Posts filed under 'News'
When I was making my college decision, I visited Athens, Georgia with my dad and knew the University of Georgia was the spot for me.
It wasn’t just about what degrees the school offered or its reputation in academic and athletics; I fell in love with the vibrant, pedestrian downtown that was just across the street from campus. It had trendy shops, small local restaurants, and clubs and music venues that hosted so many popular bands that Rolling Stone called it the #1 college music town.
You’ll find cities with colleges and universities among those of Kiplinger’s Best Cities for 2009, which looks at factors such as job stability and growth. These and other kinds of “best cities” lists are worth looking at as you consider where you’re going to call home during your college career.
Athens, home to the University of Georgia, comes in at #5 on the list and had 34,180 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in fall 2009.
The top city on the list – Huntsville, Alabama–offers students the University of Alabama at Huntsville, a research-intensive institution with 10,000 students.
Washington D.C. – #3 on the list – boasts more than 15 schools surrounding our country’s center of government. They range from Georgetown University to Howard University to American University to theological seminaries and smaller community colleges.
At #8, Austin, Texas, also has a collegiate atmosphere and a happening music scene, as host of the annual South by Southwest music festival. It’s also home to one of the largest public universities in the U.S. – the University of Texas at Austin – which has a staggering amount of students, nearly 50,000.
Madison, Wisconsin, #7 on the list, also boasts another large state university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison with 42,030 students.
Another school I considered – University of Virginia, with 21,057 students – is in Charlottesville, Virginia, which comes in at #4 in Kiplinger’s list. In Olympia, Washington, The Evergreen State College attracts about 4,600 students annually. #2 on the list, Albuquerque, New Mexico is home to The University of New Mexico, which had a record enrollment of 34,674 students enrolled at its campuses in fall 2009. Flagstaff, Arizona at #9 offers schools such as Northern Arizona University, and North Carolina State University is in Raleigh, N.C., #10 on the list.
For me, the town atmosphere and setting was a plus in making my college decision. It could be for yours, too.
–Lori Johnston
November 3rd, 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
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
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
If there’s one thing I’m glad I didn’t participate in during my time at university, it’s the sorority system. While it’s true that the Greek collegiate system has officially banned hazing, that hasn’t stopped sororities and fraternities around the nation from continuing their practices. Case in point: the Omicron Omicron chapter of Zeta Phi Beta at Colorado State University.
According to a nearly 60-page police report, the sorority was guilty of extreme hazing that actively put their pledges’ health at risk. While other students worried about test scores and where the next party would be, the young pledges were run through the ringer – made to do strenuous calisthenics and even held in a apartment for three days with neither sleep nor food.
The result? Not only did one pledge throw up from being so hungry, two more threw up from being pressured into eating onions, and a fourth student repeatedly passed out due to her kidney problems. After hearing of these and other allegations, the university suspended the sorority.
While I’m glad the university has done the right thing by suspending this sorority, I can’t help but be disappointed by two things: that colleges and the Greek collegiate system exercise so little control and review over sororities and fraternities, and that the pledges allow themselves to be put through these ordeals. While it’s true that they were pressured into these actions, it’s also true that college, more than any other time, is when students should learn to exercise their independence and self-reliance. Once they saw that the sorority was engaging in hazing, which even included being forced to eat cat food, they should have walked out the door and reported them to school administrators.
What’s your take?
– Genevieve M. Blaber
September 1st, 2009
Some bad news as high school students prepare to head back to school: SAT scores have taken a slight dip and the gap between minorities and their white and Asian-American counterparts is only increasing.
But the decrease isn’t as bad as you might fear. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the class of 2009 had an average score of 501 in critical reading, 493 in writing, and 515 in math. Of these three scores, only critical reading and writing experienced a drop from last year and it was only by a point each. However, it is worth noting that the reading score hasn’t been this bad since 1994 — though the SAT given then was considerably different from today’s SAT. (In the 90s, SAT scores could soar as high as 1600 and the test consisted of the oh-so-annoying analogy section, for example. The modern SAT did away with this favoring a new writing section and a score that only goes up to 800.)
Chester E. Finn Jr., the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a think tank, had this to say about the new data, “This is a nearly unrelenting tale of woe and disappointment.”
While I don’t think the two-point drop is worth worrying about, the widening gap between different ethnicities is concerning. While white and Asian students average in the 500s in all three sections, Hispanic and black students have stayed firmly in the 400s.
Citing poorer school districts as a reason why minority students have lower scores, Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board which oversees the administering of the STAT, said, “As a country, we must do better providing students of every background access to the best education.”
– Genevieve M. Blaber
August 27th, 2009
It’s become almost second nature these days; something interesting happens and you rush to update your Twitter account or Facebook Status. Maybe you even take a snapshot so all your online friends can see. But if the Southeastern Conference has its way football fans will be subject to a social network blackout during games.
Earlier this month, the Southeastern Conference — a college athletic conference that participates in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision — released a set of rules and regulations that its fans must now adhere to. In truth, the fan policy was par for the course except for this new section:
“[Ticketed fans cannot] produce or disseminate (or aid in producing or disseminating) any material or information about the event, including, but not limited to, any account, description, picture, video, audio, reproduction or other information.”
That’s right, the Southeastern Conference is afraid that by broadcasting your amateur game photos and updates across the Internet, you’re infringing upon the video rights that they recently sold to CBS and ESPN to the tune of $3 billion.
Fortunately though, the new policy is currently undergoing a few tweaks after members of the media and social media brought attention to the highly restrictive clause. While it’s understandable that the Southeastern Conference should want to protect their interests and the exclusive rights to media coverage that it sold, putting a muzzle on fans is not the way to go about it. Not only is it impractical — are they going to tackle anyone they see taking out a cellphone? — it hurts the relationship between the conference and fans.
It’s also highly indicative of how out of touch certain quarters are with social media. A fan who disseminates info about a football game is really only reaching his/her immediate social circle, and a throwaway mention of a good play — or a mediocre picture of a player that’s taken with a smartphone camera — hardly counts as competition for established sports outlets.
The Southeastern Conference clearly overreacted to what they saw as a threat posed by social media. Now that they’re rethinking their policy, I hope they grow to understand that Twitter and Facebook are not the enemy.
I’ve had my say, now tell me what you think! Was the Southeastern Conference right or wrong? Overreacting or not reacting strongly enough?
– Genevieve M. Blaber
August 19th, 2009
College loans getting to be too much? Why bother trying to pay them back when you can just sue your school?
That’s what Trina Thompson did. After taking out $70,000 worth of loans in order to earn a bachelor’s degree from Monroe College, Thompson graduated this April only to find she had no job. Four months later, and the 27-year-old is still jobless, but now she’s too busy filing a lawsuit against her alma mater to bother sending out resumes.
In her lawsuit, Thompson complains, “They have not tried hard enough to help me [get a job].”
It’s a subjective claim that experts say will likely hold no weigh in court. After all, while Monroe College may have touted its ability to get grads hired and promised to help via their Office of Career Advancement, it’s doubtful they explicitly stated how much they would help or even guaranteed that they would land every graduate a job.
You may be tempted to brush off Thompson’s lawsuit as a frivolous news item — it certainly seems to be — but the truth is that it could have far-reaching effects. Other schools may see her actions and, out of concern that unsatisfied students will launch similar lawsuits, decide not to offer career services anymore. Or, at the very least, they will heavily review the claims they’re making in regard to job placement. While it is certainly sad that Thompson is facing mounting bills without a job, we have to face a fact: Despite the recession, there are plenty of jobs out there and Thompson may just not want to settle.
Perhaps she had in mind a cushy IT job at Google after she had graduated. There’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s no reason why, while she sends out resumes and looks for a full-time position, she can’t supplement her income by working a part-time job in another industry. Instead, Thompson has chosen this attention-seeking move in a bid to somehow either win, or guilt her college into forgiving part of her loans.
It’s a lazy move. But hey, maybe she has a career in law now?
Genevieve M. Blaber
August 4th, 2009
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