Is Your Pursuit of a Dream School Becoming a Nightmare? It’s Time to Reframe the Definition of a Dream School

Students are often asked by well-meaning family and friends, “What’s your dream school?” When asked this question, most students will name well-known, highly ranked, and highly selective schools, such as Yale, Harvard, Stanford or NYU. Most of the time, these schools are private institutions that cater to students who have very high SAT and ACT scores, with over a 4-point GPA. These schools can also be very expensive.

Sometimes a student will name one of their state’s public universities, often their state’s flagship school that everyone from their state is hoping to get into, like UCLA or UC Berkeley in California, or University of Texas, Austin, or University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. These schools are often nearly as selective as an Ivy, because they get so many students who apply. They may not be as costly as a private institution, but large public universities often have impacted classes, making it more challenging to graduate within 4 years – which then impacts both time and cost for the student.

What is a dream school?

The most common perception of a dream school is a college that is overwhelmingly popular with students, and that has a low acceptance rate. These are schools where often the student’s academic profile falls below what the college typically accepts, making the school an academic long-shot for the student. This view also makes it even more exciting and special for the student who has managed to get accepted to a school that was seemingly out of their academic range.

Why are dream schools so expensive?

Highly selective schools, whether they are private or public institutions, are colleges that are very popular with students. Their popularity not only helps perpetuate their “dream school reputation” – it also enables them to have an over-abundance of applicants since so many students want to attend. When an institution has far more applicants than they can accept, and when the bulk of those students are extremely motivated to attend, the college doesn’t really have to compete on price.

Unfortunately, since dream schools don’t need to compete on price, they can often be out of reach for the student financially, especially if the school is a private or out of state institution. Even with grant aid, scholarships, and federal student loans, the student might not be able to afford to attend unless they add private loans as well. So getting accepted to a dream school can be crushing if that school is not attainable due to cost. While in-state public flagship universities are often a less expensive option, that choice may still be more than the student and family can afford. Parents often put pressure on themselves out of their desire to help their child attend the school of their dreams, even if it isn’t affordable. As a result, parents will often take on significant debt of their own to help make the school happen for their child, even though it may impact their own retirement savings as well as their day-to-day ability to afford their mortgage/rent and other expenses.

Other lesser-known facts about dream schools

College credits earned while in high school are undervalued

High school students pushing themselves to get into their dream school are often working above and beyond to challenge themselves, amassing college credits through advanced placement (AP) classes, international baccalaureate (IB) classes, dual enrollment credits and concurrent enrollment credits. In fact, students who successfully get into elite institutions may have racked-up even a year or more’s worth of college credits while in high school, which is amazing!

But did you know that most elite institutions – the so-called dream schools – often won’t give you subject credits for AP or IB exams you’ve successfully passed? These institutions will often award “elective credits” instead. In other words, if you passed your AP English Language exam and earned college credits, you’ll often only get those credits as “elective units,” and will still have to take your college freshman-level English class, even though you already completed an equivalent course in high school. Many elite institutions will also require you to score a 4 or 5 on your AP exam to receive even just elective credits, even though a score of 3 will get you college credit at most public four-year universities and community colleges.

And elite universities will often cap the amount of credits you can transfer in through AP, IB, dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment that you have worked so hard to earn! But most public universities and community colleges don’t have a cap. As a result, you might be able to graduate from college in 3 years, or even 2 years if you have earned an associate degree while in high school.

Why does it matter? It matters because if you have worked hard enough while in high school to earn college credits, they should all be counted towards your bachelor’s degree. You shouldn’t need to take university classes that are equivalent to what you have already taken. You also shouldn’t have to pay for taking classes you’ve already taken. And you should be able to graduate early, reducing your overall college cost AND beginning your career earlier so that you can earn your full-time salary earlier as well.

Elite institutions are often more focused on preparing students for further education rather than for a career

Highly-ranked universities offer numerous opportunities to students that can increase their chances of being accepted into grad school, and/or that give the student a more global perspective by offering study abroad options, etc. Students also of course can pursue internships or undergraduate research opportunities as well, but in general, these institutions focus on preparing the student for grad school, law school and/or medical school as well as careers in academia. For students with these kinds of plans, an elite institution might be an ideal fit.

But what if your immediate goal upon earning your bachelor’s degree is to get a job in your new field? Wouldn’t it make more sense to enroll in a college that is well-known for offering experiential learning opportunities as integral to their degree offering? A college that has deep connections to industry, with an internship program baked-in to the degree? It might be surprising to know that non-flagship regional public universities often do a better job of preparing students for employment than an elite institution.

The new definition of a dream school

A dream school is not an elite institution that puts you in debt. A dream school is one you can afford, that helps prepare you for getting a job in your field.

• A dream school is a school that meets your academic and career goals, while also being a good financial fit for you and your family.
• A dream school has a top-notch advising team that helps to ensure you can graduate within 4 years, not a school that is so impacted that you are constantly put on the waiting list for classes that you need.
• A dream school offers outstanding career-related internship and employment opportunities, both on-campus, and in the surrounding area.
• A dream school creates numerous opportunities for networking with your professors, as well as employers in your field, enabling you to leverage those connections when you looking for a job as you approach graduation.
• A dream school prepares you for furthering your education, should you choose to do that, but it also prepares you for immediate employment in your field. Because no one should graduate with a bachelor’s degree and not be able to find a job related to their course of study.

So if you are soon going to be applying to colleges for the first time, or applying to transfer to a university, now is the time to reframe the definition of a dream school, and apply to colleges that fit this new definition.

How can you make sure you can afford college no matter which college you attend?

There are a number of steps that students can take to ensure they have an affordable path to college:

• Prioritize applying for scholarships with ScholarshipOwl. Apply for scholarships all summer long, and throughout the school year.
• Work part-time during the school year and full-time during breaks. Save your earnings to use for your college education.
• Submit the FAFSA every year for every year that you’ll be in college, beginning in your senior year of high school, and continuing to submit it annually until you complete your college education.
• When you receive your financial aid offers, compare them and focus on choosing the most affordable college. If your first-choice school offered you a less financial aid and scholarships than other schools offered, contact your preferred school to see if you can negotiate your offer to one that is more affordable for you.
• Don’t “fund your gap” with student loans – use debt-free sources instead.
• Always consider starting at a community college, which offers a truly affordable option – and don’t forget that community colleges also offer federal and state grant aid, and they also offer scholarships. So even if you are planning to attend community college, always submit your FAFSA and always apply for scholarships!

REMEMBER: Student loans should always be a last-resort option for paying for college-related expenses. Focus on debt-free sources that will enable you to graduate without the burden of owing thousands of dollars for college! Focus on applying for scholarships and jobs, NOT loans, so that you can graduate debt-free. There IS an affordable path to college – for further information, and to start applying for scholarships, visit www.scholarshipowl.com.