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.

Declaring a Major, Early Action and Early Decision

Before I get into discussing financial aid options, there are two areas that I feel I need to address in this post to help seniors finalize their applications. Yes, "finalize".

When asked on a college application or the Common Application for a chosen major, many students do not know what to answer. The question becomes will choosing "Undecided" as your answer hurt your chances of admission? Some competitive colleges, such as New York University, are reputed to give an edge to applicants who are passionate about their chosen field of study. Declaring "undecided" does not connote passion. However, many students do not actually declare a major until their third or fourth semester sophomore year. Unless your chosen field is highly specialized, waiting may not alter your post declaration study schedule too drastically. For an informative discussion of this topic by professional college counselors and college administration professionals, go to www.unigoexpertnetwork/question9
.

Seniors also are unsure as to whether to apply for Early Decision or Early Action. The College Board states, "Early decision and early action allow you to apply early (usually in November) and get an admission decision from the college well before the usual spring notification date. You know by December or January whether you've been accepted at your first choice college." According to the Princeton Review's, The Best 373 Colleges, "Many selective colleges commit more than half of their admission spots to early decision applicants." Remember, early Decision Does bind. If accepted to the college, you must withdraw your applications to all other colleges. As the Review notes, this may make negotiating a financial aid offer difficult - more on that in a later post. Early action does not bind the applicant and you will still be notified of your status in December or January. Further information can be found at www.collegeboard.org.