Tips for Families

Your Goals and Your Student's Goals

Discussing goals may be the most important step in identifying colleges that meet your student's needs. The process of choosing which college to attend can leave students and their parents filled with tension. Often, students feel that it is more important to meet the perceived expectations of parents and educators and lose sight of their own needs and goals as a result. You can ease the stress of this decision by helping your student identify goals that the college experience can satisfy and by identifying what the overall goals of family are in relation to the student's continued education.

Offer your student options, not decisions. Recognize that your student's options will change as he or she becomes better informed and more aware of his or her own needs and goals. Understand your student's need both to seek your guidance and to take ownership of this process.

Costs & Budgeting

College costs are not limited to tuition, fees, and books. Depending on whether or not your student will commute from home or live in a residence hall, sorority or fraternity house, a co-op, or other off-campus housing, you will need to budget for room and board expenses as well as the student's personal expenses (including laundry, local transportation, personal care, clothing, recreation/entertainment, phone and medical or dental care).

Expect the cost tuition, fees, and rates for room and board to change annually. To meet these costs, encourage your student to seek potential scholarships. FastWeb and WiredScholar are two online resources that can help you learn more about scholarship opportunities. LSU's Office of Student Aid & Scholarships can also assist you in your search.

If you are interested in federal aid, you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year as a family. Currently, only students who are seeking graduate or professional degrees, are orphans or wards of the court, are over the age of 24, are married or have dependents of their own for whom they provide more than support, or are veterans of active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces may file with FAFSA without including parental income information.

Communication Goals

You will need to give your student information on several topics to assist in college planning. Try to keep your messages to your student clear and consistent. Allow this to be an ongoing discussion as your student's knowledge increases, more questions may arise.

The following are a few points that you and your student may want to address.

• What level of financial support can your student expect from you, and what are your expectations of the student's earnings while in college?
• Prepare your student for financial responsibility by assisting them in establishing a checking (or a debit card) account. Discuss your expectations regarding the use of such an account.
• How will the location of a college the student is considering affect the family's ability to support the student's choice of college? (You may want to consider both the overall cost and whether or not you will be able to visit the campus before the student makes a decision.)
• Are you willing to facilitate campus visits to the colleges your student is considering? Even if a campus is some distance away, perhaps a visit could be incorporated into a family vacation.
• What are your expectations of your student in terms of taking responsibility for this process and for the decision of which college to attend? Make it clear that you are willing to offer guidance, but that the student is ultimately responsible for both the process and the decision.
• Are the student's goal realistic? (Especially if she or he plans to attend a highly competitive, selective college?)
• Is your student ready for college or do alternatives need to be considered?

Undergraduate Admissions
1146 Pleasant Hall • Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225-578-1175 • Fax: 225-578-4433
admissions@lsu.edu