If your roommate dies, you’ll get a 4.0. You know you’ve heard that rumor—and wondered if maybe, just maybe, it’s true. What about other college rumors? Our experts debunk these myths and give you the real scoop.
Rumor: I can’t afford college.
Busted: With scholarships and grants, few students pay the entire advertised sticker price of college. And with a little thought and planning, you’ll be able to save costs. Maybe you can start at a two-year school and transfer later. Maybe you pick a college near home and commute for a semester or two to save on room and board. Maybe you can forgo having a car and rely on public transportation, cabs and making friends who have cars to get to the airport and mall.
College students pay for college in all kinds of ways: agreements with Mom and Dad, part-time jobs or paying co-ops and internships, working on campus or getting student loans.
Apply to where you want to go, then make your final decision once your financial aid package comes through. Then sit down with your parents to determine how much student loan debt you’d have to take on with each option, and how much that means you’ll have to pay back. Be frugal in your choice—don’t take on thousands of dollars in debt if the only reason you pick a school is because your girlfriend is going there, too. Plane tickets are a lot cheaper than more student loan debt than you can handle.
Rumor: Two-year schools aren’t for me.
Busted: Community colleges are affordable ways to prepare for a job or to build up your college credit and GPA before transferring to a four-year school. Use a community college correctly, and you can take many of your general education requirements (think history, foreign language, science and English) at a two-year school for a fraction of a four-year school’s tuition price.
After two years, you can enter the workforce with your certification or associate’s degree, or transfer to a four-year school to finish a bachelor’s.
In fact, starting at a two-year school may even help you out.
“We actually find that students who begin with us perform better at the upper-level school to which they transfer than most of the students who began their freshmen year at the four-year university,” says Fred Peters, director of marketing and public information at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. “Our university contacts tell us they’re seeing the same results; that’s why they welcome our transferring sophomores.”
Rumor: The only way to be successful is to attend a prestigious college.
Busted: Think of all the successful people in your life. Think of all the adults who have jobs that give them meaning, who contribute to their families and communities, and who make enough money to live comfortably.
Now name the percentage of them went to Ivy League schools.
Thought so. ‘Nuff said.
Rumor: I must attend college right after high school.
Busted: Taking a year off between high school and college is becoming more popular for teens who want to work, travel, volunteer or just plain experience life without school. A year off before college is called a “gap year.” Spend it wisely—you shouldn’t take time off just to sit on the couch and veg. But joining a volunteering program or getting an internship in your field can help you figure out how to make the most of college when you get there.
Rumor: All admissions packets are thick, all rejection letters thin.
Busted: You might get your admissions notification in an e-mail, Instant Message or (gasp!) a thin envelope. Moral of the story? Don’t throw away anything you get from colleges before you read it.
“One of the things we started to do this year was sending a thin admit letter,” says John Ambrose, director of undergraduate admissions at Marygrove College in Detroit.
A couple of days after getting that first notice, admitted Marygrove students receive a welcome packet full of material.
“Definitely open up the envelopes that come from the institutions, whether interested in the school or not,” Ambrose says. “The colleges spend a lot of time and money trying to woo the student to participate. There may be some information in that envelope that really becomes pertinent, but you don’t know it because you didn’t open the envelope.”
Imagine if you chucked an envelope without checking it—and miss out on a scholarship invitation, a free visit or a new major you would’ve loved.
Rumor: I’m smart, so I can get into any school I apply to.
Busted: You might not get into every college you apply to. That’s why admissions reps recommend applying to three to six schools. Apply to at least one “reach” college—one that you’ve dreamed of attending but maybe aren’t a shoo-in for. You should feel fairly confident (though nervous is OK) that you’d be a good match for the other colleges you apply to. And consider it humbling—not a failure—if you get a rejection letter or two.
Rumor: Taking foreign language in high school won’t help.
Busted: Take as many semesters of foreign language as you can in high school. Don’t like it? Do it anyway, and you could test out of it in college. Colleges have general education requirements, classes that all students have to take before graduation. Foreign language is often one of them. But if you can test out of language classes, it can mean more time for electives, or even, ironically, study abroad!
Rumor: Dorm food is disgusting.
Busted: “Reality: It usually is very disgusting,” says Carol Miller, school counselor at Lansing High School in Lansing, New York.
But actually, many colleges are putting a lot of effort into making sure their food is tasty. Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, made a $2.25 million renovation to its cafeteria in 2003.
Students at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, harvest vegetables on their campus farm for the school’s dining services.
Hope College in Holland, Michigan, hired current vegetarian students to develop its options for vegans, ovo and lacto vegetarians.
And at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, brown-bag lunches are available for students who don’t have time to eat lunch in the dining hall.
Rumor: Credit cards will make it easier to pay for college.
Busted: Credit cards may seem like free money, but it’s really just a loan that you have to pay back—with interest.
“You need to keep careful track of how much you are spending so you don’t join the millions in credit card debt,” Miller says.
Get a work-study or other part-time job while in college to pay for dates, movies, Starbucks fixes and more. That way, you’ll know how much you have to spend on treats without going into debt for them.
Rumor: You’ll be able to fit all your stuff in your dorm room.
Busted: “Take your bedroom that you have at home. Cut it in half, then throw another human being in there with you. That’s what it’s going to be like next year,” says Fairport High School counselor John Serafine.
When visiting colleges this fall, take a good look at your average dorm room’s closet. Smart college students put their bed posts on concrete blocks to be able to store stuff under the bed, or loft or bunk their beds to make room for other stuff.
There will not be room for two TVs, two computers, two fridges, two extensive wardrobes, two microwaves, etc. So call your roommate before you start packing for school to figure out what each of you plans to bring. Then leave most of your other stuff home. You can always have Mom or Dad send it your way if you really miss it.
And by the way, your roommate? We’ve gotta bust that rumor, too. Even if he kicks the bucket, you’re still stuck with the grades you’ve earned—not a 4.0.
Article reprinted with permission from Next Step Magazine.
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