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Priceline,
eBay, onlineauction.com... All such sites allow
you to name your own price on everything from
rollerblades, concert tickets, groceries, even
old Pez dispensers. But tuition?!
Name Your Own Tuition?!
By Alexandra Anastasio
October 2000
The CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- Sure enough,
there are a number of new Web sites lately that
claim they allow students and parents to do just
that.
Sound like a good
idea? After all, how cool is the concept of telling
a college how much you can cough up for tuition,
and having them say "Okay"?
Not so fast, higher
ed' haggler. Think again before you hit "Send."
Gary M. Kelsey,
president of the National Association for College
Admission Counseling (NACAC), admits that neither
him nor NACAC endorses such a concept. "It
turns something sour in my stomach," he explains.
"Colleges should look at a student's academic
attributes and make a decision based on that."
This applies to you, the searching student, as
well.
When making your
scholastic selection, you should look for a school
that has the qualifications you are seeking, not
whether or not its financial aid officers accept
the best bid. Plus, if you bid for your education,
you're giving up your freedom of college choice.
Most bidding sites do not allow you to name the
schools you like, only the price you're willing
to pay.
When it comes to
deciding where to go and how to cover your college
costs, keep in mind there are safer avenues to
explore. "[Since] there are so many [services]
out there, it can be difficult to ferret out which
ones to use" explains Mary Beth Cravitz,
president-elect of NACAC and a college consultant
for Deerfield High School, Deerfield, IL.
Her first bit of
advice? If a site or service costs money, beware!
"You shouldn't have to spend money,"
Cravitz explains. "Free sites are available."
For one, check NACAC
-- it provides information and links to other
free and reputable resource-based sites. They
even publish a space availability list each spring
that lists colleges that still have openings.
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Chances
are you'll have to pay what they
want you to pay. It wouldn't hurt to
have a borrowing briefer, just in case.
Get it here.
- Need to figure out if a financial
aid-assistance company is reputable?
Read advice from Laura DiFiore, scholarship
expert, at Fresch.
(Click into "Some Simple Ways To
Research a Company.") |
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