Workers with professional degrees, such as doctors and lawyers, were the only educational group to see their inflation-adjusted earnings increase over the most recent economic expansion, adding to the concern that the economy has benefited higher-earning Americans at the expense of others.
Workers in every other educational group -- including Ph.D.s as well as high school dropouts -- earned less in 2007 than they did in 2000, adjusted for inflation, according to data from the Census Bureau.
Though the financial numbers show decrease, the decrease is still more than one would make if they did not attend college. The bottom line is if you are in, stay in. And if you are thinking of going in, now is the best time to attend.
Do not limit your options. The time is now to apply to the of institution of your choice and prepare to excel and be your best.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Listing the Best but getting it for Less
Once again the college ranking list has been released (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college),
As identified in the list, the top schools in the country have a tuition rate between $35,000 and $40,000 per year. While that may seem like a high cost to pay for an education, it’s not. These schools are definitely giving you more than you are paying for. Tough some cannot justify the cost of higher education; this is due to the fact that few understand the costs associated with education and as you are going through the process you are unable to count the amount of money that will be earned once you graduate.
A college education is definitely worth the cost, but that expense can be lessened once you take into account that there are many methods that can be implemented to obtain that college education for free. This can be accomplished through implementing the same rules used by many fundraisers and development professionals to acquire millions of dollars for private or public projects.
To learn more about these rules visit www.freecollegeeducation.com
As identified in the list, the top schools in the country have a tuition rate between $35,000 and $40,000 per year. While that may seem like a high cost to pay for an education, it’s not. These schools are definitely giving you more than you are paying for. Tough some cannot justify the cost of higher education; this is due to the fact that few understand the costs associated with education and as you are going through the process you are unable to count the amount of money that will be earned once you graduate.
A college education is definitely worth the cost, but that expense can be lessened once you take into account that there are many methods that can be implemented to obtain that college education for free. This can be accomplished through implementing the same rules used by many fundraisers and development professionals to acquire millions of dollars for private or public projects.
To learn more about these rules visit www.freecollegeeducation.com
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Who Gets the Pell Grant
Pell Grants are the federal government's largest direct grant to students with low family incomes. So it's no surprise that when Congress and administrations debate priorities for higher ed spending, the Pell Grant always is a hot topic. Does the program have enough money? Should it be an entitlement? Should it be protected from requirements that don't focus on financial need?
A report released Tuesday by the National Center for Education Statistics details what is known about Pell Grant recipients by taking a close look at data from 1999-2000 bachelor's degree recipients, a group in which about 36 percent of people received at least one Pell Grant while in college. Generally, the report found that Pell Grant recipients are more likely than others to have "risk" characteristics (such as delaying postsecondary enrollment after high school graduation) that suggest statistically greater chances of dropping out of college.
A new bill has just adjusted the amount of money that pell grant recipients will receive. The bill would increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship from $4,731 last school year to $5,500 in 2010-11 and $6,900 in 2019. Starting in 2011, the annual grant would be linked to cost-of-living increases.
Though the Governement has increased the amount of LOAN $$ available...you do not need their LOAN to attend college IF you Plan Effectively.
Visit http://www.freecollegeeducation.com for details.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
When Should You Quit School?
Here's a breakdown of the balance sheet referring to different stages of leaving. I'd love to hear more thoughts on your analysis of the gains and losses in the comments section. If you...
1. Leave after the M.A. You've got yourself a valuable degree with great income-earning potential. But maybe you feel skeptical about your academic prospects, you don't think you'd enjoy teaching and although you enjoy your research, you don't feel crazy about doing 5-10 more years of it. So you quit.
Gains: High. You may have some student loans, but this recent report from Statistics Canada shows there is a 33 percent wage gap between someone with a B.A. and someone with a master's, but someone with a doctorate only earns 8 percent more than someone with a master's.
Costs: Low. Unlike a Ph.D., a master's makes you feel good about your capabilities.
2. Leave after the first year of your Ph.D. You've had a taste of the program, the university, your colleagues and your potential supervisors. Maybe it's not a good fit, and when you look at the faculty, you're turned off by the constant search for external funding, the "publish or perish" mentality, and the lack of value placed on family time (like, uh, making one at all). So you quit.
Gains: Medium-high. You're sparing yourself the time and emotional aggravation and expense of staying in grad school. You can be honest on a résumé about what you did with your year.
Costs: Low. Some debt, maybe, and maybe a little bit of "What if...?"
3. Leave around the comps process (before, during or after). When I speak with former academics, this time of intense stress can really bring one's feelings about academia to the forefront. Maybe it's taking you years to finish your comps, you're riddled with insecurity, you feel like a total fraud, and you're on the precipice of clinical depression. So you quit.
Gains: medium-high. Getting out before you lose any more of your precious time, precious money, precious brain cells and spend any more on prescription drugs is really smart. Living in a world where you don't have to prove yourself through comps fuckin' rulz.
Costs: medium. Suffering through the comps and STILL leaving without parchment in hand is gonna sting. You will have to explain to employers what it means to be ABD with respect to your transferable skills, which is kinda annoying.
4. Leave during the dissertation stage. Whether you're struggling to get your proposal done, churn out that first chapter, or finally kick the final chapter to the curb, the dissertation process is a long, emotionally intense, wearing process that can tear down the mental health of the most balanced grad student. Maybe you loathe your topic. Maybe you're burnt out. Maybe you're making yourself miserable trying to keep up with the demands to teach, publish, present papers and produce a brilliant 300 page document all at the same time. Maybe you just don't have it in you anymore. So you quit.
Gains: high. Though departments notoriously do not keep track of their attrition rates, I've read research indicating roughly 50 percent of social science and humanities doctorates drop out of their programs before finishing. That means you're in pretty good company among people who decided that life was too short to wait for a satisfying career, to move out of poverty, to save their mental health, or to just figure out that the academic life was not meant for them.
Costs: high. The niggly feelings of "what if?..." or "if only..." might linger for a long, long time. Feeling like a failure -- or being worried that other people will see you as a failure -- may be very intense. Your possible debt load may amplify feelings of anger, resentment, shame and bitterness. Feeling lost and unsure of how to orient your life is a strong possibility. Struggling with the concept of waste -- a waste of your time, money, energy and potential -- may stay with you.
5. You leave once you've finished the Ph.D. You're done! Yahoo! But you got what you came for and you are outta there.
Gains: high. Freedom, sweet freedom. Sweet, quaking-at-the-knees, dripping-with-relief freedom.
Costs: medium-high. Severely compromised mental health, a significant debt, relationships that needed some nurturing after long periods of neglect. There is some belief (which I believe is a myth) that having a Ph.D. makes you unemployable.
(NB: Perhaps I'm biased here (since this was the path I chose and I've had three years to gain distance from the experience) by seeing the costs as "medium-high" and not "high." To me, though, the gains far outstripped the costs, in terms of the feeling of freedom, the wild array of life choices I knew I could make, the ability to do the teaching and research and writing that I wanted that wasn't limited by the classroom, and yes, the satisfaction of having the degree in hand.)
6. Once you've done contract/adjunct teaching, done your post-doc or gotten a tenure-track position. It might seem weird to lump these three types of academics into one category, but I'll explain why below. Even if it's news to some grad students, people do actually leave secure, tenured positions (Rebecca Steinitz is one of them -- here's her story -- and so is Kenny Mostern of "On Being Postacademic" fame. My interview with Dr. Stienitz at LeavingAcademia.com is here; my interview with Dr. Mostern is here.)
Gains: high. Once you've got your Ph.D., you can go anywhere and do anything with confidence. Contract faculty have a lot to gain by landing in a job that actually pays a living wage, and they, along with tenure-track faculty, gain by being able to move to the city of their choice, actually have free time, start a family, make more money, etc.
Costs: low-to-medium. I haven't been there, and so far I haven't done any interviews (yet) with people who've made this jump. So I am only speculating here. But making a career change at this point just makes a lot of sense to me in the same way that any other career change makes sense. I know someone who used to be an award-winning, professional Irish dancer and is now an IT guy at an art college. I know someone who used to be a professional chef and is now a naturopath. I know someone who used to make giga-bucks at Goldman Sachs and is now a freelance writer living in the English countryside with her young children. I admire people who make crazy career leaps because although there are potential costs (like failing), the gains (like actually being happy and/or satisfied) seem to be so much greater.
http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/leaving_academia/hikel2
1. Leave after the M.A. You've got yourself a valuable degree with great income-earning potential. But maybe you feel skeptical about your academic prospects, you don't think you'd enjoy teaching and although you enjoy your research, you don't feel crazy about doing 5-10 more years of it. So you quit.
Gains: High. You may have some student loans, but this recent report from Statistics Canada shows there is a 33 percent wage gap between someone with a B.A. and someone with a master's, but someone with a doctorate only earns 8 percent more than someone with a master's.
Costs: Low. Unlike a Ph.D., a master's makes you feel good about your capabilities.
2. Leave after the first year of your Ph.D. You've had a taste of the program, the university, your colleagues and your potential supervisors. Maybe it's not a good fit, and when you look at the faculty, you're turned off by the constant search for external funding, the "publish or perish" mentality, and the lack of value placed on family time (like, uh, making one at all). So you quit.
Gains: Medium-high. You're sparing yourself the time and emotional aggravation and expense of staying in grad school. You can be honest on a résumé about what you did with your year.
Costs: Low. Some debt, maybe, and maybe a little bit of "What if...?"
3. Leave around the comps process (before, during or after). When I speak with former academics, this time of intense stress can really bring one's feelings about academia to the forefront. Maybe it's taking you years to finish your comps, you're riddled with insecurity, you feel like a total fraud, and you're on the precipice of clinical depression. So you quit.
Gains: medium-high. Getting out before you lose any more of your precious time, precious money, precious brain cells and spend any more on prescription drugs is really smart. Living in a world where you don't have to prove yourself through comps fuckin' rulz.
Costs: medium. Suffering through the comps and STILL leaving without parchment in hand is gonna sting. You will have to explain to employers what it means to be ABD with respect to your transferable skills, which is kinda annoying.
4. Leave during the dissertation stage. Whether you're struggling to get your proposal done, churn out that first chapter, or finally kick the final chapter to the curb, the dissertation process is a long, emotionally intense, wearing process that can tear down the mental health of the most balanced grad student. Maybe you loathe your topic. Maybe you're burnt out. Maybe you're making yourself miserable trying to keep up with the demands to teach, publish, present papers and produce a brilliant 300 page document all at the same time. Maybe you just don't have it in you anymore. So you quit.
Gains: high. Though departments notoriously do not keep track of their attrition rates, I've read research indicating roughly 50 percent of social science and humanities doctorates drop out of their programs before finishing. That means you're in pretty good company among people who decided that life was too short to wait for a satisfying career, to move out of poverty, to save their mental health, or to just figure out that the academic life was not meant for them.
Costs: high. The niggly feelings of "what if?..." or "if only..." might linger for a long, long time. Feeling like a failure -- or being worried that other people will see you as a failure -- may be very intense. Your possible debt load may amplify feelings of anger, resentment, shame and bitterness. Feeling lost and unsure of how to orient your life is a strong possibility. Struggling with the concept of waste -- a waste of your time, money, energy and potential -- may stay with you.
5. You leave once you've finished the Ph.D. You're done! Yahoo! But you got what you came for and you are outta there.
Gains: high. Freedom, sweet freedom. Sweet, quaking-at-the-knees, dripping-with-relief freedom.
Costs: medium-high. Severely compromised mental health, a significant debt, relationships that needed some nurturing after long periods of neglect. There is some belief (which I believe is a myth) that having a Ph.D. makes you unemployable.
(NB: Perhaps I'm biased here (since this was the path I chose and I've had three years to gain distance from the experience) by seeing the costs as "medium-high" and not "high." To me, though, the gains far outstripped the costs, in terms of the feeling of freedom, the wild array of life choices I knew I could make, the ability to do the teaching and research and writing that I wanted that wasn't limited by the classroom, and yes, the satisfaction of having the degree in hand.)
6. Once you've done contract/adjunct teaching, done your post-doc or gotten a tenure-track position. It might seem weird to lump these three types of academics into one category, but I'll explain why below. Even if it's news to some grad students, people do actually leave secure, tenured positions (Rebecca Steinitz is one of them -- here's her story -- and so is Kenny Mostern of "On Being Postacademic" fame. My interview with Dr. Stienitz at LeavingAcademia.com is here; my interview with Dr. Mostern is here.)
Gains: high. Once you've got your Ph.D., you can go anywhere and do anything with confidence. Contract faculty have a lot to gain by landing in a job that actually pays a living wage, and they, along with tenure-track faculty, gain by being able to move to the city of their choice, actually have free time, start a family, make more money, etc.
Costs: low-to-medium. I haven't been there, and so far I haven't done any interviews (yet) with people who've made this jump. So I am only speculating here. But making a career change at this point just makes a lot of sense to me in the same way that any other career change makes sense. I know someone who used to be an award-winning, professional Irish dancer and is now an IT guy at an art college. I know someone who used to be a professional chef and is now a naturopath. I know someone who used to make giga-bucks at Goldman Sachs and is now a freelance writer living in the English countryside with her young children. I admire people who make crazy career leaps because although there are potential costs (like failing), the gains (like actually being happy and/or satisfied) seem to be so much greater.
http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/leaving_academia/hikel2
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Jobs, Training and Education
Jobs requiring only an associate degree or skills certificate are projected to grow slightly faster than those requiring at least a bachelor’s degree in the coming decade, according to a new report from President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors.
The report comes on the eve of a massive federal plan President Obama is about to unveil to help America's community colleges. An early draft included billions for job training, low-interest loans for building projects and other funding streams to create free online courses.
Though prior research shows that the attainment of any community college credential can significantly increase one’s income, not all degrees and certificates awarded by two-year institutions were found to have the same financially beneficial value. The Council of Economic Advisors' report finds “that the most valuable credentials are those in quantitatively-oriented fields or high-growth/high-need occupations such as health care.”
What this really means is that there will be more funding available for academic training and those who are in need of the funding will be able to gain access. But to gain access, you have to apply and learn the application process.
Not all funding sources are created equal so it is imperative that you apply selectively and learn how to gain access to the funding. Decide where you should apply and what environment you would succeed in.
www.freecollegeeducation.com
The report comes on the eve of a massive federal plan President Obama is about to unveil to help America's community colleges. An early draft included billions for job training, low-interest loans for building projects and other funding streams to create free online courses.
Though prior research shows that the attainment of any community college credential can significantly increase one’s income, not all degrees and certificates awarded by two-year institutions were found to have the same financially beneficial value. The Council of Economic Advisors' report finds “that the most valuable credentials are those in quantitatively-oriented fields or high-growth/high-need occupations such as health care.”
What this really means is that there will be more funding available for academic training and those who are in need of the funding will be able to gain access. But to gain access, you have to apply and learn the application process.
Not all funding sources are created equal so it is imperative that you apply selectively and learn how to gain access to the funding. Decide where you should apply and what environment you would succeed in.
www.freecollegeeducation.com
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Program Prepares Future Engineers
When 15-year-old Jose Chavez tells friends that he's going to summer school and taking math, he quickly adds a disclaimer.
"No, I didn't flunk," says Jose, who makes good grades as a sophomore at Skyline High School in Dallas.
He's one of about 3,600 bright middle and high school students enrolled in the Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program, also known as TexPREP , at 35 college and university campuses across the state this summer.
With students enrolling in programs that allow them gain insight into their potential vocation during their formative years, they are sure to gain favor in being accepted into high profile programs.
This is something that parents need to think about as they enroll their youth in summer programs. Do these programs lead to the future success of their children or do they just provide a place to vegitate for the summer.
If the program does not provide some form of employment enrichment, it is not worth enrolling your child in.
"No, I didn't flunk," says Jose, who makes good grades as a sophomore at Skyline High School in Dallas.
He's one of about 3,600 bright middle and high school students enrolled in the Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program, also known as TexPREP , at 35 college and university campuses across the state this summer.
With students enrolling in programs that allow them gain insight into their potential vocation during their formative years, they are sure to gain favor in being accepted into high profile programs.
This is something that parents need to think about as they enroll their youth in summer programs. Do these programs lead to the future success of their children or do they just provide a place to vegitate for the summer.
If the program does not provide some form of employment enrichment, it is not worth enrolling your child in.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Scholarships for College Dwindle
Students looking for college scholarships are going to have a harder time this year as providers, hammered by falling investment returns and declining philanthropic support, cut back.
The Fulfillment Fund, a nonprofit that works with Los Angeles public high school students, has reduced the number of college scholarships offered over the last three years by nearly half and has tightened requirements students must meet, said Maria T. Espinosa, director of program operations.
The Davis United World College Scholars Program, which last year began paying $20,000 per scholarship recipient at colleges that had at least five scholarship winners enrolled, has cut the amount in half, returning to pre-2008 levels.
“We’ve just been boxed in by circumstances we didn’t anticipate,” said Philip O. Geier, the program’s executive director, adding that he hoped to increase the scholarship payments in the future.
The recession has led foundations, corporations, state governments and colleges themselves to reduce their support of providers of scholarships, and in recent months programs have been reduced or canceled outright. The cuts come as economic conditions make it harder for families to pay for college and as more unemployed people look for financing for retraining.
The result will probably be a greater role for federal aid programs in supporting students, instead of private scholarship providers and state governments, said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the American Council on Education, whose members are colleges and universities.
“What you’re seeing are some shifts taking place,” Mr. Hartle said. Over all, there may be more aid money available as federal aid programs expand, he continued, “but some individuals may find themselves in much worse situations this year than last year.”
State grant programs have also taken a beating. In Pennsylvania, the maximum amount available to resident college students has fallen to $4,120, from about $4,700 last year, according to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. California, confronting a severe budget crisis, is weighing the shutdown of a state scholarship program benefiting hundreds of thousands of students. The New York Times Company, which offers the Times College Scholarship to New York City high school students, this year cut the number of scholarships it provided to 12, from 20, according to a spokeswoman.
No one has a complete list of all scholarship providers, let alone a database that tracks how much money those providers pay out every year. But companies that administer and track scholarships say that a downward trend is clear.
Though scholarship funding is declining, scholarships are still available. The screening process is just a bit more stringent. You still need to seek in the right direction to acquire funding. Know your strengths and identify the school that you have interest in early.
Additional details can be located at www.freecollegeeducation.com
The Fulfillment Fund, a nonprofit that works with Los Angeles public high school students, has reduced the number of college scholarships offered over the last three years by nearly half and has tightened requirements students must meet, said Maria T. Espinosa, director of program operations.
The Davis United World College Scholars Program, which last year began paying $20,000 per scholarship recipient at colleges that had at least five scholarship winners enrolled, has cut the amount in half, returning to pre-2008 levels.
“We’ve just been boxed in by circumstances we didn’t anticipate,” said Philip O. Geier, the program’s executive director, adding that he hoped to increase the scholarship payments in the future.
The recession has led foundations, corporations, state governments and colleges themselves to reduce their support of providers of scholarships, and in recent months programs have been reduced or canceled outright. The cuts come as economic conditions make it harder for families to pay for college and as more unemployed people look for financing for retraining.
The result will probably be a greater role for federal aid programs in supporting students, instead of private scholarship providers and state governments, said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the American Council on Education, whose members are colleges and universities.
“What you’re seeing are some shifts taking place,” Mr. Hartle said. Over all, there may be more aid money available as federal aid programs expand, he continued, “but some individuals may find themselves in much worse situations this year than last year.”
State grant programs have also taken a beating. In Pennsylvania, the maximum amount available to resident college students has fallen to $4,120, from about $4,700 last year, according to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. California, confronting a severe budget crisis, is weighing the shutdown of a state scholarship program benefiting hundreds of thousands of students. The New York Times Company, which offers the Times College Scholarship to New York City high school students, this year cut the number of scholarships it provided to 12, from 20, according to a spokeswoman.
No one has a complete list of all scholarship providers, let alone a database that tracks how much money those providers pay out every year. But companies that administer and track scholarships say that a downward trend is clear.
Though scholarship funding is declining, scholarships are still available. The screening process is just a bit more stringent. You still need to seek in the right direction to acquire funding. Know your strengths and identify the school that you have interest in early.
Additional details can be located at www.freecollegeeducation.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Community Colleges See Demand Spike
Hundreds of thousands of students are likely to be turned away from low-cost community colleges across the country over the next year because of funding cuts at the very time that record numbers of students are flocking to the open-admission schools, according to education officials.
This means that to get in, its going to take more than your application. You are going to have to identify your self as unique to the environment. That means that for you to get accepted to attend it is going to be imperative for you to show that you are going to benefity their environment in some way. Schools do not want students who are going to take one class and drop out. They are looking for students who are willing to tow the line and complete their programs.
But to do this, you are going to need funding. Though the numbers attending may drop, the number of students seeking funding is still the same. This means that there is funding out there for you. Visit freecollegeeducation.com for more details.
This means that to get in, its going to take more than your application. You are going to have to identify your self as unique to the environment. That means that for you to get accepted to attend it is going to be imperative for you to show that you are going to benefity their environment in some way. Schools do not want students who are going to take one class and drop out. They are looking for students who are willing to tow the line and complete their programs.
But to do this, you are going to need funding. Though the numbers attending may drop, the number of students seeking funding is still the same. This means that there is funding out there for you. Visit freecollegeeducation.com for more details.
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