your teen is headed to college! now what?
your teen is headed to college! now what?
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Are you feeling overwhelmed by college costs, confused about when to fill out FAFSA, and emotional about your teen leaving for college? Do you wonder if you can even send your kid to college without taking on debt? You are not alone. Senior year is confusing, bittersweet, and why isn’t there a timeline posted anywhere telling you what to do and when?!
Your Teen Is Headed to College! walks readers through the senior year laying out the college application process chronologically and with practical financial insight, to ensure your family thrives emotionally and financially through this exciting transition.
Inside, you'll learn how to:
Understand what college will really cost your family, including financial aid, merit scholarships, and the tools that help you compare schools before applying.
Build a smart college list that balances your teen's interests, academic goals, sense of belonging, and your family's budget.
Stay ahead of the process with a practical timeline for applications, testing, recommendations, FAFSA, and important deadlines.
Make sense of admissions decisions, from Early Decision and Early Action to deferrals, waitlists, and final offers.
Compare financial aid offers and make a confident, informed decision about where your teen will enroll.
Partner with your teen without taking over, giving them the guidance and independence they need while keeping your relationship intact.
About the Author
About the Author
Deb Schoeneshoefer is a grant writer in the education sector supporting K–12 health and wellness initiatives. She was inspired to write Your Teen Is Headed to College! as she guided her own daughter through the college search process. While researching for her family, Deb sought a single comprehensive guide for parents, not finding one, she started taking notes. Following several application cycles, and in that time launching both of her teens into successful college careers, she wrote the book specifically for parents of high schoolers to encompass the entirety of the college admissions process. Your Teen Is Headed to College! is the result of her lived experience and dedication to helping families navigate the college journey.
ERIE WELLNESS PODCAST
I had a great conversation on The Erie Wellness Podcast about navigating the college search—from figuring out what college will actually cost your family and finding the right fit to knowing when to step in and when to let your teen take the lead. We share practical advice to help families avoid costly mistakes, make informed decisions, and take some of the stress out of the process. We also talk about something I believe gets overlooked far too often: how to enjoy this milestone year with your teen instead of letting the college search take over.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts
📌In the news august 2026
📌In the news august 2026
How Higher Education is Meeting the Moment of AI
Parents ask, "How do we guide our student to choose a major that will still be relevant after graduation? "
As AI takes on more of the tasks traditionally assigned to entry-level employees, what happens to the traditional path from college to career? What happens to the wave of students now entering higher education with intentions to major in STEM related fields? And, the questions that pop up all over the parent college forums lately:
What is the value of a degree that may be irrelevant by the time it is earned? How do we guide our student to choose a major that will still be relevant beyond graduation?
While there are no clear answers, there are many conversations worth following.
Across higher education, colleges are experimenting with new AI requirements, redesigned curricula, employer partnerships and different approaches to preparing students for work. Some are placing greater emphasis on critical thinking, communication, judgment and hands-on experience. Inside Higher Ed reports that colleges are increasingly embedding AI competencies into existing majors and coursework, while employers continue to rank skills such as teamwork, communication and critical thinking highly.
At the same time, some of the technology industry's most prominent leaders are openly questioning whether a traditional four-year degree will be necessary at all. Axios reported on August 24 that Elon Musk, Alex Karp and Peter Thiel are challenging the four-year degree as the default path for elite talent.
This is an emerging conversation, and one of particular relevance to parents of high school students.
The following is a look at a few of the voices in higher education and technology who are beginning to shape that conversation.
On August 5, Ray Schroeder, a senior fellow at UPCEA (University Professional and Continuing Education Association) who studies technology and higher education, made an argument for deeper learning. Writing in Inside Higher Ed, he argued that the traditional emphasis on accumulating knowledge has become less compelling when information is instantly available. He suggested that higher education should focus more on cultivating wisdom, the ability to use knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.
Purdue University is taking a more concrete approach. Beginning with new students in fall 2026, Purdue is requiring undergraduate students to meet an “AI working competency” graduation requirement.
The school has developed courses across disciplines that focus on using AI appropriately within a student's field. Purdue's AI Working Competency courses include offerings across fields such as business, finance, pharmacy, food science, education, engineering, plant science and the humanities.
And alongside AI competency, Purdue is measuring critical thinking. Haley Oliver-Jischke, Purdue's senior vice provost for academic and student success, told Inside Higher Ed on August 20 that the university is beginning to measure students' critical-thinking development across the institution. “Are we done thinking? Are we done being critical?” she asked. That may be one of the most important questions for higher education in the AI era. Can students use AI without outsourcing their thinking to it?
New data from Handshake suggests a shift from discussion around majoring in AI to incorporating AI into all disciplines. An August 19 report from Inside Higher Ed, based on Handshake's analysis of 12.4 million U.S. candidate profiles, found that nearly two-thirds of candidates with AI-related experience were not computer-science majors.
Business, economics, biology, communications, psychology and marketing were among the fields represented.
So perhaps the question for those entering college today is not 'What major is safe from AI? 'But, 'How will AI change the field I am interested in, and will my school prepare me to work effectively in that new environment?'
As of March, according to data cited by Inside Higher Ed on August 20, 35% of entry-level jobs required AI skills, up from 13% just six months earlier. Inside Higher Ed attributes those figures to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' job outlook survey.
At the same time, employers still ranked communication, teamwork, critical thinking, professionalism and leadership highly when evaluating new graduates. The same report found that AI skills were the weakest of the skills employers said they look for in graduates, behind teamwork, technology, communication, critical thinking, professionalism, career and self-development, and leadership.
This suggests that employers want new hires who can use AI, but also employees who can think deeply, communicate well, collaborate and exercise judgment.
Harvard economist David Deming has been studying this intersection of education, technology and the labor market. On July 28, he participated in a Harvard Business School Publishing webinar titled “The Value of Human Skills in an AI Economy,” focusing on collaboration, communication and judgment as skills that are increasingly important in an AI-shaped labor market.
Maybe the answer is adaptability
Arizona State University president Michael Crow has argued that higher education needs to become more adaptable as technology changes the world around it. ASU has invested heavily in AI and describes its goal as preparing students for an AI economy, while Crow has emphasized the need for education to adapt as AI reshapes higher education and the workplace.
ASU has also described its goal as creating “master learners”—people capable of continuing to learn and adapt as the world changes.
Michael B. Horn, an education strategist and co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute, takes a somewhat different but complementary approach. In an August 14 Substack post asking whether AI will disrupt education and whether college is worth it, Horn's answer was deliberately qualified: “Yes on average, but not always.”
His argument is that families should widen the aperture. For some students, college is the right next step; for others, Horn points to gap years, apprenticeships and career and technical pathways as alternatives that may provide more clarity about what they want to do next. (Michael B. Horn, August 14, 2026)
That may become increasingly important if AI changes the traditional first job through which young people gain experience.
Not everyone believes the answer is to reinvent the bachelor's degree.
An August 24 Axios report noted that technology leaders including Elon Musk, Alex Karp and Peter Thiel have all challenged the idea that a traditional four-year degree should remain the default path. Axios reported that the three are challenging the four-year degree as the default path for elite talent and, in some cases, are building their own alternatives.
And perhaps somewhere between those two positions is the question we should be asking.
What is college for?
AI may ultimately force us to remember what a college education has always been for. The traditional argument for higher education was never simply that students should accumulate information and then use that information to get a job. It was that studying difficult subjects could make a person a better thinker.
AI doesn’t change that, in fact, it may make the distinction between knowledge and thinking much harder to ignore.
_______________________________
Sources:
Inside Higher Ed — “From Knowledge Building to Wisdom Building in Higher Education” by Ray Schroeder
Purdue University — AI Working Competency graduation requirement
Inside Higher Ed — “With New AI Requirements and Courses, Colleges Eye AI Fluency”
Inside Higher Ed — “AI Career Skills Move Beyond Computer Science”
Harvard Business Impact — “The Value of Human Skills in an AI Economy”
Arizona State University — AI and the changing college experience
Michael B. Horn — “Will AI ‘disrupt’ education? And is college ‘worth’ it?”
Axios — “Big tech says skip college as schools add AI programs”
📌In the news July 2026
📌In the news July 2026
How Will the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Affect Families Paying for College?
What the changes mean for families with rising high school seniors and current undergraduates.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created some of the biggest changes to the federal student loan system in decades. While many of the most significant changes affect graduate students, families with undergraduate students will also feel the impact—especially through changes to Parent PLUS loans.
For families with students applying to college this fall, the most important takeaway is this: borrowing options are changing, and families should not assume federal loans will always be available to cover large gaps between a college’s price and what they can afford.
1. Parent PLUS Loans Have New Limits
Historically, Parent PLUS loans allowed parents to borrow up to the full remaining cost of attendance after other financial aid was applied. This meant families could use student loans first, then rely on Parent PLUS borrowing to cover much of the remaining gap between the college’s price and their available resources.
Under the new law, Parent PLUS loans will no longer function as an almost unlimited borrowing option. For new borrowers beginning with loans made this month, Parent PLUS loans will be capped at:
• $20,000 per year per student
• $65,000 total per student
This represents a major shift in how many families have traditionally financed college.
How families have typically borrowed for college
The traditional approach has been to layer multiple sources of funding:
1. Families use savings, scholarships, grants and institutional aid.
2. The student borrows through the federal Direct Loan program.
3. Parents use Parent PLUS loans if additional borrowing is needed.
4. Some families turn to private student loans if a gap remains.
For dependent undergraduate students, federal Direct Loan limits remain relatively modest:
• Freshman year: $5,500
• Sophomore year: $6,500
• Junior year: $7,500
• Senior year: $7,500
The total lifetime borrowing limit for a dependent undergraduate student remains $31,000.
Because these limits often do not cover the full cost of attendance at many four-year colleges, families have historically relied on Parent PLUS loans to fill the difference.
The goal behind the changes
Supporters of the changes argue that limiting borrowing will encourage colleges and universities to address rising costs. The idea is that if students and families have less ability to borrow large amounts, colleges may face more pressure to control prices, increase institutional aid, and rethink expensive programs.
The challenge is that families may feel the effects before colleges adjust.
A student who once could use federal borrowing to bridge the gap between a school’s price and what a family could realistically pay may now have fewer financing options.
What should parents do?
Build your college list around schools your family can afford—not around the assumption that loans will cover the difference.
Before applying, families should:
• Understand the true cost of attendance at each school.
• Compare financial aid offers carefully.
• Look at the four-year cost, not just the first-year price.
• Understand how much borrowing will be required to graduate.
• Use affordability as a key factor when creating a college list.
How?
Run the Net Price Calculator
Review School's Merit and Scholarship pages
Check Common Data Set - look for need met and merit percentages
Identify School's Aid Model (meets full need? heavy Merit?)
Estimate likely net cost and compare to alternatives.
2. Pell Grant Eligibility Changes
The law also changes some Pell Grant eligibility rules. These changes are designed to adjust how federal aid eligibility is determined and to prevent families with significant financial resources from qualifying based only on income information.
We can no longer assume that last year’s FAFSA results will automatically apply to future years.
Mark October 1st on your calendar – that’s the date FAFSA opens. Complete the FAFSA as early as possible.
Paying for college is becoming more complicated—not less
The connection between borrowing ability and college pricing has been debated for decades. College costs have not increased because of Parent PLUS loans alone, but expanded access to borrowing has been one factor in how families have managed rising prices.
Over the past 30 years, inflation-adjusted college costs have risen significantly. According to College Board, published tuition and fees at public four-year colleges roughly doubled after adjusting for inflation from the mid-1990s to the 2025-26 academic year. Private nonprofit four-year college tuition and fees also increased substantially during that period.
The bigger message for families is that college affordability requires planning earlier than ever. Families need to evaluate financial aid packages, borrowing limits, scholarships, savings, and the total four-year cost before making a decision.
Build your college list around what your family can afford—not around the assumption that loans will bridge the gap.
Understanding what a school will actually cost before applying is one of the most important steps families can take.
For more guidance, see my college guide: focus on knowing what a school will charge, determine the type of school that aligns with your family’s financial situation, and use the tools I show you to build a target list of colleges that fit your budget.
________________________________________
Sources
• College Board — Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid
• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators — FAFSA and Pell Grant eligibility updates
• U.S. Department of Education — Federal Student Aid information on loans and FAFSA
📌In the news July 2026
📌In the news July 2026
How Will the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Affect Families Paying for College?
What the changes mean for families with rising high school seniors and current undergraduates.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created some of the biggest changes to the federal student loan system in decades. While many of the most significant changes affect graduate students, families with undergraduate students will also feel the impact—especially through changes to Parent PLUS loans.
For families with students applying to college this fall, the most important takeaway is this: borrowing options are changing, and families should not assume federal loans will always be available to cover large gaps between a college’s price and what they can afford.
1. Parent PLUS Loans Have New Limits
Historically, Parent PLUS loans allowed parents to borrow up to the full remaining cost of attendance after other financial aid was applied. This meant families could use student loans first, then rely on Parent PLUS borrowing to cover much of the remaining gap between the college’s price and their available resources.
Under the new law, Parent PLUS loans will no longer function as an almost unlimited borrowing option. For new borrowers beginning with loans made this month, Parent PLUS loans will be capped at:
• $20,000 per year per student
• $65,000 total per student
This represents a major shift in how many families have traditionally financed college.
How families have typically borrowed for college
The traditional approach has been to layer multiple sources of funding:
1. Families use savings, scholarships, grants and institutional aid.
2. The student borrows through the federal Direct Loan program.
3. Parents use Parent PLUS loans if additional borrowing is needed.
4. Some families turn to private student loans if a gap remains.
For dependent undergraduate students, federal Direct Loan limits remain relatively modest:
• Freshman year: $5,500
• Sophomore year: $6,500
• Junior year: $7,500
• Senior year: $7,500
The total lifetime borrowing limit for a dependent undergraduate student remains $31,000.
Because these limits often do not cover the full cost of attendance at many four-year colleges, families have historically relied on Parent PLUS loans to fill the difference.
The goal behind the changes
Supporters of the changes argue that limiting borrowing will encourage colleges and universities to address rising costs. The idea is that if students and families have less ability to borrow large amounts, colleges may face more pressure to control prices, increase institutional aid, and rethink expensive programs.
The challenge is that families may feel the effects before colleges adjust.
A student who once could use federal borrowing to bridge the gap between a school’s price and what a family could realistically pay may now have fewer financing options.
What should parents do?
Build your college list around schools your family can afford—not around the assumption that loans will cover the difference.
Before applying, families should:
• Understand the true cost of attendance at each school.
• Compare financial aid offers carefully.
• Look at the four-year cost, not just the first-year price.
• Understand how much borrowing will be required to graduate.
• Use affordability as a key factor when creating a college list.
How?
Run the Net Price Calculator
Review School's Merit and Scholarship pages
Check Common Data Set - look for need met and merit percentages
Identify School's Aid Model (meets full need? heavy Merit?)
Estimate likely net cost and compare to alternatives.
2. Pell Grant Eligibility Changes
The law also changes some Pell Grant eligibility rules. These changes are designed to adjust how federal aid eligibility is determined and to prevent families with significant financial resources from qualifying based only on income information.
We can no longer assume that last year’s FAFSA results will automatically apply to future years.
Mark October 1st on your calendar – that’s the date FAFSA opens. Complete the FAFSA as early as possible.
Paying for college is becoming more complicated—not less
The connection between borrowing ability and college pricing has been debated for decades. College costs have not increased because of Parent PLUS loans alone, but expanded access to borrowing has been one factor in how families have managed rising prices.
Over the past 30 years, inflation-adjusted college costs have risen significantly. According to College Board, published tuition and fees at public four-year colleges roughly doubled after adjusting for inflation from the mid-1990s to the 2025-26 academic year. Private nonprofit four-year college tuition and fees also increased substantially during that period.
The bigger message for families is that college affordability requires planning earlier than ever. Families need to evaluate financial aid packages, borrowing limits, scholarships, savings, and the total four-year cost before making a decision.
Build your college list around what your family can afford—not around the assumption that loans will bridge the gap.
Understanding what a school will actually cost before applying is one of the most important steps families can take.
For more guidance, see my college guide: focus on knowing what a school will charge, determine the type of school that aligns with your family’s financial situation, and use the tools I show you to build a target list of colleges that fit your budget.
________________________________________
Sources
• College Board — Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid
• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators — FAFSA and Pell Grant eligibility updates
• U.S. Department of Education — Federal Student Aid information on loans and FAFSA
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