You are the buyer. College is the seller. After spending thousands $$$, don't expect to receive a "thank you" note.

The Season in Review - Part 5. Know better what you are about to buy--College.

When during this journey will you ever feel like you are a valued customer of the university?

You won't. And why not? Because you won't position yourself as a customer. Instead, you will do everything that they tell you to do. They own the process unless you take back the ownership.

They take ownership the moment you arrive on their campus. They tell you to take a tour, so you do. From that moment, they own the outcome. Parents become puppets of the colleges. That's not a winning platform.

To take ownership, you must understand the big business of college, its rules, policies, and ways of getting you to buy what it is selling.

They will tell you they have a job placement rate of over 90%. As false as that can be, parents "buy" into it. Just ask them how they track the number. They don't. 90% job placement rates are fake news.

College costs- what is your budget for a four-year college degree?

You're thinking you don't have one. Why wouldn't you have a defined budget for buying a college education? In any event, colleges know you don't. They know you will make a psychologically driven purchase to make your child happy. That works for them, not for you.

Most private colleges cost over $80,000 per year. Many colleges cost over $90,000 per year. Multiply that by four years and add related costs into the equation, and a four-year college degree could cost $350,000 - $400,000.

The national average time to graduate with a four-year degree is 5 1/2 years. That's an extra 100 K. Who budgets for that? Not me. The additional term(s) serve the college business well, but not you. It's part of their plan, and they get little resistance. Why not? Few families have thoughtfully planned how to execute and work toward a four-year, on-time, meaningful graduation.

Are you relying on scholarships? Over the past 10 years, merit scholarships have mostly been replaced by "sticker price discounts."

The top 50 private colleges don't generally offer scholarships. Why not? They don't have to. They have enough customers willing to pay their full price.

The next 250 top private schools all followed the increased cost patterns of the top 50. However, they don't have enough parents to pay the full price. Therefore, those colleges must offer a sticker-price discount, masked as a merit scholarship award, to fill their desired enrollment.

If you know how to ask, up to 50% of tuition is available for scholarships to many excellent colleges. Few people do.

In April alone, my families received over $400,000 in added scholarships through the "Appeal" process. We know how to ask, so it's good for us.

Are you relying on financial aid? Over the past 10 years, colleges have become lenders. They have replaced need-based financial aid dollars you don't pay back with Parent Loans. Worse yet, they refer to loans as financial awards.

Parent Loans are used to meet a parent's EFC, as determined by the FAFSA. This negates the qualifications for receiving need-based financial aid.

I call this the Financialization of College. They lend money to make it easier for potential customers to buy what they are selling, and they keep more of the money. It's good for them, not for you.

Colleges have mastered their business model. They are experts in applying parent-child psychology to achieve the desired outcomes.

I'm not blaming the colleges at all. They train their customers well and manage their businesses to perfection.  You don't have to give in to it, but you must know better what you are about to buy.

If you'd like to know better, let's talk.