Please note that this transcript was auto-generated. We apologize for any minor errors in spelling or grammar.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: [00:00:00] Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining MI a’s webinar. You’ve placed the deposit for college now what? So my name is Julie Shields and I am the director of college planning education and training at MEFA. And for those of you who, who don’t know mi a, I’d like you to know that we are here for you.

Our, our mission is to help families plan, save, and pay for college. And we do that in so many ways with all of the resources on our website and webinars on, on many, many topics. Um, and this is a good one, I will say. And we have two terrific presenters here with us this evening. We have Amanda Stark. And Amanda is, uh, director and co-founder of College Un Maed, and she’ll tell you about that.

And she has, um, she, she has a lot to share. And we have Dr. Timothy Poin, [00:01:00] who is a, an assistant professor at UMass Boston in, in school counseling. And both presenters are so passionate about this work of, um, helping school counselors help students, um, with this, uh, big, big wonderful decision of a, a post-secondary choices.

So I think with that, I’m gonna turn it over. I’ll just say that if you have questions, please use the q and a feature. And I will monitor those. And I know we’ll leave time at the end for some questions, but I will, if there’s a question that seems burning, I might interrupt and, um, just ask it as we go along.

And if you would like, um, close captioning, you can hit that button on the bottom of your screen. And if you have to leave, uh, just know that we are recording this and we’ll be sending you the recording and the slides tomorrow. And so that can be for you. Or if you know others, if [00:02:00] you watch this and think, I know I, I wanna share this, please feel free to share it widely.

So with that, I will turn it over to you, Amanda and Tim.

Amanda Sterk: Great. Thank you. Thank you so much, Julie. Always love being a part of every, all the great work that you do here at MEFA. So, um, we’re really excited about this topic. It’s, we’ve hit May 1st, which means that, uh, for most of you that have seniors that you have put your deposit down, you’ve sort of selected the school.

What a lot of families don’t understand is that there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and that first day of school. So we are gonna be talking, talking about a topic that normally sort of doesn’t get this. Gus, and I even believe Tim would say the same thing, even in schools. You know, we always get so busy at the end of the year and transcripts and graduation that we really don’t have this kind of final conversation on what do we need to do to set up our student for success.

[00:03:00] So our topic of this evening is you’ve placed the deposit for college. Now what? So let’s first introduce ourselves. So Tim, why don’t you go to the next slide. So, as Julie said, my name is Dr. Amanda Stirk and I am one of the founders and co-authors of College on Maze College. On Maze is a college and career readiness curriculum for parents and students and for schools.

And so we as, um, Dr. Tim Pointin will say hello and describe himself and Dr. Ridge Lapan, our third partner. We are practitioners, we are researchers, we are in the field, and we really just needed to find a way to provide. Good information to families on how to go through the entire high school to college process.

So we all got together, uh, several years ago. We’ve been doing this now. Um, we’ve been in all counseling for decades, but in terms of college on Mays, we got together a few years [00:04:00] ago and said, really, if we were to have a one stop shop, um, kind of curriculum or workbook, what would that be? And that’s what College Un Maed is.

So we are excited to be here. Uh, Tim, do you wanna introduce yourself really quick? Sure.

Tim Poynton: Hello, Tim Pointin. Um, as Julie said, I am a counselor educator at, uh, university of Massachusetts Boston. Um, former school counselor. I’ve been a counselor educator since 2005, worked at Suffolk University before transitioning to, uh, UMass Boston about 10 years ago.

And a, as Amanda said, um, really what motivates this work is, um, is just the fact that there’s a need for this and, and that a lot of students and families are going through the process with relatively little fact-based information. That’s the short version. Um, so yeah, what we’re here to talk about is the last step of the process, which even when I was working as a counselor and counselors that I knew it was, uh, when we got to the end of the year and we got to this point, it was like, congratulations, you did it.

And that was pretty much where we left things. And we know that [00:05:00] students and families, um, may need more. As they transition to succeed in that transition. And we’ll get into some, some of the, what I think are some of the things that happen when, when you’re not able to do that. So your being here is certainly a step in the right direction.

Yeah. Great. We’re, we also have, I’ll just talk about, uh, Dr. Uh, rich Lapan is, uh, professor Amus, uh, counselor educator at University of Massachusetts Amherst, the third co-author of the College Un Maed Materials.

Amanda Sterk: Yes. Alright. So under College UN Maed, one of the things that we did is we really got together and said, what were the critical steps that families needed to go through to make sure that they’re making an informed college decision?

And we really broke up. Yes. Julie,

Julie Shields-Rutyna: can I just ask, I did have someone say the echo is bad and um, I don’t hear that, but I’m just gonna ask people to just. Type it. It’s good. All’s great into the q and a or if there is an [00:06:00] issue, let me know, but I, I think we’re good. I think unfortunately it might be a, a one off, but I just wanted to say that.

So put something in the q and a to just let us know if everything sounds good. Thanks. Thanks Amanda.

Amanda Sterk: No, thank you Julie. And we’ll make sure to mute, uh, while we’re one of us is talking, so Perfect. Yes, definitely. Seems good. Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much everybody. Appreciate that. Um, so under College MAs, what we really looked at are some distinct steps that families should go to to really navigate the high school to college process.

And we really have. Two main sections of the book. And one of the things that we really wanted to do was scaffold that critical information, including vocabulary and terminology and activities and things that you really need to do, sort of step by step. So when you get to the end, to the decision making process that you feel confident that you have an outstanding college list that meets you and your family needs on many different levels.

So we [00:07:00] start off on four key factors that every student should build. We talk about your U factor, that’s what makes you unique and who you are. And, and how do you do that? We talk about your academic factors. So how do you use your high school, um, academics to really build that sort of college plan? Um, we look at your career factor, really deciding what are your interests and your values and your abilities and, and what type of major career would fit you well, because one of the things that I know Tim will talk about quite a bit.

Is that we don’t want students who go off to college and then just sort of, kind of tread water and not really know their direction. We want them to come in focused and knowing what they need and how to get there. And then money factor, as Julie knows with MEFA, you know, balancing, um, the return on investment for college and how much do you pay and how much you know can you afford to pay, what does that look like?

And so the money factor is definitely something that every family [00:08:00] should talk about early on in the college process. And then we get into what we call the lead strategy. It’s building your college list. How do you explore colleges to make sure you’re getting all the information to make that informed decision?

How do you actually go through the college application process? And then the last two factors that I think are really important is how to actually make that decision. And then lastly, what we’re gonna be talking about this evening is how do you. Create a success plan so that you are successful once you go, uh, go to college.

Go ahead Tim. So this is just, we love, um, all of our work is a lot of infographics and design. We try to take some big ideas and really chunk it again, that scaffolding approach. And so this is really that first section of the book and looking at how can we take all the information, all the things that you need to know, and at what part and what part of the [00:09:00] process do you need to know it.

And so you can see here the U factor. We’re gonna talk a little bit about the eight strengths tonight and why that’s still important. It’s important freshman year, it’s important senior year. It’s important when you graduate and why that’s so critical. You can see the academic factor, the career factor, and all of the important information you need, need to know there.

And then the money factor as well. Go ahead. And then, like I said, um, in the second part we talk about leads and you know, as I discussed, we already have your list, your explore, apply, decide, and succeed with s being tonight. And if you are a counselor and you are interested in those, my, you wanna show the next one, Tim, um, what we call the mind map.

We do have these as 18 by 24 posters, so if you are interested in a poster, they’re absolutely free. We send them out to schools all over the nation every year. And it’s a really great way that when you’re talking to families, you can say, [00:10:00] okay, under lists, this is the information you should know, explore, apply, decide so you can see the purple succeed again, which will be our topic we’re gonna be talking about, um, developing a financial plan, um, for your success.

We’re gonna be talking about an academic plan that you need and then a social plan.

Tim Poynton: All right, so now, um, just with that, with that quick background, uh, get into a little bit of the, of the facts and figures about, um, what happens, uh, for students. And I live in Clinton, Massachusetts, so this is data that you can get. I, I, um, linked it down here and we’ll send this out as a PDF as Julie said tomorrow.

We’ll send out the, the slides tomorrow. Um, this is the success after our high school dashboard that’s available here in Massachusetts. It may or may not be available in other states, but it shows kind of students’ progress, and I’ll try to do this quickly. Students’ progress, um, from, uh, students being [00:11:00] freshmen essentially in the graduation cohort.

In this case, the latest data is in from 2022. How many of them graduate within five years? And then we see the drop of about 20% or so that drop that, um, choose not to go to college. And then we’re looking at here. Uh, the students that enroll in college and the students that are persistently enrolled in college and just to, this is affected by the pandemic.

So before the pandemic, nearly 40% of students got a degree within six years of high school graduation, so got a bachelor’s degree, um, and only 40% made it even to the second year of college in 2021, just highlighting some of the impact that the pandemic had. So the pandemic a as you likely know, uh, put pause on a lot of people’s post-secondary plans.

Um, so here, basically what we’re seeing is what we’re trying to do is, is intervene here so that more students are showing up on a college campus. Um, there’s this term in enrollment management and in college access, it’s, it’s called Summer melt. And that’s students who have placed a deposit of the college, who actually [00:12:00] never show up on a college campus for a whole variety of reasons, right?

Um, so that’s the first thing that we’re trying to intervene with here with the success planning. And the second thing is to ensure that students make it into their second year. Of, of college. So, um, when students don’t graduate, um, uh, from a college, usually where they drop out or stop out is during that first year.

So that’s what we’re trying to do here tonight with some explicit success planning. All right. Here’s just really quickly, some more facts and figures. It was actually really hard for me to find updated information on four year graduation rates, um, na nationwide four year graduation rates, because what’s reported is what’s known as the 150%, uh, time to degree completion, which for a four year degree is six years.

Um, I don’t know how many of you have students that are planning to go to college full-time with a six year plan for graduation, but that’s the way the outcome measures are reported at at many colleges. Um, and to the federal government, they do report their four year graduation rates, which you can find, I [00:13:00] highlighted [email protected].

Um. This is, uh, on the bottom here, the graduation rates for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees. This is actually UMass Amherst, so we’re, we’re in Massachusetts. Um, this is hosted by meo, which is a Massachusetts based organization. So I chose to focus on that one. And you see their four year graduation rate is about 77%, which for public colleges is actually pretty, pretty good.

Um, but you can also see it’s for students who began in the fall of 2017 or so. That’s the latest data that we have available. So they were affected by the pandemic. Um, but, but the data is old, right? The data is a little bit old, and that’s the na, the nature of the beast, so to speak. Um, the other thing I wanted to highlight here in this upper graph is that it does tend to be the, the case that, uh, private colleges tend to do a better job of getting students to graduate on time.

Overall graduate. Um, then, then public colleges do, there’s some reasons for that, I think, um, mostly due to resource strain that, that some that most public colleges [00:14:00] experience, but obviously not all. So we see here at UMass Amherst, again, relatively speaking, does pretty darn well, and yet they do well and, and still one out of four students don’t graduate within four years.

Um, so, um, still some work to be done. I. All right. Um, the other thing that we can look at here is, is, and that I like to talk about, I mentioned it earlier, is the retention rate. And the retention rate is a technical term, so to speak, of the students who started a college that return a sophomore. So I like to think of the retention rate of a college as the freshman satisfaction score, and that freshman satisfaction score tells you how supported and satisfied the students were.

And it works both ways. So it’s, it’s how satisfied the students were with their experience, did they get what they needed, and did the college actually have the support that, that the student needed be the academic support, mental health support, et cetera. Mm-hmm. So. So now we get into some of the things.

Uh, I saw somebody posted the question earlier, why are we talking about these, uh, the, the first parts of the book to, to kind of lay the [00:15:00] groundwork? And it’s because going through the informed decision making process, one of the things that we promote for folks to do is to develop what are eight college and career readiness strengths.

I’ll take a second to talk about each of these. Um, but these are strengths that hopefully now that the students have, have made the decisions, um, and they’re getting ready to go to college, these are the strengths that they can continue to draw on to succeed in college. So one of them is agency. Um, I.

Agency is just basically having a direction, self-direction and knowing where you want to go and having the, the strength or the will to actually be able to get there. Um, I like to think of this as we have some students, and as a former school counselor, I know there were some students who had agency and there were some students who were looking at college, like 13th grade where it was just another year where things were gonna get taken care of for them and they didn’t have much personal stake It seems.

It seemed like. So, um, you wanna make sure that if, if the your student is, is, um, perhaps lacking a little bit in the agency department, you can find ways to help them start to take some ownership [00:16:00] over the decisions and the actions that need to be taken over the next few months. In particular, um, having positive beliefs is just having self-confidence essentially in, in your own abilities.

Um, so that when obstacles, uh, present themselves and they are very likely to present themselves, uh, be that just challenges in a particular class, interpersonal challenges with their roommates, things like that. Um, that people have positive beliefs that they can draw on and they have some self confidence, um, having, being able to set effective goals.

Um, one of the things that I think is really critical to student success is this goal setting. Um, because basically what college is, is, uh, setting a bunch of short-term goals to achieve longer term goals. The short-term goals start with managing your time and your personal resources in a way so that you can, um.

Succeed in your classes. And then you also have to set goals to, uh, take the classes in the right sequence so that you can make it from one year to the next in a timely manner. And ultimately that, that leads to graduating on time. [00:17:00] So knowing a, a goal setting process. And if you haven’t heard, um, the most common acronym is smart.

Um, you can make smart goals, smart being, uh, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. If you just Google that, you can learn more about smart goals. But having smart goals is a way to structure your goals so that, um, you know, when your goals have actually been accomplished. Because if you have a goal that you set, um, that isn’t measurable, for example, how are you gonna know when you’ve actually achieved it?

Right? So, um, so knowing how to set effective goals is one of the eight college and career readiness strengths. Um, knowing yourself, we’re gonna talk about this a little bit more. This is really on, on the career side of things. It’s knowing how your interests, your values, uh, and your abilities and your personality all come together.

To help you find a direction that works for you, uh, a personal, uh, educational and career direction that works for you. And we will talk about that a little bit more here, uh, a little bit later in the presentation. Um, becoming successful student. So if the student was admitted to college, they probably already, um, got some of [00:18:00] these, uh, characteristics of successful students.

They got some academic skills. Uh, they just need to continue and find and find a way to extend those skills into the college environment. Um, character for workplace success is really the interpersonal side of things. Getting along with others, um, you’ll see this, uh, come to come to light in a college setting and group projects, for example, um, on the academic side.

And then as mentioned earlier on the personal side, just living. If, if the student is not commuting and they’re living on campus, then they’re gonna have some more opportunities to, to, uh, display and, and develop some of their workplace success skills, which is the interpersonal and communication skills.

Um, college knowledge. Um. This is, uh, really important to me, uh, haven’t shared. I’ll, I’ll give you the short version. Well, I won’t give you the short version, but, um, I’ll give you the short version of my research and that’s that. Um, basically I did a survey. I developed a test of college knowledge and administered it to several hundred students, um, mostly in Massachusetts, but at, uh, two other high schools outside of [00:19:00] Massachusetts.

And found that the average score on that college knowledge assessment was 50, um, 50 out of a hundred. So, uh, it had questions on it, like, what’s the difference between a subsidized and an unsubsidized loan? What’s the difference between a semester system and a quarter system? How many hours a week do you spend in class in college compared to, uh, compared to high school?

Right? It had just basic. College, what I consider basic college knowledge, questions that a lot of students didn’t know. So continuing to build college knowledge over the next, uh, few months as needed. Um, orientation can help. A great deal with this, um, will be, will be helpful. And then finally, the College Support Network.

So, uh, college Support Network should be a group of people, including you as parents who can really help and support that student, includes their counselors, um, to see if their counselors are still available. Oftentimes high school counselors that you’ve been working with, um, are, are receptive to hearing from their graduates when support is needed.

So, um, thinking about who’s in the student’s college support network and making sure that student knows how to access their college support network, it’s gonna be really important to succeed in [00:20:00] that transition. So that’s the eight College and career readiness strengths. Um, and again, we will be sending this, this presentation out tomorrow, so don’t need to take notes.

Um, now I’ll kick it back to Amanda.

Amanda Sterk: Great. Thank you. So, getting into succeed, as we said, um, it’s really important that families have clear dialogue as this process is going on, and if you have it, um, sometimes the student, you know, I have a senior right now, she actually just called me right before the orientation and or right before this presentation, and she’s up at orientation and, you know, how do I get in the hotel?

What do I do? Like, there’s questions and we’ve been answering a lot of these questions as we go. Uh, Tim has, um, a freshman in college and you know, these things are really important to us, but what’s more important is that the student and the parents are having these discussions so when issues arise or things happen, that the [00:21:00] student has the tools to be successful.

And that’s why that was. Tim showed the graph of students who graduate high school and then go to college, you know, steeply declined. And then we have another decline of, you know, students that don’t complete a degree at all, or they take five, six years. And to reiterate what Tim said, I as a parent do not have a five or six year plan.

To pay for college. And so it’s really critical that these discussions happen early in the process. So students are very clear on what their goals are, how they’re going to, um, go through college and really to make better decisions. So the, um, we’re gonna talk about several, but first we’re gonna be talking about financial integration.

So how do we really talk about finances, especially now that you have your award letters. So by this time, um, a lot of things that have come in front of you are your award letters that [00:22:00] will include things like your. Institutional scholarships. It also includes things like, um, your fafsa, maybe you got work study, um, maybe them, some self pay in there.

Maybe there’s some loans in there. But first and foremost, you need to understand that award letter that is critical. And one of the number one factors why people do not complete their degree and the most cited reason is because of. Financing that because something has happened, you know, with prices going up.

Um, there was a college actually in Massachusetts, my daughter was really interested, and the last several years, 3% increase. 3% increase, 3% increase. And so when we were talking about budgeting, what if a 3% increase happens? Who’s paying for that? What does that look like? Can we do that as a family? So it’s really critical in today’s age with everything, you know, [00:23:00] really increasing, is that you do think about where is money come from?

Because sometimes scholarships are only for your freshman year. And if you’re not budgeting in what a second, third, or fourth year might look like. That could be really difficult for a family. So other things that I think families get really tripped up on are things like the fafsa, um, needs to be completed every year.

So while it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s at least the, the process has gotten easier. It’s a shorter application that it has been in the past. Um, that is something that needs to be completed every year. So if you are awarded some FAFSA dollars, you definitely need to make sure that you are paying attention. And that you meet all of those deadlines and get that information in.

Now what we are finding is about 20% of people that do complete their FAFSA do have to go through the FAFSA verification. And if you are a Pell Grant recipient, that can be higher. So. Um, again, [00:24:00] staying on top of those things instead of doing it later on in the process will greatly help to make sure that that money is there and you’re able to seamlessly keep going with your education is really important.

Same with your CSS profile. Definitely check, uh, the school. I know a lot of the private schools, uh, several publics as well do use the CSS profile. Um, so you definitely want to become friends with the financial aid office, um, both the parents and the students. ’cause you do want to make sure that you are completing, um, all of the materials that is required, um, here on out, just not a one, one-time thing.

Also, one of the things that’s really critical, like I said, is looking at that scholarship eligibility. Some scholarships are just for freshman year, and if you’re not taking that into account, that could be difficult. Other things is, a lot of scholarships have, um, different criteria that a student has to meet to make sure that they.

Continue to get that [00:25:00] scholarship. It could be a GPA requirement, it could be a community service requirement. Um, it could be maybe a specific major. So if your student changes their major, they might lose that scholarship. So you definitely want to go through and make sure that you read the fine print of every scholarship dollar that you do earn to understand.

Um, even some, if it’s a local scholarship, sometimes it might be a one-time deal, but you could also maybe reapply for next year. So is it a recurring, um, scholarship? Is it a one-time, can you apply again? What does that look like? So that’s definitely, you wanna make sure that you understand all eligibility requirements there.

Um, if you do have work study, which sort of comes through FAFSA and financial aid, you definitely want to make sure that you work with, um, the institution on getting that job on campus. And if you don’t work. You don’t get the work study money and you have to work so many hours, there’s some stipulations behind it.

So you definitely [00:26:00] want to make sure, again, that you’re working with your financial aid office to make sure that you do everything, um, to get that award. And don’t forget that this is budgeting for four years, hopefully not five or six. Right? But, um, just, you know, a lot of families are thinking about next year only, but really you need to look at your budget as a four year process.

And so really making sure that if rates do go up or things change or if parents move out of state or whatever that looks like, that you are really paying attention to. I know my daughter was really excited and she’s like, I wanna go do a summer study abroad opportunity, which is fantastic, but one of the things that we budgeted for was her.

Was for her to work during the summer. So if she goes off and does study abroad over the summer and that’s a cost and she’s not working, that’s going to decrease some of the budgeting, um, options that she has. So those are [00:27:00] things to be thinking about and be very clear between student and parent, what those expectations are and who’s in charge of what.

So really critical. Um, one thing to consider, I know Tim, this was one that you really included, um, as Tim was looking at with his daughter last year and myself included, looking at how can we reduce some of the costs to go to college. And one of the things that, um, I live in Florida that we noticed was auto insurance.

My daughter is not going to be taking a car. And so really looking at, you know, if she’s not around, um, can we remove her from auto insurance? And I know Tim, you found that, um, if a, if a college is more than 120 miles away, that you could actually drop your student. From auto insurance. Um, but definitely that is one thing.

Same with healthcare. A lot of universities have really great healthcare. Um, you know, if you have a cold or you need, um, antibiotics or, [00:28:00] um, one time my husband was college, he broke his nose. You know, there’s things that happen and they have a great clinic and doctors and nurses right there, um, on the university.

And a lot of times those fees are embedded into your sort of institutional fees that you pay. And so think about does your healthcare change If that’s the case. Now that does not include emergency healthcare, um, but you definitely want to find out things like auto insurance, healthcare, what does that mean if your student is away and can you maybe reduce some of the coverage or what does that look like?

So those are some ways that you can sort of, um, reduce that cost overall. Tim, do you wanna add anything to that?

Tim Poynton: I’ll just, uh, I’ll just add, so my daughter did finish, just finish her f her freshman year this past year. So this is, this is somewhat fresh for me. Um, the, i, the financial aid award letter, um, that we got the first page had all the numbers and then there were eight pages of definitions for all the different scholarship [00:29:00] options.

And even though I do this work, and I feel like I’m pretty informed about this kind of thing, I still had to contact the financial aid office to, to clarify that these were scholarships that were going to be renewed as long as, as long as she meant in something we didn’t talk about. Here is, uh, what’s known in the financial aid world, I believe, and Julie, correct me if I’m wrong, satisfactory academic progress, it’s called.

Mm-hmm. Um, every institution defines satisfactory academic progress a little bit differently, but generally speaking is you need to be passing and you need to need to be taking. The equivalent of a full-time course load to maintain your full federal, federal scholarship eligibility. So, so just keep that in mind and, and about the health center stuff, it was confusing for me.

Again, I feel like I’m informed about this and it was still, it was still somewhat confusing. So, um, I was getting different answers from different people, which was a little unsettling, but at the end we were able to work it out and, and my daughter was healthy all year, so, so good outcomes all around I just, and watching those

Amanda Sterk: fees.[00:30:00]

Tim Poynton: Yep. Sorry, this QR code at the bottom go is, uh, we’re gonna talk about, um, show you a planning worksheet that you can download. It’s just a, this QR code is gonna keep popping up to, uh, a Google doc that you can make a copy of, um, if you’d like. So I just wanted to point that out. Sorry to cut you off, Amanda.

Amanda Sterk: Nope. No, I said that’s great and you know, I think one of the things I was gonna say was there are a lot of fees on that award letter that sort, they sort of lump sum them all together and really asking questions of the financial aid office is really critical. Um, is it a fee that you really have to pay or they want everyone to pay it?

What does that look like? Um, so really making sure that you understand what you are paying for and what they’re using and, and things like that is gonna be really critical. Room and board, you know, those things you really need to ask some questions and make sure, you know. Go ahead. So here’s an example, as Tim said, uh, when that QR code comes up, it’s just a nice little sheet, um, that we have within the [00:31:00] book, but you can use it as, um, a way to kind of really think through each of these three key areas.

And this is just an example that we, um, our book is all around case studies. So we really give an example of a student going through the process and then what are some of the questions, um, that that student might have that pertains to them. So here’s an example where over the summer we wanted our student to re, uh, it was Emily, um, Emily to look at her financial plan and figure out what does she need to do to make sure that, um, she’s ready for the year that’s coming up.

And then during the school year, what are some action steps that she needs to do as the student? And again, we do have action steps as parents as well. And again, making sure that it is clearly communicated what’s expected from the student. And what’s expected from the parent, I think is really critical here.

So, for example, Emily, she received a part-time job, um, to increase some hours. She built them some savings. So [00:32:00] she’s able to have a little bit of a, a fun, um, pocket of money and maybe she’s gonna pay for some books or pay for some things. Um, and her parents are paying for other things. Um, she’s going to determine if, um, based on loans, what is the best rate for her.

Who’s taking out those loans, um, making sure that if you are taking those loans through, uh, your institution, um, that you accept those award letters. And remember, you do not have to accept those loans. So if there are other ways to, um, pay down that, um, that cost of attendance, definitely to pay attention to that, uh, work study.

If you are, you know, again, even though work study is listed on your. Um, your award letter, you still have to apply for it. You still have to get a work study position and you need to start working that and figuring out your hours, what’s going on and so forth. Um, you definitely want to make sure that all scholarships, local, [00:33:00] state, national, institutional, that you understand what those requirements are and make sure that you’re meeting eligibility.

You wanna make sure that all of your FAFSA information is in and that you are, you know, set on your calendar that it’s gonna open. You know, it’s been a little hard the last few years. October one has been the date that they always aim for, but it’s been a little bit later, the last few years because of the changes.

Um, but definitely set your calendar for late fall, um, just like you did this year to fill out that fafsa and then the family sits down and creates a budget. So you can see during the school year, um, she continues to work on this process, picking up maybe some extra shifts when she’s home from college.

Maybe she’s going back to her job, uh, in retail or wherever that might be. Um, you’re looking for different private loans or different options for year two. Uh, maybe work study. You’re gonna look at your schedule. What does that look like? Scholarships, fafsa, and then following your budget and making sure that you understand any [00:34:00] expenses that are coming up, um, that you are doing, you’re modifying as such, but really making a plan include a monthly budget for both academic and non-academic expenses.

You know, the occasional boba on campus or the Starbucks on campus. I mean, it’s right there. My, my daughter’s going to University of Florida and I think there was like. Six Starbucks on campus. And so we had a conversation on how many Starbucks you can actually have a week, and you know, you have a full meal plan.

So again, what’s that expectation? Um, gas, you know, those are all things that need to be discussed, um, as a family. Tim,

Tim Poynton: I can just add one more thing about the fafsa. Yes, please. Um, a story, and Amanda, I don’t think I’ve shared this with you yet, but, um, if you, even if you think that you, you didn’t fill out the FAFSA because you think you didn’t qualify for aid, you might be right.

You probably are right. But. At UMass Boston, we actually found some funding, um, from the state to give to students, undergraduate [00:35:00] students that were in the Human services major, um, several thousand dollars. And it was only open to people who had already filled out the fafsa. So there’s no harm in doing the fafsa.

You don’t have to, you know, if they offer you loans, you don’t have to accept them, right? So, um, I would encourage you to do the FAFSA if you want to have the possibility of, of availing yourself of all of the, uh, financial aid that’s available at the institution. So, uh, if you’re, if you’re attending an institution that uses CSS profile, like the CSF profile is fine, um, they’ll use that for the information.

But if you didn’t fill out the FAFSA and, and, uh. You’re at a college that doesn’t use the CSS profile. Filling out the FAFSA is really important

Amanda Sterk: and I’ll, I’ll even add to that. There are a lot of scholarships once you get to the university that are available. Sometimes like as Tim said, it could be a major specific where maybe you are gonna go communications and now you’re going to go to human services.

There might be a scholarship for that. Maybe your student is going to apply for the honors program. A lot of times there’s a [00:36:00] stipend of anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000. Um. The student can receive for scholarships. Maybe there’s a research or an internship opportunity that actually pays. So really being dialed in.

I, I know I’ve said, I think this is my third time, but being dialed into the financial aid office frequently and checking and asking those questions, that’s that part of that agency that Tim was talking about earlier under the eight strengths, is going in and asking these questions and making sure that you stay on top of things because there is money available, um, grants and scholarships and so forth, um, even once you are at the college.

So really make sure that you are paying attention.

Tim Poynton: Yep. Just really quickly, the FAFSA is just the application that makes you eligible for loans and other forms of financial aid. So the fafsa, I know the most common form of aid through the FAFSA is loans subsidized and unsubsidized. But, um, there are other opportunities that can be made [00:37:00] available through that, um, when that, when that information is provided to, to the institution.

And in terms of, um, if you didn’t qualify for a work study this first year, you can talk with the financial aid office, make sure you resubmit the FAFSA next year and see if you qualify then. Um, and

Amanda Sterk: sometimes our, our as parents, you know, our work changes, you know, there’s been quite a few layoffs recently and there’s things that are happening.

So realize that if something does change, um, you know, I’ve had it where parents have had. You know, diagnosis of cancer and they’ve had, you know, large medical bills. So what happened last year in your FAFSA might not be indicative of what your FAFSA’s gonna be like next year. So really understand that if there are financial changes, um, that really will affect the student negatively, again, the financial aid office, um, really appeal.

Talk to them and find out what you can do because there are opportunities there as well.

Tim Poynton: Great. So, all right, so now [00:38:00] financial, the money piece is, is a very important part. We also have the academic and social integration side of things, and the on the academics, um, orientation can often provide a lot of in helpful information.

Uh, some might characterize it as too much information. Actually it’s a lot to pay attention to and learn. Um, so, uh, I recommend that the sooner you can go to orientation the better, just because practically speaking, classes fill up. So, uh, the earlier you can go, um, the more opportunities you’re gonna have at most schools.

Like, um, so just to, in, instead of having very limited options, if you wait until August to go, if you can squeeze orientation into your schedule sooner rather than later, like Amanda’s going in May. Um, uh, uh, Eden is so, um, that’s, uh, definitely a tip that we kind of recommend. Um. Other academic planning? If, if you have a particular major in mind, what are the requirements and how do you gain entry?

So I was a psychology major, but [00:39:00] before I could officially be a psychology major, I had to taken past three classes before I could formally declare the psychology major. So knowing what those classes are for, for the major or majors that, that you’re interested in, or that your student is interested in, is important to know so you can get them onto your schedule as soon as possible.

Um, learning how to navigate the registration system, um, wait lists for classes that you want to get into, um, and advising. These are things that are gonna go over an orientation. Um, but you should know that if a class is full, like you can email the professor and try to make a case and they can override that and add you above the cap it’s called.

So, uh, I’m not making any promises that they’ll be nice or, or agreeable or anything like that, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. We get these questions all the time, so, um. And if the answer’s no, they’ll tell you no. Nothing, nothing lost. Right? So just know that that is an option. If a class is closed, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get in there.

It just means it’s less likely you can get in there. Feel free to ask. Um, I. Be prepared to find support on campus, um, [00:40:00] particularly academic support. Um, most colleges are gonna provide an array of academic support services. Um, they’ll have tutoring centers on campus. Um, professors are required to have office hours, uh, at every university I know of.

And, and you should go see your professors when, um, even when you don’t have trouble just to develop a relationship because they could be an asset and an ally to you. Um, I know it’s always easier to work with a student who, you know, uh, than it is to have a student who comes in, um, when they’re already kind of in trouble.

It just makes things much more harder, uh, much, much more difficult they should say. So, um, so just be prepared to, to get support and be prepared to struggle, uh, a little bit as, as a student, because it’s just part of, it’s part of the process. It’s very different than high school. Um, the short version is that in high school, you, you’re in class, what, 25 to 30 hours a week.

Right. And people are telling you what to do and when to do it. And in college, um. Particularly at, at, you know, a lot of the first year, uh, first year classes, they don’t even take attendance. Like nobody’s gonna call you if [00:41:00] you don’t show up to class. So you have to have this level of responsibility that you’ve never had before.

And some students struggle with that. So finding the supports for that, that you need be that interpersonal supports, um, uh, communicating with parents, et cetera. So, um, the self-management, which is the last bullet on this slide, the self-management strategies are key. Thinking about what the self-management strategies are and how self-management has happened in the past can help you succeed in the transition in managing what, what amounts to a lot more personal responsibility for your learning than, than you’ve had in the past as a student.

Um, I’m gonna, oh, go ahead.

Amanda Sterk: Oh yeah, go ahead, go ahead. I was gonna add to, um, you were talking about your courses. If you have not yet, whatever major you’re gonna be, whether it’s engineering, communication, marketing, game design, whatever, now is the time to go to your colleges college catalog and actually look up your major and what the requirements.

I cannot tell you how many students I [00:42:00] have worked with that’s like, oh, I’m gonna go pre-med. I’m gonna go engineering, or I’m gonna go do this. And they’re like, oh, I need differential equations, calculus, calc three. I don’t like math. Look at the entire degree plan and really look at, am I gonna commit?

Remember, we want you to graduate, um, with a degree. We don’t want you dropping out. We don’t want you getting frustrated. We want you to be successful. And so looking at those. Course catalog or that kind of, you know, it, it will break down like semester one, we suggest this, semester two we suggest this and your advisor can do that.

But look at the four year plan and say, does this really match me or does it not? So that’s a really good thing this summer that spend a lot of time in that, um, and understanding, do I wanna do these classes? Do they really sound that interesting to me? So just wanna include that. ’cause I think that’s a common thing that students do not pay attention to is the courses that they’re [00:43:00] taking.

And what does that look like?

Tim Poynton: Thank you. Just, I’m gonna try and speed things along to make sure that we have some questions, time for questions at the end, if that’s all right. But, um, applying for transfer credit as needed, if you have AP or dual enrollment or early college classes, just check the policies, um, and bring the information that you might need to orientation to try to get that taken care of if it’s not taken care of already.

Um, and you might choose to give, depending on what your major is, um, decide that even though my daughter got a four on the, on the AP Computer Science, uh, exam, she wanted to take computer science again because that was, uh, her major essentially was computer science. So she wanted to make sure that she had that base basic knowledge, um, down pat, even though she could have, uh, she could have skipped that class and gone to the next level.

So, and I think it was actually the right move for her. So, um, for students with a 5 0 4 and IEP, um. Just know that things are very different at the college level. Self-advocacy is a big part of getting [00:44:00] accommodations at the college level, which is very different than how it’s done K to 12. So we could do a whole webinar on that, but we’re just gonna leave it at that.

Contact your school counselor and contact the accessibility services offices called different things in different places. Sometimes it’s accessibility services. Sometimes it’s called disability services. Um, sometimes it’s part of the Diversity equity inclusion office. So just find out where and how to qualify, um, for accommodations at the college.

And then remember that the student actually needs to, uh, even when they qualify for the accommodations, they need to advocate for getting the accommodations in each and every class. Essentially when they, when they’re needed. So it’s a very different, uh, approach in college than it is in, in, uh, K to 12. Um, also think about the kinds of academic or mental health supports that you might need and where and how to access it.

So that’s tutoring, that’s the counseling center. Does the counseling center have a policy of limiting, um, free sessions or are there any free sessions at all or do they limit it to five per academic year? Or is there unlimited free counseling? Right. Colleges [00:45:00] vary on these things. So depending on what you need, um, just figure out, uh, how you might get those, uh, those supports that you actually need be the mental health or academic.

Um, it’s the same thing with tutoring. Most, most colleges have free tutoring, but sometimes they’ll have additional tutoring that’s for an additional fee. It might actually be worth it. So knowing what’s available and what you need are good things to get a good handle on over the summer. Um, we’ll talk about here in a, in just a minute.

Um, be prepared to change your mind about your major. Um, I’ll give you the, the facts here quickly. One in three students who formally declare their major. Change their major after formally declaring their first major one in three. I’ve seen statistics reported that about 80% of students change their major.

Okay. So, um, you should expect if you’re the student, you should expect to change your major or, or be open to the idea of changing your major, major. If you, if you feel like that’s, uh, where you want to go, you’re not stuck in your major. Um, and as a parent, don’t think that it’s your, your child is, is failing if they’re exploring different things, [00:46:00] because the fact is they’re learning about themselves as they’re going through their college classes and figuring out what fits them and what doesn’t.

It, to me it’s career exploration is part of the process here, and changing majors is part of the process. Uh, we’ll talk about that more here in just a second. Um, and then finally finding clubs and activities that can help you explore and solidify your. Your, uh, major interests or your career interest? Um, you know, if there’s service learning activities that you’re able to do, if there’s things that you’re able to do over the summer.

I had my daughter do a summer camp in computer science. The, the year before she went into college just to make sure that that was the direction she wanted to go in, because she’s creative and, um, she liked, she did like to code, but I wanted her to do a little bit more coding than she got in high school.

So, um, so think of things that you might do this summer that are really gonna clarify and solidify, uh, those academic interests. And here is again, I’ll try to give you the short version. Um, so I teach college counseling and career counseling is most of what I teach, um, future school counselors at, in my work at UMass Boston.

And what all of the career [00:47:00] theories basically say that effective career decision making, effective career decisions happen at the intersection of knowledge of yourself and knowledge of the world of work, right? So that’s where these informed career decisions can happen. Most high school students don’t know too much about the world of work, and they don’t know too, too much about themselves, which is why they end up changing their major when they get on a college campus, right?

Um, they learn more about themselves in a relation to the world of work, and they realize like, oh, like being as, as Amanda was saying, like, oh, like if I’m gonna be a computer science major, I’m gonna need differential equations. Like, that’s not me. That’s my daughter’s shoes, actually. Um, she’s, she is working her way through it with the supports, um, that, that she needs to be able to do that.

And she’s done well enough so far. So, um, so just be prepared. For this career exploration to keep happening for the first year or maybe even into the sophomore year. But you gotta try to put in place the experiences, um, that are gonna help figure out the direction for a major. Um, if that’s engineering, like whatever [00:48:00] the major is, try to do things that are gonna help you see yourself in that job.

Be it the introduction to engineering class or the introduction to mechanical engineering, or introduction to computer science or psychology, whatever the field is. Try to get into some of those major classes sooner rather than later so you can make sure that they fit you like you think they do. Right.

Um, and there are also, uh, so every, the short version here, uh, every college, uh, has a career center on campus, or at least every college I know of. So those career counselors are there to help students make these kinds of decisions. So are their academic advisors. So use them as a resource, um, as students are going through, um, take advantage of those free resources that are available.

Do you have anything to add to that, Amanda?

Amanda Sterk: No, that’s great. And I think, you know, the, the self knowledge I think is so critical. ’cause even as adults, we don’t know all the world of work, right? There are so many opportunities and I’ll meet somebody who’s like, what’s your job? How did you get that job?

What does that look like? And again, we’re pretty [00:49:00] knowledgeable. And so there’s gonna, there’s so much change right now in remote work and ai. There are things that are just happening at such a fast speed and really the higher ed institutions are staying on top of it. And so what’s out there has really changed from even us going to school.

So really just being open and that doing, exploring your options are critical. But I think just what Tim said is using those resources and talking to your professors, using the career centers, using your advisor, really tapping into those resources, gonna make a big difference. Great point.

Tim Poynton: Yep. And here is just really quickly, uh, Emily’s academic plan, the the case study.

Um, just going through, I don’t wanna spend too much time on this, this is just an example, academic plan, um, getting in touch with the psychology club, like they have that club on campus that gets you connected with other students. Um, personally, I joined a, a peer counseling organization at my undergraduate institution, which really solidified my interest in the counseling [00:50:00] area and helped me figure out that I wanted to go into school counseling and not mental health counseling.

So that was a pivotal experience that I personally had, that was part of my, part of my academic planning. Um, all right. Social integration.

Amanda Sterk: Yeah, so social. So as we know, I mean, college can be a fantastic time to really find out more about yourself and really making sure that you are connected is key.

Because there are a lot of times that for some students it can be very overwhelming, especially if you’re going to a really large campus, you know? So there are some. Schools that are anywhere from 40, 50, 60,000 students. And that can be very overwhelming. And so really having a social integration plan is critical because I think there really is kind of the gamut of the students that it’s really hard, maybe that a little more introverted.

And it’s kind of hard when you’re on a bigger campus to get involved. And then you have the extroverts that might take on too much [00:51:00] activities and they get overwhelmed themselves very quickly and they get too much in the socialization. So really finding that balance that you are as successful as you possibly can.

So when you’re thinking about your high school experience, how do you as a student, or how does your student actually navigate some of those social situations and what happens? Does that. Fill you up. Does that sort of drain you a little bit? Because now when a student goes off to college, they’re gonna have to self-manage that a lot more than they did when they were in high school, because as Tim said, that’s a very structured environment.

College is a very open, open kind of structure, right. So even things thinking about picking your roommate, right? Making sure that it’s a nice match, that if they’re a night owl and you like to get up early, what does that look like for you? Especially when you’re in a 12 by 12 room and you don’t have much room and they’re watching TV until two in the morning and you have an eight o’clock class.

So [00:52:00] that’s really important. And I know, um, Tim, you had a daughter who the, your, they left, right, the roommate left after, in the middle of this first semester. Then what happens? Right? So those are things that you have to pay attention to. Preparing to live with strangers, you know? Um, even though I don’t know about your daughter’s room, but my daughter’s room, you know, we talked about.

Staying neat and keeping clean. And what does that look like when somebody else is sharing a room and, and preparing for who’s bringing, you know, what materials and how are you gonna effectively and efficiently live within a small space? Um, what about participating in campus life and activities? You know what, you know, you definitely want to, as you’re building your academic side, you want to build that resume side.

So getting involved, getting connected, exploring who you are, is gonna be really critical. So what happens, um, when you wanna take a break from your academics? Are you gonna be in the [00:53:00] library? Do you want quiet spaces? Do you want more, like, more of the union and a little bit noisier, finding your, your space and making sure that that sort of, um.

It will help you. And then how do you prepare for challenges? We’ve talked about this already, your college support network really making sure, ’cause a lot of students will go into college thinking, oh, I’ve done all this work, even if they were successful in high school, that I should be successful in college.

And so they don’t ask for help. And that’s why building these plans are so critical. And so they’ll call you and you know, one of my good friends, her daughter called Fresh, you know, first semester and was in tears about ready to leave the campus where she was at. And she wasn’t prepared for that because they had done all this prep and they thought she was so successful and they had to take a step back and look at what.

You know, she started seeing a counselor on campus. She scaled back. She was an athlete, and that ended up being just too much for her. So she scaled back and [00:54:00] reprioritized some of her things. So be prepared parents and students that what you think your college experience might look like, might not be it, and that’s okay as long as you’re staying successful and you’re connecting to the resources.

Um, and especially that support system is really critical. Um, if you are commuting, um, definitely think about really, you have to be even more proactive because you’re kind of come into classes and then you leave. So really being sure that you understand what events are going on, how can you connect with people a little bit differently, and you just have to be a little bit more cognizant, um, and, and be more sort of, um, apt to jump in and, and do things versus, Hey, I’ll just drive and, you know, drive and be home.

Um, and then you definitely want to navigate, um, competing interests. So some of you do have to work and, you know, work in 30, 40 hours and trying to do schoolwork. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for sort of that social time. So really thinking about where’s my time being [00:55:00] spent? What type of experience do I want?

What does that look like? And again, making sure you’re successful. And then just making sure that you connect with the social events. Usually the beginning of every semester, they have a big club fair where all the clubs get in a big room and you go out and you can go talk to everybody and see what’s available.

And you’ll see posters up on campus, the crochet club or the Environmental Science Club, or the Beekeeping Club. That’s one my daughter wanted to join was the Beekeeping Club. And so those are things that, again, what will work for you, whether it’s major, whether it’s interest, and making sure that you get connected.

Yes, Julie?

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Oh no, I’m just popping back in. Uh, there is a question, but I’ll let you finish and,

Amanda Sterk: okay, great. So here’s just an example again of a social plan, um, for our student, Emily, you know, really, um, being mindful and thinking through it, you know, looking at the social activities that are going on. Um, the, our student in particular was going to [00:56:00] join a soccer club.

And that was a way that she could stay healthy and, you know, kind of help her mental health. And so she, she didn’t wanna pay play competitively, um, like in terms of play for the college, but she wanted play club sports to keep her involved. Um, making sure the residency hall, usually there’s tons of fun things going on.

So how do you connect with your RA and what does that look like? And then also really making sure students and parents that you’re continuing to engage with each other, not just through text and calls, but you know, when it’s parent weekend, go up visit. And really making an experience for the entire family is really important.

So just again, thinking through that process so it doesn’t get overwhelming and it becomes, uh, an added bonus of, you know, going to college. Go ahead, Tim.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: You’re muted. Tim. Tim, you’re on mute. Sorry. It’s okay. [00:57:00]

Tim Poynton: Thank you. Sorry about that. Um, I know my daughter didn’t like to check her email, so, um, you need to check your email regularly ’cause that’s how colleges communicate. So, um, check email and if they’re struggling to check their email, um, then find ways to get them, remind them to do that.

Uh, ’cause it is critically important. And there are some high schools that actually have counselors come in over the summer to provide support in the transition from high school to college. See if that exists at your coll at your high school. Um, it doesn’t exist everywhere, um, but it does exist in some places.

So it’s worth asking about. Uh, and then as kind of hinted at previously, like, support your student in an advocating for themselves because you’re not gonna be there with them. Um, you know, e even if they’re commuting. You’re not gonna be there with them while they’re at the college and they need to learn how to take care of themselves.

This is part of them becoming an adult, right? So, um, so it’s a really good time for them to start practicing advocating for themselves and getting their needs met. So, um, with that, just the first question I’ll just share quickly, I [00:58:00] know Julie wanted to answer this question, um, about about a gap year, but I took six gap years in a row.

Um, so just personally, I didn’t really start college until I was 24. I took a a community college class here and there, but, um, so I’m a big fan of people starting college when they’re ready to, and if that means taking a gap year, as Amanda said, like may not be the traditional looking college experience, but you can still succeed and, and get what you need out of the experience.

And I think gap years if, if make a lot of sense for a lot of people. Yeah. But Julie, please.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Oh, no, and I, I, I, I’m glad you answered that and I was, I was just gonna add that MEFA has a, uh, a webinar I. On that topic. And we have a podcast, um, on that topic and a page on our website with some resources from, I think it’s called the Gap Year Association.

And so if you, um, go to the mefa website and in the search just type gap year, you’ll probably see all those, all those things. Yeah. Yeah.

Amanda Sterk: One thing I will say, I’ve worked with a lot of gap year students is just make sure that [00:59:00] you have all your documents before you leave high school. So if you do know that you’re gonna be going off, um, having a transcript, maybe having some letters of recommendation, having some of those sayings when you’re coming back a year from now, it gets a little bit harder.

Um, so if you are planning, be mindful, but then also, you know, if you can get some of those documents ahead of time, that will make your process a lot easier in a year when you’re ready. If you are looking at maybe a four year kind of traditional, um, versus like a community college or so forth. But, um, just pay attention.

I’ve know I’ve had a lot of counselors leave or things happen and. You know, it’s hard. So just if you can get something this year and just have that in your kind of bank of resources, that will be really, really helpful if you are gonna be taking a gap year. That’s my one suggestion.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Yeah. So I’ll, I’ll ask, um, that if you have additional questions Yes.

For Amanda and Tim, put them in the q and a right now, and in the [01:00:00] meantime, I will just answer one question, give you a couple of resources. There was a question about, uh, about loans and researching private loans. And so I’m just gonna share that if you just go to MEFA.org/events on our website that we have two webinars on comparing college loan options June 5th and July 8th.

And we actually have a hotline where you can come and get one-on-one help. You can always get one-on-one help, but um, this night you can, uh. You know, with others, just join and get one-on-one help. And it’s called a, uh, a hotline where we can sort of talk with you about your specific situation about paying the college bill and help you through that.

And the question was about applying for alternative loans. And if you apply for them in a short period of time, um, altogether, then that’s fewer hits on your credit score. So if you [01:01:00] apply for a number of mortgages all at once, or a number of car loans all at once, um, or educational loans, um, as long as you do it in a, in a let’s, let’s just even say a two week time period, then you, you don’t get all of those hits on your credit and that allows you to explore, um, a lot of different, um, options for yourself.

So that was the specific question. And then a lot more you can learn at some of those, um, those webinars I mentioned. And let’s see, I think we do have some questions.

Tim Poynton: There was the, that’s the deadlines June 30th for this year, right? For, for this academic year. I just, I answered that question in the chat, but

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Oh, yes, yes.

Tim Poynton: Um, these are all financial aid questions, which Julie is best equipped to use. Oh, let’s

Julie Shields-Rutyna: see. Okay. Um, so this is a very specific question, um, about do you need a social security number to apply for EFA loan? And I believe so, but, [01:02:00] um, funny that I, I believe so, but I, I never like to say no. So if you want to, um, reach out tomorrow to college planning.org, um, that, that web, that, um.

Email address, then, um, we can confirm that with the financial folks at MEFA. And then, um, this is another question with the same, the same question. So two questions. So I, I, I believe you do need a social security number, but, um, why don’t you write to us at, um, college [email protected] and, um, we can confirm that tomorrow.

Thanks.

Well, if there are no more questions, I will just say thank you so much. That was so much terrific information. And I don’t, I don’t know what my favorite part was, but I do know that. [01:03:00] I heard recently someone say that this is, this is one of the biggest, um, transitions that a person makes in their lifetime.

You know, one of them. But it is a really big transition going from high school to college and, um, there’s so much involved and it was so good to hear you put so many things on the table that people should be thinking about and, and working with their student on. So I really appreciate it and I am going to, um, there’s another MEFA question, so I’m gonna say, let’s, let’s talk about the, the, um, MEFA loan questions afterwards.

So, uh, that’s, um, college [email protected]. Thanks. And with that, I hope everyone has a wonderful night.

Amanda Sterk: Thank you, Julie. As always. Take care everybody. Good luck.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: [01:04:00] Byebye.