It's Getting Tougher & Tougher To Get A Great Financial Aid Package From Colleges These Days! Why Is This? To begin with, colleges and universities are receiving less money from Federal and State governments. There is also a trend towards less FREE money and more loans being given out to help fund a college education.
All of these things have led to students receiving less money than they should be entitled to under the financial aid formulas. Some schools, particularly the private universities, have more flexibility when it comes to negotiating for a better financial aid package, while others, like state colleges, have very little room to do anything. This means it is imperative for you to understand ALL of the payment options available to you just in case the college you are dying to go to comes up short when awarding you financial aid.
Resolution #1: Have Your Child Start Out At A State School And Then Transfer To A Private College.
If you gets accepted to both private universities and state schools, and he/she prefers to go to one of the private schools - the first thing you need to look at is how much is it really going to cost you to send him/her to that school. If the private university offers you an excellent package, which makes it approximately the same cost to you whether you send your child to private, or state - the answer seems pretty simple – attend the top choice.
If, however, the private university offers you a less-than-competitive package, and attending there will put you deep into debt, my recommendation is to think about attending a state school for two years, and then transfer over to a private university. You will probably end up saving yourself about $30,000, and will end up with a diploma from a private university. However, I must caution you: If you don’t plan to get top grades (A- or above) at the state school, they're going to have a tough time transferring over to a top private university.
Additionally, schools tend NOT to offer the best packages to transfer students. Keep these things in mind before you take advantage of this.
Resolution #2: Think About Sending Your Child To A College That Offers Cooperative Education.
About 900 colleges and universities across the country offer programs where students can alternate between full-time study, and a full-time job. This differs from work/study in that work/study jobs tend to be part-time jobs that students work at for a couple of hours a day until they've earned the amount of the award. On the other hand, cooperative education offers periods of full-time employment in jobs that the student is interested in pursuing after they graduate. The student usually makes enough money to pay for a good portion of tuition, and they have a much better chance of landing a good job after they graduate.
Resolution #3: Look Into Outside Funding To Help Pay For College.
True, private scholarships only make up only a percentage of all monies available for paying for college, but, you definitely won't get any of this money if you don't apply.
Resolution #4: Choose Colleges That Have Innovative Payment Plans. Don't only pay attention to the normal college search criteria like courses offered, academic and athletic reputation, geographic location, etc. Instead, make sure you inquire about special scholarships, installment plans, guaranteed cost plans, and tuition remission for good grades. Remember, if you don't ask – they won't tell!
Resolution #5: Always Apply To, At Least, Two Or Three Schools That Are Rated Equally. This way, if your child gets accepted to all of them, you may be able to play one against the other when negotiating to get a better financial aid package.
Resolution #6. Attend A Community College For The First Two Years Of School. If you work hard and gets good grades, they can usually transfer to a top private university. This way, they can get a diploma from a prestigious school for half the cost! I hope you saw that there is more than one way to skin a cat! Some old, some new!
Resolution #7. Check Out Your State's Financial Aid Programs. By contacting your state's higher education agency, you can find out what financial aid programs they can offer "in-state" students. Many states have grant and low-interest loan programs specifically to help students who plan to pursue careers in medicine or teaching. Check with your state agency to see what they have for your child!
Resolution #8: Complete Four Years Of College In Three Years. You will have to attend summer school, but you will save the 7 - 8% increase in tuition for the fourth year.
Resolution #9: Seek Alternative Funding for Your Education. Don’t allow anyone to tell you that there is no money available for education. There are thousands of dollars available. You just need to find it. Look to alternative sources, corporate or philanthropic organizations. If you need more information on how to accomplish this go to www.freecollegeeducation.com for details.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Violence not the answer to education.
London, England (CNN) -- At least 51 people have been arrested, authorities said Thursday, after students stormed the headquarters of Britain's ruling party to protest plans to raise tuition fees.
The students spray-painted anarchy symbols and set off flares before being forced out of the Conservative Party building in London.
They broke large windows, painted obscenities on the walls, and later climbed onto the roof and hurled objects down.
Some set fires and shot off firecrackers outside the building.
Angry students kick out building windows
UK students storm Conservative HQ
Students protest tuition hike in London
Protesting students take over UK plaza RELATED TOPICS
British Politics
"This was thuggish behavior by criminals and we need to ensure we have a thorough post-incident investigation to bring these criminals in front of a court to answer for their crimes," said Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan police commissioner. "It's not acceptable, it's an embarrassment for London and for us, and we have to do something about that."
The violence came during a largely peaceful protest by students against government plans to allow universities to increase tuition fees. The National Union of Students said 50,000 demonstrators were on the streets.
Arrests were primarily for trespassing and causing criminal damage, London's Metropolitan Police said.
Eight people suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospitals, police said. The injured included both police and protesters.
"We didn't expect this level of violence," the commissioner said.
The president of the National Union of Students, Aaron Porter, called the scenes of violence "despicable" and blamed "rogue protesters" for undermining an otherwise peaceful demonstration.
Students and university staff are protesting government plans to allow universities to charge up to 9,000 pounds (about $14,500) per year in tuition fees -- a substantial rise from the current cap of 3,000 pounds (about $4,800).
The government wants to raise tuition fees and scrap some subsidies for university students as it tries to cut a massive budget deficit.
Defenders of the plan say that universities will not have to charge the maximum they're allowed to, but an education policy expert told CNN they will.
"What will happen is that the number of (university) places will be held down -- the government will continue to limit the number of students the universities may recruit because the government subsidizes them through a loan," said Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute.
"Students will want to get into university because the best jobs go to those with university degrees," he continued.
"It seems economically sensible for the universities to charge as much as they can. It may not happen immediately but in the medium term, most universities will charge the maximum," he concluded, adding that's what happened when the maximum was last increased four years ago.
CNN's Antonia Mortensen and Joyce Joseph contributed to this report.
The students spray-painted anarchy symbols and set off flares before being forced out of the Conservative Party building in London.
They broke large windows, painted obscenities on the walls, and later climbed onto the roof and hurled objects down.
Some set fires and shot off firecrackers outside the building.
Angry students kick out building windows
UK students storm Conservative HQ
Students protest tuition hike in London
Protesting students take over UK plaza RELATED TOPICS
British Politics
"This was thuggish behavior by criminals and we need to ensure we have a thorough post-incident investigation to bring these criminals in front of a court to answer for their crimes," said Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan police commissioner. "It's not acceptable, it's an embarrassment for London and for us, and we have to do something about that."
The violence came during a largely peaceful protest by students against government plans to allow universities to increase tuition fees. The National Union of Students said 50,000 demonstrators were on the streets.
Arrests were primarily for trespassing and causing criminal damage, London's Metropolitan Police said.
Eight people suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospitals, police said. The injured included both police and protesters.
"We didn't expect this level of violence," the commissioner said.
The president of the National Union of Students, Aaron Porter, called the scenes of violence "despicable" and blamed "rogue protesters" for undermining an otherwise peaceful demonstration.
Students and university staff are protesting government plans to allow universities to charge up to 9,000 pounds (about $14,500) per year in tuition fees -- a substantial rise from the current cap of 3,000 pounds (about $4,800).
The government wants to raise tuition fees and scrap some subsidies for university students as it tries to cut a massive budget deficit.
Defenders of the plan say that universities will not have to charge the maximum they're allowed to, but an education policy expert told CNN they will.
"What will happen is that the number of (university) places will be held down -- the government will continue to limit the number of students the universities may recruit because the government subsidizes them through a loan," said Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute.
"Students will want to get into university because the best jobs go to those with university degrees," he continued.
"It seems economically sensible for the universities to charge as much as they can. It may not happen immediately but in the medium term, most universities will charge the maximum," he concluded, adding that's what happened when the maximum was last increased four years ago.
CNN's Antonia Mortensen and Joyce Joseph contributed to this report.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
149 Nonprofit Colleges Fail Test of Financial Strength
A total of 149 private nonprofit colleges failed the U.S. Department of Education's "financial-responsibility test" based on their condition in the 2009 fiscal year, data released on Thursday show. That's 23 more than the 126 that failed the test in the 2008 fiscal year, and an increase of about 70 percent over the number of degree-granting institutions that failed two years ago.
The colleges include small, religious institutions like Crossroads College, in Minnesota, and Concordia Seminary, in Missouri; specialized institutions like the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and the Dorothea Hopfer School of Nursing, at Mount Vernon Hospital, in New York; and several residential and liberal-arts colleges, including Belmont Abbey, Bethel, Guilford, Harcum, Keuka, and Ripon.
Though these schools failed that does not mean that they are out of money. Simply put, they are running low on funds and have to remain aware of their finances.
The colleges include small, religious institutions like Crossroads College, in Minnesota, and Concordia Seminary, in Missouri; specialized institutions like the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and the Dorothea Hopfer School of Nursing, at Mount Vernon Hospital, in New York; and several residential and liberal-arts colleges, including Belmont Abbey, Bethel, Guilford, Harcum, Keuka, and Ripon.
Though these schools failed that does not mean that they are out of money. Simply put, they are running low on funds and have to remain aware of their finances.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Obama Signs Bill on Student Loans
PETER BAKER
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – President Obama signed legislation Tuesday to expand college access for millions of young Americans by revamping the federal student loan program in what he called “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill.”
Mr. Obama traveled to a community college where the wife of his vice president teaches to draw attention to the student loan overhaul attached to the final piece of health care legislation that passed last week. In signing the bill, he put the final touches on his health care program but used the occasion to highlight the education provisions.
“That’s two major victories in one week,” he said to a hall full of students and other guests at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College, where Jill Biden teaches English. While he touted again the health care overhaul, the president said, “what’s gotten overlooked amid all the hoopla, all the drama of last week is what’s happened with education.”
The new law will eliminate fees paid to private banks to act as intermediaries in providing loans to college students and use much of the nearly $68 billion in savings over 11 years to expand Pell Grants and make it easier for students to repay outstanding loans after graduating. The law also invests $2 billion in community colleges over the next four years to provide education and career training programs to workers eligible for Trade Adjustment aid.
The law will increase Pell Grant grants along with inflation in the next few years, which should raise the maximum grant to $5,975 from $5,550 by 2017, according to the White House, and it will also provide 820,000 more grants by 2011. Including money from last year’s stimulus program and regular budget increases, the White House said Mr. Obama has now doubled spending on Pell Grants.
Students who borrow money starting in July 2014 will be allowed to cap their repayments at 10 percent of their income above basic living requirements, instead of 15 percent. Moreover, if they keep up their payments, they will have any remaining debt forgiven after 20 years instead of 25 years – or after 10 years if they are in public service, such as teaching, nursing or serving in the military.
Mr. Obama portrayed the overhaul of the student loan program as a triumph over an “army of lobbyists,” singling out Sally Mae, which he said spent $3 million to stop the changes. “For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” he said. He said the money “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
But Sallie Mae said the law would end up costing jobs. The loan company has told news outlets that it may have to eliminate a third of its 8,500 jobs nationwide.
The president was introduced by Jill Biden and accompanied by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Representative George Miller, the chairman of the House education committee who shepherded the student loan measure into law. Mr. Obama said he had asked Mrs. Biden to host a White House meeting this fall on community colleges.
Addressing health care, Mr. Obama acknowledged that the new program “won’t fix every problem in our health care system in one fell swoop” but called it a “major step forward toward giving Americans with insurance and those without a sense of security when it comes to their health.”
The Republican National Committee countered with a statement citing various news reports about doctors and medical companies expressing concern about taxes on medical devices and tanning salons, cuts in Medicare payments to hospitals and other elements of the new law. The R.N.C. release was headlined: “Small Businesses, Doctors Continue to Brace for Costs of Obama’s Government Takeover of Health Care.”
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – President Obama signed legislation Tuesday to expand college access for millions of young Americans by revamping the federal student loan program in what he called “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill.”
Mr. Obama traveled to a community college where the wife of his vice president teaches to draw attention to the student loan overhaul attached to the final piece of health care legislation that passed last week. In signing the bill, he put the final touches on his health care program but used the occasion to highlight the education provisions.
“That’s two major victories in one week,” he said to a hall full of students and other guests at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College, where Jill Biden teaches English. While he touted again the health care overhaul, the president said, “what’s gotten overlooked amid all the hoopla, all the drama of last week is what’s happened with education.”
The new law will eliminate fees paid to private banks to act as intermediaries in providing loans to college students and use much of the nearly $68 billion in savings over 11 years to expand Pell Grants and make it easier for students to repay outstanding loans after graduating. The law also invests $2 billion in community colleges over the next four years to provide education and career training programs to workers eligible for Trade Adjustment aid.
The law will increase Pell Grant grants along with inflation in the next few years, which should raise the maximum grant to $5,975 from $5,550 by 2017, according to the White House, and it will also provide 820,000 more grants by 2011. Including money from last year’s stimulus program and regular budget increases, the White House said Mr. Obama has now doubled spending on Pell Grants.
Students who borrow money starting in July 2014 will be allowed to cap their repayments at 10 percent of their income above basic living requirements, instead of 15 percent. Moreover, if they keep up their payments, they will have any remaining debt forgiven after 20 years instead of 25 years – or after 10 years if they are in public service, such as teaching, nursing or serving in the military.
Mr. Obama portrayed the overhaul of the student loan program as a triumph over an “army of lobbyists,” singling out Sally Mae, which he said spent $3 million to stop the changes. “For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” he said. He said the money “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
But Sallie Mae said the law would end up costing jobs. The loan company has told news outlets that it may have to eliminate a third of its 8,500 jobs nationwide.
The president was introduced by Jill Biden and accompanied by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Representative George Miller, the chairman of the House education committee who shepherded the student loan measure into law. Mr. Obama said he had asked Mrs. Biden to host a White House meeting this fall on community colleges.
Addressing health care, Mr. Obama acknowledged that the new program “won’t fix every problem in our health care system in one fell swoop” but called it a “major step forward toward giving Americans with insurance and those without a sense of security when it comes to their health.”
The Republican National Committee countered with a statement citing various news reports about doctors and medical companies expressing concern about taxes on medical devices and tanning salons, cuts in Medicare payments to hospitals and other elements of the new law. The R.N.C. release was headlined: “Small Businesses, Doctors Continue to Brace for Costs of Obama’s Government Takeover of Health Care.”
Monday, March 29, 2010
Students Retain Information in Print-Like Formats Better
By Jill Laster
A study at Arizona State University has found that students had lower reading comprehension of scrolling online material than they did of print-like versions.
The report, "To Scroll or Not to Scroll: Scrolling, Working Memory Capacity, and Comprehending Complex Texts," described how two groups, of 20 students each, wrote essays after reading materials in either in print-like or scrolling formats. Those given the scrolling versions to read had poorer comprehension of the material.
It is harder to keep track of where information is located within an online document versus the more-apparent page markers in a print-style text, said Christopher A. Sanchez, a co-author of the study. He is an assistant professor of applied psychology at Arizona State.
But the scrolling interface of online documents had little impact on the students in the study with high working-memory capacity, or a good ability to process and retrieve information. Mr. Sanchez said such people could have more cognitive resources able to remember static locations within an online text.
More study is needed on the impact that scrolling has on learning, he said, especially given the prevalence of online tools in the classroom and in distance learning.
"What it could do is give us recognition of how to better design materials so all people learn well, so we don't have this group of low-working-memory-capacity individuals who are behind the curve and are for some reason
A study at Arizona State University has found that students had lower reading comprehension of scrolling online material than they did of print-like versions.
The report, "To Scroll or Not to Scroll: Scrolling, Working Memory Capacity, and Comprehending Complex Texts," described how two groups, of 20 students each, wrote essays after reading materials in either in print-like or scrolling formats. Those given the scrolling versions to read had poorer comprehension of the material.
It is harder to keep track of where information is located within an online document versus the more-apparent page markers in a print-style text, said Christopher A. Sanchez, a co-author of the study. He is an assistant professor of applied psychology at Arizona State.
But the scrolling interface of online documents had little impact on the students in the study with high working-memory capacity, or a good ability to process and retrieve information. Mr. Sanchez said such people could have more cognitive resources able to remember static locations within an online text.
More study is needed on the impact that scrolling has on learning, he said, especially given the prevalence of online tools in the classroom and in distance learning.
"What it could do is give us recognition of how to better design materials so all people learn well, so we don't have this group of low-working-memory-capacity individuals who are behind the curve and are for some reason
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Colleges Live With Last Year's Decisions but You Don't
Private colleges are weighing tuition and aid—hemmed in by the economy, and by past strategies, too
Investments have bounced back, but not to their former heights. Job losses have slowed, but unemployment remains high. And some kinds of loans are still hard to get.
That is the financial backdrop as many private colleges set next year's tuition and financial-aid budgets in the coming weeks. As if that weren't complicated enough, everybody is wondering: How are families feeling?
Some college leaders think parents are more confident about their prospects than they were a year ago. But let’s look at reality. While some college students are having a hard time deciding how they are going to attend college, others are not. This is because many students have learned the methods used to acquire a college education at no cost. Many college students have learned that with a little thought and preparation, they can achieve the college education that they have always dreamed of and not have to come out of pocket.
This system of acquiring funding for a free college education has been used by many for years and there are only a few steps that you have to take to get the funding. These steps include identifying the characteristics that make you unique. You will need to ask yourself what make you special, what makes you unique and what makes stand out in the crowd. Then you need to decide what you want to major in and where you want to attend. Though that seems simple, that’s about as much work as you have to do.
While this method may seem too good to be true to many, it’s not.
I have found few resources that detail this specific method of academic funding acquisition but one that I find quite interesting is “Attend College for Free.” This publication can be acquired through Amazon.com and it presents all of the steps requires to receive as much money as you want towards you college education.
Take a look for yourself. I have used this system and know of many others that have and they have all found success in using the methods presented through this publication.
You can also find out more about this publication at Freecollegeeducation.com
Reference: http://chronicle.com/article/As-Tough-Times-Persist/64006/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Number of men attending college going up
By ERIC GORSKI
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 26, 2010; 12:46 PM
-- On college campuses, female undergraduates have outnumbered men and outperformed them academically for years, but a new report out Tuesday finds those gaps have stopped growing in key areas including enrollment and bachelor's degrees.
One notable exception is young Hispanic men - especially new immigrants - who are falling further behind Hispanic women.
Men account for 43 percent of overall college enrollment and earn 43 percent of bachelor's degrees - figures that have remained consistent since the early 2000s.
However, the analysis by the Washington-based American Council on Education shows the disparity lies largely in the fact that men are much less likely than women to go to college - or return to college - later in life: Undergraduate men age 25 or older are outnumbered by women in the same age group 2-to-1.
"Traditional" students who head directly to college from high school are split between the genders. Men still lead in the number of PhD and MD degrees awarded, while the genders are about even in graduate programs in law and business administration.
"Why are men less likely than women to enter (or re-enter) higher education later in life?" researcher Jacqueline King, the author of the study, asked. "Perhaps the higher salaries that men of all education levels continue to command in the labor market depress enrollments, or men are less willing to reduce the amount they work (and earn) in order to pursue higher education, but additional research is needed."
There is disagreement about the causes of the college gender gap, the extent of the problem and what should be done about it. While some scholars and experts argue that earning disparities provide financial greater incentive for women to attend college, others claim schools systems biased against boys leave them are unprepared for college.
Still others caution that whatever the problems facing men as a whole, attention ought to be focused on minority and poor men who face the greatest challenges.
After decades of discrimination and exclusion from many campuses, women became the majority on college campuses after 1978, an outgrowth of the women's rights movement and a drop-off in male enrollment after the end of the Vietnam era.
By 1990, the female-male breakdown was 55 percent to 45 percent. The gap widened to 57 percent to 43 percent in 2003 and has been frozen there since, according to the report.
A similar leveling off has taken place with undergraduate degrees. The last time men and women were on even footing in earning bachelor's degrees was 1980. The gender gap kept growing until it had tilted in favor of women 57 percent to 43 percent in 2000-2001 - and has held steady there since.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the recession is pushing more men back to school - community colleges have reported gains in male enrollment - which could narrow the gender gap, King said.
Among the report's other findings:
- The percentage of Hispanic undergraduates 24 or younger who are male fell from 45 percent in 1999-2000 to 42 percent in 2007-2008. Only half of young adults who are Hispanic immigrants completed high school, and less than 10 percent earned a bachelor's degree.
- Among undergraduates 24 and younger, the gender gap is widest among African-Americans: 59 percent female to 41 percent male in 2007-2008. However, the gap has narrowed since 1995-1996, when it was 63-37.
- Although the number of degrees awarded to white and Hispanic men are rising, they are not earning degrees at a higher rate because the gains aren't keeping up with population growth.
School officials are limited in what they can do to narrow the gap because anti-discrimination laws restrict public schools and most private schools that accept federal dollars from considering gender as an admissions factor.
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission is investigating whether private liberal arts colleges in the Washington, D.C., area are discriminating against women in an effort to better balance their enrollments.
Linda Sax, an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, said attention should focus on preparing and attracting low-income African-American and Latino men to college, given their historic under-representation.
"At the same time, we must acknowledge the fact that women continue to comprise the majority of low-income and first-generation college students and remain underrepresented in traditionally male fields like engineering and computer science," said Sax, author of "The Gender Gap in College: Maximizing the Developmental Potential of Women and Men." "Their needs ought not be overlooked."
(This version CORRECTS that the gender gap has stopped growing, not reversed.)
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 26, 2010; 12:46 PM
-- On college campuses, female undergraduates have outnumbered men and outperformed them academically for years, but a new report out Tuesday finds those gaps have stopped growing in key areas including enrollment and bachelor's degrees.
One notable exception is young Hispanic men - especially new immigrants - who are falling further behind Hispanic women.
Men account for 43 percent of overall college enrollment and earn 43 percent of bachelor's degrees - figures that have remained consistent since the early 2000s.
However, the analysis by the Washington-based American Council on Education shows the disparity lies largely in the fact that men are much less likely than women to go to college - or return to college - later in life: Undergraduate men age 25 or older are outnumbered by women in the same age group 2-to-1.
"Traditional" students who head directly to college from high school are split between the genders. Men still lead in the number of PhD and MD degrees awarded, while the genders are about even in graduate programs in law and business administration.
"Why are men less likely than women to enter (or re-enter) higher education later in life?" researcher Jacqueline King, the author of the study, asked. "Perhaps the higher salaries that men of all education levels continue to command in the labor market depress enrollments, or men are less willing to reduce the amount they work (and earn) in order to pursue higher education, but additional research is needed."
There is disagreement about the causes of the college gender gap, the extent of the problem and what should be done about it. While some scholars and experts argue that earning disparities provide financial greater incentive for women to attend college, others claim schools systems biased against boys leave them are unprepared for college.
Still others caution that whatever the problems facing men as a whole, attention ought to be focused on minority and poor men who face the greatest challenges.
After decades of discrimination and exclusion from many campuses, women became the majority on college campuses after 1978, an outgrowth of the women's rights movement and a drop-off in male enrollment after the end of the Vietnam era.
By 1990, the female-male breakdown was 55 percent to 45 percent. The gap widened to 57 percent to 43 percent in 2003 and has been frozen there since, according to the report.
A similar leveling off has taken place with undergraduate degrees. The last time men and women were on even footing in earning bachelor's degrees was 1980. The gender gap kept growing until it had tilted in favor of women 57 percent to 43 percent in 2000-2001 - and has held steady there since.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the recession is pushing more men back to school - community colleges have reported gains in male enrollment - which could narrow the gender gap, King said.
Among the report's other findings:
- The percentage of Hispanic undergraduates 24 or younger who are male fell from 45 percent in 1999-2000 to 42 percent in 2007-2008. Only half of young adults who are Hispanic immigrants completed high school, and less than 10 percent earned a bachelor's degree.
- Among undergraduates 24 and younger, the gender gap is widest among African-Americans: 59 percent female to 41 percent male in 2007-2008. However, the gap has narrowed since 1995-1996, when it was 63-37.
- Although the number of degrees awarded to white and Hispanic men are rising, they are not earning degrees at a higher rate because the gains aren't keeping up with population growth.
School officials are limited in what they can do to narrow the gap because anti-discrimination laws restrict public schools and most private schools that accept federal dollars from considering gender as an admissions factor.
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission is investigating whether private liberal arts colleges in the Washington, D.C., area are discriminating against women in an effort to better balance their enrollments.
Linda Sax, an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, said attention should focus on preparing and attracting low-income African-American and Latino men to college, given their historic under-representation.
"At the same time, we must acknowledge the fact that women continue to comprise the majority of low-income and first-generation college students and remain underrepresented in traditionally male fields like engineering and computer science," said Sax, author of "The Gender Gap in College: Maximizing the Developmental Potential of Women and Men." "Their needs ought not be overlooked."
(This version CORRECTS that the gender gap has stopped growing, not reversed.)
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