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Despite getting a very late start, James has several colleges recruiting him for Cross Country and has been accepted to Whittier College in Whittier, CA and Dominican University in San Rafael. Whittier is putting together a financial aid package for us which includes an academic sholarship (guaranteed for all 4 years) and may include additional grants or other offers but will also include student/parent loans. Dominican University in San Rafeal (a Roman Catholic college) also has academic scholarship funds available but again, would require some large student/parent loans to bridge the gap. We are waiting to hear from CSU Monterey Bay and will be visiting all three soon.

James didn't start applying until February - most colleges have already made offers so it's been a challenge. The deadline for the CA Universities and State Colleges has passed but CSU Monterey Bay allowed James to apply in March - they are that interested in him. Whittier and Dominican are both liberal arts colleges which would be ideal for James but soooo expensive. Dominican and CSU Monterey Bay are both NCAA Division II schools so they can offer athletic scholarsips. Whittier, however is an NCAA Divison III school and, therefore, can't offer athletic scholarhsips but, because they are a private school they have more flexibility to offer other types of financial awards. Monterey Bay seems more affordable at first glance (this year's tuition was about $5K and room and board at $4K but with the rising costs of state colleges, budget cuts, class reductions, etc. who knows how much it could end up costing to get a degree espeically if it takes more than 4 years to get all the necessary classes.

Attending a local junior college is obviously an option and a more practical one financially but James has dreamed of going off to a 4 year college since he was very young, therefore, we will do everything we can to help him acheive his dream. Even the junior colleges aren't a sure thing. It's difficult to get classes and, may, therefore, be impossible to get enough units to go fulltime which is a requirement to participate in a team sport. Getting an education is a priority but James would also like to compete in cross country and track at the college level.

We filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and applied for Cal Grant. We were turned down for the Pell Grant and Cal Grant. Our Expected Financial Contribution (EFC) (result produced by applying for the FAFSA) was ridiculous!
For anyone with a college bound student, the College Boards website is very helpful (can register for the SAT's, have scores sent, etc.). For college bound athletes visit the NCAA Eligibility Center. You may also want to utilize a recruiting service such as NCSA.