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Tucson, Arizona
High school students with the desire, but not necessarily the money, to attend college have an advocate to help them through the application process and negotiate for better financial aid packages. Circle of Neighbors, national community service organization is conducting workshop/interviews to get students and their families on track to achieving their goals.
"The organization makes families aware of all of the little things they can do to make college more affordable," said the Neighbors Director who conducts interviews and workshops. "It's a process, just straight forward strategic planning and it really works."
With thousands of members in the United States, Circle of Neighbors conducts personal interviews with aspiring college students and works as an advocate to get those students into the schools they want at a price they can afford, the Director said.
Based on the student's interests, academic records and financial profile, Neighbors puts together a personalized letter of recommendation and sends the information to the schools that fit the student's needs and interests.
"We use the interview and the profile to evaluate which schools would be the most interested in the recruitment of that particular student," the Director said, adding that the organization works with more than 3,000 U. S. colleges and universities.
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The organization encourages students to look into schools, which suit their interests - regardless of cost. "I've seen a lot of students operate under the misconception that they can only go to schools they can afford, " the Director said, "Actually some of the more expensive private schools are often the most generous. We see a good number of students attending private and out of state schools for less money than attending a local community college." Tapping into that generosity is the organization's specialty. After sending off applications and financial profiles, students begin receiving financial aid award letters that show how much money the school would give them if they attend. While many students make their college decisions based on the award letter, Circle of Neighbors views the letter as merely a starting point.
"We use the letter as a negotiating tool," the Director said. "We use letters from other schools as leverage to help students attend the school they want and get as much financial assistance as they can."
The Director, a father of four said his children got about 85% of the money we needed by working with Circle of Neighbors. "Most parents are like we are and have been unable to put away the $60,000 or so needed for college for each student," he said. "But there is a way to use resources so parents don't have to borrow from their home equity or tap into their retirement in order to make college dreams a reality."
July 1999
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