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Book Review: The Best 373 Colleges

August 31st, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Book Reviews

There are sure things that take place every August and I’m not talking about students heading off to college. Rather, The Princeton Review faithfully releases an update of its “best colleges” guide and that annual update features more colleges than the previous year’s edition.

“The Best 373 Colleges,” is out and this edition (2010, Random House/Princeton Review Books) includes two more schools — Austin College in Sherman, Texas and University of Missouri-Columbia. Go back a number of years, 1998 for example, and 311 colleges were featured. The 2011 edition marks 18 years of “best colleges” updates and I just happened to receive a copy for my perusal.

Best Colleges

So why might you be interested in this book anyway? That’s a good question considering that there are thousands of colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The Princeton Review limits their selection to four-year schools although Deep Springs College, a two-year institution, is included. That California school limits itself to 26 students who enjoy a full expenses paid education. Importantly, students usually transfer to Ivy League and other top educational institutions once they have completed their studies.

The Princeton Review bases its school selection on internal data which reveals the schools students are considering and other factors including reputation in academic circles and their own research and interviews to determine which schools to include. Not every school with an outstanding academic pedigree is included — administrators must agree to allow the Princeton Review to conduct anonymous surveys of its students. Most do, but some do not.

And it is those 122,000 student surveys which tells the reader a lot about each school. Certainly, information about student enrollment, academics, admissions ratings and financial aid ratings are very helpful, but what sets The Best 373 Colleges apart is the input received from currently enrolled students themselves. Think about it: the material students get from the schools can be beneficial, but that information doesn’t include unbiased reports from students.

Informative Lists

That means in addition to sharing detailed information about each school, this reference book also makes good use of “Top 20” rankings and lists including the following:

  • What school has the least accessible professors? That would be the University of Toronto with Rutgers (New Brunswick) second.
  • Who has the best campus food? That’s Bowdoin College. On the opposite end of the food spectrum is the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
  • Naturally, Columbia University, Barnard College, Eugene Lang College and New York University rank as having the best college town as all four schools are located in the city that never sleeps — New York City. Pity the students who attend Tuskegee University — they give their school the lowest marks when it comes to college town life.

College Ads

One addition to this edition are the advertisements from 15 colleges and universities. Those full-page ads are stuck in the very back of the book and are from the schools themselves. The Princeton Review is quick to point out that the schools with ad copy are not chosen based on a financial contribution or due to their advertising. The “School Says…” section starts on page 819, after the reviews.

My favorite section of the book can be found on page 52 — the 100 best value colleges for 2010. Two lists of 50 private and 50 public colleges and universities are featured including some of the most expensive schools in the land. What makes each of these a value? That would be in student aid especially if you’re eligible to receive the funding necessary to help contain your college costs.

Adv. — Is college costing you more than what you can afford? Sallie Mae can help, by providing a Smart Option Student Loan designed to close your financing gap.


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Book Review: Barron’s Best Buys in College Education

August 27th, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Book Reviews

Friends of ours are in a panic because they have one year to go before the oldest of their three children heads off to college. He is a gifted student and may be eligible for some scholarships, but his family makes a bit too much money to qualify for most student aid.

That means the family is looking at paying more than $40,000 per year for college over the next four years if “junior” follows through with attending nearby Duke University and living on campus. But, before he does that I think I’ll share with his family my copy of Barron’s Best Buys in College Education (2010 | Barron’s) first.

That reference book, which was first compiled in 1990, has been updated in 2010 for its eleventh edition. As always, it features high quality colleges and universities, priced at levels most families can afford. That’s good news because sticker shock seems to be a generally expected occurrence these days.

Best Buys

Find a first-class education at a price you can afford is the tagline for this book which offers a state-by-state breakdown of “best buys.” Though I now live in North Carolina, I decided to see which schools in my native New Jersey are listed and found the two I expected to appear: The College of New Jersey in Ewing and Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Both these schools offer above average education without busting the bank, although families will take note that when living on campus the cost for each school can increase to more than $20,000 annually for in-state students. But, that amount is half what a New Jersey kid would pay at Princeton which is what this reference book is all about: finding equivalent education and paying less for it.

Detailed Information

“Best Buys” gives detailed information about each school, but starts out by sharing five “quick lists” to help narrow down the selection. Those lists feature schools with 20,000 or more students, 1,000 or fewer students, colleges charging under $15,000 annually, schools dominated by single-sex enrollment and colleges with chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor society.

Enough information is presented about a school to help prospective students narrow their list quickly. Barron’s explains whether the school is in an urban, suburban or rural location, who controls the college, breakdown of enrollment by gender, graduate enrollment, student/faculty ratio, freshmen profile, faculty profile, tuition and fees, room and board, freshmen financial aid, campus jobs, application deadline, financial aid deadline and admissions information.

Further, Barron’s tells a story about the college to give the reader an important backdrop on how the school formed and important factors students look at including facilities, special programs, campus life, how many students return for their sophomore year, payoff (pay attention to this section, parents!) and bottom line — what an education at that school has to offer.

The Bottomline

Best Buys offers something college-bound families need to know and that is a top-notch education can be had for less money. Skyrocketing tuition means students need to explore all of their options, Best Buys in College Education makes it easier to narrow that list down.

Adv. — Are you coming up short financially this semester? A Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan is one option to consider to help you close the financing gap.


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Low Income Students Ditching College

July 8th, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in College News

Not enough money to pursue a higher education.

College is supposed to be the great equalizer. At least that what is what academic experts would have us believe when it comes to attending college and leaving school enriched and with a job-enhancing degree in hand.

Is college unaffordable?

Emmeline Zhao, commenting on The Wall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics blog, cites a report recently submitted to Congress as evidence of a downward educational trend for financially-challenged students. That report, developed by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance and titled “The Rising Price of Inequality,” noted that inadequate grant aid is keeping some students away from campus.

Sinking Enrollment

The study revealed some startling statistics including that enrollment in four-year colleges for low-income students sunk from 54 percent in 1992 to 40 percent in 2004 and for moderate-income students that rate dropped from 59 percent to 53 percent over the same period.

According to Zhao, the net price for attending a four-year public college in 2007 for a low-income student was $10,620 — 48% of family income — up from $7,570 — 48% of family income — in 1992. The cost for a moderate-income student increased over the same period to $14,650 — 26% of family income — from $8,790 — 22% of family income.

Family Matters

Most telling in the report was a survey where students whose parents were “very concerned” about college costs chose not to apply to four-year schools at all, one-third the total of poorer students in fact. But if their parents didn’t express concern about college costs a full 90 percent enrolled in a four-year college.

So, are community and other two-year colleges the answer for low-income students? Apparently not as this group of students is three times more likely to finish college if they enrolled in a four-year college from the start. Saving money at a community college apparently does little to encourage these students to transfer to a four-year college in a bid to earn their bachelor degree.

Persistence Rates

The report also looked closely at the persistence rate of low-income students who attend a four-year college beginning with their freshmen year. Of the group who entered college in 1995, 78 percent finished school. That number dropped to 75 percent for students who began college eight years later. The rate for moderate income students held steady at 81 percent.

What solutions were offered? The main one, of course, is financial aid with the group recommending that it be increased and broadened. The report studied public universities, but noted that private colleges do a better job of welcoming lower income students to their schools and offering more financial aid.

With college costs continuing to outpace inflation, the number of students of limited financial means who may decide against attending college will probably continue to rise. Financial aid is important, but so is holding down costs across the board.

Adv. — Financial aid shortfalls need not keep you from attending college. Private student loans, as offered by Sallie Mae, could be the best option for students seeking help.


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HS Senior Weekly College Planning

January 9th, 2010 by Krayton M Davis | 2 Comments | Filed in College Planning

 

College Planning Tip for the Week of:
Sunday January 10, 2010
 
Get Ready to Submit the FAFSA Form

Use this month to ready yourself with options to pay for college The US Department of Education’s FAFSA form will be required for all Federal Aid Programs and many scholarships.

It is used by colleges to determine your financial aid eligibility.

The FAFSA form uses a methodology to calculate the cost of education at the school you are attending and the expected family contribution towards that cost. Your school will use the form to award what financial assistance you may need.

Preparing to Submit the FAFSA form:

  1. Register for a PIN
    so that you can sign your FAFSA form and other loan documents electronically. It will speed up the process:
    www.pin.ed.gov

  2. Start gathering the documentation needed to complete the FAFSA form:
    • social security number
    • driver’s license number (if any)
    • W-2 Forms and other records of money earned
    • income tax returns
    • parent’s federal income tax returns (if you are a dependent student)
    • untaxed income records
    • bank statements
    • business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records
    • alien registration card (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

      link to the FAFSA site to review required documentation

  3. Find your school codes:
    you will need this information so that your FAFSA filing can be sent to the schools of your choice. Again, the colleges use this information in designing a financial aid package to help pay the cost of college attendance.
    www.fafsa.ed.gov…/fslookup.htm

  4. View interactive worksheets:
    you can use these worksheets to help prepare for the real submission
    www.fafsa.ed.gov/worksheet.htm

  5. Register for Selective Service (male students):
    Young men that have reached age 18 must register with Selective Service before submitting the FAFSA form. This is required by law:
    www.sss.gov

 

Submitting the FAFSA form:
(submit anytime from January 1)

Submit your FAFSA form as soon as possible. Don’t wait to hear whether you have been accepted or not by a college. You want the FAFSA form sent to the school so that they can assemble an award package as soon as you are accepted:

FAFSA online application (Department of Education):
www.fafsa.ed.gov/
What’s It Like Living at College?

Get the real scoop on college living with these topics such as:

  • dorm life
  • roommates
  • lifestyle
  • academics
  • health and fitness
  • and more
More information available:

 

 


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