Steps to Building Confidence and Skill.

Actor Garret Hedlund never played the guitar or sang professionally, but he had to learn how to perform both of those skills for his lead role in the 2010 drama film Country Strong.  In this interview clip, Hedlund talks about “making a fool of yourself” in front of other people and the growing pains of progression.

Skip to 1:29 for segment:

How Long It Takes to Achieve Expertise

Embedded Video | Malcolm Gladwell: How Long It Takes to Become an Expert.

Why The Only Way We Truly Learn is by Failing

Embedded Video | Willard Barth: Why The Only Way We Truly Learn is by Failing

Failure:

The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure; however, the only real failure in life is not trying.

2. People who file the FAFSA early get more money than those who apply later.*
Think: first come, first serve. Applications in the front of the line are considered for larger awards, grants, merit aid, need-based aid, athletic aid, etc. than applications received closer to the actual deadline.

3. The FAFSA application is not only for need-based aid.
The FAFSA also determines financial aid for merit, athletics, etc. So if you make a lot of money and don’t quality for need-based aid, file as early as possible.

4. If you lose your job, colleges will work with you if you submitted the FAFSA in previous years.
Filing the FAFSA every year is a safety net for your family.

5. You are guaranteed at least $2,600 in some sort of aid. Just file on time and accurately.
Even affluent families are guaranteed. The federal government says so.

6.  Locate Scholarships Easily.
Use the CollegeBoard’s Fund Finder and FastWeb.  View a comprehensive list of other free search sites here.  In addition, ask your school counselor about local and state funding sources.

7. Is your family’s income under $80,000 a year?
You may qualify for the University of California’s Blue + Gold Opportunity Plan. Click here for details.

8. Out-of-state safety schools can cost more than private schools if you pay out-of-state tuition.
Colleges that cost less also expect you to afford a higher percentage of the tuition bill.

Example: a California resident attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and paid out-of-state tuition (approx. $26,000/year). He transferred to the University of San Diego (a $38,150/year private school) and ended up paying half the amount he was paying for Boulder.

9. You may qualify for in-state tuition rates at out-of-state schools.
Regional tuition exchange programs include:

Academic Common Market (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia), New England Regional Student Program (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming), and Midwest Student Exchange Program (Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin).

FAFSA Action Steps:

1) Start planning to file January 1st of your student’s second to last year before college (this is the base year for financial aid awards).

2) File as soon after January 1st of your student’s last year before college as possible.

3) File the FAFSA every year to create a safety net just in case you lose your job or the economy sours.

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