USD Magazine, Winter 2001

THE FAMILY PLAN Putting a passel o f ki ds through college takes planning. crea tiv ity and commitment.

I f the thought of paying for a college education in the 21st century gives you a case of the cold sweats, just think of Marianna and Greg Doan. They helped put all five of their sons through USD. But it gets better. Their youngest, Jonathan, who graduated USD in January,- will be entering law school this year - the fifth son ro embark on a legal career. Five undergraduate degrees. Five law degrees. 'Tm afraid ro add it up," says Greg, an attorney in private practice who put himself through law school nine years ago, working full-time and raking out $60,000 in Sallie Mae loans. "Yet USD was real helpful for us when it came to giving grants and scholarships." 'Tm amazed when I look back on it," adds Marianna, "because we didn't give it a lot of thought or planning, it just took on a life of its own. We wanted our children to be educated at a Catholic college, because our faith has been such a powerful force in our lives. And it worked out." The Doan's sons - Michael '91, James '93, Shawn '96, Stephen '98 and Jonathan '01 - applied for scholarships and grants, cook out loans, delivered pizza and worked on weeks they'd come home to San Clemente, Calif., and load up on college staples: macaroni and cheese, tortillas and beans, and use of the family washer and dryer. Their parents say the key was encouraging their sons to apply for every scholarship and grant and to get as creative in their financing as possible. And to not be intimidated by the paperwork or the numbers - all tolled, the Doans figure they co-signed about $150,000 in federal PLUS loans (where parents per– sonally guarantee student loans in exchange for lower interest rates and better repayment plans than con– ventional loans) to cover what their sons could not pay for. Their children have successfully paid back all their loans, or on track to do so. "My best advice would be to check out all the resources because you'd be surprised what you can find out there, " says Marianna. "And don't be campus, and lived as cheaply as possible. Every few

intimidated. If you really believe your child can do it, support them and use up all the resources it takes, because it is worth it." Marilyn Kasperick seconds that guidance. She and her husband, David, who died in 1998, helped put five of their children through USD (daughter Katherine was attending USD when she was killed in a car accident in 1979) on David's salary as a public school teacher. The kids supplemented that through Cal Grants, scholarships, student loans and jobs. The parents succeeded by instilling in their children at an early age the need to save money, be frugal and make a college education their top priority. "They need to be prepped for this long before their senior year in high school," says Marilyn, who is in her 1Och year teaching the sixth grade. "By the time a child is in the sixth grade, they should be told that college is attainable, and here are the financial aid programs and ways to do it." For their children, the Kaspericks added $50 each year to a fund the children's grandfather had given them for college. By the time they graduated high school, each had a strong sense of independence and about $6,000 coward college. 'They let us choose which college we wanted to go to, as long as it was a Catholic college our fresh– man year. After chat, we could go where we wanted. We all ended up at USD, and we all stayed," says Vincent Kasperick '84, who got a CalGrant and two scholarships as part of his financial aid package. "I worked on campus and had four roommates. I paid $67 a month in rent and ate macaroni and cheese and Top Ramen every day," says Vincent, CEO of American Internet Mortgage in San Diego, whose last sibling graduated in 1991. Pitching in to help pay for college was a given for the five kids in the Tom family. All the children worked at their parents' restaurant, Sheng Haw Low in San Diego, and lived at home to cut expenses. All five received their undergraduate degree in business from USD. "We had some small scholarships, worked at the restaurant and had part time jobs to pay for the extras like clothes, shoes and such," says Bernice Tom '94. "We were able to go to USD because our father really looked toward the future , saving and investing. Like most parents, they encouraged us to save and understand the realities of expenses."

FINDING FREE MONEY ... Current postings of scholar– ships are available on the USD Financial Aid Web site by going co www.acusd.edu, clicking on admissions and then clicking financial aid. ... The scholarship search pro– gram FascWeb has over 500,000 scholarships totaling more than $1 billion by going co hccp://www.fascweb.com ... To avoid scholarship scams. as well as pick up hints on applying for scholarships and grants, go co the Financial Aid Information Page ac h ccp :/ /www . fin aid . o rg . Remember: you should never have co pay money co apply for a legitimate scholarship or fed– eral grant program.

FINANCIAL AID FACTS

Four out of five USO students selected for Who's Who Among American College Students w ere financial aid recipients.

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USD MAGA Z INE