A Parental Guide to College Decisions
By Shealagh Sullivan, Belmont Voice staff
Belmont High School seniors are beginning to make their college decisions – the culmination of four years of late night study sessions, extracurricular activities, and hours spent on applications and essays. Along the way, they and their parents have learned the ins and outs of college tours and financial aid.
The college decision process can come with steep costs that leave parents and students alike torn between a dream education and reality. While it can feel easy to turn to social media or the internet to find answers, a couple of Belmont residents are working to bridge the knowledge gap for parents new to the college planning process.
Susan Feinberg and Laura VanderHart, co-chairs of the Belmont High School Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) Parent Speaker Series, are developing an event aimed at educating parents about all things college.
Whether it’s applying for scholarships and financial aid or learning to grapple with the fears of moving your kid into their dorm room, the “College Planning: Parents Who’ve Been There—Ask Them (Almost) Anything” panel will strive to answer Belmont parents’ burning questions. The panel – offered for the first time this year – will feature up to 10 Belmont parents who have sent their children to college. A representative from the high school guidance department will be present to explain the department’s role in the college search process.
“I think parent panels in the past have been helpful things…having a variety of voices to talk about the process, I think can be really helpful, because every kid is different and every family is different,” VanderHart said.
“Just imagine you had several of your best friends just kind of talking you through the process,” she added.
For both VanderHart and Feinberg, the panel stems from their own experiences around college planning for their children. VanderHart has one child in college and another in high school. Feinberg’s child is in high school.
While VanderHart may be a veteran of the college application and decision process, she said everyone’s journey looks different. Having faith in your child — and rolling with the punches — is part of the game.
“It doesn’t always turn out the way you think it’s going to, even if you put a lot of time into it,” she said.
Feinberg said she started to think about college around her child’s freshman year of high school. She described the process as “overwhelming,” noting that a parent could fall down any number of rabbit holes while trying to prepare their child.
The mounting cost of higher education can often cast a shadow over the process; it impacts which schools students tour and apply to and can feel like the elephant in the room of college decisions. For both of these mothers, while they want their children to have the best education possible and find a community where they can blossom, it can feel like a give and take when it comes to financial planning.
The “sticker price” of college has continued to increase, according to the College Board. In the 2025-26 academic year, tuition and fees averaged $11,950 at a public in-state university and $31,880 for a public out-of-state university. A private nonprofit university’s tuition and fees averaged $45,000. Those numbers do not include the cost for room and board or any additional school supplies.
Prior to receiving financial aid and scholarships, it can cost a University of Massachusetts Amherst student living in-state nearly $40,000 per year, including all fees, tuition, room and board, and miscellaneous costs, according to the university. At Boston University, a student living on-campus can expect to pay just under $100,000 per year, a bulk of which is the institution’s tuition, which comes in at $73,024, according to the university.
Like many parents, Feinberg has felt the anxiety around the cost of higher education and guiding her family through it, but said talking with and relating to her child is her priority as her daughter continues her high school education and delves deeper into the college search process.
“I think that [relationship] can easily become an afterthought, and I think it’s the most important part,” she said.
For parents and students alike, the final year of high school is a mixed bag of exciting milestones and anxiety over what comes next.
“It’s a moment in time when kids are gaining independence and getting ready to leave the nest, so to speak,” VanderHart said. “Parents want to prepare them to fly, and they want to hold on really tight, and so [it’s about] preparing for that in a healthy way, that balance of letting go and holding on that happens senior year.”
The panel will be held Tuesday, April 28 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP.
