Archive for August, 2011
For years, “recession” has been the word on everyone’s lips. We’ve fretted about students dropping out of school in droves, because who could afford the cost of higher education? But, as it turns out, the recession’s effect on college enrollment – among traditional-age, first-time students (that’s you!) – is nothing to cry about.
According to a new report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, overall enrollments of new students rose from 1.997 million in 2006 to 2.135 million in 2010 – an increase of 6.8 percent. Public and private colleges, two-year and four-year, have maintained and even increased enrollments. The report, “National Postsecondary Enrollment Trends: Before, During, and After the Great Recession,” also examines enrollment patterns by region. Use this interactive tool to check out enrollment trends in your neck of the woods.
Kickin’ it at community college
Gone are the days when the only choice for high school grads is a four-year college. Research reveals that community college has become all the rage. In 2006, 41.7 percent of traditional-age students enrolled at two-year colleges; in 2009, 44.5 percent did so. Did you catch that? Almost half of all the kids going to college are opting for two-year schools.
But what’s in store for community colleges now that the recession is behind us? (Officially, the recession ran from December 2007 to June 2009, though we’re still experiencing its effects.) Between 2008 and 2009, enrollments of traditional-age, first-time students at two-year colleges increased by 8.3 percent. By 2010, however, enrollments decreased by 5.1 percent. The report suggests that many students flocked to community colleges because they couldn’t afford to go elsewhere. But time and again, these schools have proved to be an excellent higher education choice – Jill Biden herself has called community colleges “one of America’s best-kept secrets.”
The report also suggests that during the recession, students who would have gone to work right after high school opted to go to community college instead. Now, with a college education, these students can have much better employment opportunities than they would have had with just a high school diploma. Maybe the recession brought some good our way after all.
Staying in school
Another interesting feature of the recession research is the exploration of retention vs. persistence. Retention refers to a student’s continuing enrollment at the same college and persistence means a student’s continuing enrollment at any college. Oftentimes, we hear about low retention rates and bemoan the fact that students are dropping out of school. But without looking at persistence, we’re not getting the full story.
The research reveals that first- to second-year persistence rates were about 13 percentage points higher than retention rates. So students may have left one school, but they continued their education at another. This is especially true at community colleges, which were found to have the greatest gaps between retention and persistence. But as long as students are going to school somewhere, does it matter that it’s not where they started out? I don’t think so.
And more good news: though persistence rates were higher than retention rates, the report did not reveal significant drops in retention or persistence rates overall. So the recession didn’t bring about the mass dropouts we feared.
Improving your situation by pursuing higher education is always a good choice – no matter what the economic climate.
–Robyn Tellefsen
August 30th, 2011
Are you attending or thinking or attending a “big” college? You’re definitely not alone Check out today’s post, in which Alivia Ashenfarb, now a Boston University sophomore, reflects on those first weeks at school.
When I first heard the phrase “Find the right school for you,” I was inundated with relief. Finding a college could be as easy as finding the right pair of jeans? The “right” school just needed to look and feel good? Finding a college sounded downright easy. As my college search wore on, however, I heard that phrase more and more, and it started to sound less and less like a piece of advice than an ultimatum. How can you find the right school when you don’t know the definition of “right” or even the definition of “you”?
I learned that guidance counselors, parents, friends, and books are essential resources in finding the answer to this question. After completing my college search and choosing to attend Boston University, I learned that some of these answers can’t come from the above sources. They come from time, experience, and a serious exploration of that ambiguous “you.” Having utilized these sources and learning firsthand what it is like to go to a big, urban school with students from around the world, I picked up a few tips that may give your search more clarity:
Size. “How big is too big?” “Can I handle a big school?” “Do I want the closeness of a small school?” These are questions I asked myself in high school. After attending a year at BU, which has about 20,000 undergrads and 14,000 grad students, I have learned that “big” is not necessarily bad. I had no problem finding closeness at BU. Roommates and floormates make meeting friends easy and instant. Classroom friends can be easy to find, too, since giant lectures are not the only classes offered. Schools also have smaller classes (mostly in language, writing, and math) that they require students to take, as well as small discussion classes to accompany giant lectures. For example, I took a political science class with over 100 students. My discussion section for this class, however, had 12 people. There, I got to meet my friends and study partners.
Location. BU is located in Boston, Massachusetts, a city of about 620,000 people. Venturing into the city was always an adventure my freshman year; it gave me a mesh of cultures and histories that I don’t think a small suburban campus could’ve offered. I never got lost in the city or on campus, and I don’t know of anyone who did. Giant maps are conveniently located all over campus with blue boxes, phones to use in case of emergency at every corner. Campus visits will tell you right away about your school’s setting and campus layout, and I recommend taking those trips in your search. As for suburban campuses looking nicer, that depends on your taste! Urban campuses like mine promote nature with trees, gardens, and grassy study spots that can make you forget you’re in a city– if that’s what you’re looking to do.
Campus life. Lucky for me, BU is located in one of the largest college metropolises in the world. Meeting students from other colleges is easy when you’re in a college town, never mind a major U.S. city. There are parties on and off campus that can be as wild as the ones in movies. At the same time, there are quiet campus events like talent expos and educational events featuring prominent professors and local leaders that many students attend. I got to hear from Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and BU professor, in a lecture about forgiveness that I’ll never forget. Equally unforgettable are the Boston Marathon and other off-campus events that no college guide can tell you about.
Looking back on my college search, I realize that finding a college is lot like finding a pair of jeans. It shouldn’t be stressful, especially if you remember to take your time, start early with your search, reach out to students that go to your prospective schools, visit, decide how much you want to experiment in a new setting with new people, and know that there are things guidance counsellors and college guidebooks don’t know, things only you can find out by testing the waters.
Alivia Ashenfarb is a sophomore at Boston University.
August 25th, 2011
Does your college have a “reputation”? The Ivies certainly do. But even schools with great reputations deserve the chance for you to get to know them and earn your own opinion of them. Check out today’s post, in which Erica Sollazzo, now a Princeton sophomore, looks back on her first days on campus.
This past spring at Princeton, during a preview weekend for high school seniors, I caught sight of an excited disturbance on the lawn in front of Nassau Hall, the university’s main building. Curious, I drifted over toward the grass, picking my way through a crowd of prospective students and their parents. Only when I reached the front of the group did I realize what everyone was watching: On the lawn, dressed in pastel-colored polo shirts and knee-high argyle socks, was a group of Princeton students playing a rousing game of croquet.
Whenever a player managed to hit the ball through a wicket, the others would clap, but the kind of reserved, dignified clapping heard at golf tournaments when a player sinks a putt. To top it all off, the players were talking about their “troublesome yachts” and “summer homes” in loud, exaggerated British accents. I laughed, cognizant of the fact that my classmates were poking fun at a stereotype associated with Princeton—that the entire student body is made up of wealthy, prep-school kids from the upper crusts of society. Having spent nearly a full year at Princeton, I knew that this generalization wasn’t true, that Princeton’s students come from all walks of life. But as I left the lawn, I heard a boy whisper to his father in disbelief, “They really do wear argyle!”
When I first started at Princeton, I wasn’t very worried about how “pretentious” the student body would be. I knew that, like almost any college, Princeton would have a diverse mix of students who would be interesting, intelligent, and down-to-earth. The stereotypes that concerned me more were academic, not social, ones. For one thing, I remember fretting over whether I could handle the workload for what were sure to be difficult classes. I also feared that the pressure of attending an Ivy League school would create a maliciously competitive atmosphere, one in which my classmates would refuse to share notes or help me study. I recalled an information session at Harvard that I attended as a high school senior; the admissions officer had adamantly denied rumors about students intentionally hiding each other’s textbooks. If the representative had taken such trouble to repudiate these claims, I thought, there must be some grain of truth in them.
Luckily, my freshman year contained absolutely none of these academic horror stories. I collaborated with a group of eager students to study for my Calculus final, and I received constructive criticism from my peers on the papers I wrote for Writing Seminar. Not only did these students come from all over the world (I even made a friend who hails from Sri Lanka), but they seemed genuinely excited to study at Princeton, genuinely grateful for the many unique opportunities the university offers. I know I appreciated the chance to hear Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speak (professor emerita and alumna of Princeton, respectively). And I quickly learned that each student has an interesting, hidden talent or passion that wouldn’t be noticeable at first glance—after all, what made them stand out to an admissions committee also makes them stand out as people.
The one drawback—if it can be called a drawback—to studying in the midst of so many talented and driven students is that I often worry about what career path I’ll end up taking. Being surrounded by budding doctors, lawyers, and stockbrokers is stressful sometimes, especially since I’m not yet sure about a major. But I’m glad I have the opportunity to explore Princeton—and yes, even don a polo shirt or two–until I figure it out.
Erica Sollazzo is a sophomore at Princeton.
August 24th, 2011
When you’re in college, you have the ability to buy food, clothes, iTunes purchases, and other things that may have required your parents’ permission in high school.Sure, there are major purchases like books, but the feeling of freedom that comes with being able to swipe a debit or credit card to buy something, big or small, on impulse is one that some students can’t resist. But when the bills arrive, it can be very stressful, especially if you don’t have enough money in your bank account to pay them.
So while you’re having fun meeting your new roommate and hallmates in the dorms, get real with yourself about spending. Jason Alderman, personal finance expert and the senior director of Global Financial Education Programs for Visa, offers a few tips to help you manage your finances in college:
1. Create and stick to a budget
2. Pay bills on time
3. Keep credit card balances low
4. Monitor your credit score
If you are looking to open a new checking account, don’t just choose the first place you see (or the one giving away a free koozie). Find a bank or credit union that offers these cost-saving benefits:
• No monthly usage fee
• No minimum balance
• ATMs near you (that can keep you from out-of-network ATM fees)
• Sign up for text or email alerts to let you know when your balance falls below a certain level, when payments are due, or when checks and deposits clear
School – and paying for school – can be stressful enough. So don’t add to it by making money mistakes your first semester. You may feel pressure from friends who have a larger budget than you to go shopping with them, blow your budget on road trips, buy pizza every night, or splurge on weekly pedicures. But at the same time, there are plenty of other students who can survive on a super-small budget where ramen noodles and an ongoing search for freebies are the norm.
You also can go onto Mint.com or other sites that allow you to track your spending.
Will freshman year be your first time managing your finances? Are you worried about overspending or keeping track of your spending? If you think you’re a pro at this, what are some tips you can offer to other students? One of the biggest lessons you can learn, starting your freshman year, is how to carefully manage your money. And that’s something that will stay with you for life!
–Lori Johnston
August 19th, 2011
Dorms or residence halls are the most common living situation for students heading off to school. Both give you the opportunity to live among other students your age or with your same major. There’s no doubt the relationships you form in a dorm could last throughout your college career.
But not all schools guarantee housing for freshman, especially if on-campus housing is limited. And it seems like every fall you hear of schools who have overbooked their dorms, causing some students to live in the dorm’s student lounges or with resident advisors. Or some are sent to hotels. Students at New York University were sent to a hotel last year, and some may be doing the same year. Students at Daemen College in Amherst, NY can stay at a Homewood Suites near the school while waiting for a spot on campus or in a renovated housing development where students from a variety of schools live.
At Virginia Tech, some students were enticed by “buyouts” to cancel their housing contracts; the offer was guaranteed suite housing and early preferences for housing next year, plus $300 in dining dollars.
Consider these other college housing options:
1. Find a family setting.
Some families offer rooms in their homes for student during the academic year. It’s a good option for students who want to have a family environment and enjoy the home-away-from-home feel that a family setting provides. Sometimes these situations are connected with a nanny job opportunity, in which you could live rent free in exchange for watching the homeowner’s children. Some placement agencies can help connect students with families seeking child care; in other instances, it may be connected to relationship you have with a mentor or someone from a church. You will want to discuss upfront your required financial contribution and your responsibilities as a student in the home. Plus, will they set the dreaded curfew, or will you be able to come and go as you please?
2. Rent out a basement.
Rentals in a college town don’t just include apartments, but some professors and other homeowners offer a portion of their basement, or their entire basement, for students to live in. The setup typically allows students to have their own entrance in the house, so it’s not as close quarters as living with a family. You’ll want to find out about rent costs as well as what utilities are covered in the deal. Plus, you’ll want to make sure that the basement dwelling offers some type of security, as that part of a house can be a prime target for break-ins.
3. Lodge at the sorority or fraternity house.
This is not typically the option for freshman members, but is something that sophomores and upperclassmen do as part of their involvement in a sorority or fraternity. The fraternity or sorority will have requirements for living in a chapter house, which are located on and off campus at public and private schools. It’s a plus for students whose social life will revolve around activities at the house.
4. Live in a unique dorm community.
At some schools, students from the same major, such as engineering, all live together in a home offered on or near campus through particular programs, often with student advisers. Some religious organizations also have residences for students of the same faith to bunk together.
5. House sit, or swap houses.
If you find someone who won’t be living in their home for a year, offer to house sit (for free or at a reduced rate). This could be the case if a professor is going abroad to teach. You will need to be responsible about living in someone else’s home, especially if you have friends over. Or, you could swap your current place for a condo or home in your college town. Sites like Craigslist often advertise home exchanges.
6. Think outside the box.
When it comes to finding affordable housing, some students go with even more unique choices, such as living in trailers and RVs! Now that’s one way to break the ice during Freshmen Orientation!
What’s the most unique college housing situation you’ve heard about or experienced? Let us know in the comment section below.
–Lori Johnston
August 17th, 2011
We’re pretty much smitten by social media here at The CollegeBound Network, but one of the things we love best about it is all of the friends in higher education whom we’ve met on Twitter. We especially enjoy tweeting with the good people at Overture Marketplace, the brains behind the Student Loan Marketplace and the College Money Insider blog. They thought you’d like to know that even though paying for college can seem like a nightmare at times, it can also be a dream come true. Take a look at this fun infographic below for some inspiration!
–The CollegeBound Network
August 10th, 2011
One of the most burning questions college-bound students have before the start of freshman year is: Who’s gonna bring the TV? Whichever roommate has the biggest screen usually wins, and that means a lot of prime real estate will be reserved for it in a tiny dorm room.
Although you may still be planning on bringing a TV to school with you this fall, chances are you’ll be catching the latest episodes of your favorite show on your laptop or iPad, too. Because young adults like you are watching shows and movies online, it’s one of the reasons why the number of U.S. households with TV sets has dropped for the first time in 20 years, according to data by TV ratings company Nielsen. It declined just 98.9 percent to 96.7 percent, but considering how much our society loves TV, it’s a pretty big drop.
A common sight on college campuses today is students sitting around on campus or in their dorms with a laptop. Sure, they might be checking their email, but chances are they’re catching up with the latest antics of the “Jersey Shore” cast or laughing at a scene from a recently released comedy.
Rebecca Morrow, interim director of residential life at Albright College in Reading, Penn., writes in an e-mail: “In some cases yes, students opt not to have a TV in the room. I would say that for the most part students are still bringing a television (usually a flat screen) to campus. Generally, females bring smaller televisions and guys bring larger TVs for video games.”
Chad Quinones, who is on the residence life staff at Roanoke College in Salem, Va., says that students arrange their rooms around their flat screen HD TVs, which are brought in mostly to play video games.
Are you planning on bringing a TV to college? If so, will you watch TV or movies on it, or is it mostly for playing video games with friends?
–Lori Johnston
August 8th, 2011
I never really wanted to even so much as mention Casey Anthony on this or any of CBN’s blogs, even though I strongly believe that if anyone can benefit from education at this point, it’s her. I’m breaking my silence on this issue, however, to simply say this: Don’t worry, Ohio State University. No one will hold it against you that Casey Anthony is wearing your baseball cap.
Some news outlets like TMZ have been following the freed woman around the country as she attempts to assimilate herself back into regular life. Recent photographers have spotted her in Ohio, and in some of the photos, she is seen sporting Buckeyes regalia.
OSU issued a statement: “We are never surprised to see Buckeye pride displayed across the world. Buckeye hoodies and hats have traditionally been spotted across the world, and we understand that as a result, our logo will be seen in a wide range of news situations, whether positive or negative.”
Somehow, I don’t think Ohio State fans are exactly celebrating.
–Barbara Bellesi
August 4th, 2011
