Archive for October, 2009
I’ve always had a love affair with designer clothes, bags, and shoes. And although that may not always be the best thing for my wallet, I can’t help but enjoy fabulous finds and purchases. But I recently realized that my love doesn’t stop there. Apparently, I have very expensive taste when it comes to selecting universities. This I found out for a fact (as if I couldn’t already guess) when I came upon CampusGrotto’s list of the Top 100 Most Expensive Colleges, just last week.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a snob. In fact, I don’t pick designer items based on their price or label. It’s actually more about the content — I try to never judge a book by its cover. So, then, how did I end up at number 2 and number 3 on this expensive list for undergrad and grad school, respectively? Let me tell you a bit about the journey to my college decision.
Twelve. That’s the official number of applications I filled out before I officially decided to attend New York University. And that number was one that I narrowed down from 22. I clearly was unsure of where I’d want to spend the next four years of my life, but when I finally visited the campus as an admitted student, I decided that NYU was the place for me.
And, after graduating and working full-time for two-and-a-half years, it was time to move on to grad school. But this time, I only filled out one application. You see, I decided a little late that I wanted to go to school again and I found a program that would be perfect for me. After being in contact with the admissions committee (and very persistent, I might add), I was admitted into the program of my choice at The George Washington University. I started my graduate education just this Fall and am certainly realizing that the cost is rather high.
Yet, I do not regret this one bit (at the present time, anyway). I know that I am investing in something that will further my education and move me on to the next chapter in my life. It’s important to see what you can afford, but it is also important to look at the reward of completing your education. For me, working was a good idea to experience before pursuing my master’s degree because I was able to put some money away to further my education.
I may not be able to purchase all I want these days, but I am pursuing a somewhat brand name education so that one day maybe I’ll be able to afford my dream pair of Christian Louboutins or Manolo Blahniks!
-Amanda Fornecker
October 28th, 2009
Halloween is coming up in a few short days, and with the box-office battle between Paranormal Activity and Saw VI, there’s no shortage of chills and thrills in sight. So imagine my surprise when I found that the real terror comes from the seemingly tame College Board and its college cost calculator.
WARNING! THE INFORMATION BELOW IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. 
Here’s how the calculator works. Let’s say you are gearing up to go to a private college in two years. Plug in the average cost of tuition for a public or private college, along with the rate of inflation, how many years you plan to attend the school, the percent of tuition you will finance from your savings, and how many years you have before you enroll. Then click “calculate.” Try not to scream.
We already know that college tuition costs are climbing, but when you are faced with actual numbers, it can be downright frightening. A friend of mine recently had a baby, and just for kicks, I decided to find out what kind of tuition bill that tiny little newborn would face 18 years from now. The future cost is close to $90,000 a year at a private institution. Creepy.
Try it yourself . . . if you dare.
I hear that the producers of Paranormal Activity are already planning a sequel, but really, they could save the time and trouble by just directing viewers to the College Board’s calculator. Seriously—there’s a reason they call it sticker shock.
The good news is that students rarely pay the full price colleges demand. Scholarships, grants, and loans all help to make the finances more manageable. And just as the oblivious people in horror movies are not alone in their homes, you’re not alone in your struggle to fund your college degree.
College finances giving you nightmares? The CollegeBound Network can help you figure it all out.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 27th, 2009
Shakira is one of The CollegeBound Network’s favorite celebrities, and not just because we hear that her upcoming CD She Wolf is muy caliente.
We already knew that Shakira enrolled in a history class at UCLA during a break from her 2007 Oral Fixation tour, but the story of the Colombian singing sensation’s stint on campus is resurfacing in the press now that her new CD drops next month. Some might call it old news, but we call it awesome any time a celebrity goes back to school instead of using their downtime to rack up DUIs or cavort with other people’s spouses. (Allegedly).
When Shakira was at UCLA, she claims that she threw her hair back in a hat, went by her middle name Isabel, and wasn’t recognized by anyone. The class must have been really interesting, because I find it hard to believe that Shakira wouldn’t have turned heads, even when incognito.
Sigh. Why can’t more celebrities be like Shakira and use their free time in a productive way?
–Barbara Bellesi
October 26th, 2009
If you are in the midst of a college search, you’ve probably got about a half million facts and figures running through your head. Some people might be founts of information when it comes to sports stats, but you instead are able to recite on command a host of enrollment figures, average SAT scores, and admission rates.
One figure that you might have come across in your careful research is the student-faculty ratio. A very important figure on any campus and a source of pride for many colleges and universities, the student-faculty ratio is a good indicator of what your academic life will be life at the school of your choice—that is, if you know how to look at it correctly.
The student-faculty ratio should not be confused with class size, but unfortunately, many students do just that. Rather, a student-faculty ratio is an equation of how many students are on campus in relation to how many faculty members there are at a given time. For example, if a college says that they have a 12-1 student-faculty ratio, this means that for every 12 students on campus, there is currently one faculty member. However, this does NOT mean that all of your classes will have 12 students in them. Large universities that boast low student-faculty ratios are particularly confusing, since chances are good that you will walk into a lecture hall for an intro class and be greeted by a hundred other students.
There’s no doubt that a low student-faculty ratio is desirable. A low ratio means that a college or university is working diligently to ensure that there is enough faculty on hand to teach both required courses and higher-level electives in their programs and that class size, particularly as you get further into your major, is kept at a minimum.
But again, the ratio can be misleading. Colleges often count part-time adjuncts into the mix, and at many colleges, adjuncts comprise a large number—if not the majority–of the faculty. This is nothing against part-time faculty, of course, but when you research a college, it’s important to remember to consider how many tenured faculty are on campus. Since adjuncts are often paid meager salaries and are not eligible for tenure, colleges look to them to fill in the gaps for low-level classes, leaving the published and more experienced profs to teach the upper-level curriculum.
However misleading, the student-faculty ratio is still the best figure for quantifying academic life, as average class size can be even more confusing. After all, it is possible to be one of 200 in a lecture hall and then one of only 10 in an advanced seminar; between these two numbers, the average class size is 105, which is not true!
While schools large and small like to flaunt their low student-faculty ratios, beware of the schools that don’t make this info readily available—it could mean a high ratio. While a high student-faculty ratio isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, it is something that should weigh in on your decision, since this could mean a shortage of classes each semester or, worst-case scenario, a possible termination of smaller, less popular academic programs.
Learning about a school’s facts and figures are a great way to get a snapshot of what campus life is like, but—and we know you’ve heard this before—there’s nothing better than seeing it for yourself. When you call to schedule a campus visit, ask about sitting in on a freshmen class to see what it’s like for yourself before you make your final college decision.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 26th, 2009
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, a former University of Tennessee president, is bringing the idea of three-year degrees back into the news with this week’s column in Newsweek.
As a parent of a 3-year-old, I’m already dreading how much it’s going to cost to send my son to college and applaud any plan to cut those expenses, which will continue to escalate. From a financial standpoint, the idea of three-year degrees, which a College Bound previously pointed out is already offered by some schools, has some merit.
But one benefit of the four-year degree is that it benefits self-starters and highly focused students as well as those who are lacking direction during their first couple of years in college.
Some students are able to gain duel degrees or even start working on post-graduate work with the four-year scenario, allowing them to squeeze every drop out of their college career. Others arrive from high school unsure of a career focus and it takes time for them to determine their major or to develop a passion in a particular area.
Packing a college education into three years also could hinder opportunities to study abroad, and some schools have significantly increased those programs in the past decade. I’ve seen students travel around the world, to destinations as varied as England, China, Italy, and Antarctica, and come back not only with new relationships, but also a more worldly view that aids them in their studies and career paths.
Most students I know already don’t pursue internships until between their junior and senior years, and the possibility of losing out on those opportunities could be harmful upon graduation in the form of closed job doors. Those experiences are crucial, I believe, to getting hired and being competent to handle the first year in a career.
Alexander advocates steps such as making summer classes mandatory as ways that would enable students to graduate earlier. As I see college students stress about their weekly load of tests and projects, I fear that being forced to go to school year-round could lead to burnout. They need those breaks, even though as a working professional, I’m envious about those long naps and the possibility of even just a week of nothing to do but watch movies or read.
The three-year degree’s financial benefits are obvious, but to reach to that point, more would need to be done, starting as early as the middle school and high school level. The main question is how to get students focused on their careers earlier so that they enjoy a fun but knowledge-filled college education that sets them on a professional path earlier than their parents, siblings and bosses.
–Lori Johnston
October 22nd, 2009
I was surprised the other day to see a college student I know pull out a stack of index cards and flip through them while studying for a big test. She and her friends constantly text and communicate via Facebook, but when it comes to taking notes and marking important passages in a textbook, they seem to turn to traditional paper instead of technology.
That observation fits with what The Associated Press reported when Amazon.com gave university students Kindle devices this fall. The Kindles, which had been uploaded with digital textbooks –pricier than books –were tested by more than 200 college students.
Some students reported problems typing notes using the small keys. Although there’s the ability to highlight passages or bookmark pages, some students told the AP that they had trouble sorting through the many bookmarks.
One positive: Students said the portable Kindle allowed them to study more often.
If you are pursuing a career in technology, your future could involve creating tech-savvy tools that assist students in learning and studying.
Some of my friends in college or who work at colleges say the drawbacks are the lack of color and difficulty with graphics or reading PDF documents that professors may provide students. They and the students interviewed by the AP also said they didn’t want to lose the ability to scribble notes in margins.
In an electronic world, index cards and notebooks still have a place – for now.
–Lori Johnston
October 21st, 2009
Car companies slash prices. Clothing designers offer discounts. Restaurants offer two-for-one deals. It seems that when it comes to spending your hard-earned money, there are a lot of deals out there to help you save more.
Except, of course, when it comes to college.
Here’s something you’ll never see: Bachelor’s Degree ½ off! Or: Buy A Degree and Get a Master’s for Free! In fact, colleges are doing the exact opposite of slashing prices—they keep on raising them. And because students recognize the value of a college education, they’ll pay the price—however high it might go.
The Washington Post reported today that public universities raised their fees by 6.5 percent and private schools upped theirs by 4.4 percent. Granted, colleges are allowed to accommodate for inflation, and a degree from a public college is still a great bargain at twice the price, but that doesn’t do anything to eliminate the sting of these increases.
Unless you’ve got the cash in the bank to cover your whole college bill in the first place, students rarely pay tuition in its entirety. Scholarships, grants, and other financial awards do their part to chip away at the monstrous debt, but most students have resigned themselves to the fact that they will have monthly loan payments for years after graduation.
Aside from winning the lottery or being adopted by Madonna, there’s not much else you can do to avoid the cost of higher ed. Some schools are taking pity on their students and are introducing three-year degree options, but others, like Harvard, will always have a mile-long wait list no matter how high the price goes—and it will continue to go higher.
Has the rising price of college made you rethink your academic goals? Let us know.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 20th, 2009
Good news for those of you looking to become a teacher in the next few years: the Department of Education will be looking to hire an estimated 1.7 million new educators by the year 2017.
It’s nice to see encouraging employment numbers in the midst of a recession, isn’t it?
What is less encouraging is the reason for the teacher shortage. Not only are baby boomers retiring from the classroom in droves, but new teachers are also being driven away from the profession by low salaries. There’s no doubt that when it come to professional careers, teachers are at the lower end of the payscale, but ask any veteran teacher why they continue, and they’ll tell you that their interaction with the students is what keeps them coming back year after year despite a paltry paycheck.
A new website, MyTeacherMyHero, has been launched to honor teachers for a job tremendously well done and to educate those who are thinking of becoming teachers. The site features videos of individuals expressing their thanks for a special teacher who has been an inspiration in their lives. MyTeacherMyHero is sponsored by MAT@USC, the very first Master of Arts in Teaching program that is solely online and is offered through the prestigious University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Anyone can upload a video, but the first round of videos features some pretty big names from various industries. Craig Newmark, the brains behind Craigslist, is one video to check out, as well as the ones starring musician Sean Paul, HBO President Sue Naegle, and Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford.
I’m thinking of posting a video message for my all-time favorite English teacher, Eileen Finn. While she couldn’t possibly predict when she taught me in 7th grade that I’d be a blogger, she did encourage my writing, and for that, I’m very thankful.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 19th, 2009
Students could be getting the shaft in health care reform.
The bill approved earlier this week by the Senate Finance Committee has some people, including the American College Health Association, worried that it leaves out college-sponsored student health insurance plans. The ACHA says the bill’s language is unclear and ambiguous about how the college-sponsored plans should be treated.
The group has asked Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the committee’s chairman, to make clear that nothing in the proposed legislation is intended to preclude or inhibit the continuance of those student health insurance plans and that colleges will retain the ability to mandate comprehensive coverage levels for their students.
If not, it says 9 million college students could be impacted.
Some college students I know are dealing with the swine flu, seasonal flu, or other illnesses that threaten to keep them away from classes or add to the stress of writing papers and studying for exams. Some experiencing sickness at school for the first time have the extra frustration of figuring out if they have insurance, what it covers, and where they can seek treatment.
While we wait to see what happens with health care reform and the impact on students, go ahead and investigate what your insurance situation is like now, or what you may need to do if entering college next year.
• Check if your school offers insurance plans for students at subsidized rates. Data shows that 71 percent of four-year private schools and 82 percent of four-year public institutions offer student insurance plans, according to a March 2008 Government Accountability Office report. You may already be paying for insurance, but take a look at the plan before you seek treatment from a doctor that may not be covered and incur a big expense. Those plans typically cover treatment at a university health center.
• Ask if you are covered as a dependent under your parents’ health plan.
You may have certain requirements to fulfill, in terms of credit hours. And the plan may not cover certain physicians in the town in which you are attending school.
• See if your employer offers health insurance. This could depend on the number of hours you work or your time on the job, but it could be a smart option to get affordable coverage.
College and university students comprise about 10-12 percent of the nation’s 45.7 million uninsured U.S. residents, according to a report by Aetna Student Health using GAO data. About 37 percent of uninsured young adults were carrying medical debt, as of 2007 data.
There’s enough financial pressure during college to have to worry about mammoth doctor’s and hospital bills as well. We’ll have to see what changes health care reform brings about, but there are ways to pursue getting coverage until then.
–Lori Johnston
October 15th, 2009
There are some pretty unusual college clubs and organizations out there, but this one happens to be deserving of its own blog post.
Drum roll, please.
The Nap Club at Indiana University was started in 2007 by Michael Duttlinger and Joe Spencer, and frankly, I’m not sure why every college and university in America hasn’t started their own chapter. (A quick Google search tells me that Indiana U. is the only school to have a nap club, or at least an official one.)
The Nap Club is held daily in a darkened room equipped with desks, chairs, and even a few air mattresses. You have to bring your own pillow and blankie, but there is a moderator to wake you up after a while, as well as make sure no one draws on your face with a marker while you snooze
.
Studies have shown that naps increase alertness and productivity, which is good news for sleepy college students. It would be interesting to see how the Nap Club members fare after graduation. If Indiana University starts to produce an unusual number of Nobel Prize winners by way of the Nap Club, then perhaps it should think about making napping a required course.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 14th, 2009
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