College Costs & How to Find Affordable 4-Year Options

Megan Dorsey of The College Prep Podcast runs through exactly how to think about college costs. Even though she is based in Texas, this podcast is an awesome starting point to face the dragon of current college prices. Here are just a few of the questions answered below:

• What are the average costs of attending different types of colleges (public, private, in-state, out-of-state)?
• How can students find affordable in-state and out-of-state college options?
• How does community college compare to four-year universities in terms of cost?
• What are the best ways to find scholarships to reduce college costs?
• What are some unexpected or lesser-known colleges that offer significant cost savings?
• What are the benefits of applying to lesser-known regional schools?
• Why do state universities typically offer fewer scholarships?
• Why should students continue to apply for scholarships even after enrolling?
• What are some creative ways to reduce costs beyond scholarships?

Test-Optional: The Never-Ending PSA

David Blobaum—owner of Summit Prep, and NTPA board member/Director of Outreach—discusses the current state of test-optional policies on the Flourish Coaching podcast. I loved this conversation because David did a great job of focusing on who is most negatively impacted by these policies: the families. Get answers to these questions:

• Why are parents surprised at the discrepancies between student grades / test scores?
• Why is the new 50th percentile of the ACT the lowest it has ever been?
• Why are straight As no longer indicative of top-percentile test scores?
• Do standardized tests just require 'tips and tricks'?
• Why do many colleges rate test scores higher than grades in admissions?
• How can parents use the Common Data Set to determine if a college truly follows test-optional policies?
• How important are AP and IB scores in college admissions?
• Is the University of California system actually test-free?
• Why are some schools going back to test-required after being test-optional?
• Why is a test like the SAT/ACT often more predictive of college performance than high school GPA?
• How should students prep for the SAT/ACT?

Safety Schools for Overachievers

Brooke Hanson from SuperTutorTV (and fellow NTPA member) shares her favorite schools that students can actually get into. Her criteria? The colleges must rank in the top 3% of all universities plus have admission rates above 60%. Compare that to the sub-5% admit rate of the ultra-elite schools and there's a recipe for success.

Unfortunately, no schools local to Kansas City rank on the list, but we do have some Midwest-esque options on the list with Michigan State, Texas A&M, University of Iowa, and CU Boulder.

I love her emphasis on heavily considering state schools. Affordability, honors colleges, and local reputation are extremely important considerations. For example, K-State's engineering program has a great local reputation even though it doesn't get as much clout on the coasts. So if your student plans to stay in the Midwest after college, that fancy out-of-state college may not deliver a reputation worth the price tag.

Upcoming Deadlines

Pathway Prep Dec 14 Small Group Course Registration: Oct 25

Dec 14, 2024 ACT Registration: Nov 8

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Alex Pint
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