Making College Worth It

09/13/2023

If you weren't aware, there's a race for students. Colleges need students to survive and there are/will be fewer looking at college as an option. If they do, the price needs to be lower so MANY colleges are changing the out-of-state tuition to match in-state. Given a more equal pricing model, the other valuable remains, years to graduate. Here in Georgia, last I checked, we have the 3rd lowest 6 year graduation rate in the country. If you believe staying in state is the most cost effective way, please talk to me to confirm. Your total cost could be lower...

Students who want to attend a historically Black college but have few or no options in their home states can attend two Maryland HBCUs and pay in-state prices starting next fall.

09/12/2023

Five Star experience for a One Star price. That's what everyone expects and then the lack of revenue/endowment closes down a college.
I remember when there wasn't this 'Keeping up with the Joneses' mentality. Labs were old and looked well used. Dorm food was cafeteria food. Dorm rooms were cinder blocks. We lived like a pauper so we could live like a prince once we graduate. Somehow, we managed and have fond memories of our years in college.
Now, everything has to be new or being improved. Dorm food is restaurant quality. New lab buildings like Clean rooms for nanotechnology. Dorm rooms have their own bathroom. Everything outside is manicured. Lazy rivers and palm trees entice students.
There is a cost to that. Higher Cost of Attendance. Borrowing more. Now higher interest rates. Too expensive to attend because fewer see the worth. Higher ed and those who will be attending need to shift from the 6 year playground to a four year academic experience that sets them up for life in the Real World.

Murray Sperber says the quality of housing amenities, the robustness of student life program-ming, and the quality of an institution’s athletic teams are primary drivers of undergraduate enrollment.

09/06/2023

Rankings. They have good intentions but are they really helpful? This one, from Money magazine, rates 5 Star colleges. They use averages, average cost, average ROI and average 10 year earnings. They use 6 year graduation rates. They use in-state full cost of attendance for public colleges. They say it's not a list of "elite" colleges and yet most have acceptance rates below 10%.

I don't use rankings from other sources. I use your rankings, what's important to you, taking into account your cost, your ROI, your career earnings, the 4 year graduation rate and ones you'll get into.

08/11/2023

The reduced birth rate from the Great Recession might be the best thing to happen for families with high school students. Declining enrollment is causing three things to happen...
1. The colleges in financial trouble are closing, reducing the seats available. Most are colleges that rely on tuition to pay the bills and the declining enrollment is forcing them out of business because they can't reduce their cost significantly enough to maintain enrollment numbers.
2. As the article states, the remaining colleges are fighting for the students by cutting the cost of attendance. Sometimes it's to get in-state tuition, sometimes more.
3. Majors consolidation. Each college has majors that attract few students. Many are closing out humanities type majors and sometimes are replacing them with majors that help build our new workforce in hi tech.

I stay up to date on all the changes going on in higher ed. Please contact for a free consult.

Enrollment and demographic declines are leading some regional public colleges to entice students from neighboring states, stoking tensions and spurring competition.

07/19/2023

The Making of a Conservative College. If you are cheering for the change in this college, know there are other options if you have conservative values. I can help you find them.

More than one-third of the faculty—36 members—has left the New College of Florida within the past year, The Tampa Bay Times reported. Provost Bradley Thiessen called it a “ridiculously high” number for an institution with fewer than 100 full-time professors.

07/11/2023

Have you lost confidence in higher ed? Do you think it's too expensive and not worth the cost? Could it be the political leanings of colleges in general? Something else?

Let's set up a free consultation to discuss current higher ed and see what can be done to get the knowledge needed to build a successful career.

A Gallup poll shows only 36 percent of Americans have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, which is down by about 20 percentage points from eight years ago.

07/05/2023

The Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action apparently is not only focused on admissions but potentially race based financial aid awards, so thinks Missouri.

If your family fits into this demographic and are worried about reduced funding for college, the colleges will find a way to distribute the money. Many colleges are looking at income based assessments for that scholarship money.

Missouri attorney general tells all colleges to drop minority scholarships. University of Missouri system complies.

06/30/2023

I know this won't make many people happy (those with student debt) but I believe $400 billion of debt movement from student debt to general debt should have more of our representatives being a part of the discussion than a single person, even if that person is the president.

On a different note, the new Income Driven Repayment option could save someone with student debt more than this forgiveness attempt.

The 6-to-3 decision stops the Biden administration from moving forward with plans to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for eligible Americans.

06/22/2023

I love these articles! Scroll down the article and read about their "solutions"... Have the government pay for it by doubling Pell or making some tuition free (meaning the government pays for it).

They also have a low bar for them to hurdle in order to be "worth it". Take the HS degree average income over 10 years and add the cost of the college. That's their Threshold 0 number. Break even after 10 years on the job!

My solution would be to list those colleges in a report like Consumer Reports and have the colleges step up or close up shop. Just like any other business. Throwing our tax dollars at a poor performing college isn't a solution! Maybe offer money to the ones who are performing well!

The analysis shows that about 80 percent of colleges provide a “minimum economic return” that makes an undergraduate degree worth the investment.

06/17/2023

Success can be achieved through a variety of paths, not just through the Ivy’s.

“Like everyone else,” David Kang assumed the Ivy Leagues would dominate, “but the largest place they had gone was to no college at all.”

06/12/2023

They are opting out of college because there isn't someone to show them how to make it work, academically and financially. High school counselors and financial planners can't do the whole job. An independent education consultant can focus on both academics AND finances to build a list of colleges that meet ALL the family's needs. Still skeptical? I offer a free consultation so you can learn more...

Students in a new survey cite concerns about academic preparation, mental health and affordability. Many say college isn’t worth it.

01/20/2023

Checking out Winthrop University today!