The College Connection is your guide to all things college.  It will provide parents and kids with useful tips, helpful insights and up-to-the-minute information about preparing for college, surviving the admissions process, as well as trends and life on campus.  Stick with me, and the transition from high school to college will be a breeze.

Back-to-school means extra work for high school seniors as they begin their season of college applications. And here’s another issue to tackle: money matters. Awareness about the following can help ease the way for both of you:

• Know Before You Go - There will always be monetary surprises when your child goes to college, but before you set yourself and your child up for a rude awakening, make sure that you’re accurately informed about the cost(s) of a college education, plus room and board. For example, it will cost approximately $70K for your child to attend a state public university (living away from home) over the next four years … and that’s before the surprises.
  
  Financial Aid – is not “free money.” It’s need-based and given to students who qualify, based upon parents’ income and assets.
  
  
• Merit Money – Not all, but many schools do offer students merit money scholarships usually based upon high school grade performance and standardized test scores. Check out the individual college’s merit money criteria on their Web site. Some schools offer specific scholarships that may require a separate essay or application in order to be eligible.
  

Absentee Ballots for College Students

You can still make your voice heard in the upcoming elections, but you must act quickly. Before you leave for college, make sure that you’re registered to vote. Then, register to vote absentee using your home state address by requesting that an absentee ballot be sent to your college residence. But, you must fill out an absentee ballot request application for your home state while you’re still at home.
Go to: www.elections.state.ny.us/Voting.html
or www.elections.state.ny.us/NYSBOE/download/voting/absentee.pdf

Junior’s Making Connections

Spend a little time in your junior year getting to know and establishing good relationships with some of your favorite major subject teachers. This may play an important role in your senior year when you ask them to write your college recommendation letters. As a general rule, English and history teachers are the best writers.