College. It’s a valuable experience, one that, to some, is considered all but necessary these days. It’s also one of the most costly expenses a person will ever incur; it’s comparable to buying a house or starting a family. Because of the increasing cost of college, families and students have to start thinking about how to pay for it earlier and earlier. 

One of the first serious conversations that my parents had with me was the importance of good grades. They sat me down and bluntly told me that I needed to get good grades, because good grades lead to good scholarships and good scholarships lead to less student loans. Less student loans leads to a higher monthly income, and a higher monthly income can lead to many opportunities that I would have otherwise missed out on. My head was spinning after this conversation. Here I was, only 14 years old, and my parents were telling me that my actions and grades this year might have consequences that I will still feel when I’m 34. The scary thing: they weren’t wrong.

It’s hard for high school students to see why an A in algebra can reduce their expenses as a fully grown and gainfully employed adult, but the grades in their freshman year of high school are worth the same amount of their GPA as the grades in their senior year of high school. Depending on when they apply to colleges, their senior year grades might not even be on the transcript that’s sent to colleges. In addition to affecting their college applications, freshman year grades also affect their ability to receive scholarships and grants. While a lot of scholarships aren’t purely focused on academics, many do require some level of academic success. Ultimately, freshmen in high school aren’t as concerned with their grades as they should be because they aren’t even aware that it has an effect on the loans that they’ll be paying off for the next 30 years of their lives. However, just one family meeting, an hour or two of research, and some forethought can really pay off.

While worrying about your student loans three to four years before you even send out applications sounds both stressful and excessive, it really pays off. There are a multitude of benefits that a lot of people aren’t aware of:

• There is a clear goal to work towards
• You have enough information to accurately plan your finances
• And you give yourself enough time to adapt and plan contingencies

Because most scholarships have specific requirements, academic or otherwise, they provide a clear list of goals to work towards. If you know, before your student even starts high school, that a certain scholarship can only be given to someone with a 3.5 GPA, then your student not only has something to work towards but you have something to reward. A specific goal is much more helpful than a vague goal. If you’ve ever run a race, then you know that working towards a specific time is easier than just trying to run as fast as you can. Understanding what scholarships are out there also means that you can plan your finances accordingly! If you know that your student is likely to earn X amount from scholarships, then you can adjust your savings and investments appropriately. Lastly, this early planning and research gives you time to adjust as needed. If your student is struggling to meet the requirements for one scholarship in their freshman year of high school, there are still two to three years to change the game plan. That can be in the form of tutoring, different methods of studying, or even aiming for a different scholarship. Doing all of this work early gives you more opportunities, and opportunities can be few and far between if you wait until your student’s senior year of high school.

Ultimately, scholarships are the safety net. They can’t, don’t, and shouldn’t replace saving for college. However, they offer a partial solution for an expensive endeavor. In the best-case scenario, a scholarship can leave a student with a nest egg when they graduate. In the worst-case scenario, they can greatly reduce the amount of money taken out as a loan. Either way, scholarships are amazing things that really help young adults as they start their college careers. So, make sure you take some time before high school to do some research, have a conversation with your kid, and set some goals!