Funds for College At Historic Highs

Funds for college are at historic highs. In 2006 the Department of Education will make or guarantee more than $60 billion in low-cost student loans, a $4 billion increase over 2005 levels. Overall, $82 billion in grants, loans and other assistance are expected to benefit more than 10 million students - 413,000 more than last year.

More aid is being targeted toward the 21st century skills valued by employers. New Academic Competitiveness grants and SMART grants, which build on the successful Pell Grant program, will benefit more than half a million low-income college and college-bound students who took rigorous coursework in high school or who are majoring in math, science and critical foreign languages. These subjects are key to America's economic competitiveness and national security.

Source: Margaret Spellings, Secretary, US Dept. of Education

FAFSA Application Correction Deadline Nears

The deadline to submit 2005-2006 Corrections is midnight (Central Time) September 15, 2006. If you've received notification that your FAFSA application contains errors, or you would like to make changes to the information you submitted, go to fafsa.ed.gov and select "Make corrections to your submitted application".

To check the status of your FAFSA application, select "Check status". You can also view and print copies of your Student Aid Report (SAR).

College Pays

Lucrative college degrees - Jul. 14, 2006

Still deciding whether you want to go to college? Want to know what's in it for you? Well, among other things (happiness, career and life choices, health insurance, homeownership, vacations), you can earn lots of cold, hard cash.

Lucrative college degrees Some majors are raking in big increases in starting salaries. But the initial offers on others haven't kept pace with inflation.

This was the headline of Jeanne Sahadi's CNNMoney.com July 14, 2006 article. Sahadi reported that a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) showed that certain career fields were experiencing significant growth in salaries.

Fields with the greatest growth in salary:

Hospitality services management: Up nearly 10% percent to $36,480

Business administration/management: Up 6.3 percent to $42,048

Accounting: Up 5.5 percent to $45,656

Economics/finance: Up 5.1 percent to $45,112

Information sciences and systems: Up 8.5 percent to $48,593

Civil engineering: Up 5.4 percent to $46,023

Chemical engineering:
Up 4.7 percent to $56,335

Geology and related sciences: Up 12.3 percent to $44,191

Who's making these offers?

• Hospitality: Casinos, facility and concession management firms, resorts
• Business Admin: Investment banks
• Accounting: Large corporations needing help with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations
• Economics/Finance: Investment banking and financial services firms
• Information systems:
• Civil Engineering: Construction firms and city/state governments
• Chemical Engineering: Petroleum and coal products manufacturers
• Geology: Petroleum and coal products manufacturers

So what does it all mean?
Well, first that you need the degree if you want to take advantage of these trends. But also, that by getting the degree, you are opening up a wealth of lucrative career choices.

What this article and the NACE survey do not mean is that you should run out and major in something you don't love in order to get a paycheck. While it seems like a good strategy now, trust me you'll regret it. Money's great, but you'll make more of it and enjoy making it if you are doing what you love.

Finally, the majors/careers above are not the only ones experiencing growth. Other careers/majors experiencing salary growth:

Computer engineering: Up 2.3 percent to $53,651

Electrical engineering: Up 3.2 percent to $53,552

Mechanical engineering: Up 3 percent to $51,732

History: Up 3.1 percent to $32,697

Psychology: Up 1.2 percent to $30,218

Source: NACE Job Outlook Report 2006

MONEY Magazine: Chatzky: Who's afraid of paying for college? - May. 23, 2006

• tuition costs scare parents - post by deshi80227

A recent article by Money magazine editor Jean Chatzky revealed that parents were more concerned about the high cost of college than they were about violence in video games, the environment and terrorism.

The article covers some of the topics funding sources discussed in Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College, but targets its advice to parents.

Chatzky advises parents to plan and pay for college by:

• Join college rebate and reward programs and deposit into a tax-deferred savings account
• Apply "aggressively" to financial aid programs, contests, lenders, scholarships
• Use money from their 401(k)
• Set up a 529 college savings plan
• Go to an in-state college instead of out-of-state or private colleges
• Get the kids involved in saving for, and paying for, college

Cost of College Tuition, Room and Board, Fees Continue to Rise

Cost of college seen climbing this year - Aug. 17, 2006

August 17, 2006--David Ellis of CNNMoney.com reported that the cost of college tuition, room and board, books and fees continues to rise. The article quotes Carl Buck, VP of College Funding for Peterson's as saying that college costs will increase at least 5%.

Last year tuition costs increased nearly 6%, bringing the average annual tuition for a private four-year college to $16,950. And that's just tuition. Fees, room and board and other costs brought that total to over $22,000.

Even students attending public state colleges in their own states paid 6.3% more for tuition last year.

While tuition increases may seem scary, always keep in mind that this is the "sticker price", not the "selling price", so financial aid will cover most of these increases. To learn more about paying for college and covering tuition increases, read the "Paying For College" section of Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College.

A Real-Life Everybody Else's Guide Experience

Want to test out the information you'll find inside Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College? Well, College Summit, a non-profit organization, provides a 4-day college preview workshop that provides an opportunity to test-drive all of the strategies and apply all of the information you've read about in the book. It really does work!

College Summit Workshops are limited to 40 low-income high school students. The workshop is held on a college campus where students stay in dorms and eat in the dining halls, just like real college students.

Students work through each component of their college application and participate in peer discussion groups led by volunteer facilitators.

Here the program features (as described on the College Summit website):

Essay Writing –
College Summit’s Writing Team (TM) method, developed by a Harvard Writing Instructor, helps students learn to open up, take risks, and produce essays that reveal their true strengths – beyond what any number could show.

Rap Sessions –
Led by a trained youth facilitator (“Rap Director”), students identify the personal challenges they will face in trying to go to college, and develop strategies to overcome them.

One-on-One College Counseling –
Students meet 1:1 for an hour with professional college counselors to pick colleges that match them academically, socially, and financially, and to develop concrete Next Steps to accomplish senior year.

Financial Aid –
Students learn about financial aid, the importance of planning, and the fundamentals of advocacy in “winning” at financial aid. They practice interviewing and presenting through role-play.

On-Line Common Application –
With College Summit’s on-line Application Management tool, “CSNet,” students complete a common application that they can use for more than 250 colleges.

Great Review (TM) –
Adults with different perspectives – Writing Coaches, hometown teachers, and college counselors – meet to individually review each student and identify the colleges and resources that best match their needs.

Peer Leader Training –
Students who attend the workshop are given tips for helping their classmates to start addressing their own college transition during their senior year, allowing the “Peer Leaders” to practice their leadership abilities in their own schools.

The Workshops are held each year between June and August. The final 2006 workshop runs August 6-13.

Don't worry if you've missed the workshop deadline. You can still read Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College and receive the benefits of the same strategies and ideas. Then, next year, apply early for the College Summit Workshop.

Other Info:
View participating school districts.
View participating colleges.
See your guidance counselor for information on participating in a College Summit Workshop.

College Summit and Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College are not affiliated.

It's not too late to seek aid for college costs

By Gail Marksjarvis
Published August 13, 2006

You might weep the day you leave your son or daughter in a college dormitory for the first time, but wait until you take a look at the first bill for tuition, room and board.

You could be moved to a different kind of tears.

About this time of year, that bill arrives. And it's a shocker: Maybe $20,000 for some schools, to be paid right then and there. And that's just half of it. Around New Year's, its mate will arrive.

But there are ways to get through this trauma--to break it down into more manageable pieces.

-- Discovering free money

Last spring, when the financial aid offer arrived empty--or small--you might have thought the matter was settled. You knew what you were going to have to pay, it wasn't pleasant, but that was that.

Many people believe the financial aid letter is the last word on whether you will get any kind of help paying for college. But you'd be making a mistake to assume the door is shut--even now. That's especially true if your family income is low, and your child has qualified for a Pell grant.

Typically, these grants--or free money--from the federal government are available to people with incomes under about $40,000. If you qualify and haven't sought a Pell grant, you can still go to the financial aid office and ask for one.

But if you've already been offered a Pell grant, you may be able to obtain even more aid. The federal government is introducing two new scholarships this year. Students entering their first year of college can receive up to $750 in an Academic Competitiveness Grant. And students in their second year may land up to $1,300 if they have maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average.

Students in their junior and senior years may quality for another $4,000 each year through a National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, or SMART grant.Both new grants go to strong students, and are provided in addition to a Pell Grant of up to $4,050 a year. The higher the cost of a school's tuition, the higher the Pell Grant.

To qualify for the Academic Competitiveness Grant the first year, a student had to go through a "rigorous high school program." There are guidelines at www.studentaid.ed.gov, but colleges are still interpreting them, said Carl Buck, vice president of college funding solutions at Peterson's. He suggests students assume they are eligible, request a grant from their college financial aid office, and --if necessary--ask a guidance counselor from your high school to state you've had a rigorous education.

To get the SMART Grant, you need to study math, science, computer or engineering, or a foreign language that's national-security related, Buck said.

"But run, don't walk to your financial aid counselor," said Buck, a former college financial aid officer. "March in and say: `How do I qualify for this grant?'

"He notes that low-income families are sometimes reluctant to ask for aid, but more affluent parents push hard and often get more as a result. "You must be assertive," he said.

If you are affluent and have been denied aid, Buck said scholarships may be available.

Frequently, merit scholarships are handed out in the spring to incoming freshmen when accepted to college, but in summer or fall some recipients opt for other colleges. That means scholarships become available to students who had been denied.

"I always tell students to introduce themselves to the aid office and let them know you are looking for scholarships," he said. "In mid-September or October, visit the office and ask if any are available."

Do the same each year of college, and with department heads as well.

"Get to be friends with the secretary of the department," Buck added. "That person knows where the money is." And students who take work-study jobs in the department with their major also are best positioned to learn about aid.

Finding scholarships outside college also is possible. Community organizations such as Rotary Clubs or unions grant scholarships based on merit. Usually these are awarded while a student is a senior in high school. But because some require certain GPAs in college, money might become available if a recipient fails to maintain requirements or leaves college.

"If you were a semifinalist for any of these, check back," Buck said.

Most large corporate scholarships are awarded when students are in high school, but you still might find a few at www.fastweb.com or www.finaid.com.

-- Choosing the best loans

If you can't afford the full cost of college--and about two-thirds of families can't--you can qualify for low-interest federal loans through your college financial aid office. Among them are Perkins and Stafford loans for students, and Plus loans for parents.

Typically, these loans provide you the lowest interest rates you can get to help pay for college. Congress just upped the rate on Stafford loans, so they are higher than the recent past, but still attractive--a 6.8 percent fixed rate that you repay within 10 years of finishing college.

Some state governments also offer subsidized loans, which are as attractive or even cheaper than federal loans, said Kalman Chany, a New York financial aid consultant. Ask about state government loans at your financial aid office, and if you are attending college out of state, make sure to do your own checking through your home state's higher education office or search the Web. Your financial aid staff might not know about your home state.

To afford college, a freshman might need to use both a $2,625 federal Stafford loan and a $4,000 state loan. There are limits on how much you can borrow through these programs. By the second year of college, the student can receive a $3,500 Stafford loan, and then $5,500 during in the following two years.

If that's not enough, beware of "private" bank loans. Typically, interest rates are high--perhaps 9 to 12 percent.

A more attractive alternative would be a federal Plus loan. These are loans parents can seek through college financial aid offices to cover part or all of the cost of college--regardless of family income. The interest rate is fixed at 8.5 percent.

People might be able to reduce the cost considerably by shopping around among lenders, Chany said. Some will cut the 3 percent upfront origination fees in half. Others will slice 1 percent or 2 percent off the interest rate if borrowers set up a system that allows the lender to withdraw loan payments automatically each month from a checking or savings account.

-- Trying payment plans

Although writing a giant check now and again in January might be unbearable, you can pay for college the same way you pay for a house or car--through monthly payments.

Contact the college bursar's office or financial aid office and ask about a payment plan.

Often colleges deal with outside companies that handle these payments. If you have a choice, the major difference comes down to the upfront fee--sometimes $75; sometimes $100.

-- Using the tax system

If you are planning to pay for college by selling stock, bonds or mutual funds, you can stretch the money further if you don't let taxes whittle it away.

If your child doesn't qualify for financial aid, consider transferring the securities to the student. Since his or her income is probably very low, the student can sell the securities and owe little in capital gains taxes on it.

Parents would typically face a 15 percent capital gains tax, versus 5 percent for a student with a limited income. Through a tax change for 2008 through 2010, your child may be able to sell stocks, bonds and mutual funds then and owe no capital gains taxes.

This year, a parent can give a child as much as $12,000 worth of securities. A couple could provide $24,000, according to Mildred Carter, a CCH senior tax analyst.

Do not do this, however, if your child is receiving financial aid. If a student owns stocks, bonds or mutual funds, and sells them, it will slice financial aid considerably--perhaps eliminating all grants.

Meanwhile, when tax time comes, you might be able to get some extra help.

Depending on income, parents might be able to get back $1,500 in tuition through the Hope Credit the first year, or $1,000 through the Lifetime Credit in subsequent years. Payments on student loans also are deductible.

Gail MarksJarvis is a Your Money columnist.

Source: Chicago Tribune Online Edition

Word of the Day http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The Word of the Day for August 12 is:

dithyramb \DITH-ih-ram\ noun

1 : a usually short poem in an inspired wild irregular strain
*2 : a statement or writing in an exalted or enthusiastic vein

Example sentence:
"Among the items offered was the brand of peanut butter I especially relish..., with my published dithyramb to it alongside." (William F. Buckley Jr., The New Yorker, February 9, 1987)

Did you know?
In ancient Greece, the wine god Dionysus (or Bacchus) was feted several times throughout the year. Processions, feasts, dances, and dramatic performances, accompanied by poems recited or sung in the god's honor, were all part of the revelry. Not too surprisingly, the poems tended to be wild, irregular, and dissonant. We know that the Greeks used "dithyrambos" as the word for a poem in honor of Dionysus, but beyond that the origin of the word is unknown. The ancient Greeks also had an adjective, "dithyrambikos," which gave us our adjective "dithyrambic," meaning "pertaining to or resembling a dithyramb."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online
Subscribe to the Word of the Day online

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Forget Jell-O Shots. How About a Volunteer Vacation

There's more to spring break than a week in Florida. Instead, students can travel abroad, study languages—and advance social justice

Slide Show >>

Nora Kramer had been an investment bank intern for two summers when she decided to volunteer at a U.S.-based nonprofit organization called Farm Sanctuary. "I continued to languish away in my cubicle, desperate for a change that would allow me to accomplish something meaningful," she wrote in the Farm Sanctuary newsletter. "Donating money didn't feel like enough." Farm Sanctuary offered her the opportunity to work alongside other students for the summer on a farm in upstate New York while advocating against animal cruelty and living as a vegan.

For many students, volunteer vacations are an opportunity to travel somewhere new and learn about that place—and themselves—while giving something to a community. Whether it's an April week in Alabama or a summer in South America, trips oriented toward students tend to rely heavily on the educational aspects of the experience and the social aspects of living together and working as a group to address a social issue.

LIFE CHANGE. The trips are varied enough to suit just about anyone's interests. JustWorks, for example, focuses its student "camps" on one of four tenets: advancing economic justice, defending civil liberties and access to democracy, promoting environmental justice, or protecting rights in humanitarian crises. GoXplore Africa lets volunteers ages 18 and up work on wildlife preservation. What they all have in common is the chance of a life-changing experience for the participants.

Many colleges and universities also offer trips for students during semester breaks, but young adults need not be in school to go on volunteer vacations. Here's a look at eight organizations that are especially geared toward young adults and youth (even those in high school) who are looking to meet new friends while learning about language, culture, or social issues. If this summer has left you wanting more out of your free time, here's a chance to start thinking ahead for next year.

View slide show.

Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College (The Book) Available Now!!

Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College is available now! This unique resource is the only college planning and prep guide that isn't written for "overachievers" and "straight-A" students. This book has the one thing all the other guides lack...REALITY.

Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College starts where you are today, not where you wish you were. You'll find step-by-step Action Plans and a Master Plan that will provide you with quick, practical strategies to improve your GPA, get higher test scores or avoid taking the tests, write the scary admissions essay, improve the overall quality of your application and draw attention away from the "rough spots" on your application.

The book also contains the following exclusive information:

• Information on schools that will DEFINITELY accept you, no questions asked (no extra work required)
• 12 Sure-fire ways to pay for college (including the one thing you need to access $90 billion)
• 23 Ways to choose the best college for you
• 16 Ways to improve your chances of getting into your dream college
• Over 700 schools that don't require the SAT or ACT

The book is THE college-planning manual for the not-so-perfect student. Visit Everybody Else's Guide To Getting Into College to get your copy today!