What was the financial aid education/advising like in your child's high school?

[ucbalumnus]

@beth's mom

In fact, when my oldest daughter and I sat down for a mandatory meeting with her guidance counselor in spring of her junior year, he told her not to take cost into account when formulating her list. What?? He has no idea of our financial situation (nor should he), so I don’t know why in the world he would say such a thing. It would seem more appropriate for the GC to advise the student to have a discussion with the parents as to how much they could afford.

Seems like the best thing for the counselor to say would be something along the lines of:

@hypothetical high school counselor

Be sure to talk to your parents about how much they are willing to contribute to your college costs. Then go to the web sites of the colleges you are interested in and look for the Net Price Calculator. With your parents, use each Net Price Calculator to get a financial aid estimate so that you can see if each college is likely to be affordable.