Emily Driscoll of Fox News writes, “In the face of rising tuition costs, more students are opting to attend their local community college to get an associate’s degree or take their core classes at a cheaper price and then transfer to a private or public university for a full bachelor’s degree.
“Approximately 40% of U.S. undergraduate students attend community colleges, and students who are 18 to 24 years old make up the largest age group, according to a study by the College Board.”
Walter Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times writes, “With college costs soaring and new graduates struggling to land jobs, is higher education still worth the money?
“Yes, according to an analysis by one recent college graduate who has studied the issue carefully.
“Sarah Millar, who is now gainfully employed as a research analyst at ConvergEx Group in New York, examined the topic in a new report combining hard numbers with her own experience as a 2011 graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Ct. ‘Did I just waste the last four years of my life?’ Millar writes. ‘Sure, I enjoyed my time at Trinity, but I could have used that time — and money, for that matter — to actually start a career.’ The good news is that college pays off, Millar concludes, citing data from a variety of government and private sources. The average take-home pay of college graduates is nearly twice that of their high school counterparts — $38,950 versus $21,500. Even factoring in student-loan payments, college graduates make more in their first year of work than those with only high school diplomas. And history shows that the college graduate can expect his or her income to increase 2.2% annually over a lifetime compared with 1.9% for someone with only a high school diploma.”
Lee Bierer, college adviser and contributor to the Charlotte Observer, writes, “The worst thing about all of the myths surrounding college scholarships is that they stop students from believing that they have a chance of receiving aid, and frequently prevent them from applying for scholarship opportunities.”
Jennifer Openshaw of MarketWatch for the Wall Street Journal writes, “Financial aid may be tougher to get this year — at a time when college costs are rising and some families need aid more than ever. ’College endowments have taken big hits and state support is drying up in states like California,’ said Allen Grove, author of the About.com Admissions Guide and a professor at Alfred University in western New York. ‘It’s like a train wreck.’ Grove said there are several moves parents can make to boost their chances of getting financial support. The biggest one? Don’t wait.
“Too often families confuse the federal and state deadlines for financial aid applications. But worse, they forget that scholarship deadlines often start even earlier. State deadlines are almost always earlier, he said. Some are as early as March while the federal deadline is at the end of June.”
Bonnie Miller Rubin of the Chicago Tribune writes, “Let’s say you are confronting one of the most important decisions of your life. But first, you must describe your favorite thing about last Tuesday. And do it in 25 words or less.
“The query may seem like it’s taken from Twitter or an online dating survey, but it is designed for a match of a different sort: Getting into college. The essay question is new for 2012 applications to the University of Maryland and is just one example of a wave of quirkiness and brevity that has swept the usually staid world of college admissions essays in recent years. Some colleges have added questions that might elicit answers more suitable for a text or Tweet, and others have introduced video to the process.”
Remember to register by January 13th to take the ACT on February 11th. Late registration is also available through January 20th. You can sign up online at www.actstudent.org.
Kiplinger provides a brief financial report on public colleges. You can compare the 100 top values in public colleges and universities, or create your own custom lists of individual colleges or schools from a particular state.
Remember to register by December 30th to take the SAT on January 28th. Late registration is also available through January 13th. You can sign up online at www.collegeboard.com.
Results from the December 10th ACT are now available online at www.actstudent.org.
Results from the December 3rd SAT are now available online at collegeboard.org.