Many deadlines are fast approaching. If you haven't taken my advice and at least finished your application essay, you had best work in earnest to do so now. In the words of the great philosopher, Larry, the Cable guy, "Get 'er done!".
I've often written about a favorite website, englishclub.com. It provides invaluable help with all types of writing and gives a complete tutorial on how to go about writing the college application essay. Just type the underlined phrase in the search box and you'll find a step by step approach to the process.
Another excellent resource is a book that I've use and recommended for over 20 years. Writer's Inc.: Student Handbook Writing and Learning, published by Houghton-Mifflin is a great reference for writing and revision, sentence construction, grammar, punctuation usage and all that other stuff you need to know to write well. (Like knowing that you use adverbs to modify verbs).
So, what should you use all this well placed verbiage to actually say? Lacy Crawford wrote a novel, Early Decision: Based on a True Frenzy.
In an article she wrote for the Wall Street Journal, she states that when she was a
college applications adviser, her students would ask her what they should write. She would answer,
You are a student of the world. What is it that moves you? What incites you,
enrages you? The first-person pronoun is a might tool. Use it. I have had successful
students write about the virtues of napping (Middlebury), failing a course (Harvard),
and having to shoot a farm dog because it couldn't work stock (Princeton).
...tell a story in your own voice. Speak an opinion with care and focus. Claim that "I"
and write the hell out of it.
I couldn't have written it better myself!
This will be the last post of 2013. I will resume on January 8, 2014. Thank you for your continues interest in my blog. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Roads Less Travelled
As in recent months, I plan to publish posts about career paths that don't necessarily require college. As Jeffrey Selingo wrote in an article in the Wall Street Journal of April 27-28, 2013, "With unemployment among college graduates at historic highs and outstanding student loan debt at $1 TRILLION (emphasis added), the question families should be asking is whether it's worth borrowing tens of thousands of dollars for a degree from Podunk U. if it's just a ticket to a barista's job at Starbucks.". In an article in the AMAC Advantage magazine (Vol. 7, Issue 2), Jedediah Bila says that part of the problem is that the typical high school curriculum doesn't allow for much self-exploration. Programs didn't reflect "...the importance of encouraging kids to discover who they were and what they loved.".
Sadly, Robby Soave reports in the Daily Caller post of 7/03/13, "As college costs increase, alternatives arise", that, "Most recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed in jobs that don't require a degree.". The post is worth taking a look at because, as the title implies, it delves into some interesting alternatives. Soave writes about Praxis, "an education and job training program for students who are turned off by the idea of traditional schooling". The program was created by Isaac Morehouse. It is comprised of online courses in various fields, including technology and economics. What makes this program unconventional is that it places the student in a paid internship which should keep the net cost of the program under $4, 000 for most participants". Sounds like an online Cooperative Education program. (See my posts of November 9 and November 23, 2011) There are quite a few groups in addition to Praxis that espouse viable alternatives to a four year college program like UnCollege and the Thiel Fellowship Program. For more information on them, see my post of March 13, 2012 - "Just Say 'No'?"
In the education section of the Wall Street Journal of Wednesday, October 9, 2013, there are some really good articles on MOOCs, massive open online courses. Experts disagree as to whether the expansion of online offerings will bring down the high cost of a college education. In the October 7, 2013 edition of Time, L. Rafael Reif, President of MIT, believes it will. ('Online learning will make college cheaper. It will also make it better.")
I recently came across a book in the library entitled, 300 Best Jobs Without a Four Year Degree by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin and published by JIST Publishing in 2013. (www.jist.com) They group jobs based on certain criteria such as clusters, fastest growing and those with the highest percentage of workers age 16-24. The layout is similar to that of the Occupational Outlook Handbook. (See my post of September 15, 2010) Short descriptions of each job are given which include information on skills and education required, salary, growth expectations and suitable personality traits.
In this post I've made a lot of references to articles and programs that you will need to find out more about on your own. I hope, as with all my posts, that you use these suggestions as signposts to help you in your exploration of possible career paths.
Sadly, Robby Soave reports in the Daily Caller post of 7/03/13, "As college costs increase, alternatives arise", that, "Most recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed in jobs that don't require a degree.". The post is worth taking a look at because, as the title implies, it delves into some interesting alternatives. Soave writes about Praxis, "an education and job training program for students who are turned off by the idea of traditional schooling". The program was created by Isaac Morehouse. It is comprised of online courses in various fields, including technology and economics. What makes this program unconventional is that it places the student in a paid internship which should keep the net cost of the program under $4, 000 for most participants". Sounds like an online Cooperative Education program. (See my posts of November 9 and November 23, 2011) There are quite a few groups in addition to Praxis that espouse viable alternatives to a four year college program like UnCollege and the Thiel Fellowship Program. For more information on them, see my post of March 13, 2012 - "Just Say 'No'?"
In the education section of the Wall Street Journal of Wednesday, October 9, 2013, there are some really good articles on MOOCs, massive open online courses. Experts disagree as to whether the expansion of online offerings will bring down the high cost of a college education. In the October 7, 2013 edition of Time, L. Rafael Reif, President of MIT, believes it will. ('Online learning will make college cheaper. It will also make it better.")
I recently came across a book in the library entitled, 300 Best Jobs Without a Four Year Degree by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin and published by JIST Publishing in 2013. (www.jist.com) They group jobs based on certain criteria such as clusters, fastest growing and those with the highest percentage of workers age 16-24. The layout is similar to that of the Occupational Outlook Handbook. (See my post of September 15, 2010) Short descriptions of each job are given which include information on skills and education required, salary, growth expectations and suitable personality traits.
In this post I've made a lot of references to articles and programs that you will need to find out more about on your own. I hope, as with all my posts, that you use these suggestions as signposts to help you in your exploration of possible career paths.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Chloe and Joey Are Juniors
Welcome back to what will, hopefully, be a very rewarding school year. I want to begin with a post that focuses on juniors who are planning to attend college after graduation. Two great kids whom I'm lucky to have as neighbors, Chloe and Joey, are juniors this year and in June I gave them this timeline to help them navigate all that the college bound student needs to accomplish junior year.
Recommended Junior Year Timeline
June - September
- If you haven't taken an interest inventory through your school, I suggest you visit
http://www.college.gov and use it to get information on careers by scrolling down and clicking "Explore Careers". This will help you find careers that relate to different areas of interest. This site also has a lot of financial aid information or you can go directly to http://www.careeronestop.org.
- Once you get some career ideas, you can go to http://www.bls.gov. Scroll down the "Publications" tab to "Career Guides" and click onto the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Another good site to use to investigate careers, especially in the math and science areas, is www.careercornerstone.org.
- Go to collegeboard.org and do a college match which will give you an idea of which specific colleges/programs you may want to consider.
-Download a college visit checklist to use when you visit colleges. A good one is available at bigfuture.collegeboard.org.
October - November
- Take the PSAT.
- Investigate summer programs open to juniors such as the Prudential Prestigious Awards. Recipients receive scholarship money and attend a week long conference in Washington, D.C. in the early spring. More info can be found at spirit.prudential.com.
- Zinch.com also has a scholarship finder.
- Notify your counselor that you are interested in summer programs such as Governor's School - www.nj.gov/govschool and New Jersey Boys State/New Jersey Girls State www.boysandgirlsstate.org.
December
- You will receive your PSAT results and should use them to continue with your SAT prep. I say "continue" because your schoolwork, study and even general reading is all "SAT prep". Use them to see where your strengths and weaknesses are. There are many SAT prep books you can use and even online test prep at sites like www.grockit.com and unigo.com.
January - June
- Schedule your SAT in the spring along with Subject Tests, if necessary.
- Continue investigating/visiting colleges and programs and applying to summer programs of interest. Virtual tours can be found on many college websites and also at www.campustour.com.
- Go to www.neighborhoodscout.com to check out the safety of the areas in which your schools of interest are located.
- Also go to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education website, theFIRE.org, to see your chosen schools' current policies "restricting individual rights, as well as that campus' advertised commitments to freedom of expression."
- Download a copy of the Common Application at www.commonapp.org. Even if your colleges of interest don't use or require it (over 400 do!), it will give you a good idea of what information will be included on most college applications. You can begin the activity sheet portion now, if you haven't begun one already. You can also see what the general application essay topics look like. If you begin one now, you can most likely edit it to use senior year. Go to www.englishclub.com to get some great tips on writing the college application essay.
There are numerous college ratings lists and guides. A recent one I particularly like can be found in the August 12, 2013 edition of Forbes magazine. They take the Top 300 Colleges, "rankings compiled exclusively for Forbes by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity" and give them grades based on their fiscal soundness. They created the Forbes College Financial Grades and analyzed the balance sheets and operational strength of more than 900 four-year, private, not for profit schools with more than 500 students. Public schools are included in the rankings but not graded. "Combining Forbes' Top College rating with its new Financial Grades can help you home in on not just the best schools for the buck but also those that are likely to be around for many years to come."
"Lucie Laponsky, former V.P. of finance at Baltimore's Goucher College and a higher-ed financial consultant, cautions against ignoring the financial health of the colleges you choose: 'Visible signs of financial stress can include fewer classes offered less frequently, more classes taught by adjunct professors, less money for clubs and cutbacks in the upkeep of campus facilities.'"
The next post will appear on October 23 and will include a discussion of a recently published book,
300 Best Jobs Without a Four Year Degree in addition to a summary of a July Daily Caller post, "As College Costs Increase, Alternatives Arise". I will also comment on another article about alternatives to college entitled, "Thinking Outside the Education Box".
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Further Considerations
I know quite a few of my recent posts may make it seem that I'm trying to talk people out of pursuing a college degree. I'm really just trying to present some of the "cons", since so many people have been "con"vinced that the only path to personal success is via a four year degree. It's important to look at what you hope to attain by entering a specific program at a specific institution and whether or not your choice will meet your expectations. As Charles Murray, author and WH Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute said in a speech at a Cato Institute event in September 2012:
Here's the reality: everyone in every occupation
starts as an apprentice. those who are good
enough become journeymen. The best become
master craftsmen. This is as true of history
professors and business executives as of chefs
and welders. Getting rid of the BA and replacing
it with evidence of competence - treating post-
secondary education as apprenticeships for every-
one - is one way to help us to recognize that
common bond.
Post-secondary education which makes you competent to work as and for what you want in life should be your goal.
Since many of you have decided to proceed on to college and it's almost time to send in that May 1 deposit, these are some things you may find of interest. An article in the Wall Street Journal of Saturday/Sunday, December 22-23, 2012 was entitled, "Playing the College Game - Soaring Costs and Confusing Aid Packages Are Making the College Selection Process Trickier Than Ever."
As part of what the author, Ruth Simon, suggests you do is:
Settle on a budget as early as possible.
Concentrate on the 'net price'.
Consider the school's graduation rate.
Focus on schools where you'll stand out.
Aim for grants, not work-study awards.
Beware of aid offers that taper off in the future.
These are all worthwhile tips and have been discussed in previous posts. There was also an article in the Wall Street Journal on March 12, 2013 entitled, "Colleges Latest Offer: Deals". Doug Belkin and Melissa Korn write about the fact that certain private schools are offering creative enticements to a dwindling number of prospective students. According to the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center the percentage of students at private four year schools dropped from 22% to 20% between 2006 and 2011. At Nebraska Wesleyan University, students who maintain a certain grade point average but don't graduate in four years will get the fifth year free. That's appealing since federal statistics show that only about 15% of students do graduate in four years. (Refer to my archived post, "The Six Year Undergrad" 3-21-12) Belkin and Korn report that, "Spring Arbor University in Michigan agreed in February to pick up a portion of the tab for future students who land low-paying jobs after graduation: that offer will apply to those working 30 hours a week and earning up to $37,000." Indeed, a recent news report said that there were 20 class action suits against law schools whose grads say misled them into thinking there were jobs when a lot of legal tasks can now be accomplished online or without a lawyer. See if any of the schools you are interested in are making deals. As with housing, some colleges see it as a buyers' market. However, I wouldn't expect too many of the Ivy's to offer discounts, even though, sadly, their reputations often far exceed their production.
In "College's Harsh Lesson", on 3-24-11, Michael Graham wrote on BostonHerald.com,
The average private school now costs more than
$40,000 a year, while the Bureau of Labor
Statistics is projecting that most of the jobs
created in the next decade won't require 'much
more than on-the-job training'. Princeton economist,
Alan Blinder, tells the Los Angeles Times he 'won't
be surprised years from now if a carpenter in
the U.S. earns more than a college-educated
computer operator.'
In the best of all possible worlds, you should know what you'd like to study before you choose the place in which to study it. On Townhall.com there was an article entitled, "2012's Worst Paying College Degrees". (11-29-2012) Not that earnings should be the only consideration. However, if you plan to get a degree in "Child and Family Studies", you should know in advance that the job for which this degree prepares people has one of the lowest median salaries for "their respective career professionals". Data is cited from the 2012-2013 College Salary Report from Payscale.com, another really good site.
This has been a tediously long post - and I'm the author! However, since many of you may soon need to reply as to your acceptance of a school's award package, I would advise you to read an article in the Weekend Investor feature of The Wall Street Journal of Saturday-Sunday, March 23-24, 2013. It's entitled "Making Sense of College Aid: Many school's financial aid letters are devilishly difficult to figure out. Here's what you need to know." Ruth Simon and Rob Barry offer some valuable tips. They highlight two great sites that may be of help before mailing in your deposit check. The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet can be found at collegecost.ed.gov/shopping_sheet.pdf. The second site is graphics.wsj.com on which you'll find an interactive tool which will help you compare packages and how schools stack up re graduate salaries, debt and other measures.
PHEW!!! I think that's quite enough for one post! I tried to fit everything in, as this is the last post of the 2012-13 school year. While I'm beginning summer vacation early - a benefit of being retired - there is much left for you high school students to do. For suggestions, refer to my archived posts of 6/8 and 6/22 of 2011. Have a Great Summer!
Here's the reality: everyone in every occupation
starts as an apprentice. those who are good
enough become journeymen. The best become
master craftsmen. This is as true of history
professors and business executives as of chefs
and welders. Getting rid of the BA and replacing
it with evidence of competence - treating post-
secondary education as apprenticeships for every-
one - is one way to help us to recognize that
common bond.
Post-secondary education which makes you competent to work as and for what you want in life should be your goal.
Since many of you have decided to proceed on to college and it's almost time to send in that May 1 deposit, these are some things you may find of interest. An article in the Wall Street Journal of Saturday/Sunday, December 22-23, 2012 was entitled, "Playing the College Game - Soaring Costs and Confusing Aid Packages Are Making the College Selection Process Trickier Than Ever."
As part of what the author, Ruth Simon, suggests you do is:
Settle on a budget as early as possible.
Concentrate on the 'net price'.
Consider the school's graduation rate.
Focus on schools where you'll stand out.
Aim for grants, not work-study awards.
Beware of aid offers that taper off in the future.
These are all worthwhile tips and have been discussed in previous posts. There was also an article in the Wall Street Journal on March 12, 2013 entitled, "Colleges Latest Offer: Deals". Doug Belkin and Melissa Korn write about the fact that certain private schools are offering creative enticements to a dwindling number of prospective students. According to the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center the percentage of students at private four year schools dropped from 22% to 20% between 2006 and 2011. At Nebraska Wesleyan University, students who maintain a certain grade point average but don't graduate in four years will get the fifth year free. That's appealing since federal statistics show that only about 15% of students do graduate in four years. (Refer to my archived post, "The Six Year Undergrad" 3-21-12) Belkin and Korn report that, "Spring Arbor University in Michigan agreed in February to pick up a portion of the tab for future students who land low-paying jobs after graduation: that offer will apply to those working 30 hours a week and earning up to $37,000." Indeed, a recent news report said that there were 20 class action suits against law schools whose grads say misled them into thinking there were jobs when a lot of legal tasks can now be accomplished online or without a lawyer. See if any of the schools you are interested in are making deals. As with housing, some colleges see it as a buyers' market. However, I wouldn't expect too many of the Ivy's to offer discounts, even though, sadly, their reputations often far exceed their production.
In "College's Harsh Lesson", on 3-24-11, Michael Graham wrote on BostonHerald.com,
The average private school now costs more than
$40,000 a year, while the Bureau of Labor
Statistics is projecting that most of the jobs
created in the next decade won't require 'much
more than on-the-job training'. Princeton economist,
Alan Blinder, tells the Los Angeles Times he 'won't
be surprised years from now if a carpenter in
the U.S. earns more than a college-educated
computer operator.'
In the best of all possible worlds, you should know what you'd like to study before you choose the place in which to study it. On Townhall.com there was an article entitled, "2012's Worst Paying College Degrees". (11-29-2012) Not that earnings should be the only consideration. However, if you plan to get a degree in "Child and Family Studies", you should know in advance that the job for which this degree prepares people has one of the lowest median salaries for "their respective career professionals". Data is cited from the 2012-2013 College Salary Report from Payscale.com, another really good site.
This has been a tediously long post - and I'm the author! However, since many of you may soon need to reply as to your acceptance of a school's award package, I would advise you to read an article in the Weekend Investor feature of The Wall Street Journal of Saturday-Sunday, March 23-24, 2013. It's entitled "Making Sense of College Aid: Many school's financial aid letters are devilishly difficult to figure out. Here's what you need to know." Ruth Simon and Rob Barry offer some valuable tips. They highlight two great sites that may be of help before mailing in your deposit check. The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet can be found at collegecost.ed.gov/shopping_sheet.pdf. The second site is graphics.wsj.com on which you'll find an interactive tool which will help you compare packages and how schools stack up re graduate salaries, debt and other measures.
PHEW!!! I think that's quite enough for one post! I tried to fit everything in, as this is the last post of the 2012-13 school year. While I'm beginning summer vacation early - a benefit of being retired - there is much left for you high school students to do. For suggestions, refer to my archived posts of 6/8 and 6/22 of 2011. Have a Great Summer!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Necessity Necessitates Invention
In an ongoing effort to find ways to cover college costs I've come upon something called "crowdfunding". Rachel Louise Ensign wrote about it in the Weekend Investor section of The Wall Street Journal of October 20-21, 2012.
One new website, Upstart (www.upstart.com), allows
...'accredited investors' - generally, those who earned
$200,000 or more in each of the last two years, or have
a net worth of more than $1 million, not including a
primary residence...(to) loan money to a specific
recent graduate in exchange for a portion of his or
her income for the next ten years. The money can be
used for any purpose, and some of the initial graduates
have used it to help with student debt.
The service began in August and is offered at 30 schools including Stanford and the Rhode Island School of Design.
Ms. Ensign also highlights 529 plan registries such as
www.Savingforcollege.com which tracks college-savings plans, GradSave (www.gradsave.com) and Give College (www.givecollege.com). Withdrawals from 529 savings plans are usually tax free if used for appropriate education expenses. Registry users should be aware of the user fees.
There are broader "crowdfunding" sites such as GoFundMe (www.gofundme.com), which charges a 5% fee on all donations and Indie-gogo. (www.indiego.com)
Social Finance or SoFi (www.sofi.com) raises money from a college's alumni to provide or refinance loans for current students and graduates and soon Common Bond (www.commonbond.com) will offer crowdfunding loans from accredited investors for MBA students of UPenn's Wharton School.
In discussing new creative ways to pay for college, there is also something called the Private College 529 which is a non-profit group run on behalf of its member colleges rather than a state run or state sponsored plan. This program was begun in 2003 and through it a parent contributes the current rate for a specific member school's tuition and mandatory fees. The student would then receive a credit for one year's tuition and fees that is guaranteed for 30 years regardless of tuition hikes. One caveat is that the student is not guaranteed admission to that school. Indeed, in Business Insider on October 13, 2012, Gus Lubin wrote an online article, "Admissions Offices: Here's What They Don't Tell You About Getting Into an Ivy League School". In it he reveals things discovered in an interview with a former admissions officer at Dartmouth College such as:
Legacies get a 'bump' though not as much as
recruited athletes.
It's much easier to be admitted during Early
(admissions). Even though most schools tell
you it's just as competitive, it's simply not true.
Of course, this is one former admissions person from one elite college but a lot of what is related is very interesting and worth a read. If a participant in the Private College 529 is not offered admission, a refund is issued with a rate of return that may not seem terribly attractive.
With all these "new" ways of funding exorbitant college costs, it seems the only thing college administrators are not getting creative about is reducing those costs!!!
One new website, Upstart (www.upstart.com), allows
...'accredited investors' - generally, those who earned
$200,000 or more in each of the last two years, or have
a net worth of more than $1 million, not including a
primary residence...(to) loan money to a specific
recent graduate in exchange for a portion of his or
her income for the next ten years. The money can be
used for any purpose, and some of the initial graduates
have used it to help with student debt.
The service began in August and is offered at 30 schools including Stanford and the Rhode Island School of Design.
Ms. Ensign also highlights 529 plan registries such as
www.Savingforcollege.com which tracks college-savings plans, GradSave (www.gradsave.com) and Give College (www.givecollege.com). Withdrawals from 529 savings plans are usually tax free if used for appropriate education expenses. Registry users should be aware of the user fees.
There are broader "crowdfunding" sites such as GoFundMe (www.gofundme.com), which charges a 5% fee on all donations and Indie-gogo. (www.indiego.com)
Social Finance or SoFi (www.sofi.com) raises money from a college's alumni to provide or refinance loans for current students and graduates and soon Common Bond (www.commonbond.com) will offer crowdfunding loans from accredited investors for MBA students of UPenn's Wharton School.
In discussing new creative ways to pay for college, there is also something called the Private College 529 which is a non-profit group run on behalf of its member colleges rather than a state run or state sponsored plan. This program was begun in 2003 and through it a parent contributes the current rate for a specific member school's tuition and mandatory fees. The student would then receive a credit for one year's tuition and fees that is guaranteed for 30 years regardless of tuition hikes. One caveat is that the student is not guaranteed admission to that school. Indeed, in Business Insider on October 13, 2012, Gus Lubin wrote an online article, "Admissions Offices: Here's What They Don't Tell You About Getting Into an Ivy League School". In it he reveals things discovered in an interview with a former admissions officer at Dartmouth College such as:
Legacies get a 'bump' though not as much as
recruited athletes.
It's much easier to be admitted during Early
(admissions). Even though most schools tell
you it's just as competitive, it's simply not true.
Of course, this is one former admissions person from one elite college but a lot of what is related is very interesting and worth a read. If a participant in the Private College 529 is not offered admission, a refund is issued with a rate of return that may not seem terribly attractive.
With all these "new" ways of funding exorbitant college costs, it seems the only thing college administrators are not getting creative about is reducing those costs!!!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Just Say "No"?
Three years ago when I first started this blog, I wrote about a site run by the Federal Department of Education, www.college.gov. I commented at the time that, while there were many good features on the site, I wasn't on board with the heavy emphasis on college-almost to the exclusion of other post secondary training choices. I followed that post in September 2010 with one entitled, "The Scarecrow Syndrome", which is still one of my favorites. If you haven't done so already, I suggest it's worth a read. In it I propose that students examine their career choices and inclinations and investigate the best educational pathways to prepare for that field. Four year college may not be required.
Well, it seems that, perhaps due to this stubborn economic downturn, other people are re-examining the "necessity" of a baccalaureate. On November 30, 2012, The New York Times published an article by Alex Williams entitled, "Saying No to College". In it he mentions that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college. He does note that
Even the staunchest critics of college concede
that a diploma is still necessary for many
professions - law and medicine, clearly, and in
many cases, for a Fortune 500 executive, too.
But that's the point: how many more lawyers
and middle managers do we need? 'College is
training for managerial work, and the economy
doesn't need that many managers,' said Michael
Ellsberg, the author of The Education of
Millionaires: Everything You Won't Learn in
College About How to be Successful
...Last year, an anonymous academic who
called himself Professor X, published, In the
Basement of the Ivory Tower,
which argued that future police officers and
nurses need not be force-fed Shakespeare.
Some other groups that espouse this idea are:
- Enstitute which offers two-year apprenticeships with entrepreneurs in lieu of college - enstitute.com
- Zero Tuition College, an online support network for students looking for alternatives - www.ztcollege.com
- Thiel Fellowship Program, begun by Peter A. Thiel co-founder of PayPal, pays students under 20 years old 100K to pursue their ventures - www.thielfellowship.org
Dale J. Stephens is the founder of UnCollege, www.uncollege.org, which "...champions 'more meaningful' alternatives to college".
He told Alex Williams, "I think kids with a five-year head start (many students do not graduate in four years) on equally ambitious peers will be ahead in both education and income...They could go to a library, read a book a day, take courses online." Mr. Williams mentions massive open online courses - MOOCS - "which stream classes from elite universities like Princeton".
Many economists are reporting that overwhelming student loan debt will be the next subprime crisis. The statistics are staggering. As he reports
There is now $ 1 trillion ($1,000,000,000,000 - my addition -
some visual!) in outstanding student debt, with $117
billion tacked on last year alone, according to calculations
by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Tuition levels have quadrupled since the early 80's,
according to the Student Body Scholarship
Association.
Consider those numbers when you review your financial aid package!!!
Some other books mentioned in this article which you may find interesting -
Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum
40 Alternatives to College by James Altucher
Well, it seems that, perhaps due to this stubborn economic downturn, other people are re-examining the "necessity" of a baccalaureate. On November 30, 2012, The New York Times published an article by Alex Williams entitled, "Saying No to College". In it he mentions that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college. He does note that
Even the staunchest critics of college concede
that a diploma is still necessary for many
professions - law and medicine, clearly, and in
many cases, for a Fortune 500 executive, too.
But that's the point: how many more lawyers
and middle managers do we need? 'College is
training for managerial work, and the economy
doesn't need that many managers,' said Michael
Ellsberg, the author of The Education of
Millionaires: Everything You Won't Learn in
College About How to be Successful
...Last year, an anonymous academic who
called himself Professor X, published, In the
Basement of the Ivory Tower,
which argued that future police officers and
nurses need not be force-fed Shakespeare.
Some other groups that espouse this idea are:
- Enstitute which offers two-year apprenticeships with entrepreneurs in lieu of college - enstitute.com
- Zero Tuition College, an online support network for students looking for alternatives - www.ztcollege.com
- Thiel Fellowship Program, begun by Peter A. Thiel co-founder of PayPal, pays students under 20 years old 100K to pursue their ventures - www.thielfellowship.org
Dale J. Stephens is the founder of UnCollege, www.uncollege.org, which "...champions 'more meaningful' alternatives to college".
He told Alex Williams, "I think kids with a five-year head start (many students do not graduate in four years) on equally ambitious peers will be ahead in both education and income...They could go to a library, read a book a day, take courses online." Mr. Williams mentions massive open online courses - MOOCS - "which stream classes from elite universities like Princeton".
Many economists are reporting that overwhelming student loan debt will be the next subprime crisis. The statistics are staggering. As he reports
There is now $ 1 trillion ($1,000,000,000,000 - my addition -
some visual!) in outstanding student debt, with $117
billion tacked on last year alone, according to calculations
by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Tuition levels have quadrupled since the early 80's,
according to the Student Body Scholarship
Association.
Consider those numbers when you review your financial aid package!!!
Some other books mentioned in this article which you may find interesting -
Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum
40 Alternatives to College by James Altucher
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Bloated Bureaucracy - State U Costs - Part 2
In a follow-up to the article featured in my last post of 1/30/13, Scott Thurm, along with Douglas Belkin, further investigate the rising costs of tuition at public colleges and universities. In the Wall Street Journal of December 29-30, 2012, they wrote an article for the "Dean's List" feature entitled, "Hiring Spree Fattens College Bureaucracy - and Tuition". The article concentrates on the University of Minnesota and how rising administrative costs have affected its bottom line. To illustrate the burdensome effect, they report that the "school employs 353 people earning more than $200,000 a year...up 57% from the inflation-adjusted pay equivalent in 2001. Among this 200K plus group, 81 today have administrative titles, versus 39 in 2001." They relate an anecdote of how reimbursement of a professor's $12 parking fee cost $75 to move the paperwork "from a secretary to the head of his department to an accountant who entered it in a computer to a senior accountant responsible for approving it."
This Kafka-esque scenario would be humorous if it weren't so prevalent. Belkin and Thurm report that many public colleges "went on a spending spree over the past decade, paid for by a steady stream of state money and rising tuition." The U.S. Department of Education reported that the "number of employees hired by colleges and universities to manage or administer people, programs and regulations increased 50% faster than the number of instructors between 2001 and 2011." The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the cost of tuition "has risen even faster than health-care costs". But in this tight economy the stream has run dry and, speaking of healthcare, schools are also cutting back on the number of adjunct professors - the people who actually do a lot of the teaching in colleges and universities. This is in response to the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) and its mandate that employers provide health insurance to employees who work 30 hours or more. Starting in 2014, employers who don't provide healthcare will pay a penalty. (Mark Peters and Douglas Belkin, "Health Law Pinches Colleges", Wall Street Journal, Saturday-Sunday 1/19-20/13) Many schools have responded by eliminating adjunct positions or the number of classes adjuncts teach. This will only exacerbate the issues of overcrowding and class availability.
Most college advisors and guides have urged students to consider the student/teacher ratio at the schools in which they are interested. In addition, it might be wise to find out the administrator/instructor and administrator/student ratios as well.
This Kafka-esque scenario would be humorous if it weren't so prevalent. Belkin and Thurm report that many public colleges "went on a spending spree over the past decade, paid for by a steady stream of state money and rising tuition." The U.S. Department of Education reported that the "number of employees hired by colleges and universities to manage or administer people, programs and regulations increased 50% faster than the number of instructors between 2001 and 2011." The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the cost of tuition "has risen even faster than health-care costs". But in this tight economy the stream has run dry and, speaking of healthcare, schools are also cutting back on the number of adjunct professors - the people who actually do a lot of the teaching in colleges and universities. This is in response to the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) and its mandate that employers provide health insurance to employees who work 30 hours or more. Starting in 2014, employers who don't provide healthcare will pay a penalty. (Mark Peters and Douglas Belkin, "Health Law Pinches Colleges", Wall Street Journal, Saturday-Sunday 1/19-20/13) Many schools have responded by eliminating adjunct positions or the number of classes adjuncts teach. This will only exacerbate the issues of overcrowding and class availability.
Most college advisors and guides have urged students to consider the student/teacher ratio at the schools in which they are interested. In addition, it might be wise to find out the administrator/instructor and administrator/student ratios as well.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Why State Colleges and Universities Are So Costly
Last week I posted an unscheduled blog to update a synopsis of posts and resources previously published. I did this because I included links to the actual books mentioned in the posts and because many of the resources discuss summer programs. While it's still only January, it is not too early for students to consider their summer plans. It might be worthwhile to re-read the synopsis.
Now, to the topic at hand. In an article entitled, "Who Can Still Afford State U?', published in the Wall Street Journal of December 15-16, 2012, Scott Thurm writes:
For generations of Americans, public colleges and universities
offered an affordable option for earning a college degree.
Now cash strapped states across the country are cutting
funding for colleges and directing scarce resources to
primary and secondary schooling, Medicaid and prisons.
That is shifting more of the cost of higher education
to students and their families.
Indeed, Thurm reports that, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, state subsidies for students at these institutions fell 21% per student between 2000 and 2011. During that time, tuition at the two and four year public colleges rose 45%. (All figures are adjusted for inflation.) Some state figures are even greater. Over the past decade state funding for the University of California system has fallen by 25% while the University of Michigan's state funding fell by 26%.
Beyond the decrease in public funding, many of the administrative costs at these facilities have risen dramatically. Teaching loads for tenured faculty have declined at many schools which adds to the cost.
Thurm reports that, according to the Department of Education, between 2001 and 2011 the number of "managers" at public colleges and universities grew 50% faster than the number of teachers. Also, "...schools have spent liberally on fancier dorms, dining halls and gyms to compete for students". As faculty shrunk, class sizes grew. Thurm says that in the fall of 2007, 50% of undergraduate classes had 20 or more students while in 2011, 61% did and more undergraduate classes have graduate students teaching them.
At wsj.com/PriceofAdmission, you can:
Now, to the topic at hand. In an article entitled, "Who Can Still Afford State U?', published in the Wall Street Journal of December 15-16, 2012, Scott Thurm writes:
For generations of Americans, public colleges and universities
offered an affordable option for earning a college degree.
Now cash strapped states across the country are cutting
funding for colleges and directing scarce resources to
primary and secondary schooling, Medicaid and prisons.
That is shifting more of the cost of higher education
to students and their families.
Indeed, Thurm reports that, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, state subsidies for students at these institutions fell 21% per student between 2000 and 2011. During that time, tuition at the two and four year public colleges rose 45%. (All figures are adjusted for inflation.) Some state figures are even greater. Over the past decade state funding for the University of California system has fallen by 25% while the University of Michigan's state funding fell by 26%.
Beyond the decrease in public funding, many of the administrative costs at these facilities have risen dramatically. Teaching loads for tenured faculty have declined at many schools which adds to the cost.
Thurm reports that, according to the Department of Education, between 2001 and 2011 the number of "managers" at public colleges and universities grew 50% faster than the number of teachers. Also, "...schools have spent liberally on fancier dorms, dining halls and gyms to compete for students". As faculty shrunk, class sizes grew. Thurm says that in the fall of 2007, 50% of undergraduate classes had 20 or more students while in 2011, 61% did and more undergraduate classes have graduate students teaching them.
At wsj.com/PriceofAdmission, you can:
- Compare tuition increases at public colleges;
- Watch a video on why student loan debt has grown so much; and
- Watch an interview with the article's author.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Post Synopsis - Summary of Posts From October 2011 - May 2012
Every six months or so, I like to list the topics of posts I've published and briefly summarize them. In that way, you may be enticed to go back into the archives to read blogs of special interest to you. As in past synopses, this post will also include some of the websites and books mentioned.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - Declaring a Major, Early Action and Early Decision
Some thoughts on declaring a major and, as the title says, an explanation of the "Early Decision" and "Early Action" options.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - On the Job
A discussion of apprenticeships.
US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship website: www.doleta.gov/oa
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Earn While You Learn
The subject of this post was Cooperative Education, a program that integrates academic learning and practical work experience.
The World Association of Cooperative Education website: www.waceinc.org
The National Commission of Cooperative Education: www.co-op.edu
The Journal of Cooperative Education: www.ceiainc.org
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Show Me the Money!
A discussion of sources of information regarding financial aid and how to determine your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) Calculator found at: www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Show Me the Money! Part II
A continuation of the previous post.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Time Out
A break in the financial aid discussion to re-assess "why college?"
Going Broke by Degree by Richard Vedder
Crazy U by Andrew Ferguson
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - Declaring a Major, Early Action and Early Decision
Some thoughts on declaring a major and, as the title says, an explanation of the "Early Decision" and "Early Action" options.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - On the Job
A discussion of apprenticeships.
US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship website: www.doleta.gov/oa
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Earn While You Learn
The subject of this post was Cooperative Education, a program that integrates academic learning and practical work experience.
The World Association of Cooperative Education website: www.waceinc.org
The National Commission of Cooperative Education: www.co-op.edu
The Journal of Cooperative Education: www.ceiainc.org
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Show Me the Money!
A discussion of sources of information regarding financial aid and how to determine your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) Calculator found at: www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Show Me the Money! Part II
A continuation of the previous post.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Time Out
A break in the financial aid discussion to re-assess "why college?"
Going Broke by Degree by Richard Vedder
Crazy U by Andrew Ferguson
Center for College Affordability and Productivity: www.centerforcollegeaffordability.org
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - Show Me the Money - Part III
Resources that provide information on scholarships. Scholarship finders can be found at:
collegeboard.org, , www.Scholarup.net, www.scholarships.com, www.heseaa.org
Secrets to Winning a Scholarship by Mark Kantrowitz
Get Free Cash for College by Kelly Gen Tanabe
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Working the System
Strategies to maximize your financial aid package
Paying for College Without Going Broke - Princeton Review
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - The Six Year Undergraduate
Recent reports show that many students take longer than four years to receive their undergraduate degree.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - If Spring Training Is Almost Over, Can Summer Be Far Behind?
Discussion of summer programs for students
Peterson's Summer Programs for Kids
Kaplan Yale Daily News Guide to Summer Programs
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - Hurry Up and Wait!
Discussion of the likelihood of students being offered admission if they have been wait listed.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - Show Me the Money - Part III
Resources that provide information on scholarships. Scholarship finders can be found at:
collegeboard.org, , www.Scholarup.net, www.scholarships.com, www.heseaa.org
Secrets to Winning a Scholarship by Mark Kantrowitz
Get Free Cash for College by Kelly Gen Tanabe
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Working the System
Strategies to maximize your financial aid package
Paying for College Without Going Broke - Princeton Review
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - The Six Year Undergraduate
Recent reports show that many students take longer than four years to receive their undergraduate degree.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - If Spring Training Is Almost Over, Can Summer Be Far Behind?
Discussion of summer programs for students
Peterson's Summer Programs for Kids
Kaplan Yale Daily News Guide to Summer Programs
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - Hurry Up and Wait!
Discussion of the likelihood of students being offered admission if they have been wait listed.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Happy 2013!
It seems that at the beginning of each new year there is a plethora of lists naming the top 10 this or the worst ten of that from the previous calendar year. There are a few categories and "winners" that might interest you. Before we get into the lists - a word of caution. Remember the recent dust up when it was discovered that George Washington University had "misrepresented" the data as to what percentage of freshmen in fall 2011 were in the top 10% of their high school graduating classes. (The Washington Post, November 9, 2012, "Data Errors Could Mean 'Slight Change' in GWU Ranking", by Nick Anderson) As with any ranking it's important to know if the date on which the rank is based is accurate. Basura in - basura out. For you non-Spanish speakers - Garbage in (in GWU's case, inaccuracies) -garbage out.
On November 15, 2012, Colleen Kane posted "America's Deadliest Jobs 2012" on CNBC.com. The statistics were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and used to rank jobs with the highest fatal work injury rates. The number one "honor" fell to workers in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries with a rate of 24.4 fatalities per 100,000 full time workers. By comparison, the industry with the lowest fatality rate is education and health services with .8 per 100,000 workers.
On November 29, 2012, Townhall.com ran a post "2012's Worst Paying College Degrees". They used the 2012-2013 College Salary Report from a great site - Payscale.com. Payscale used data from its online salary database to produce a list of college degrees that go along with the "lowest median pay". Child and Family Studies is lowest at $37,700. Their analyst, Katie Bardaro, stated, "According to our research, people in these majors typically believe their work makes the world a better place." Townhall is blunt in response:
To translate, the people in these majors are perhaps so disconnected from
reality that they do not recognize that the reason their trades provide
so little return on their educational investment is because they really
do not require unique ability, which is why society does not
reward them with greater compensation.
The authors assert that higher education then "exploits" these individuals by having them pay nearly the same amount of money as students pay for degrees leading to careers that society values a lot more. This is a brilliant observation. It would seem to take a lot more money to build labs for biomedical students than to man a program for most social work majors, yet the tuition is basically the same, perhaps with the addition of a nominal "lab fee" for the biomed students.
Paul Toscano and Colleen Kane also use data from Payscale for their CNBC.com post of September 27, 2012, "Colleges That Bring In the Highest Paycheck 2012". They posted the top 10 highest earning schools whose grads make an average salary of $122,500 at mid-career. In contrast, the bottom 10 schools' graduates earn an average of $44,490 by mid-career. A point of interest to the "earnest" student - "...the top party school by salary potential is University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign (UIUC) with a mid-career salary of $95,900."
The Business Insider published a post by Abby Rigers and Gus Lubin on November 20, 2012 entitled, "The Most Dangerous Colleges in America". They used data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report. The ranking was based on a "combination of violent crime rank and property crime rank, with violent crime weighted four times higher". The post can be found at www.businessinsider.com.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has praised seven colleges as "best for free speech in 2012". They are: James Madison University; The College of William and Mary; University of Mississippi; Mississippi State University; University of Tennessee - Knoxville; University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania. FIRE's president, Greg Lukianoff, has written a book, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate.
On November 15, 2012, Colleen Kane posted "America's Deadliest Jobs 2012" on CNBC.com. The statistics were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and used to rank jobs with the highest fatal work injury rates. The number one "honor" fell to workers in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries with a rate of 24.4 fatalities per 100,000 full time workers. By comparison, the industry with the lowest fatality rate is education and health services with .8 per 100,000 workers.
On November 29, 2012, Townhall.com ran a post "2012's Worst Paying College Degrees". They used the 2012-2013 College Salary Report from a great site - Payscale.com. Payscale used data from its online salary database to produce a list of college degrees that go along with the "lowest median pay". Child and Family Studies is lowest at $37,700. Their analyst, Katie Bardaro, stated, "According to our research, people in these majors typically believe their work makes the world a better place." Townhall is blunt in response:
To translate, the people in these majors are perhaps so disconnected from
reality that they do not recognize that the reason their trades provide
so little return on their educational investment is because they really
do not require unique ability, which is why society does not
reward them with greater compensation.
The authors assert that higher education then "exploits" these individuals by having them pay nearly the same amount of money as students pay for degrees leading to careers that society values a lot more. This is a brilliant observation. It would seem to take a lot more money to build labs for biomedical students than to man a program for most social work majors, yet the tuition is basically the same, perhaps with the addition of a nominal "lab fee" for the biomed students.
Paul Toscano and Colleen Kane also use data from Payscale for their CNBC.com post of September 27, 2012, "Colleges That Bring In the Highest Paycheck 2012". They posted the top 10 highest earning schools whose grads make an average salary of $122,500 at mid-career. In contrast, the bottom 10 schools' graduates earn an average of $44,490 by mid-career. A point of interest to the "earnest" student - "...the top party school by salary potential is University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign (UIUC) with a mid-career salary of $95,900."
The Business Insider published a post by Abby Rigers and Gus Lubin on November 20, 2012 entitled, "The Most Dangerous Colleges in America". They used data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report. The ranking was based on a "combination of violent crime rank and property crime rank, with violent crime weighted four times higher". The post can be found at www.businessinsider.com.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has praised seven colleges as "best for free speech in 2012". They are: James Madison University; The College of William and Mary; University of Mississippi; Mississippi State University; University of Tennessee - Knoxville; University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania. FIRE's president, Greg Lukianoff, has written a book, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate.
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