Elias Quinonez

Parent Guide to College

Author: Elias Quinonez

Introduction
This guide was created to assist parents of 1st generation
students on how to help prepare for college based off of my
5yrs professional experience working in higher education
and my personal interest in helping under-represented
students succeed in college. I use many of my own stories,
perspectives, and opinions. (My thoughts and ideas may not all reflect the
thoughts and ideas of the universities I have worked for nor the Colorado Department
of Higher Education.)

Author
The purpose of this project was to create the bridge between
1st generation families and the world of higher education from
the lens and perspective of a student(myself) who is also a 1 st
generation student raised in the lower social economic income
bracket in Greeley, Colorado. I can easily say that growing up, I and my parents
knew very little about attending college and would have never started college had I
not had the right people in place to walk me through the steps. Today, I have a
bachelors degree in Communication and a masters degree in Educational
Leadership with an empahsis in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership
and now work under the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Knowing what I
know now, there are many things that I would have done differently. Having worked
with college students I have had the opportunity see how to help prepare a student
for college. I hope to share, in the simpliest form, of how you can help support your
son/daughter to have the best experience in college. My hope is that some ideas
shared in this paper can save you a great deal of time and money. (please excuse
any grammatical errors)

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Table of Content

Chapter 1 -When to Start

Chapter 2- School Matters
Chapter 3- Right Habits
*Chapter 4- Safe Environments
Chapter 5- What to do in 8h Grade
*Chapter 6- What to do in 9th
Grade
Chapter 7- What to do in 10th
Grade
*Chapter 8- What to do in 11th
Grade
Chapter 9- What to do in 12th
Grade
Chapter 10- Living on Campus
*Chapter 11- Staying Connected
Chapter 12- Staying Focused
Chapter 13- Finishing Strong
*Chapter 14- Financial Aid
Conclusion
Original Email to My Son
Contact Information or Questions

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Chapter 1 When to Start (newborn-3yr)

The idea of this project came from an email I wrote to my 10yr old son. (which I
included at the end of this guide) I wanted to share with him what I did as a
profession and wanted him to know that I invest 8hrs a day to help students in
college make it through college. I wanted him to know that if I could do this for them
how much more invested I would be in him as my only child.
As I was reflecting on what I wrote to him, I began to share that his mom and I have
been investing in him since the day he was born. I specifically remember playing
inspirational music when my wife was pregnant with him. Shortly after his birth we
began a collection of Baby Einstein CDs and DVDs because we believed it would
encourage his development. Whether it worked or not, we were comforted in
believing that we were doing what we believed would support his growth and
mental development. I remember when he first came home from the hospital that I
held him in my arms all night in a recliner while my wife slept because she was
exhausted I was worried about SIDS. Every so often I would hold him up to my hear
so that I could hear him breath and in those moments I would be in awe of my
responsibility in raising such an innocent beautiful baby boy. Next thing you know
he was 4 months old and was the cutest kid in the world! (We couldnt take enough
pictures.) Im sure Im speaking to the choir, when I talk about how fast youre your
child grows and how fast time flies. So if I was to be asked today when should a
parent start thinking about their childs future, I would say yesterday and that you
are never too early. It was during these times of our sons development that we
began to catch on to what his personality traits and genetic make-up were. We
began to see both his mom and myself in his expression and habits. We understood
that God designed our son with specific gifts and talents and each day we were
discovering what those gifts and talents were. We began to understand that even
though every child has a unique genetic make-up, their environment has a large
influence on them as well. I remember reading a book by James Dobson entitled,
Hide and Seek that researched successful children and the commonality. The
general consensus was that children who were raised in a safe , loving, and
supportive environment, had instilled a level confidence that contributed their
academic success. If I could offer 3 specific areas of importance when raising a child
to promote academic growth it would be that they are granted a safe, loving, and
supportive, environment where they develop confidence.
At the age of 3 , with his new clothes and new backpack, his mom and I
escorted our son into his first day of pre-school. That day there were so many
emotions going through my mind. It seemed like yesterday I was holding him in the

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recliner and now he was starting the first day of an 18 year journey into our
educational school system.

Chapter 2 School Matters (3yr-5yr)

Growing up, I went to school where ever there was a bus system that would pick us
up! I think if Albertos Mexican restaurant had a bus that picked up students, we
would have been going to the school of Albertos. Thats how much thought my
parents put into which school we attended. Speaking of food, there was never a
time that I was not on free and reduced lunch. I am not complaining and to be
honest Im very grateful that my parents made me go to school and Im very
grateful for free school lunch; as crazy as that sounds. That is where I discovered
my love for fried okra with ketchup (In Texas) and that I can make a meal out of
simply rolls and ranch dressing. If you looked at me today you would know that I
missed very little meals. For that I am grateful. I remember when I got home from
school, that we would change and because the Boys and Girls club again, had a free
bus system, there we were loading up on a bus and spending our evenings playing
pool and writing love notes to girls.
I think one of the greatest choices a parent can make for their child is researching
and choosing the best school for their child. I know that not all parents may have
the luxury to do this for many different reasons but it is still an important choice. I
also know that the term best is relative, and to some diversity or academic or
other factors may determine this. This is a choice you as a parent will have to
determine but know that whatever you choose will have a great influence on your
child. If quality lunches and healthy meals are what is important to the parent, then
you should find a school that also values that. For us it was our faith, safety, and
academics. I specifically remember my wife telling me early on, Elias, I dont care
where we live, or what we drive, I just want to be able to send Christian (our son) to
a Christian school. Everyone knows, that a Happy wife, means a Happy Life so I
said lets make it happen. Actually, it was important to me as well and the fact that
both my wife and I had little influence on which schools we attended, we valued the
fact that we could send our son to a school of our choice. Since my son was 3
years old he has been attending a private Christian school here in town. Please
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know, that this is what was and is important to us and doesnt mean it has
to be what you value. My hope is that the common thread we share is that
we value a school with a quality and safe education system.
The amount of time and influence your son/daughter will have in school will
outweigh the weekly amount of time or influence you will have at home. (Especially
when a child starts full day school.) Think about that schedule for a bit. You spend
an hour waking up your child getting him ready for school, drop them off at
approximately 8am and from that time until the time you pick them up at typically
3pm, they are in an environment prepared for them to learn and become influenced
by their teachers and other classmates which can average about 7 hours. You get
them home, you have to focus on dinner, typically one of the parent arrives from
work after 5pm , eat dinner, watch TV, and prepare them for bed. The amount a
parent spends with child during the school week is pretty shocking.
( Freakonomics the book, does a great job in putting this into perspective) One
very unique and interesting topic the book researched was that a common factor in students
who succeeded in academics was that the parents had books throughout the house while
the child was growing up. If I understood the book correctly, they said that it was not even
the fact that parents read with the child or forced their children to read even though those
may have contributed in some way, but just the fact that they had books throughout the
house was the common thread. (You may have to look into this yourself)

I would like to lead into the next chapter by sharing that starting with good habits
can make all the difference.

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Chapter 3 Right Habits (5yr-7yr)

I shared earlier that my son has traits of both my wife and I, naturally. He looks like
me but has her smarts. Im proud to share that my son has tested above average in
most standardized testing but I wish I could say it was just natural smarts. Truthfully
my wife spends a lot of with him after school helping him with homework and
making sure that he reads at some point throughout the day. For us, particularly me
and my son, having some structure is necessary. When I think back of my
upbringing, I rarely remember ever having to be told to go do my homework or
having my homework even checked. To be completely honest, it was rare for my
parents to even go to the parent-teacher conferences.(I honestly know that this was
not because my parents didnt love me or care but we were a large family and that
did not make it easy) For some students this structure and positive habits can come
naturally but for me it did not. If there is any one habit that I have seen
consistently benefit a student at all levels it is to read, read, read. I have a
great example of students ACT score improving in the second test and accrediting it
to reading! I will share more about that in a later chapter. Another habit that is
crucial to a child at this level is homework. Setting time aside for a student to get
the homework done is very important. Im thankful that the school our son attends
does a great job of sending homework home.(sometimes I worry it is too much) but
overall, I think this is beneficial to the student because it gets them out of typical
learning environment (school) and teaches them to learn outside of the school and
at home. Some of the subjects that have made the strongest learning impact have
been things that he has learned from homework. This has created great
opportunities for both Laura and I to spend some time with him and teach him
different ways to solve a problem and come up with a solution. I think this is a great
way to show your child that you are invested in their education. It is very easy to
assign this role to one parent but again I think it is important for your son/daughter
to see you both are just as invested in education and are willing to sit down and
work a problem out with them. Earlier, I shared that a childs confidence is boosted
when they know that they have a safe environment where they are loved and
supported. There are many other beneficial habits that I think can contribute to
your childs academic development that we will not go into depth but just to name a
few: getting plenty of rest, eating healthy, active lifestyle that encourages exploring
nature and science. Here is a gold nugget about higher education- (There is a lot
of investment going into STEM fields. Math and Sciences are two areas that money
will be invested in and there is a huge deficiency of students who are prepared to
go into these fields.)
Disclaimer- I understand that most families have more than one child and spending
time with them individually can be difficult. Often times parents come home from
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work late or lifes pressure prevent us from having the energy to invest in others
and for this, there is no simple solution. But I want to remind you that they will soon
be out of the house and your time with them in those moments will have passed
and cannot be taken back. We create our habits and those habits impact our
children.
You could have everything that we have discussed on par, however if a child does
not have a safe environment, it can dramatically impact their development.

Chapter 4 Safe Environment (7yr-13yr)

This area is one that personally hits close to home. Plato quoted, Be kind,
everyone is fighting a tough fight. These are tough years in general. Students can
be tough on each other and kids emotions are a roller coaster. This is why it is so
important to have some stability at home. Originally this idea was primarily focused
on your childs school environment. If your child is feeling bullied or picked on at
school, it can completely change the course of things. I have little tolerance for
systems that are not adequately securing the safety of our kids. I have seen this at
all levels of social economics statuses and it doesnt matter how great a school
ranked is. If your child is consistently not coming home as their normal self, due to
unfair treatment that has not been resolved, it should involve parent intervention. In
wanting to be fair, an organization/student should be given an opportunity to
correct a situation, however ignoring issues like this can be detrimental to academic
development. It is our responsibility as parents to ensure a safe environment and
protect our kids.
It is easy to hold others accountable and it is important. I dont think it is unfair for
us as parents, to hold schools and organizations accountable for providing a safe
environment for our kids. Allow me to share with you what I have seen as the
fastest most devastating negative impact on a students academic growth... It is
their home environment. This is the environment that we do control, yet one that is
easily ignored. I have seen some talented, gifted, and academically strong
students, take a 180 degree turn for the worse because of the drama and
challenges at home. This timeframe for a student is already challenging due to
their biological growth, students in their class, tough school systems, and now you
add the one place a child should be able to come to rest and have as a safe haven,
and it is not. They come home to nagging parents, parents that are constantly
arguing with each other or even worse complaining about each other and or
stressed over finances. Then we wonder why they want to go straight to their room
and only come out to dinner and quickly go back to texting, computer, and video
games. I know this is a difficult pill to swallow, but a dysfunctional home
environment makes life difficult for everyone. Since this is primarily for parents I
can empathize about how difficult life can be for us. Often times two parents have
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to work to make ends meet and yet even like that finances take their toll. Finances
are the primary reason of divorce. Unfortunately, we have allowed money to make
us happy or make us depressed. You add unhealthy relationships to mix, (because
of unresolved relational complexities) and it becomes a perfect storm. A storm
that typically causes one or both parents to focus on battles and not on what
matters most; our kids. Remember our time with them cannot be gained back and
is temporary. If you want to do what is best for your childs academic growth, deal
with the issues as responsible adult parents and put the finances in its right place.
Its not worth what it is taking away from you nor your kids. Sometimes it is not the
bully in school that is the biggest problem to hurt your son/daughter in their
academic development and college readiness but us. (something every household
can work including my own)
These next chapters focus more on the grade level and what can be beneficial to a
student during those times. (A little easier pill to swallow. )

Chapter 5 What to do in 8th Grade (13yr-14yr)

While working as an Admission Counselor at the University of Northern Colorado,
one of my coolest and challenging responsibilities was coordinating an 8 th grade
visit program. We connected with all of the local public schools in the area and
brought them to campus. This was approximately 1,600 students who many knew
very little about college or UNC in general. Not only did we schedule a visit on
campus for them but we had a college t-shirt for each of them, offered workshops
from different departments, and most importantly allowed them to eat on campus
with all the other college students. Many students could not believe that as a
college student they would be able to eat on campus and have such a huge variety
of food. Thats when I brought up the term, Freshman 15 (a term used because
Freshman typically gain 15 lbs during their first year in college) Another great part
about the event was that I had an opportunity to share with them a very important
fact. That simple fact was that colleges need them and they needed college. I did
everything within my 20 mins to convince them that the only choice about college
they should have is not if they go or not, but where will they go? This is the great
news I spread even today. Many can and will do it by themselves, but it is so much
easier when they have the support from their biggest supporters; you. For
whatever reason, it is this grade and this time that students drop off and lose
motivation. Im not sure if it is because of the transition to high school or the
drastic change that happens in their body during this time but often times it is here
that they lose their desire for college or any goals that were instilled in them as a
kid. During this time it is important to instill in them their goals, gifts, and talents
and affirm in them their direction and your goals together. Ive had the opportunity
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give a few motivational speeches and one that I have shared is the term I call,
Identity Theft. Its not what you are thinking about and more about we cannot
allow society or anyone to take away our goals and dreams. Life is not easy and if
we were to allow others to determine our value, then we are selling ourselves short.
Unfortunately this happens often.
As a Correctional Officer for Weld County Sheriffs Department, I saw broken
dreams and peoples identity taken away from them every day. The sad fact is that
this is a common path for many under-represented student whose dreams and goals
are forgotten. It was during this time that I chose to go back to school and get a
degree that would allow me the opportunity to make a difference. 8 th grade and the
transition to 9th is a very important time, because in 9th grade, it all counts!

Chapter 6 What to do in 9th Grade (14yr-15yr)

And here is where it counts. Every class that your child takes from this point on will
be permanently recorded and used by every college/university to determine
admission. Every habit and preparation should be to have prepared them for this
time. The most common thing I heard from students who were not admitted into a
college was how they regretted not doing better their freshman year. 9 th grade has
a tremendous impact on a students GPA and if there is anything that you get from
this project is, GPAs matter. (GPA- Grade Point Average) Having your son or
daughter comfortable with Bs and As is important. This can determine admission
to college and the amount of scholarships that they may potentially receive. Earlier
I shared about how important a school is, well this is where it matters to do the
research. You want a school that will prepare your child for college. The
questions you want to find out are similar to college questions. What percentage of
your students will go to college? What is the retention rate? What AP(Advanced
Placement) classes are offered? What other programs or services are offered to
that your child can receive college credit? How many college counselors does your
school have and what resources do they provide? (I hope you are writing these
down.:) Who will be your son/daughters college counselor? What partnerships does
your school have with local colleges and universities? You want a school that is not
just concerned with graduating your son/daughter but one that does a great job
transitioning and preparing them for college. It is important that they take classes
that will meet the core requirements including language. Remember every class and
grade is important from this point on.

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Chapter 7 What to do in 10th Grade (15yr-16yr)

Much of whom I write to is directed to 1 st generation students. And to frank, it is a
common tradition for this group to encourage getting a job early on. Though I do
think that good work ethics are important and valuable throughout life and
throughout college, I would encourage you to be careful with this one. Many
students discover their first job during this time as they are now getting their
drivers license and now able to legally work. Its easy for the son/daughter to get
motivated by the amount of money they can earn and easy for the parent to
encourage because of good work ethics.( Daniels Funds scholars are required to
work 10hrs. The dangers here are that often times a student makes the job and
money their priority over school and homework. Lets be real though. Up to this
point all they know is school and hopefully homework, so learning something new
that will give them a check and allow them to enjoy their money and freedom is
enticing. This is a great opportunity to channel that energy and exciting to keep
them focused on the big picture. Its a great time to share with them that having an
education and a degree will allow them the opportunity to make a lot of money
doing something they love doing! This is a time when they should be encouraged
to look at others careers and lifestyles of professionals and finding out what career
interest they have. Universities spend a lot of the time and resources getting
students to figure out what careers and direction they want to go. The sooner the
student begins answering some of these questions the better off they will be and
more confident they will be in their degree selection. I know that it is very difficult
for a student at this age and even at the adult age to be expected to know what
they want to be when they grow up, but there is going to be more and more
pressure about having a student decide a major sooner and focus on graduating in
4 years. The program I work for under the Colorado Department of Higher
Education is called, Colorado Challenge and its main purpose is to increase
retention (students staying in college) and increase the amount of students
graduating in 4 years. The best way to do this is when a student has prepped and
prepared themselves and has researched what area of study they want to go in.
Once a major is selected a university will have whats called a 4 year degree plan
that will tell a student exactly how many and what classes to take each semester.
By following that simple plan they will ensure they graduate on time. (Degrees are
generally 120 credit hours to complete. A class is typically 3 credit hours and
student generally takes 12-15 credit hours a semester to total 30 credits hours a
year.) I can go into this in more detail in the later chapters however, many students
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today are spending money on classes that they are not getting credit for and often
time wasting precious money and time. It is important that a student stay on task
during these years and truly understand the classes and subjects they are studying
because then they will save themselves from having to retake classes called
remedial classes that they should not have to take. I promise to discuss this in
further detail so that it will all make more sense. Lets use this year to stay focused
and research careers!

Chapter 8 What to do in 11th Grade (16yr-17yr)

Huge year!!!!!! Probably one of the most important years in high school in my
opinion! Colleges primarily look at two things; GPA and ACT scores. (ACT is a
Standardized Test that is taken by most students in Colorado during the 11 th grade
year) How you score on this test will determine which schools you will get admitted
into and which scholarships you can potentially receive. These next few chapters
will begin to get a bit technical, but I promise to do my best to explain them. CCHE
(Colorado Commission of Higher Education) has a chart called an index chart that
most all colleges and universities use to some level. This chart will use your GPA or
Class Rank and line it up with your ACT score to come up with an index score. I will
say that many colleges/universities are using a more holistic approach (meaning
other forms of measurement outside of solely these numbers) but the index score is
still a very important number.
http://highered.colorado.gov/Publications/Policies/Current/i-partf-index.pdf
Based off of this chart a student who has a GPA of 3.1 and ACT score of a 19 will
have an index score of a 94. At the time that I was an Admission Counselor for UNC,
this score would automatically get a student admitted. AndI knew that if I
could get a student admitted into UNC that they would automatically receive a 4yr
institutional scholarship (which I will discuss in more detail later) if they came from
a District 6 school. When you factored in that many of the students that I worked
with were full Pell Eligible (more details later) and would receive a Pell grant of
approximately $5,850 per year in addition to the Greeley Promise scholarship of
$2,000 per year would give them a total of close to $8,000 and all they simply had
to do was get decent grades!! The cost of tuition during that time was
approximately $7,000 so it would completely cover their tuition cost for 4yrs!!
$8,000x4yr is $32,000 that is free and given!! And this did not include any other
potential scholarships. Many universities offer merit based scholarships which again
at the time that I was at UNC any in-state student that had an index score of 100 or
more would get an additional scholarships. Parents, it pays to keep you kids focused
on school and homework!!!!
Let me get back to the index chart really quick. The GPA is cumulative and can take
a lot to drastically change in a short period of time. The ACT however can be taken
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several times (up to 12xs) and schools will only use the highest composite score
from that ACT. So only your best score will be used and you are not penalized for
taking it several times. The stronger your ACT score and GPA are the better your
chances of getting into strong universities and colleges. What you will want to look
for as you are researching colleges is what the student profile looks like at each
university. This usually gives you the average ACT and GPA score of the students
that attend their college and will give you a good idea of whether it could be a good
fit for you or not.
There was one thing that I loved seeing from students during this grade and it was
campus visits. And to be honest, first generation families were not seen enough in
these visits. It is during this time that parents and students travel sometimes
across the states to visit schools that their son or daughter is interested in
attending. 90% of the students who attended UNC were considered in-state
however it was a great thing for parents to visit campus. It is during these visits
that the student will get to sense the campus culture and beauty and can decide
whether the school will be a good fit or not. I cannot tell you how many students
colleges lose after one semester because the student did not do enough research of
a school and thought that it was different than expected. This could be a long
chapter but Im going to keep it simple by noting great questions to ask about a
college or university.
15 Great Questions for Colleges
1. What is the Cost of Tuition?
2. What percentage of students receive Financial Aid?
3. How many students attend this university and what is the average class size?
4. What are the 5 top majors on campus?
5. What programs offer additional financial aid for students?
6. Are you required to live on campus your first year?
7. What are the retention rates of your college?
8. What is the percentage of in-state and out of state students?
9. What is the female to male ratio?
10.How many clubs and student organizations are offered?
11.What kind of student support services does your school offer?
12.What is the diversity rate on your campus?
13.What services are offered to students of color?
14.What is the 1st Gen population on your campus?
15.What is the cost of the annual student parking pass?
Concurrent enrollment (taking college classes while in high school) and taking AP
classes is great. Anything that will give you college credit prior to attending college
is a huge money and time saver. In my opinion, it is the difference that places
students ahead and allows them the liberty to look at additional opportunities like
study abroad or double majoring or minoring.

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When I think about the students that come in with and advantage into college, it is
the student who are transferring in college credits from their high school that have
already started the 4yr plan. So many benefits can come from taking college level
classes in high school. One of the biggest is the fact that you are paying much less
for those classes as opposed to the approximate ($200-$300 per credit hour) you
will pay at a 4 year institution. The more credits you get out of the way and pay
less for the better. My only reservations for this idea are for the overachieving
student and parent. When a student comes in with so many credits that they are
considered sophomores or so forth, they can really miss out on the college
experience. They start the race so far ahead of other freshman that they are taking
classes with upper classman and in a different phase than most others. Though this
is good in getting them to graduate on-time or early, I am a big believer that the
college experience is way more than just getting in and out and solely academics.
It is a life-changing experience that will leave memories that will last a lifetime.
I mentioned earlier the importance of the ACT score and how I would strongly
recommend a student take ACT several times. I wanted to share an experience I
had with a student that happened in Kersey high when I was a UNC recruiter. This
young man that I was meeting with had taken his ACT scores twice, so we had two
records and composite scores for him. I immediately noticed that his first score was
around 20 and his second sore was a 26. This is a huge jump and typically raises
red flags of cheating in regular test but I knew this was not the case. I was very
curious to find out what he did that was so different in preparing for the second test.
I assumed his parents hired an ACT tutor or that he went to an ACT workshop that
taught towards the test, but his simple response was that the only difference was
that he read books that his school was assigning out. The biggest difference in his
opinion was that he read more books. This is a difficult was to determine if it was
the sole factor of improvement, however that did not stop me from advising every
student that would listen to me to read, read, and read when preparing for the
ACTs. (final note on this- Some universities will do what is called Super-Scoring
this is not a common practice but one that will benefit the student. It is when the a
student takes the ACT more than once and instead of taking the highest composite
score of the two, they will combine the highest supplemental scores to create a
combined composite.) This would be a great question to ask during your college
visits.
In August of this grade year, a student will be eligible to apply to a university based
on his GPA and ACT scores during that time. (A school will require final transcripts
at some point but if you are eligible to attend at that point, you may be receiving
your admitted letters in the mail.) It is around this time that you will be applying to
schools. When the new year arrives you will want to be on focused on financial aid
deadlines. This is huge piece of advice. Complete the FAFSA before the priority
deadline. Be admitted so that you can also apply to institutions scholarship
databases (institutional aid) and make sure to meet their deadlines. And definitely
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have the college visited by then. (I will discuss Financial Aid in more depth in the
upcoming chapter)
Lets move on to grade 12 and the final year.

Chapter 9 What to do in 12th Grade (17yr-18yr)

The most important thing in my opinion at this level is to enjoy your senior year.
High school is special and as much as I want you to be prepared for college, I dont
want you to miss out on those special moments in high school. I would encourage
you, attend the dances, attend the proms, start a club in school, help and mentor
others, and soak up the moments. These moments go by fast, please dont be so
focused on tomorrow that you cannot see the beauty in the moment.
With that said, tackle those college prep classes. It will be very easy to take it super
easy and cut out of school early missing out on the opportunity to have someone
else pay for your college advancement. Also one that really should have been
throughout the high school experience; get involved in your community. As
mentioned earlier, schools are looking more holistically at a students profile. They
are wanting more than a student who can get good grades, but a student who has
good leadership skills and in involved in his community. These are great advantages
as well when it comes to applying for scholarships. This is the time that you will be
receiving your Acceptance & Award letters. Award letters are important and can
have a major factor in which school you choose. (I hope you have realized that it is
encouraged that as student apply to several schools and possibly one out of state
school so that you do not limit yourself to opportunities. ) This can be one of the
greatest challenges for many 1st generation students. Many parents do not want
their child far from home and vice- versa. Fortunately we have great institutions
near by that allow your child to have a great quality education, an outstanding
environment, with many financial opportunities. During this time you will be
comparing each schools offer and weighing out the options. I would even encourage
another campus visit when you have the choices down to one or two schools. This
is a very exciting and challenging time for the student and parent. Its about this
time that one realizes this will be the first time your son or daughter move away
from home. It will be very tempting to want to encourage them to take a break or
live at home their first year but please, take my advice, allow them to live oncampus their first year and go directly to college right after high school. Statistics
report a student does academically better when they live on campus and students
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that take time off in-between transitions have a higher risk of not attending at all.
College is already difficult, it is best when a student can completely consume
themselves in an educational environment and study and be around other great
students then trying to put on so many hats and play so many roles at home and at
school. This is one of my strongest pieces of advice. Let them go and experience
college to its fullest by allowing them to live on campus at least the first year and
possibly any year after that! Now we will break things down by category and
hopefully simplify things a bit.

Chapter 10 Living On-Campus (Freshman year in college)

I hope I have expressed how important it is for a student to live on-campus the first
year. Research is done each year about the statistics of students who do not make it
in college who did not live on campus often times because distractions and the
different roles they play outside college.
Lets start with the timeframe of when to apply for resident housing. Typically this
will be available after admission and will be encouraged in the spring prior to the
first year. Where your son or daughter live on campus and who they roommate with
matters and can make a huge impact on their college experience. Prior to my
current position I was a Hall Director at the newest and most expensive resident hall
that UNC had to offer. Though there were many great perks of living in this hall
there were some disadvantages as well. Because I was a Hall Director of color and
able to promote and encourage diversity in our hall throughout the year I felt that
this made this hall special. Despite our efforts in encouraging diversity, it was very
difficult for many students of color to adapt and connect largely due to the fact that
there were not many students like them on their floor or in their halls. As much as
our staff (RAs, Diversity Mentors) were trained and encouraged in making everyone
feel extremely welcomed I often had students who chose to move into a more
affordable hall because of the diversity. The fact that this hall offered students
amazing shared space within their room and latest amenities, it created a
challenge to get our students out of their rooms and connecting with other students
in on their floor. Even though our job was to encourage and create programming
that promotes social gatherings, it was very difficult to get students involved and
out because they were so comfortable in their room. One important note! It is
important for your son/daughter to connect in their halls. I have seen many healthy
strong relationships develop from the connections that are made living on campus.
Finding the right resident hall is important and can make a huge difference in the
students experience. Find a hall that encourages programming, student
involvement, creates healthy environments to study, and one that matches your
son or daughters personality. Learning Communities (a group of students who live
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on the same floor or building because of the same major) are outstanding and have
shown positive results in helping students connect with students and their major.
CSU is paving the way in this category and in my opinion have become outliers with
a program they developed called Key Communities. It basically is a learning
community that serves over 400 students which many are students of color and 1 st
generation. This groups GPA averages higher than the university average and when
a student in this learning community is compared with another student who is not in
the learning community but meets the same profile of social economic status they
produce up to 40% higher academically! It is important to do the research and find
the right place where your son/daughter will thrive academically and socially!

Chapter 11 Staying Connected (College Years)

Throughout my research of what influences college success in a negative and
positive ways, getting connected, always falls on top of this list. Basically students
who get connected to the university, resources, healthy relationships, and faculty
and staff, do better than those students who do not. I experienced this first- hand
when I lived with 375 students as a hall director. I made it my personal goal to
connect to students in some way or another and it was my job to meet with
students who were not showing good signs of college success. This evaluation was
usually done through an online survey that students were highly encouraged to take
that helped us determine how they were doing with their college experience. It was
the students who were going straight to their room and not coming out until class,
that were showing signs of struggle or wishing to leave and transfer. Please know,
that I dont believe every college is for every student and I think that it is perfectly
ok if a student realizes that a college may not be what was expected and is not
connecting. I just think that a student should take full advantage of the unique
opportunities and give the school a chance by making an effort of getting
connected. Universities all have student clubs, sports, and organizations to connect
with other students of your interest. This can vary from so many different categories
faith to personal interest. Universities make it pretty simple that if a club is not
available to start a club and even offer financial resources to help. Other
opportunities are getting connected in your resident hall through hall programming
or floor programming. Often times , RAs (Residence Assistance) are required to
create programs that encourage getting connected with other students on your floor
or in your building. These events can make a tremendous difference in the college
experience and help create healthy memories of the time you lived on-campus. In
additional it is super important to get connected to resources available on campus!
In being frank, you pay good money to have access to some amazing resources and
many go rarely used! The membership to the recreation center is one of them.
Remember the Freshman 15? Well the way to counter react that issue is to take
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full advantage of the recreation center. Usually the gym will carry updated
equipment and an environment to develop your body the way you want. This can
help in huge ways with confidence in yourself and help you feeling the best you
have ever felt! It can also help with dealing with the stress of college and class.
Then there are the dining halls which usually have a variety of fresh meal options
that encourage healthy eating habits. Unfortunately the food of choice by students
in college is Pizza and Ice cream and the opportunity to consume them of very
available! Having access to fresh fruits and vegetables in every meal was quite
different for me and often times different for many students from low income
backgrounds. Take full advantage of this opportunity. Other resources are the
counseling center and health center that can really make life easier through you
college years. This were areas that I grew up ashamed to use (for silly and messed
up reasons) but now I see the positive impact they can have in college. I remember
actually making these sanctions for some students who found themselves in the
conduct office. In most cases it was stress that was causing them to make poor
decisions. The best connection and recommendation coming from a college
counselor is to stay connected with advisors, college counselors, your professors,
and tutors. Taking connected to academic advisors can help keep you on track and
focused. So much emphasis is being placed on students taking classes that go
towards their major that it is important to stay on top of! The best universities of
success are those that can provide access to guidance counselors and advisors. It
can seem as an inconvenience at times but a good advisor can save you a lot of
money and time. My advice to a student is, stay connected, get involved. My
advice to parents reading this is, make sure that you son/daughter is staying
connected and getting involved. I specifically used those two terms because I think
one without the other is not good enough. A student can be involved in 10 groups
and still not make a solid connection or a student could have one solid connection
and not involved in enough of them. These are great signs of how well your
son/daughter is doing and will do in college.

Chapter 12 Staying Focused (College Years)

Now that we discussed how important it is to stay connected there are times when
students are too connected. When a student leaves home they begin to discover
who they are what they value. Its a great opportunity to see what students choose
to hold onto and bring with them from what is taught at home and great to see
students leave room to learn from others and experience and learn things out of
their norm. So many students begin to dabble in areas of interest and begin figuring
out more of themselves. They create a whole new circle of friends (outside of their
high school) which they influence and become influenced by. Many times when a
student goes home a parent will immediately begin to see those influence which
can be both in a positive and negative way. Its inevitable that change happens and
its important to expect that and prepare for it in a healthy fashion. Sometimes this
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freedom can be a bit much for a young adult and they find themselves staying too
late playing video games and missing classes, making the new relationship top
priority, or just having a little too much fun. Easy to do when you are in an
environment with thousands of other students just needing to burn energy or stay
busy. Unfortunately, if not addressed in a timely fashion, this time can have a
tremendous impact on your academics. Remember, you are in college for one
primary purpose and that is to receive a degree that is going to allow you to live a
lifestyle doing something you hopefully love doing. You are going to invest a lot of
money and time towards this so it is important that you make good healthy decision
for yourself. As a young adult you cannot depend on others to make this a priority
for you. Others can provide the financial resources and things to make college
easier but they cannot do the work for you. This has to be the choice of the student
and if they are not ready to make this commitment my advice is to stop, take the
break and time necessary to mature and when you are ready, come back. Its not at
all what I would hope for any student, but it is best when the decision is made by
your choice and not forced by the university. Too much money is wasted if a student
is just not ready. A university credit can cost approximately $500. A typical class is
3 credits which is approximately $1,500 for one class. A full time student is
considered at least 12 credits ($6,000) but it is encouraged to take at least 15
credits per semester which totals $7,500! Two semesters in a year and that is
$14,000 you are investing in. Now to throw this money away because you do not
want to attend class and because you do not like the professor it is just not a good
idea! When you include book fees, and the time you spend in class and studying for
the class and to later not pass, then you get no credit and just paid the university
and this professor that you did not like a pretty hefty penny!
Stay focused. The best way to stay grounded is to surround yourself with
accountability partners and to occasionally step back evaluate the direction you are
heading. Often times the best way to navigate unchartered territory is to use a
map or get advice from others to have experienced the same and have succeeded.

Chapter 13 Finishing Strong (Senior Year)

Mark my words; you will be a senior in college before you know it! This time will fly
by so fast and my hope is that will have had unique and amazing experiences and
moments! By this time, I would have hoped you would have been involved in
multiple clubs and orgs, been a part of some alternative spring break, visited some
country that you would have only dreamed of through Study Abroad, and taking
pride of the hard work and sacrifice to finish one very special and important race.
You have already beaten the odds by just being in college, now to graduate you will
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have become even a more special and rare group. As a 1 st generation student, this
is not just about you; but about those behind you that you influence. It is about
changing the statistics, starting a legacy, changing history, and providing
opportunity. Education is power and becoming educated will provide opportunities
for you and those you love that you may not have ever dreamed of!

Chapter 14 Financial Aid

This subject is very important for many 1st generation students. But it is only a
piece of the formula that contributes to college success. It is fun to receive award
letters and scholarship letters with large amounts of aid that will be given to the
student who has put in the work. These letters are fun to share with others and give
the knee-jerk experience to say that school that offers you the most will be your
choice. The dangers of this concept (often with private colleges) is that even if a
school offers you $20,000 to attend, what you will want to pay close attention
several things: what is the cost of attendance, and is for the total of four years. For
example, if you get an scholarship offer of 20k, and the school cost 30k each year
and your scholarship is for the total of 4 years. This means that your total cost to
attend is 30k x 4yrs = 120K , if a school is offering 20k of that, it still leaves you
with 100k to cover and therefore not always becoming the best choice. It is not
always the most affordable school either that will be the best fit but it is just good to
weigh the pros and cons and determine which will be the best fit. The best
advice I could get to give families and students an advantage in aid
received is to pay attention to deadlines. Often times the sooner the better! I
cannot tell you the amount of aid that goes unused simply because a student
missed the application deadline! Terms that you will want to know of are:
Institutional aid- these are the scholarships that universities offer students who are
admitted or planning on attending. This can very and most commonly is merit
based. For example at the time I was working at UNC, a student who had a index
score of 100-111 received a $1,000 merit aid scholarship for the first year. 112 or
higher was a higher scholarship and waived the application fee! (Important note)
Higher index scores reached merit aid scholarship that was annually and not just
the first year. These are important questions to ask and pay close attention to. In
addition, most universities have a database of scholarship which they encourage
students to apply to every year but often times students dont because they miss
the priority deadline. Typically this is where the 1 st Generation scholarship resides.
It is a common application and that can give you access to many scholarships that
go through the school. Often times universities offer some perks for students who
attend school within the area and for UNC it was called the Greeley Promise
scholarship. During my time at UNC this scholarship was offered to any student who
was admitted into UNC who attended a local school and was $2,000 per year!
(HUGE!!!!!!!) Yet Im sure some families were still not aware of this and did not
consider UNC as even an option. Other scholarships can be offered through the
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individual colleges within the universities. For example, since UNC is known as a
school for Education. They have an amazing program for students interested in
going into education who were willing to add an endorsement in ESL, Bilingual
Education, or Spanish and would give them( at the time) and additional $1,500 a
year and provide them a learning community! Often times many of the students I
worked with benefited from this because many were already Spanish native
speakers and therefore could potentially test out of classes and save time, money,
and have a huge advantage!
(Since many parent are reading this, I also would love to share of a scholarship from the Styker
Institute that gave up to $7,500 per year and a scholarship for non-traditional women who were going
back to college)

Scholarships outside of the university are worth researching as there are many
great resources available for students to receive financial aid. College in Colorados
website has a great website with a collection of great scholarships for students.
COF Colorado Opportunity Fund this is an incentive for students who are
planning to attend college in Colorado. The offer approximately $58 per credit hour
and the application is free and the qualification and requirement is that you are
resident of Colorado! That easy. A student is eligible to apply for this as early as
13yrs. And you only have to apply once! One of the easiest forms of receiving
money for school and yet I still met students every year who missed this
opportunity.
It is also encouraged for a 1st generation student to get involved with any TRIO or
federally funded program that is intended for college prep. Many programs like ETS,
GEAR UP, Dream Team, Upward Bound, (just to name a few) can be in the schools
and are intended to help students transition to college. Many offer renewable
scholarships as long as the requirements are met. Then are scholarships that are
offered the Daniels Fund and Denver Scholarship Foundation scholarship. The
Daniels Fund scholarship is a full-ride scholarship but is competitive. Students who
received these scholarships typically will have and advisor on campus and will need
to meet additional requirements however the cost outweighs the benefits by far!!
Terms to keep in mind at CSU are Commitment to Colorado , Green and Gold
scholarships, and universal scholarship application.
It would be impossible for me to mention every potential aid and program but my
goal is to get you looking in the right directions and asking the right questions. My
hope is to encourage you to invest the time and energy in researching financial aid
opportunities because too often our students and families, who do not know, miss
out and unfortunately have to max out on student loans which in turn can create a
large debt.

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Not that loans are evil! Often times they are necessary and I would never want any
student to not attend college because they were a scared to get in debt. More often
than not, once a student receives their degree, the amount of income increase that
they will have compared to not having a degree, will allow the time and finances to
pay back the loans and still reap the benefits of an education. I just want to
encourage students and parents to exhaust all the free aid like grants, and
scholarships because these forms of aid does not have to be paid back. I know
that a whole book can be based on just this topic and that much of what we are
discussing is touching only the top but the advice given in these few short
paragraphs can bring in a lot of free money!

Conclusion

Many will read this or parts of this and point out areas that I did not cover that may
be just as important as the areas that were covered. Again, it would be difficult to
discuss each of these areas in detail or cover everything. This by no means should
be considered the Bible to college preparation but should offer some basic
suggestions to help guide and support your son or daughter in accomplishing things
we did not. Someone once told me that my ceiling will be my sons floor. My desire
is that life will be so much easier on him than it was for me and my wife. It is my
desire for each of you, that our children will be able to accomplish and
achieve so much more than we did and to prepare them to change the
world and making it a better place for all. My education and my faith have
provided me a life I am very grateful for. It has given me opportunities to learn,
grown, and invest in people. Take what you can from here, and leave what you
want. But remember, this is not so much about us as it is about them.

Questions & Support

If you have any specific questions in regards to preparing your child for college or
have questions about some of what was discussed in this article. Please feel free to
contact me directly at eliasgquinonez@gmail.com. I may not have all the answers
but I think I have some answers that can make all the difference.

-Original Email to My Son- April 2, 2014

Good day son,

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I wanted to write you the message to share a little bit of what I do for work. As you know I have
worked at UNC to recruit students and then as a Hall Director at UNC where we lived with students.
Now I work at a university in Fort Collins called CSU (Colorado State University) which is twice as big as
UNC! The reason I work at colleges and universities is because this is what I went to college for. I first
received my degree in Communication and then I went for a Masters Degree in Education Leadership.
This masters degree allows me to work at colleges to help students come to college and stay in
college.
Even though my office is at CSU, I actually work for the State of Colorado Education which is called
(CDHE) Colorado Department of Higher Education. My professional title is called College Counselor.
I am a College Counselor for students going to college in Colorado. I help them find degrees, help
them find money to pay for their degree, and help them adjust to college living. This is what I do 8hrs
every day.
The reason I am writing this long email to you is because my career is based off of me helping great
students go to college so that they can have a job one day doing something they love doing! So
imagine how much more time, energy, and money, that I am going to invest in you going to college.
You who are my only son, who I believe in more than anyone, who is my pride and joy.
I wanted to create this email for you because I wanted you to know that I will be looking into colleges,
majors, and scholarships that will best fit who you are and help you become someone who will make a
difference.
You may not know about all of what Im talking about but we have a few years to discuss and prepare
you for college. In fact your mom and I have been preparing you for college since day #1. This is why
when you were a baby we invested in music and movies that would stimulate your learning. This is
why we put you in a private Christian school. And most importantly, this is why we put so much
pressure on you doing your homework and getting good grades, because we know that if we can teach
you these skills, it will help you on test like the one you are taking this week and like the ones you will
take to help you get into great universities.
I am looking into degree fields like Biological Sciences, Engineering, Medical School, Education, and
Business school and will be working with you on which of these areas you think you would like to work
in. Once we find a general area, we will look to find the best school, and get you prepared to make it
happen. Just for the record, CSU (where I now work) is one of the largest schools in Colorado,
however there is one more school that is more larger and more special that I want you to look into. Its
called CU-Boulder! (Colorado University) Its a tough school and cost a lot to get it, but if you want to
go there and they have your major, we will get you there.
I love you and I want you to start using your email often because this is where I will be sending you
information.
Have a great day and I cant wait for this weekend!

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- Your Dad