Has the Steam Gone Out of STEM?

In my last post I linked to a very good site, pathwaytoscience.org.  As I mentioned then, it is a good place to find programs focusing on STEM careers - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  In this post, I would like to say more about careers in these disciplines, as many of them seem to be the ones offering the most opportunities for employment and growth.

An article on forbes.com on July 9, 2012 discusses the "desperate" need for more STEM students in America.  The author, Rodney C. Adkins, senior Vice President of Systems and Technology Group at IBM, writes that when he graduated from college, "about 40% of the world's scientists and engineers resided in the U.S.  Today (2012) that number has shrunk to about 15%."  The numbers seem not to have improved since then and the shortage appears real, even accounting for Americans working in American companies abroad.

One of the best sites for information on these fields of study is one I've written about often - careercornerstone.org.  It provides the most comprehensive information on these careers and gives numerous worthwhile links for further exploration.  If you scroll down to "Site Search/A-Z" you will find just about every STEM career listed.  I also recommend the Bureau of Labor Statistics site and their article, "STEM 101:  Intro to tomorrow's jobs."https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2014/spring/art01.pdf. On this site you can also find job growth projections through 2022.  Once you find a title you want to explore further, you can do so through the BLS site or Career Cornerstone.

A word of caution - There seems to be some disagreement as to the reality and severity of this shortage.  The AFL-CIO's Department for Professional Employees published an article in 2016 stating that the supply of STEM graduates in academic year 2011-12 was "robust".  The article shows how employment opportunities between 2005-2015 vary "dramatically by occupation" and list the areas in which employment grew most.
http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/the-stem-workforce-an-occupational-overview/

The online edition of the Los Angeles Times on August 1, 2015 ran an article which details the discrepancy between the claim of shortages of qualified employees and the actual number of STEM workers.  The article intimates that the shortage is hyped by employers who want to convince Congress to increase the number of H-1B visas which allow companies to hire highly skilled migrants, often at lower salaries.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20150802-column.html

A clearer overview of the topic can be found at talentwave.com, "The Shortage of STEM Workers in the U.S."  which states that the, "AAF (American Action Forum) found that if current trends continue, the U.S. will likely be short 1.1 million STEM workers in 2024..."
http://www.talentwave.com/the-shortage-of-stem-workers-in-the-us/

All this disagreement may seem confusing, but the reality is that there is a need for workers in certain STEM fields.  College applicants may be given an edge in the admissions process if they are interested in pursuing these careers.   This is especially true for women and minorities who are often underrepresented in these majors.  STEM degrees can lead to careers in seemingly disparate fields.  Indeed, there was a US News and World Report article on July 13, 2015 titled, "3 Challenges for Law School Applicants With STEM Degrees - A science, technology, engineering or math degree can show law schools an applicant is used to rigor, even with a relatively low G.P.A."
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/law-admissions-lowdown/2015/07/13/3-challenges-for-law-school-applicants-with-stem-degrees

SO - the moral of the story - once again - is:
Try to find something to do in life that you enjoy and at which you can actually make a living.

Additional Sites to Search

While helping some students this fall, I found a few more websites which I haven't mentioned before and that I think readers will definitely find worthwhile.  A very impressive article I found that is a real must for anyone interested in studying medicine can be found at bio.udel.edu.  Click to "Premedical or M.D./Ph.D. Programs" to find an article that details how one goes about studying to be a doctor.  This is the University of Delaware site and truly provides a service to those who wish to study medicine.  It is very clear and informative and provides many links to other valuable sites such as AMCAS, The American Medical College Application Service.


A good site along the lines of collegeboard.org, is www.collegedata.com, which provides information on specific colleges, financial aid and college matches.


colleges.startclass.com offers quick info on schools with simple and clear graphics.


Those students interested in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) can find information on programs for K-12 to post-graduate students at pathwaytoscience.org. You can browse programs by discipline or geography.


Information on scholarships can be found on collegescholarships.org


If you need help when you finally start writing those application essays, you might want to check out grammartips.homestead.com. A very good writers' handbook which I recommend is Writers Inc., which would make an invaluable, if somewhat boring, Christmas present.  Speaking of which,

                            MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY 2017!!!

NOT JUST FUN IN THE SUN 

PART TWO

I always suggest that the seniors whom I help with the college application process write their application essays during the summer.  Senior year is far too busy to think that you can really devote a lot of time and attention to so vital a part of the college application at the beginning of the fall semester.   The more competitive the college, the earlier the application deadline.  You really only have a few weeks to get it all done.  Whatever headway you can make during the summer, the easier you'll make it on yourself.  It is already August 4 and for most, school starts in a little over a month.  So here's the plan:

• You should have narrowed down your list of colleges by now.  Familiarize yourself with each school's application which can be found online.  Complete as many parts as you can now - personal information, coursework completed, activity sheets, etc.  Choose the essay topic about which you want to write and do so!
• Hopefully you've secured your recommendations.  Touch base with those from whom you plan to get letters of recommendation and let them know their deadline.  Give them copies of any forms they need to use. 
• Find out which of your college choices accept the Common Application.  The more that do, the easier your task becomes, as you only have to submit the one application.  Go to commonapp.org and complete as  many of the sections as you can.  Scroll down to the "What's (app)ening" page and then to the "Common App Ready" section.  You will find the essay prompts for 2016-17 which are the same as they were for 2015-16.  The site says that more than 800,000 students submitted the Common App in 2015  and it gives the percentage of how many students chose to write on each essay prompt.  Choosing a topic that's less frequently selected may give you points for individuality.  If many students choose a certain subject, choosing a different one may be refreshing to a bleary eyed admissions counselor who's stuck reading them!  You can also find out if your college choices have other requirements and what the deadlines are for those pieces.

As to the actual writing of the essay, there used to be an excellent free website that was very helpful - englishclub.com.  Unfortunately, it has since changed and is now largely geared to teaching English as a Second Language.  There is a site which (Surprise!) is not free which the New York Times touts as, "the world's premier college application essay editing service".  At EssayEdge.com, a Peterson's service, they offer a course that contains six lessons:

1. Tackling the Question
2. Brainstorming a Topic
3. Structure and Outline
4. Style and Tone
5. Intros and Conclusions
6. Editing and Revising

The site does offer a lot of valuable free information.  On their site map there are many articles which may be of help.  You can find a section with ideas as to how to approach each of the essay topics and samples as well.  

You have roughly four weeks to write a killer essay that will ideally help an admissions counselor envision the person behind the application.  You can actually do a lot of this while sunbathing so there are no excuses!  One important tip - read your work aloud - to yourself or someone else.  It really helps you proof read and correct your work.  (I would hope that you've learned this tip already, but they don't make us old, ahem, former English teachers like they used to!)

NOT JUST FUN IN THE SUN

I haven't published a post in quite a while but I think there are a few things that rising seniors need to remember.  Once the school year starts with its full complement of courses, many of which should be rigorous, and activities, the post secondary planning process can really suffer.  I advise that you do as much as you can during the summer to make your senior year less hectic.  Many of the ideas presented here have been covered in other posts which can be found in the blog archive.

1.  Prior to selecting colleges to which to apply, check out the physical safety of the campus and surrounding areas.  You can do this by using the website, www.neighborhoodscout.com.   (May 11, 2011)  You could and should visit the college's security department and ask questions about campus safety.   However, as employees of the college, the people with whom you speak may downplay any incidents or safety issues.  The local police department or precinct may be helpful as well but someone may not be available to meet with you when you visit.

2.  The other important issue you need to address when selecting a school is the individual intellectual freedom it affords students. (May 25, 2011)  A very good site where you can check the record of a specific school is theFIRE.org.

3.  College Campus Tours and Visits (April 27, 2011)

• Bring an unofficial transcript.
• Notify any college rep whom you may have met at a college fair, etc. of the date of your visit.
• Meet with someone in admissions and email that person after your visit and again after you have sent in your application.  Establish a relationship.
• Pick up a recent school paper during your visit.
• Bring a checklist of questions you may have.  Many examples can be found online.  One important question is, "How are dormitory accommodations and roommates decided?".  Find out if assignments after freshman year are made on a lottery or point system.  The lottery system is lazy, while the point system rewards students who work hard.

The next post will give information and ideas about writing the college application essay.  That is something that definitely can be done or at least begun during the summer.

Site Review

Quite a few readers of my blog have asked me why I don't try to publish a book with all of this information.  I think that that would be counter productive, as the information needs to be frequently updated to be current.  The uselessness of using a handbook format was brought home recently when I checked a website to which I frequently refer and was unable to access it.  A lot of formerly free sites now limit content and require paid subscriptions.  As this is the case, I decided to publish a post that lists some of the sites I like and use the most and provide information as to changes to them.  Within this post I'll only write about websites to which changes have occurred. If it's not listed here, the site is pretty much as it's been described in previous posts, notably those of Tuesday, December 14, 2010 and that of Tuesday, May 1, 2012.

• Frequent readers of my blog know how often I refer to articles in The Wall Street Journal.  Sad to say, wsj.com seems to have reserved a lot more of its content to subscribers only.  If you're not a subscriber, you often get just a brief synopsis.  Likewise, searching wsjclassroom.com takes you to a page where you can sign up for a 30 day trial.  After the trial period, you need to become a paid subscriber.
• www.college.gov, which was administered by the Federal Department of Education, has been incorporated into the new StudentAid.gov website.  Links are provided to College Navigator, the Federal Student Aid Facebook page, FAFSA on Twitter, and the Federal Student Aid YouTube channel.
• www.rcan.org/schools/links.html was a good site administered by the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ.  It provided links to multiple useful websites such as the Library of Congress, College Board, et.al.  "As of March 9, 2015, this is a new website" and no longer provides this service.
• englishclub.com was a great site where you were able to get valuable help with writing your college application essay.   Now, disappointingly, it no longer provides this assistance, as it now deals with helping people teach and learn English.  It specifically provides ESL (English as a Second Language) instruction.
• Grockit.com is still a site that provides preparation for the SAT, GRE, et.al.  However, users must pay a fee after a free 50 question trial.
• StudentAid.com was the site for a service offered for a fee by Prudential Financial through which they provided college cost and planning reports.  It's no longer available.
• www.smartmoney.com also no longer seems in effect. 

I've checked most of the other sites I've mentioned in my posts and they are still in existence and provide useful information.  Some have even gotten a lot better these past few years, notably www.unigo.com, Zinch.com and a personal favorite - careercornerstone.org.

To Waive or Not to Waive

Those of you who are using the Common Application to apply to colleges may be confused as to whether or not you must waive your right to access recommendations and other information contained in your application.  Please use the following link to view a detailed explanation of the process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-dTI2wJ_JA
As you can see, you must sign the FERPA waiver in order for your high school and teachers to release information about you to your prospective college.  However, you do not need to waive your right to access the materials and recommendations they send.

Some students feel that failure to waive that right may be frowned upon by college admissions officers - that it may imply collusion on your part regarding what your recommenders write.  If that were the case, why wouldn't the colleges suspect your grades as well.  The letter of recommendation is just that - a recommendation.  It is not an evaluation or a progress report.  Ergo, the teacher who agrees to write one has agreed to highlight your attributes, like the letters of reference of old which many travelers carried to vouch for their character in parts unknown.

If you choose to waive that right, confident in the fact that you have chosen your recommenders wisely, you should at least get a copy of the letters.  When you succeed in gaining admission to the college of your choice, you can use the letter to win an off-campus job in a town where you are most likely unknown and too new to get the backing of your current professors.  It just may make the difference as to whether you or your legion of competitors get that barista job!

Alert

I haven't posted a blog in quite a while since there was not much news to report.  How many times can I write about how cautious you need to be when choosing a college in which to invest?  This economy makes the investment all the riskier if you consider how the course of study you choose will affect your financial situation.  Will it "make you" with a well paying and rewarding career or "break you" with a seemingly insurmountable debt and little job security?  I wanted to blog today to alert you that this year's Money Magazine article on the best colleges is available and can be found online for free at the following site:

http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2014/07/money_magazine_ranks_the_top_u.html

As I have reported in the past, the study is well designed and definitely worth a look to see how graduates' salaries compare with the cost/debt at specific colleges.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Charting Your Own Course(s)

There is a fairly recent trend that is gaining traction - the Gap Year.  Unlike what you may hope, it is not a year that you spend shopping at the GAP on an unlimited gift card.  It is, "a period of time between completing high school and beginning college when a student steps outside the traditional classroom experience".  I personally knew a very wealthy man who insisted each of his four children spend a year after high school in gainful employment/exploration before he would finance their college degrees, if they decided to pursue them.  This was decades before the idea had a name or plethora of websites from which to get information and guidance.

Andrew Kelly, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute speaks about three alternatives to college in a short informative video which can be found at:
http://townhall.com/video/aei-three-alternatives-to-attending-college-n1817964  
There are many programs out there that can help a student pursue these alternatives or narrow the field as to possible career avenues.  Juniata College in Huntington, Pennsylvania has offered a more individually tailored program for years.  It is called the "Program of Emphasis" where "students are afforded the option to create their own major" and can  "explore many possibilities that would otherwise be restricted by a designated major".  While an interesting concept, it may be more beneficial to someone who already has a course of study in mind.  Plus, the annual tuition, room and board at Juniata runs upward of 40K!  There are many Gap Year Fairs much like the traditional College Fairs.  A schedule  of these events, along with links to helpful sites that give more information and insight into this growing trend, can be found at:
http://www.usagapyearfairs.org

I found a very interesting program run by UnCollege, founded by Dale Stephens, about which I've written before.  ("Just Say, 'No' "? - Wednesday, March 13, 2013).  There is a fee but also an admissions process and it appears pretty selective.  They advertise the program as follows:
   
     It's a year-long program where fellows will be learning,
     living abroad, and pursuing work that matters.  Most Gap
     Year Programs are loose conduits from high school to
     college.  Here, we teach you everything you need to know,
     from traveling to building work you care about.  We
     provide the skills, the resources, and the access.  All you
     need to do is show up, and bring your best.  We'll do the rest.

If I met the age requirement (18-28), I might apply myself!
http://www.uncollege.org/gapyear

Re-programming

                         Michelle Obama's going on:  'Everbody must have college'-
                         Why?  Why?  What is the reason why everyone has to go
                         to college?  Especially when college is so utterly
                         meaningless right now, it has no core curriculum and
                         people end up saddled with huge debts.

So opines the feminist cultural critic, Camille Paglia, in a recent interview in the Wall Street Journal.
(Saturday/Sunday, December 28-29, 2013)  She goes on to state that the widespread emphasis on college is "social snobbery on the part of a lot of upper-middle-class families who want the sticker in the window".  I'm happy to say that I share many of these views with Ms. Paglia, whom I admire, and have expressed them frequently in this blog.

As Glenn Harlan Reynolds, law professor at the University of Tennessee states in his new book, The New School:  How the Information Age Will Save American Education From Itself

                        America's higher education problem calls for both
                        wiser choices by families and better value from
                        schools.  For some students, this will mean choosing
                        a major carefully (opting for a more practical area of
                        study, like engineering over humanities), going to a
                        less expensive community college or skipping college
                        altogether to learn a trade.
 ("Degrees of Value:  Making College Pay Off", Wall Street Journal, Saturday-Sunday, January 4-5, 2014)

The community college system has, in many regions, changed its model from a freshman program of unrelated courses to a more defined program wherein students' choices are limited to courses which will lead to a specific degree.  Many times the program is designed to award certificates attesting to acquisition of employable skills along the way.  Davis Jenkins, a senior research associate with the Community College Research Center at Columbia University states, "There's more attention to making the path through education to careers clearer, because people cannot afford to spend time earning unnecessary credits."  (Wall Street Journal, Saturday-Sunday, December 14-15, 2013)
Mr. Reynolds agrees:

                       Today's emphasis on measuring college education in terms
                       of future earnings and employability may strike some as
                       philistine but most students have little choice.  When you
                       could pay your way through college by waiting tables, the
                       idea that you should 'study what interests you' was more viable
                       than it is today, when the cost of a four-year degree often
                       runs to six figures.  For an 18-year-old, investing such a sum
                       in education without a payoff makes no more sense than
                       buying a Ferrari on credit.

An interesting graphic from the Reynolds article highlights the following statistics:

71%   College graduates in the class of 2012 who had student loan debt

$29,400   Average student debt per borrower

6%  Annual increase in student debt at graduation from 2008 to 2012
       As University of Michigan economics finance professor, Mark Perry, has calculated,
       tuition for all universities, public and private, increased from 1978 to 2011
       at an annual rate of 7.45%.  By comparison, health-care costs increased
       by only 5.8% and housing, notwithstanding the bubble, increased
       at 4.3%.  Family incomes, on the other hand, barely kept up
       with the consumer-price index, which grew at an annual rate of 3.8%.
       (WSJ, January 4-5, 2014)      

41%  College graduates who say their jobs don't require a college degree     

I had contemplated not continuing my blog in 2014.  Most of my "tips" regarding career exploration and planning were posted in the first year or two. (Yes, I began this blog four years ago this August.)  Lately, I've been using my posts to draw attention to articles and books which may be of interest to students and parents looking for guidance.  If you follow the suggestions I've made in archived posts, you should be finding these things out for yourself.   Then I came upon the Paglia and Reynolds articles. They are just so worthwhile I needed to bring them to your attention and urge you to read them for yourselves.  In the future I will post when something similar occurs.  I won't be able to let you know specifics as to when that will be, as I have in the past.  I may write weekly, monthly or not at all.  I apologize for any inconvenience but I want to enjoy this experience and not make it a chore.  As I've said often, most of this can be done on your own.  I, most likely, will check in - or butt in, depending on your opinion of my posts - from time to time to keep you abreast of things.

                                                      HAPPY 2014 !

The College Application Essay, AGAIN!

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!

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.

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".

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!

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!!!

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
        

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.

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:

•      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.

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

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.

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.

Running the Real Numbers

In the Wall Street Journal  "Weekend Investor" of July 28-29, 2012, there was an article entitled, "You Paid for College How?" by Anna Maria Andriotis.  The author states that while, according to the U.S. Census, average household income fell 6% between 2006 and 2010, the annual cost at 4 year private non-profit colleges increased 14% from five years earlier.  In-state four year public college costs rose 20% in that same period!  The college cost statistics are from the College Board and all percentages were adjusted for inflation.  The figures are daunting and the article discusses ways in which families may cover college costs and the pros and cons of each strategy.  Some strategies include:  Tuition Installment Plans; Home Equity Loans; Credit Cards; Life Insurance and Loans.  The article is definitely worth a read.

What makes the task of covering college costs even more difficult is trying to find out what that cost will actually be.  Since 2011 colleges were mandated by Congress to provide a Net Price Calculator (NPC) on their online sites.  However, according to Rachel Louise Ensign in the Wall Street Journal of April 28-29, 2012, some colleges "lowball costs" by asking few questions.  "Others are splashy but potentially confusing."  In some cases, projected costs are an average of 14% less than what the student will actually wind up paying.  That's according to a study by FinAid.org which also provides an online calculator.

Some of the things to look for when judging the accuracy of a college's NPC are:
1)  Who developed the college's calculator?  those developed by the college or outside company tend to be more accurate than those using the standard template provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
2)  Does it ask more than 10 questions?
3)  Does it include questions that may help determine aid based on merit such as academic performance?
A helpful site to visit for more links and information as to how to understand and use NPC's is http://netpricecalculator.info.  NPC's that aren't  accurate and useful are mere gadgetry!

This blog will resume with a new post on January 9, 2013. 
 Blessed Thanksgiving and a very happy holiday season to all!