Since Laura Monte was a child, her parents had assured her that if she did well in high school, the family would find a way to pay for college. Now, things are not so certain.
The south Orange County family had socked away money in stock funds that grew to $45,000. Scott and Pam Monte figured that the investments, coupled with their dual income, would pay for four years of college. Then the stock market crashed, and the college fund dropped by half.
That led to difficult family discussions and a change in Laura's application plans, replacing pricey East Coast private colleges with more California public universities. "It's really stressful," said Laura, a senior at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita.
"It's hard to talk about money with your parents, when your parents come to you and tell you they might not be able to pay for your education."
As they face looming college application deadlines in a soured economy, many families are grappling with how personal resources and financial aid could affect decisions on college.
The economic downturn, with parents' job losses and investment declines, is adding an extra layer of anxiety to what can be a stressful chapter of family life even in a booming economy.
"It is the most uncertain college admission year we have had in a very long time," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, a higher-education group based in Washington, D.C. "I think it's a very worried and troublesome time."
Because many deadlines for private college applications are in mid-January, it is too early to say exactly how the tough financial climate will affect where students apply and ultimately enroll. But guidance counselors and education experts expect the average student to seek insurance, of sorts, by applying to more schools than usual and having more public schools in the mix.
In addition, as public colleges face state budget cuts and private schools watch their endowments shrink, families are paying much closer attention to financial aid.
Hartle and other officials said they didn't expect many students to forgo college or to avoid applying to private campuses. Yet, when the crunch time comes in April and May, families will weigh acceptances, financial aid and their own resources with more than the usual scrutiny, they said.
"I think the term 'hedging your bets' will define the admission cycle this year," said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Assn. for College Admission Counseling.
At Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Jesuit high school in San Jose, college counseling director Katy Murphy said this year's application process felt very different from last year's. Parents are more nervous and seniors more uncertain.
As a result, she said, Bellarmine students are applying to more colleges overall, 10 or 11 on average, up from about nine last year -- and to more public schools, including the University of California, California State University and out-of-state colleges.
At Eagle Rock High School in northeast Los Angeles, counselor Stephen Williams has told some students who hope to attend an out-of-town campus to also apply to a public school closer to home in case the economy worsens.
"If they need to stay at home and work, throw in an application to Cal State L.A. or Northridge," he said.
More students than usual are visiting the college center at Long Beach's Wilson High to learn about financial aid, counselor Robin Sroka said.
"Students and parents are starting to say, 'How is this all going to trickle down, and what's it going to mean in my pocketbook?' " she said.
For some families, like the Montes, the stock market decline shook long-held plans. Laura, who wants to major in broadcast journalism, dropped the idea of applying to Boston and Syracuse universities and other East Coast schools. Her first choice now is San Diego State, Scott's alma mater; her second is UC Santa Cruz. She added applications to other Cal State campuses too.
Financial aid "would have been an afterthought in the past. Now, of course, it's very front and center," said Scott Monte, who is a senior vice president of marketing for a mobile technology firm. He attended a college financial aid class for parents in San Juan Capistrano last week; the annual workshop had twice as many attendees this fall as last.
For others, such as the Chironis family of Dana Point, the decline in housing prices and access to home equity credit lines wrecked one way to finance tuition.
Katie Chironis earned high marks at Dana Hills High School and began to ponder private universities on the East Coast: Cornell in New York and Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania. Then the family's home equity shrank, wiping out plans to draw about $20,000 a year from it for college. Gina Chironis told her daughter this fall to add UC campuses to her list and that enrollment at a private college would hinge on financial aid.
