Secrets to Minimizing the Costs of College That the Schools Don?t Want you to Know
Everything surrounding college today is BIG business – and expensive! Like health care costs, the cost of college has been – and is expected to continue – increasing at twice the rate of inflation. If college expenses increase 7% per year, they will double in 10 years! So if the University of Illinois costs approximately $20,000 per year today, in ten years it could be $40,000.
If your own compensation/wages increase at a rate closer to normal inflation, how can one afford to send a child to college? Unfortunately, college, besides being expensive, is essential. Studies have shown that a person with an undergraduate degree will earn on average $1,000,000 more in a lifetime than a non-graduate.
To manage these high costs, you first and foremost must learn and understand the process. Nearly 99% of parents take on the task of helping their students get into college and figuring out how to pay for it without a clue as to how the system works.
In the age of the internet, you would think there would be plenty of good and practical sources on career planning, college search, college selection, and college funding. However, that is not the case. In your search, you will find scattered pieces of information; but this information alone does not help you to thoroughly understand the process. To benefit you, these bits of information need to be converted to knowledge of the process.
You need to learn and understand the role the Department of Education plays in the process. In effect, they tell you what you can afford to spend for collegiate expenses. Their formula is elaborate, complicated, and very unfair to those families with higher levels of debt.
Don’t believe the many myths about the world of financial aid. Aid takes many forms and to assume you won’t qualify could be a huge mistake. One key is to learn how to tap into endowment funds. This information is very beneficial, but not easily found.
Make sure you file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) each January. It is your ticket into the game – it makes you a player. Without it, financial aid or endowment scholarship money is not likely to come your way.
As we said before, college is big business. In many ways it’s David vs. Goliath when parents embark on this endeavor. To increase the odds in their favor, many parents today are engaging the services of professionals to help their students for career planning, college search, and college selection. Many of these highly specialized firms will also devise tax-favored funding strategies to help pay for collegiate expenses.
With college costs increasing at record rates, and the long term costs of not achieving a degree at over a million dollars, many parents feel employing these specialists is a small investment. The use of college planning advisors gives them a better understanding of the process, peace of mind, and ultimately, minimizes the total cost of a college education.
Straighterline And The Bridge School Partner To Offer High School Students Dual Enrollment For Online College Courses
Alexandria, VA – StraighterLine (http://www.straighterline[dot]com) announced today that The Bridge School (http://www.thebridgeschool[dot]net), a leading provider of online high school education based in Houston Texas, has partnered with StraighterLine to offer a dual enrollment option for their students. Bridge School students who successfully complete StraighterLine courses will receive high school credit from the Bridge School and college credit from any of StraighterLine’s partner colleges or any of the one thousand or more colleges that award credit for courses approved by the American Council on Education’s Credit Recommendation Service.
The Bridge School is the first high school to partner with StraighterLine to offer high school students the ability to take college courses while still in high school. This program will provide high school students with college credits and save them thousands of dollars on their college degrees.
In addition to being reviewed by partner colleges, StraighterLine courses have been evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service and have met or exceeded the Distance Education and Training Council’s standards for online course quality.
Currently StraighterLine offers nine entry-level college courses online, including College Algebra, Precalculus, English Comp I, English Comp II, Accounting I, Accounting II, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Business Statistics and two developmental courses, with more to be offered soon. StraighterLine partner colleges include the following institutions:
* Charter Oak State College (www.charteroak.edu)
* Fort Hays State University (www.fhsu.edu)
* Jefferson Community and Technical College (http://www.jefferson.kctcs.edu)
* Kaplan University (www.kaplanuniversity.edu)
* Lake City Community College (www.lakecitycc.edu)
* Potomac College (www.potomac.edu)
* Western Governors University (www.wgu.edu)
“With StraighterLine’s courses, Bridge School students can dramatically reduce the cost of college,” says Burck Smith, StraighterLine’s CEO. “Further, by starting college with existing credits, research shows that these students are more likely to complete their degree.”
“Providing an open enrollment opportunity to deliver dual credit courses is one important way for The Bridge School to address individual student goals, says Dr. Spyros Catechis, The Bridge School founder and CEO. “Partnering with StraighterLine to offer these distance learning courses in a way that matches the high tech expectations of today’s high school students, will help maximize our students’ acquisition of knowledge.”
About The Bridge School
The mission of The Bridge School is to enable students to become self-motivated, independent learners who are in charge of their educational future. The Bridge School accomplishes this by providing a flexible and individualized opportunity to achieve a high school diploma through the use of open enrollment, on-line instruction. The Bridge School allows students to start a course at any time and move through a course at their own rate. The Bridge School offers more than 160 Middle School, and High School courses, including Dual Credit and AP, taught by highly qualified and certified teachers. The Bridge School offers High School diplomas and transferable credit, since it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) using online solutions for students who want an alternative to the traditional classroom environment. It is also approved by the Texas Education Agency as an accredited nonpublic school.
The Bridge School is designed for students who are interested in taking single courses to augment their current educational experience, and for full time students seeking a high school diploma. The Bridge School helps students who are facing challenges, stay on track with their preparation for a career and college. Additionally, the Bridge School helps highly motivated students move ahead more rapidly, to give them an advantage in today’s competitive academic environment.
About StraighterLine
StraighterLine provides students with a new online option for getting started on a college degree – freshman-level college courses for only $99 a month, plus a one-time $39 per course started fee. The program includes up to 10 hours of one-on-one instructional support.
StraighterLine is a great way to tackle the escalating cost of four-year college tuition and avoid a mountain of student debt with their distance learning courses. For students that move at the same pace as a traditional semester schedule courses ultimately cost less than $43 per credit hour. Many students move through the material even faster though which allows for greater savings.
Students who successfully complete StraighterLine online college courses receive credit when they enroll with any school in our rapidly expanding network of regionally accredited partner colleges. In addition, the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT – www.acenet.edu/acecredit/) has also evaluated and recommended college credit for StraighterLine courses. ACE CREDIT helps students gain access to academic credit at colleges and universities for formal courses and examinations taken in settings outside traditional higher education.
For information, visit www.straighterline[dot]com or call 202-507-7020 or 1-877-str8erline (1-877-787-8375).
Home Schooling – Opportunities and Challenges
Children usually ‘Walk’ to school and ‘Run’ when they return home. This is a universal phenomena and is tested and proven over time – from our grand parents to possibly our grand children – we see that during our initial days (formative years) we do not enjoy schooling like the way we enjoy during our school ending years (adolescence years). Home schooling provides great opportunity to children with learning disabilities and other ‘hesitant’ children
The merits of home schooling are many – the primary being that you are not compared even inadvertently with anyone around you – thereby saving a huge embarrassment and guilt. A child can learn at a pace that can be decided mutually between the child and the guide. A child can study what is appealing on that day. In a classroom, a child can’t expect or get individual attention and therefore the time it takes to complete a lesson is much higher when compared to a one on one session. In addition to all these advantages, a child need not go for ‘tutions’ which is an inevitable evil in Indian education system. Tutions are no different from Home schooling.
When we talk of tutions, I used to wonder about this concept. Typically, the tution teachers are the same individuals who teach in classrooms. Even the students are same. Even today, I fail to understand that if a child has to attend tutions after the school hours, then what is the purspose of going to school and attending to classes. No magic is taught in private tutions. Then why is ’tutions’ so important in today’s education system? If tutions are inevitable, then is schooling necessary? Is schooling needed only to the extent that any educational board demands an association with a school?
These thoughts are not new. These thoughts have been haunting educationists and socialists for a long time. So, new methods of home schooling have started getting recognised. The first of its kind is the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). A child need not attend classes at school – can continue to make arrangements to learn from home – and can appear in the board examinations. A wonderful opportunity for children who can’t afford to spend their time and money in traditional school system. This type of education is economically affordable for the masses and for children closer to poverty line. The population in NIOS has kept a steady increase in these years and it is glad to see many children have fulfilled their dreams of completing their school education from home. We all know that at the university level, we have distance education program (Correspondence courses) where students can afford to join these courses without attending to colleges – and instead of wasting their time, such children employ themselves and earn their fees for such courses.
So?? am I driving to a point where we conclude traditional schooling is bad? Am I saying that schooling is a waste of time and energy? No- certainly not. No system can replace a traditional schooling model where a child learns to be a social being. A child undertstands the importance of good over bad, magnanimity, role modeling, leading, sports, games, competition and many more. But these should not stop education to a child who can’t afford to come to school – may be because of financial burden or due to any other reasons.
Home schooling is certainly a very good alternative to traditional schooling and paves way for many students to pursue graduation at affordable fees and time lines. We should be thankful to open schooling or home schooling systems without which we would have lost so many young minds in their formative years. Home schooling is therefore a wonderful opportunity and wherever possible, I would request the responsible people of the society to support and patronize home schooling.
Thanks and regards,
Dr. PM Anavaratham
For Parents of Special Needs Students: Raising a Successful College Graduate
Children with special needs have experienced more frustration and academic failure than most other children. Yet, some of them become successful college students who graduate with a specialty in a chosen field.
Sadly, most do not. Only about 57 percent of students with disabilities graduate from high school, and only about 10 to 15 percent of those graduating attend college.
What are some reasons students succeed in college? How can parents help their child be among those who accomplish this challenging undertaking?
Parental expectations are a key factor
Children who are raised with the belief that they have the skills to be successful at the college of their choice, if they desire to pursue a college education, have a great advantage! They prepare all of their lives for the experience of college. All through their school years they make powerful decisions that lay the foundation for college success.
Students who believe they will be successful college students study more, they have higher grades, and they seek the guidance of mentors who can guide them to develop strong skills. They “play full out” in school, taking challenging classes and honing their academic skills.
The type of mentoring children receive from their parents is the genesis of the personal coping beliefs and habits that ensure college success. Parents lay the foundation of academic achievement from the moment their child is born. Parents who mentor and support their child all through their lives to believe in their innate intelligence and skill encourage the kind of decisions good students face every day as they pursue their path through the huge array of facts, procedures, skills and habits that support the ultimate acquisition of academic literacy.
When mentored to know he or she will be successful, a student develops personal attributes that support success. Research by the Frostig Center in Pasadena, California provides some insight into these qualities.
Personal qualities that support academic success
Students who have the following personal qualities are much more likely to thrive in college. You can read more detailed descriptions of the qualities that insure college success here.
• Self-awareness and self-acceptance
• Proactivity as opposed to reactivity
• Perseverance
• Skill in setting short and long-range goals
• Use of effective support systems
• Strong emotional coping strategies
Taking specific action increases the likelihood of succeeding in college
Students need to be aware of specific action steps they should take to increase the probability they will be admitted to and graduate from the college of their choice.
Ideally, parents and children should begin to take specific action steps by the time the student reaches 8th grade. For the student, this involves taking the most challenging classes available, while maintaining strong grades and a great attitude toward academics. Completing extra or optional assignments in classes to stretch his or her knowledge, and pursuing activities about which the student is passionate such as sports, artistic, and/or volunteer experiences builds the self-confidence, proactive mindset and time management skills that characterize highly successful students.
Parents should encourage their child to learn from successful adults who are rich sources of information about the nature of their careers, the training they completed, and the strategies they use to be successful. Family friends, teachers, coaches, and neighbors are valuable allies to a student who is eager to learn about the kinds of opportunities available to them as adults.
Students should explore the world of work through paid jobs, internships, and volunteering. They will learn about the working conditions of specific jobs, develop the perseverance needed to commit to a challenging endeavor, and learn valuable interpersonal skills such as cooperation and functioning within an environment that requires meeting high expectations.
It is necessary for students to take a proactive role in their school careers. They should learn how to communicate their strengths and needs to adults. They should attend their IEP meetings and advocate on their own behalf.
Transition planning
Students who qualify under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are entitled to receive support services that help them make a transition from high school to postsecondary activities. These services may include coursework, related services, community experiences, development of results-oriented employment and/or adult living objectives in their IEPs, and a functional living skills assessment, when warranted.
Beginning when the student is 14 years of age, the IEP team must consider services that are designed to facilitate the student’s transition to adult living. At the age of 16, the IEP team is required to include results-oriented objectives, matched to a student’s postsecondary goals, that provide support to transition to adult living.
Parents should work with their school’s special education coordinator to determine the range of services available, and express their opinions about services and experiences they would like to have provided for their child.
Summary of performance
Students who are eligible to receive special education services are legally entitled to receive a Summary of Performance (SOP) during their final year in high school. The school district is required by federal law (Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 2004) to provide to high school seniors who will be graduating with a regular diploma, a summary of their academic achievement and functional performance. This information will be used by colleges as a basis to determine accommodations granted to a student.
The school district may use their own format to document a student’s strengths and needs. It is very advantageous to a parent to have a template that illustrates the kind of information a complete SOP should contain. It is advantageous to have a history of specific accommodations that were provided in high school and to include these in the SOP. Parents can download a copy prepared by a national coalition of disability rights organizations here.
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Only a small percentage of students with special learning needs attend college, but parents have the opportunity to insure that their child is one of the successful ones. The most valuable step parents can take is to mentor their child to believe in their intelligence and talents and know in their heart they can meet the challenge of obtaining a college education. This belief supports the effective action steps that parents and students take throughout their school career to ensure a college diploma.
Online College Guide: Presenting a Perfect Platform for Finding the Right College
While it is your right to choose where you want to study, you may also like to be supplied with information about all the colleges in your state or even outside of it. A hectic activity usually ensures just after graduating out of school and you are ensured a busy searching for colleges and getting familiarized with the programs, the campuses, the departments and much more. College search in itself is quite a cumbersome activity. Moreover you have to find out what programs are offered at these colleges and what the admission criteria are. As such, you require the right guidance in choosing a college which meets your requirements. Although there are bulky college guide books which record increased sales during admission time, alternatively you can look for guidance online. Accessing information online is quite convenient, comfortable, and much quicker. Moreover, you can get updated information which may not be the case with printed books.
There are a few portals, which gather all information a student may require at one place. You can also search for colleges in a particular region on these websites. Moreover, these portals are complete with guidance materials including reviews of the colleges, ratings of colleges highlighting the strong points of these colleges, and even guide on choosing the right program. Some portals also offer information on college internship programs. Such portals come across as a complete college guide. Also, on your part, you have to ask certain questions in choosing a college that best suites you. For example, you would like a college which is quite near to your residence. Or, you may like a college which is located at an urban environment. Also, look beyond the academics. Find out how the campus life is. You may surely want an ideal balance between academic interest and social activities. Similarly, if have a strong interest in sports, look out the sporting infrastructure and activities of the college.
A unique portal which can offer you all the above information is Unigo. This is a social networking site and is perfect for students looking for unbiased college information. Members of this site exchange college pictures, student videos about colleges and campus life apart from contributing on college reviews and ratings.
Online College Courses: Advantages and Disadvantages
Online College Courses
In the recent past educational programs and the medium of learning has seen a sea change. Distance learning which once meant for students who really could not make it to the campus colleges is now the hub for all specialized courses. Past decade has seen education in its new form. Education for all and education at any cost has become a reality today. You can break free and cross the hurdles which restrained you from reaching your goal of higher education.
The Tech Era
Technological invasion is at its high. Online education, virtual class rooms, lectures through tele-conferencing, submitting assignments online, discussions through interactive platforms, you go to a college not by stepping out of your house but at the click of your mouse. I am sure most of what is happing today would not have been even imagined a couple of decades ago.
The era of face to face interaction with professor and students is slowly fading. Given the popularity and wide reach of Online Degrees, it sometimes makes me wonder about the effectiveness and the adaptability of the students to this new way of learning. There is no external support that keeps you driving to go ahead with your educational curriculum. A completely self motivated and self disciplined effort is required to succeed in an e-learning environment which makes the education online great for few, while not so great for those who cannot adapt to a self motivated exercise.
As students it is important that you understand the advantages and the disadvantages of online college courses, to better analyze the possibility and your adaptability.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Online College Courses
Let us now sit and discuss the possible advantages and disadvantages of pursing online college course.
Advantages
* No restriction on the place of study – Online education offers great opportunity for people who live in remote areas, those who live far away from the college or school offering the desired course of study, those who are not in a position to commute due to health or other reasons. You have the flexibility of attending online classes from any corner of the world. This flexibility helps individuals to overcome a major hurdle in the path of attaining academic success.
* Any time study – You have no restriction on the class timings. The classes are available on online at any time of the day and it is wonderful for both who wish to stick to fixed timings and for those who opt for such online courses mainly because they have other commitments which hardly gives them the time to study. Are you somebody who has trouble getting ready for morning classes? Are you new mom and your baby sitting schedule just does not allow you step out of the house? Are you a busy professional trying to squeeze up time for studies? Does your employment leave you with an hour or so during night to make up for your studies? Then online studies or education is just made for you.
* No notes please! – You are saved from taking down notes when you hear online lectures. If you cannot write fast or you are used to a slow pace of learning or you need to hear atleast a couple of times to understand what is being told, online classes has the facility of repeating lectures pausing them for a while and ever availability of lectures that helps you overcome all troubles in learning.
* Technology – The very fact that you are enrolled for an online course is a gift of technological advancement. Multimedia Learning Aids become part of course curriculum that enables the lecturer or the instructor to help students experience livelier version of online classes.
* Dress code necessary? – No not at all! You either sit at your home or office, it is upto you whether you wish to wear a pant or skirt or sit with pajamas for your classes. No dress code is required as you don’t attend classes in public.
* Flexible pace of learning – Online courses normally don’t generally restrict students and offers them a flexible time frame for them to complete their course. Whether you are a slow learner or a fast grasper your individual personalities are complimented in an online course of study. Whether you take one year or three years, all you are expected to do is to complete your course.
* Wide range of course options – Unlike traditional colleges, online colleges offer wide range of studies that enables them provide their students specialized courses and cater to their educational needs from any corner of the world with no restriction on admission deadlines. You can get into such courses at any time of a year unlike traditional colleges you have limited number of seats.
Disadvantages
* No face to face interaction – Students pursing online courses do not get an opportunity of having face to face interaction with their instructors or professors. Face to face interaction has many advantages, helping students overcome both academic and non academic hurdles.
* Self discipline and time management – a compulsory requirement. Online course is mainly for those who can manage their time well. Self motivated effort is an essential part of online study. Once you log on, it is clear that the online college ensures to take you through the course curriculum in phased manner. But it takes a lot from an individual to sit down and follow what is instructed. Absolute determination to study alone can help you to succeed in an online course study.
* You are alone – If you are a very outgoing person who loves to be in the company of friends then online course of education is not your cup of tea. In reality people find an online environment really boring and rather lonely. But if you are a kind of a person who loves interacting online and enjoying the same then probably online course suits you much better than a traditional class room atmosphere.
* Technological knowhow – Being a computer literate and handling a computer based operation comfortably is a pre requisite for an online course of study. The benefits of online degree come with the precondition of owning or an access to a decent computer system with a high speed internet connection. If you find this impossible then please be aware online education is not within your reach.
* Transfer of credits difficult – It is important that you know in advance about the possibility of transferring your existing course of study to a future program. Many colleges do not facilitate the students and there by they end up doing a lot of work. Getting Online Courses from accredited colleges normally allow students to transfer the credit points earned for further educational requirements. Ensure the possibility and then proceed.
