Ask the Dolans: How do I pay for my daughter's college tuition on a low income?

There is a lot of great advice available on how to play the financial aid game to one's advantage - and I'll leave that up to the financial experts. But as a career expert, I will offer this smart strategy: Students who have a realistic and appropriate career goal are most likely to stay in school and graduate on time (thus, saving college expenses and launching them more successfully in their careers sooner).
So -- one of the best ways to increase your chances of investing your college money ($60K - $200K over 4 yrs.) wisely is to have your son/daughter participate in a personalized, comprehensive career assessment that includes interests, values, personality AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, objectively measured aptitudes. Research says that aptitudes, or natural talents, are the best predictors of performance on tasks (which make up jobs). A credentialed consultant can synthesize the results and discuss them with you and your child, and give 6-10 career recommendations that are a best fit for your child. Explore those careers through informational interviews, job shadowing, part-time and summer jobs, and school coursework in order to gather a realistic preview of the work. Use criteria to narrow down the choices, make the decision, and then put a plan into place. This process provides clarity fairly quickly.
Informed decision making is the key to great career choices at any age, and gives an individual confidence and motivation. These are the Career Literacy knowledge and skills that parents often lack - because the kind of career assessment and planning processes that we have available today did not exist when they were 18. The trial-and-error method is time-consuming, frustrating, costly -- and often does not work. Career Vision's website ( http://www.careervision.org ) has a number of informative articles on this topic - look on the About Us/e-news and articles page, or the Parent Resources page. They also do these assessments and have a free monthly e-newsletter on career success tips and trends for students, parents, and working adults.

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