College Aid Strategist Delivers Inspiring Speech

Deborah M. Ching, of Honolulu-based Ching Consulting, presented College is Possible at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center to more than 400 parents and students Nov. 4.

The Hawai‘i born-and-raised professional advisor was invited and sponsored to speak by The Kaua‘i Board of Realtors with additional support coming from Kukui‘ula. Upon being announced to the audience by KBR 2017 Board President Donna Rice, Ching embarked upon an hour-long speaking engagement that took a strong crack at common, outdated assumptions that can cripple families’ finances for decades.

According to Ching, there are many barriers of entry into college, “but there is a tremendous blind spot unique to Hawai‘i that has severe negative repercussions — the near zero awareness that Hawaii students, parents and educators have with regard to colleges that provide Full Demonstrated Need (FDN) financial aid — the 69 colleges that provide the full need defined by each accepted student’s FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) profile.”

Ching sees unknowing parents and students bypassing the 69 colleges for more familiar ones, such as the University of Hawai‘i and WUE or Western Undergraduate Exchange schools which have lower sticker or in-state costs, but are often more expensive than the net cost of colleges that provide FDN aid. In addition, many Hawai‘i families gain admission to colleges that provide FDN aid, but frequently presume incorrectly they don’t qualify for aid. So they do not fill out the colleges’ financial aid forms, and wrongly assume that they cannot afford the costs. All families can research their costs by using these colleges’ calculators to preview significantly lower out of pocket costs that are far lower than the estimates provided by the FAFSA calculator.

“The 600 Realtors on Kaua‘i and over 10,000 throughout the state live, work and advocate for their communities. As an organization that cares for Kaua‘i, the Kaua‘i Board of Realtors promotes scholarship and looks for today’s students to be our next community leaders,” KBR Association Executive Karen Ono said.

Hannah Sirois, KBR Immediate Past President and Suzanne Harding, this year’s Public Relations Chair coordinated the event.

“We decided to host the community at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center and worked with Event Coordinator, Aida Cruz of the Vet Center to deliver a flawless affair. The Kaua‘i Veterans Center location provided the ideal venue to disseminate this important message,” Harding said.

The timely presentation occurred just before seniors in high school submit their college applications. Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd, Ching presented her strategies on funding a college education. Speaking in her typically direct manner, she challenged students to start focusing on grades the moment they begin to receive letter grades, usually in middle school.

“I can’t help you get into schools with incredible aid packages if you come to me with a 3.0 GPA in your junior year. You can and should do better, starting in middle school. The college access playing field has been leveled by the FDN colleges, which have removed the financial barriers to entry,” Ching said. “All students who have worked hard to achieve high grades and test scores can access a top college, regardless of financial means. Start focusing on grades now; it’s your job and your future and the rewards are tremendous.”

Ching impressed upon the attendees that their college selection rationale must change immediately. Hawai‘i families need to adopt a completely new mindset that eliminates all of the cultural biases and perceptions related to college, as they are precisely the reasons that many will miss learning about and accessing colleges that have the lowest net costs and will preclude debt.

Using a white board, Ching drew a train as a metaphor that depicts the mindset of virtually all local families. She labeled the cars with perceptions such as Familiar (attending a college that you and your family have heard of or ones mentioned at your high school), Travel (where a family happened to go on vacations), Boy/Girl/Friends (where your significant other or friends attend college) and Location (typically only 5-8 states out of the U.S., of which many have zero FDN colleges). She urged them to disembark immediately and board a new train of thought — targeting a debt-free education at a top college by systematically acquiring the grades and test scores to gain admission.

With the cost of a college education sky-rocketing well beyond the means of most Hawai‘i families, Ching passionately coaches students and parents on how to avoid student loan debt by securing aid to excellent schools across the country.

Ching has no affiliation to any of the schools and works with clients statewide by providing individual consulting in person and via phone to high school and middle school students and parents, and parents of elementary school students who want to begin financial planning via use of the calculators. Her innumerable success stories include several here on Kaua‘i where her clients have received full- and virtually full-aid packages to esteemed colleges such as Duke University and Brown University. In addition to the spectacular amount of financial aid made available at FDN colleges, there are also significant admission opportunities for students who typically would not consider top colleges — high-achieving low income, first generation (to attend college) and Native Eskimo, American Indian, and Hawaiian students.

“Every hard working student deserves a college education,” Ching said. “Now there are dozens of colleges that will make a college education a reality, regardless of a family’s financial means. With Hawai‘i students’ geographic and ethnic diversity that is sought after by every college in the nation, Hawai‘i students are long overdue for their chance in the batter’s box. Swing hard with your schoolwork and test prep and you will be rewarded.”

Ching has more than 30 years of experience as an alumni admissions interviewer. She actively provides both consulting services to individual students as well as manages large-scale school complex projects in partnership with organizations such as Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, James & Abigail Campbell Family Foundation and private sponsors. Born and raised in Honolulu, she attended Punahou School, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brown University. At Brown, she was a four-year starter, All Ivy, All New England and All East selection on the nationally ranked women’s soccer team, and was inducted into the Brown Athletic Hall of Fame. Ching received a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Columbia Business School.