In helping students select colleges I’ll look at a variety key indicators..  One of these indicators is the 4 year graduation rate.  The 4 year graduation rate can be tricky to find when looking at a college website.  The 6 year graduation rate may be the one that is prominently displayed.  So why is it so important to know the 4 year and 6 year graduation rates.  One factor is the additional cost one would incur for tuition, fees, room, and board.  The other factor is an opportunity cost coming from a delay in entering the job market.

In evaluating colleges, what is s good 4 year graduation rate?  Former Commissioner of Education Statistics Mark Schneider has his own views on what the minimum four year graduation rate should be.  He uses the term failure factories for schools that have low graduation rates.  Schools that graduate fewer than 33% of their students in 4 years would be in this category.  Here are some examples of colleges and their 4 year graduation rates.

The statistics are from www.edtrust.org

When I help parents and students evaluate colleges my goal is direct students to colleges that will help in their development.  When looking at a college’s graduation rate I look at it as though I was faced with a chance of success in whatever situation may be presented to me.  If I was faced with a medical condition that required an operation, what chance of success is likely?

Over the next month we’ll examine some of the causes of high drop out rates.  One of the causes is Undermatching-When lower income students don’t choose the best college they can get.

A campus visit can range from a quick drive through of the campus to visiting a variety of departments and topping it off by spending a night sleeping in the freshman dorm for the incoming student. One part of the campus visit may include a tour of the campus. These tours can be scheduled online or by calling the school. The tours are usually held Monday through Friday and on Saturdays. Some schools set Saturday tours by appointment only. The ideal time to schedule a tour is during the week when students will be in session. The school may have a University Outreach department or Information Center that schedules the tours. The scheduled tour should be part of every college visit.

So once the campus tour is done, where do you go next? Visits to the following offices or departments should be part of every campus visit.

• Admissions Office
• Financial Aid Office
• Department head or faculty member

You may also want to eat at the school cafeteria, spend time talking to the students, and go to the Career Placement office.

It’ also important to come prepared. Put together a list of questions to ask of the different departments. Here are a few of the top questions that should be asked.

• Admissions Department

What is the average retention rate for your freshman? How has this rate changed over the last few years?

What are the most important admission criteria for your school? How would you rank these in terms of importance?

• Financial Aid Department

What forms does the college need to apply for financial aid?

How does the school award financial aid? What is the average award based on merit? What is the average award based on need?

• Faculty

How accessible are the professors if there are questions from class?

What differentiates your school’s programs from other schools?

Keep track of who you talk to and find out if it’s OK to contact them in the future. It’s important to get to know as much as possible about the college and the area. You don’t want to start attending a college and say “I wish I would have known a little more about ______”

Georgia Colleges- What to do when tuition may increase 70% or budgets are slashed

In order to balance the budget the state may have to cut up to $600 million from the budget of the state’s colleges and universities.  This may mean tuition hikes at Georgia’s college could range from 35 percent to 70 percent.  The budget reduction may also be passed off in the way of increased fees, staff reduction, caps on enrollment, programs being eliminated, or cuts in the number of hours facilities are open.  

Taking a proactive approach is a key.  Let’s look at a few examples and what can be done

• A student considering the nurse anesthetist program at Medical College of Georgia and is concerned that program may be cut.  Look at the Academic Common Market for states that may offer the program and pay in state tuition at an out of state school.  Go to the following link for more information-  http://home.sreb.org/acm/choosestate.aspx
• A student that is concerned that it may take a year or so longer to graduate because they can’t get the classes they need to graduate.  Pay attention to the 4, 5, and 6 year graduation rates at the colleges you are applying to.  Go to The Education Trust to find out the graduation rates-  http://www.collegeresults.org/
•  A student that is terrified that they may not get into UGA or Georgia Tech because of enrollment caps.  Cast a wider net in applying to colleges.  Consider schools that will fit the financial profile for the family and the student.  Schools that offer merit based or need based aid can lower the cost of college.      

College News and Views

College News and Views is a semi-monthly publication that was created to provide you with highlights on a variety of topics in the world of higher education.  Here are some of the latest items of interest:  

Senator Edward Kennedy’s Impact on Students and Higher Education

During his term (1962 to 2009) in the US Senate, Senator Edward M. Kennedy authored more than 2,500 bills.  Several hundred of these bills have become public law.  Here are some of the ways in which Senator Kennedy has impacted higher education:

Student Support Services program - Senator Kennedy supported the creation of the Student Support Services program (Higher Education Act of 1968).  The program provided tutoring and mentoring to low income, first generation students in order to keep them in school and improve graduation rates.  These programs are known today as the TRIO program.  TRIO participants include: Oprah Winfrey; Actress Angela Bassett; NBA Basketball Player, A.C. Green; correspondent for ABC News “Prime Time Live”, John Quinones; the first Hispanic astronaut, Franklin Chang Diaz; the first African-American astronaut, Bernard Harris; and many more.

Basic Educational Opportunity Grant – Senator Kennedy worked with Senator Clairborne Pell in the early 1970’s to support the creation of this grant which came to be known as the Pell Grant.

Direct Lending Program – Over 12 million students have benefited from low cost loans due to Senator Kennedy’s work with the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

School to Work Opportunities Act – This created a partnership between employers, educators, and others in order to prepare students for careers in high skill high wage jobs. 

College Cost Reduction Act – In 1997 this bill authorized a $23 billion increase in student aid.

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 – For the first time in a decade the Higher Education Act was reauthorized.  College has become more accessible and affordable by simplifying the application process for financial aid and expanding aid for the neediest students.

Establishing AmeriCorps – Senator Kennedy was the author on a bill that created AmeriCorps and Learn and Save America.  After graduating, over 17 million people have participated in Learn and Save America and over a half million in AmeriCorps.

SAT Class of 2009 is a Record Breaker

Laurence Bunin, senior vice president of the SAT program, said that “The SAT Class of 2009 is a record-breaker” noting that it was the largest and most diverse group to take the test.

This year the average scores were as follows:

• 501 on the critical-reading section
• 515 on the mathematics section
• 493 on the writing section

The average mathematics score is the same as it was in 2008, while the reading and writing scores each dropped one point. Each section is scored on a scale from 200 to 800.

Finding the Right College Roommate

Matching roommates is a tough task for most colleges who sometimes find themselves scrambling after the roommate assignments come out. This can be an extremely busy time of year when students may not be happy with their selection for a roommate.  Finding the right match takes a lot of work.  Here are some options colleges have to make this matching process easier:   

RoommateClick, the web’s leading roommate-finding site, launched in 2006. RoommateClick provides a service that lets students take a proactive approach in selecting a roommate, a task that has historically fallen to campus housing.  Students who find they have mutual interests can request to room with each other through this site.

In the next year RoommateClick looks to face competition in the higher-education market from RoomBug, a Facebook application.  RoomBug allows a Facebook user to specify lifestyle preferences–bedtime, neatness, academic vs. social focus, etc. — and those he or she is looking for in a roommate. The application provides a list of compatible matches with whom the user can then network via Facebook.

With college just starting up or about to start shortly, the news and views are heating up.  Here are some items of interest in the spotlight. 

Beloit College Mindset List Class of 2013

Every year Beloit College, a private liberal arts college located in Beloit, Wisconsin, comes out with a list of what the current freshman class has experienced throughout their lives or what may not have been a part of their lives.   

Here are the first ten in the list and also #28 which refers to Bobby Cox-Atlanta Braves manager (we couldn’t skip this once since we’re based in Atlanta).  For the complete listing, go to http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

1. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.

2. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.

3. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.

4. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.

5. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.

6. Earvin “Magic” Johnson has always been HIV-positive.

7. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.

8. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.

9. Rap music has always been mainstream.

10. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.

28. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.

Trends in Student Loan Industry 

• Credit underwriting standards have been raised as credit performance within the student loan industry has been strained due to the current recessionary environment.
• Loan default rates have materially increased.
• Immediate repayment option is being emphasized.
• Obama administration proposal to have federal Direct Loan Program replace FFELP in 2010.

How will this impact those that are applying for or receiving student loans

•  You will need to get a co-signer if credit is marginal or worse.
• Private loans are getting more difficult to get.
• The amount of unmet need is likely to rise.
• The majority of disbursements will be going directly to the school.

Banks Increase Margins on Private Student Loans

Many large banks have recently increased their margins on the funding of both new and existing Private Student Loans.  Some of these increases have been without warning..

If you currently have existing Student Loans with a financial institution that has increased your rate, you may want to consider your options to refinance that loan.

US News and World Report-Solving the College Crisis

This edition has something for everyone who plans to go to college or may currently be in college.  It’s divided into four sections:

• 1. How To Fix Higher Education
• 2. The Changing Face of College
• 3. Paying For College
• 4. The Rankings

Resources-US News and World Report, Chase Bank, Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education