The Fantastic Sinking Boat - Julien Berthier

Just imagine what is going through the minds of folks who also have COLLEGE to pay for!

US News and World Report cited a rise in the number of families taking IRA withdrawals to pay for college, from 3% in 2009 to 6% in 2010. Where will these numbers be next year? Will the rate that families continue to tap their retirement accounts to pay for college start rising faster than the cost of tuition and fees? Yikes! I hope this trend will start to wane more quickly than it waxes.

The “Domino Effect” (A cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a chain of similar events) that families forget about here is that a withdrawal from certain retirement accounts will be considered Income that will be reported when the next round of financial aid is applied for – thus diminishing the opportunity for federal and institutional aid even more!

Families need to remember the old adage that you can always borrow for college, but you can never borrow for retirement. Keep your fingers out of the proverbial cookie jar and focus on finding colleges that are affordable. For parents and students concerned with a loss of “status” by going down this path, understand that being “affordable” doesn’t mean a sacrifice in quality. On the contrary, it may even make a school a better choice.

With more than two million students in the United States (so that means the international kids raise the stakes even more!) applying to college each year, the so-called Top 20 schools have their pick of the litter. Depending on how you make a list, the top 20-30 colleges in the United States only take about 20,000 – 30,000 Freshman each year… so where do the other 70,000+ students who round out the Top 5% of all high school seniors end up? Not to mention the Next 5% (another 100,000)!

The lesson here is to know your competition and your financial parameters BEFORE you start looking at schools. I have yet to find proof that “more expensive” equals “better education options.”

E-learning at Sussex

All of us have seen the tremendous growth in advertising for online degree courses recently.

And although we are focused on traditional four year college careers, we must acknowledge the growth of online learning.

Initially online courses targeted people who were already in the workforce, who wanted to beef up their resumes and enhance their qualifications.

But now, younger students are moving more and more towards e-learning, and not just with the for profit online universities. An increasing number of brick and mortar colleges are introducing online courses into their curricula.

Is there some kind of higher education evolution (or revolution) going on?

Should all students be pushed towards a four year college education?

Let’s consider a different model…

In the traditional British system, high school students would take a series of exams around the age of fifteen. Depending on the results a student would leave high school to go to a vocational school, into an apprenticeship, or straight into the workforce.

Apprenticeships are also a common occurrence in other European countries.

The students with a higher academic performance would return to high school for another two years, after which they would again take higher level exams.

Based on the performance, the students would go on to college or they would enter the workforce (often as a trainee for management or specialized skills).

So there existed a natural filtering process, which might not be perfect in many ways, but allowed the non-academics to move out of the school system and pursue a career.

Is a similar system evolving naturally in the USA?

At a certain point, it seems that it became a general expectation that all American children should go to college to obtain a four year degree or higher.

With the rising cost of college tuition, combined with the cutbacks in funding for state schools, the burgeoning educational debt, and the shift in skills required in the evolving marketplace, are students and parents reevaluating their priorities?

Online degree advertising stresses the concept of convenience, and often promotes from a platform of “grants and scholarships”, and typically leads potential students to “for profit” institutions.

We will not review any online college courses here, but let’s highlight some of the major factors you and your student should take into consideration:

• Online universities are typically “for profit” ventures. This is not a criticism per se, but remember the motto “buyer beware”, and check out comments/complaints
• Is your student academically motivated or more inclined towards learning a specialized skill?
• If it is a vocational course, do businesses recognize the degree for hiring purposes?
• Are the courses accredited? Unaccredited courses and degrees are typically not recognized by employers or other colleges.
• Are there any (positive or negative) reviews about the quality of the course content or the responsiveness of the teachers?

Even if you are able to address these and other issues, there is still the question about the student’s academic goals and learning style. Some people just need to work in a classroom environment. Staying at home and studying online might just bore them to tears.

Also, the departure to college is a major milestone in the life of the family, with the beginnings of independence, responsibility and new socialization in addition to the academic career.

The family discussion concerning vocational rather than academic learning is certainly a valid one, especially in light of the constant inflation of tuition costs. We should expect the growth of online learning opportunities to continue with, hopefully, increasing quality. A sign of solid progress is that an increasing number of brick and mortar schools are implementing online courses.

The issues of quality, accreditation, and testing capabilities of online universities still need to be properly addressed and resolved. We recommend that the more academically inclined student stay with the traditional brick and mortar four year college experience, or find a community college that provide transferable credits.

The old chestnut, “Failing to plan is planning to fail” could not be more appropriate, along with “Buyer beware!“.

Where are you really going?

Let’s start with a well known factoid:

Seven seconds is the average length of time you have to make a first impression when you meet a person for the first time.

Seven seconds means fewer than ten heartbeats

If the first impression you make is not good, getting a second chance is pretty much the same as that snowball in the hot place.

Now let’s imagine sitting at the desk of a college admissions officer, where there are piles and piles (you know, like thousands) of applications from students “just like you.” Except you hope to be better (or luckier).

The admissions officer is a human, not a robot. If your application is sloppy, not well put together, and does not convey a sense of purpose, how do you think he or she will respond to it?

It might take a bit longer than seven seconds, but “yup” a big thumbs down unless you look like a future Nobel laureate.

And this applies even if you have slid in a slick supplemental video.

So let’s figure out what a strong application looks like:

Academics

If your test scores don’t match up well with the middle 50% of students typically admitted, you are already struggling. Some competitive places don’t even look at apps if the SAT is under 1700.

Beware of “Test Optional”

Just because a college moves to test optional applications, it doesn’t mean you can slide in on the back of a cute video.

It really means that your GPA, your extra curricular activities and your references now need to be top notch all the way through your senior year.

Community stuff and other activities

If you’ve really done it, make sure you have good letters of recommendation. Nice words from another person (especially someone with authority) count a lot more than your own.

If what you have done doesn’t mesh too tightly with what you want to do in college, don’t worry. Schools want people who participate (in good things, of course). If it’s positive, it adds value.

Obviously, if you are actively building for the future, it’s a good deal too.

If you haven’t really participated in anything, don’t try to make it up. These guys have finely tuned BS detector noses.

The Essay – Almost Everybody’s Bogeyman

If you don’t have the creative juices to just sit down and bang out five hundred words or so that will show you as a star candidate, don’t panic.

You are in good company. Most of us are in the same boat.

Here are some basics:

• Start planning your essay now (whenever “now” is)
• Be honest
• Be concise – Long-winded stuff is boring
• Be positive about yourself, but don’t boast
• Don’t repeat yourself
• Think about what you can contribute and what you will take away
• And don’t just suck up to your candidate school

What About Videos?

Supplemental videos are becoming quite the rage in college applications.

Yes, they are glossy, exciting, and all about today’s culture.

But the basics still apply. And it might be even more difficult to be original as time goes on. A flying elephant and “math dances” have already been done.

You can see the elephant at the end of this article.

So plan out your video with the same approach as with your essay.

And a bad video that shows up on YouTube as well as your college application is not going to further your cause.

So put your ego aside and have people review it objectively before you take the plunge and submit it.

And here’s that flying elephant we promised.

Where is the real money?

Campus Based Merit Scholarships

Your family’s EFC may equal or exceed the Total Cost of Attendance at some or all colleges you are considering.  Does this mean you will be paying full cost?  Not necessarily!

If your student is a top performer academically, one of the strategies to employ to combat the high EFC is to identify colleges that award merit scholarships.  As in the case with need-based aid, to maximize the potential for merit money, the student must be looking for colleges where (1) merit scholarships are offered, and (2) he/she will be in at least the top 25% of applicants and preferably the top 10% of a college’s applicant pool.

Merit awards can range from a few thousand dollars per year to full tuition scholarships depending on the college and the student’s credentials.

Note:  Although merit awards do not require repayment, they do have strings attached.  These strings usually revolve around the student maintaining a specific minimum GPA while enrolled in college, so the responsibility for maintaining the award is performance.  Pure merit awards are unrelated to family financial circumstances. Some colleges do, however “blend” need and merit based money.

PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIPS

If you receive a direct mail solicitation to engage in a search for private scholarships, be wary.  Although there are a few reputable companies conducting data base searches for private scholarships, most of these companies provide little or nothing for the money they ask you to spend.  You can conduct a search for private scholarships – FREE – if you are willing to invest a little (and we mean A LITTLE time).  We advise you not to get bogged down looking for scholarships in the private sector, other than what will be available in your local community next spring.

Recommended Strategies:

Contact the Guidance Office at your school.  Most keep a list of local community scholarships for which you can apply during your senior year.  Pay attention to the deadlines.  They are non-negotiable.

Contact a state student loan guarantor.  In Vermont, and for the NH upper valley, this is Vermont Student Assistance Corporation.  VSAC will have you complete a form and they will search the College Board data base of private scholarships – FREE.

Conduct a scholarship search on the Internet – FREE.  There are a number of places that offer this service at no charge to you.  Start with fastweb.com and you’ll find plenty.

Spend no more than 6-8 hours on this process.

Remember – there will be over 2,000,000 students applying to college this year, and most of them are looking for private scholarships, too.  The number of applications these national scholarship providers receive is staggering?  The chances for success are between slim and none in the national private sector, and slim usually leaves town early.  Be sure to start investigating these programs early in the junior year of high school and be prepared for a multi-layered competition that could take over a year.

A BETTER Strategy: Stay local.  Don’t waste a lot of time.  Get the information and applications from your guidance office.  Don’t get your expectation level too high.  However, if you are to be awarded some private money, the local civic and charitable groups are most likely to be your benefactors.  Don’t ignore them.  Also keep in mind you will be obligated to notify colleges offering you financial aid if you are awarded money from these local scholarships.  The college in turn may adjust the amount they awarded you to keep the total aid within your calculated need.  The total dollar amounts may seem modest, but everything helps.

BEST STRATEGY: Give high priority to colleges offering MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS.  This means paying very careful attention to your college search and the essential attributes of those colleges and universities on your refined and final list. Focus more time getting the details about these awards than you do on the private sector awards, and you will be way ahead of the game.

The college-based merit awards are usually higher, they are renewable from year to year, and the probability of receiving a merit award, especially from a college where you fit the top 10-20% profile of the admitted students is much higher than your chances with third party scholarships.

Keep in mind these funds are not portable.  In other words, should you decide to change colleges, you cannot take your merit scholarship with you and  comparable money for transfer students (at your new school) will be extremely limited.  Give your college search serious thought. Do not commit to a college light-heartedly. The ultimate costs could be in the tens of thousands of dollars should you decide to transfer.

Are you the one being marketed to? Or are you smart enough to know when to dig in and look past the glossy material to discover what’s really going on behind the scenes? In other words, are the “giver” or the “taker” of information?

This cartoon (published by Randall Munroe, http://xkcd.com/773/) shows the obvious disconnect college marketing teams are facing when it comes to presenting what the prospective student (and family) really want to read about.

College Marketing versus Student Needs and Wants

Mark Twain said, “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” This statement could easily correlate to people who are inundated by the “expert” opinions from colleges, friends, families, counselors, etc. that are being “pushed” on them, and then they complain when they don’t get the advertised results since they didn’t do their own “homework” to discover what is real and what actually pertains to them.

Take the time to research, read, and talk to the people that will matter when you go to college – the professors, students who are already enrolled, career center and academic advisers, most of all, yourself. After all, you are the student who will be on campus for the next four years. You need to know what you’re getting yourself into and what you want to get out of the experience.

Of course, Twain also said, “Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” How’s that for marketing vegetables?

When it comes to academic success at the collegiate level, there is one skill more than any other that separates the “A” students from the “C” students: the ability to handle complex reading.

The problem is, too many are waiting until they are college freshmen to attempt to learn how to do this. The time to learn it is in high school, and alarmingly, most states do not require complex reading comprehension instruction at the high school level nor do they have any standards for high school reading achievement (according to an Associated Press report of a study from ACT, the nonprofit company that publishes one of the two tests required for college entrance). Instead, reading is considered a subject for elementary school and is rarely taught in later grades.

What makes an article or book complex to read? Complex reading is characterized by an elaborate organization where the messages are often implicit rather than overt. The interaction between ideas or characters may be subtle instead of obvious.

Most of all, the vocabulary is demanding and intricate.

How many college-bound high school students can read complex works? Of the 1.2 million high school seniors who took the ACT in 2005, only 51 percent scored high enough to show they were ready to handle first year college-level reading requirements. This is a concern not only to colleges, but also to employers. In 2009, the number increased only 2% to 53%. Take a look at the breakdown here: CollegeReadinessBenchmarksbySubject

What can be done? These aren’t easy solutions, but the ACT insists that high school reading standards must be revised in core subjects, and struggling readers need to get help earlier in their education. Also, more teachers need to be trained in how to teach reading within their subject matter. That is, a chemistry teacher must also learn to teach reading as it relates to science.

Here’s a link to helping develop strong readers beyond the third grade.

So, what’s the most important factor that enhances GPA, Test Scores, Extracurriculars, How “wonderful” your boy or girl is? READING! Read, read, and read some more!

It is essential that from grades K-12, students work to build strong reading comprehension skills early and often (just like voting… HA!) in order to prepare for a successful college and work career later in life.

What does student diversity mean to you?

Do you think colleges and universities feel the same way about diversity on campus?

Living on the East Coast, I had never heard of the group called the Future Farmers of America. Might members of that club help add to the “diversity” of the student body at most colleges? Apparently, some colleges consider that “type” of diversity to be too far out of their (political) spectrum to be admitted to their elite, “diverse” institution.

Institutions of higher learning are generally looking (or at least make the claim), to create a heterogeneous study body to enlighten each other by mixing many minds to produce many voices.

Of course, the reality is far from the hype.

In his essay published in the July 12, 2010 edition of Minding the Campus, Dr. Russell Niely writes that, “in practice ‘diversity’ on campus is largely a code word for the presence of a substantial proportion of those in the “underrepresented” racial minority groups.” Niely refers to new study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade and his colleague Alexandria Radford in writing his essay on how diversity punishes students of certain backgrounds more than others. Take a moment to read his interesting commentary.

I joke about it today but even though my grades and test scores from high school fit the range of the school I applied and was accepted to, I believe I was accepted on “let’s take a kid from Vermont” day when the admissions office was looking to fill some “rural” seats in the freshman class.

If there is only one thing that you take away from this post, it is that you need to understand that college admission is not about you (or your student), but rather about “them” (the particular college or university you’re considering applying to).

If you don’t “fit” what they’re looking for, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. Or worse, you get in, but then don’t get enough financial assistance to make it through all four years and become saddled with an insurmountable amount of student debt.

What a terrible way to start off your young life!

When beginning your college search, find schools that are open to giving you an opportunity to build on your competence and intelligence so that you will become successful in whatever you ultimately decide to do… rather than those entities that demand a certain type of credential before allowing a person to progress.

How would you pronounce the object in the photo? With an emphasis on the “UM” or the “BRELLA?”

UM-brella, or um-BRELLA?

I used to think there was only one way. Growing up in Vermont; it was “um-BRELLA.”

Where I went to college, people emphasized the first syllable instead.
I realized that by traveling a little more than a thousand miles from where I grew up, I could find more diversity than by traveling a much shorter distance across the Canadian border to the French-speaking province of Quebec!

I learned about people, politics, geography, the change of seasons, and most of all, myself.

1861-1865 – What does this time in history mean to you?

People across this great nation of ours are at the same time, both very similar and very different from one another. Certain preconceived notions are found in various parts of society in each state of union and I was fortunate enough to experience a variety of them by living in a different part of the country for four years. For example, I had been taught that the war between the states in the 1860′s was called the Civil War. I discovered that others had been informed that it was the War of Northern Aggression. Amazing how different those terms are, that describe the same event.

We all have seen the red and blue of the political maps on television during election season and can see that the two colors present themselves more brightly than the other, in certain areas of the country. Meeting the people that truly believed in a different point of view than mine was a fascinating dose of reality. It made me review and understand my own views with more conviction, and even open my eyes to a point of view opposite of mine.

The mountains of my home state became rolling hills and open valleys as I drove the 20 hours it took to get to school. It was amazing to see the changes in the scenery as I went off to college.

Going to Football Games

I expected the fall to resemble the crisp, dark days of New England after the leaves had fallen and the local football team was on the gridiron. Instead, I found that attending the college games were nothing like anything I had ever experienced. The men wore coat and tie women wore dresses – “Bizzaro World” for a kid from New England who was used to seeing everyone dressed in sweatshirts, jeans, boots, hats and gloves for the games! It was great to go through winter without a single snow flake sticking to the ground! Discovering the trees, plants, and flowers in bloom in March instead of June, was a real treat!

Best of all, spending time away from the community I grew up in, really helped me mature and learn about myself in an environment that did not confine my learning experiences to the boundaries of my youth. My point is that this is the time in a young person’s life to get out, explore, and really push oneself to break free from your comfort zone!

The Worst College Visit Ever!

“I hated that school,” were the first words that came out of my client’s mouth when I enthusiastically asked her about her recent college visit.

As an independent college counselor, I spend a lot of time coaching high school students on how to have a fun and productive experience on a college campus.

Strangely enough, many colleges do all the wrong things to have a student’s visit be a complete turn-off.  Here is what to do to achieve that result:

1. Make sure that there is no human contact when setting up a visit and/or interview.  Have it be all done on-line with no further communication from the college in terms of confirmation, information about where the admissions office is, where to park, and directions on how to find one’s way around the campus.
2. Make sure that there is no welcome when the family arrives at the admissions office.  Have the secretary be too preoccupied to take the time to be gracious. It’s especially effective if the visitors have the impression that they were unexpected.
3. At the orientation session, make sure that the message is, “This is a very prestigious college, and you’ll be lucky to get in.”  Paint a picture of the typical student as the quintessential overachiever who is so perfect that students in attendance are in awe of their own inadequacies.
4. Don’t have any process for selecting tour guides.  Anyone who qualifies for work study will do.  Guides who are especially uninformed about academic programs, activities, and life on campus are perfect.  Guides who are sarcastic, pretentious, or who have no personality or sense of humor are ideal.
5. As prospective students walk around the campus with their parents, have everyone ignore them.  Don’t smile, nod, or even say, “Hello” (gasp!).
6. When touring the dorms, make sure the tour guide doesn’t have a key to the “showcase dorm room.”  Instead have her offer to show the group her room, complete with hung-over boyfriend in her bed.  This actually happened, much to the delight and surprise of the prospective student’s mother.
7. When touring the dorms, have there be beer flowing down the stairs and empties overflowing trash bins on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning.  Hey, a mid-week party breaks up the monotony of studying!
8. Have the campus look tired and uncared for.  Buildings should be showing signs of wear and be unclean. Outdoor clusters of cigarette butts add a special touch.
9. If a student asks to visit a class, be sure it’s one where the professor is boring and the students are apathetic.
10. Let there be no further contact with the student from the college.  There are so many students who are interested, there just isn’t enough time to stay in touch or encourage them to apply.

An article for families of rising high school juniors and seniors.

How to understand financial aid

What to do when you aren’t eligible for Financial Aid?

I just saved $300 on my car insurance!

Well, not really. I haven’t had that euphoric feeling recently, but I know there are some families who have been shouting for joy in recent weeks, due to the fact that they understood the financial aid process at the higher education institutions in the United States, BEFORE their student was applying.

Their excitement doesn’t come from a savings of ”$300″ but rather from a number that could be closer to $100,000!

Yes, you read that right.

Families that have students heading off to college this coming fall, which prepared a GAMEPlan for their college search, are finding success and happiness in knowing that over the next four years, they will have a financially sound ability to continue to live within their financial parameters. A financial plan that they chose for themselves. Not what the schools have imposed upon them.

High School Juniors (soon to be seniors) – Know this… your “base year” for financial aid began five months ago. You are smack in the middle of what the colleges will see when you apply for financial aid in January 2011. Take advantage of this knowledge and prepare yourselves and your families for the inevitable “sticker shock” that will occur when the acceptance letters and financial aid awards start pouring in next spring.

NOW is the time to start planning for YOUR college success plan. It is important to consider the Money Factor, competitiveness of the Admission process, and the Family Priorities when putting together your college search GAME Plan.

Other material to read: Financial Aid 101: How to Get More.

While this article contains some good information on both short and long-term strategies for saving and paying for college, the underlying point that needs to be repeated over and over is that waiting to figure out how to pay for college AFTER your student has been accepted is WAY TOO LATE! Get yourself prepared and educated on the process when your high school student is finishing up sophomore year! By the time your student is a junior, you’re already “IN” the financial aid “base year.” You’ll thank yourself later!