There are, however, some very tangible ways a student can help pay for college. Study Like Crazy Good grades make a student desirable to the colleges. Yes, this will help you get in, but good grades also translate directly into dollars and cents. Every tenth of a point a student raises her high school GPA can save her thousands of dollars in student loans she won't have to pay back later. If a student's dream is to attend an expensive private college, it isn't going too far to expect the student to contribute to help make that dream a reality.
Parents are about to invest a sizable portion of all the money they have ever been able to save.
It seems only fair that the student should be prepared to invest in his own future as well. And the single most productive way a student can invest in his future is by doing as well as possible during high school. It takes six weeks to take a prep course. Every ten points a student can raise his score on the SAT can save his family thousands of dollars by increasing his desirability in the eyes of the FAOs, and hence, increasing the size of the aid packages they offer him. This is too important to leave to chance.