42 Interesting College Statistics you may not know

22 Mar 2013 | No Comments »

Some information about students is easy to have and easy to understand. Other data makes a person scratch their head. Listed below are some college statistics that apply to students which might make the reader feel an itch on their scalp.
Looking for someone?

1. Average Number of College Graduates per year – 1,750,000
2. Average Number of College Students Enrolling a year – 2,350,000
3. Average Number of Male College Students Enrolling a year – 775,000
4. Average Number of Female College Students Enrolling a year – 1,575,000
5. Co-ed College with the highest percentage ratio of Women to Men – Randolph College: 99.58% (Lynchburg, VA)
6. Co-ed College using the lowest percentage ratio of Women to Men – Southern University and A & M College, 62.5% (Baton Rouge, LA)
How most are there?

7. Average variety of college dropouts each year – 1,125,000
8. Average amount of college transfers a year – 1,250,000
9. Average quantity of delinquent student loans – 7.4% of all outstanding loans ($18 million total)
10. Average quantity of delinquent college student loans – $16,700
11. Number of university student loans wiped off each year – 18,345 (Private & Public loans)
12. Number of pupil marriages each and every year – 42,500
13. Number of student divorces annually – 2,750
14. Number of student bankruptcies each and every year – 9,300
What’s it all worth?

15. Average wage of student’s first job beyond college – $20/hr
16. Average wage of student job in college – $11/hr
17. Average income of two college-graduate families – $89,000/yr
18. Average salary of Associate’s degree graduate – $37,000/yr
19. Average salary of Bachelor’s degree graduate – $47,000/yr
20. Average salary of Master’s degree graduate – $49,000/yr
21. Average earnings of PhD. Degree graduate – $51,250/yr
Popular Jobs and their Value.

22. Average salary of a Psychologist -$82,386/yr
23. Average income of a Social Worker – $49,573/yr
24. Average earnings of a Business Administrator – $43,022/yr
25. Average income of a Computer Network Administrator – $52,525/yr
26. Average income of an Artist – $47,596/yr
27. Average salary of a Writer – $29,000/yr
28. Average salary of a Refuse Transportation Specialist (Garbage Man) – $35,575/yr
29. Average income of a Soil Relocation Engineer (Ditch Digger) – $24,000/yr
Paying and paying.

30. Average university student’s debt after college – $23,700
31. Average university student’s debt payment – $432/month
Where are students going?

32. Average number of students attending Spring Break – 1,125,000
33. Average number of university students arrested at Spring Break – 88,750
34. Average number of miles traveled to have to Spring Break – 934 miles
35. Average number of college parties attended per year – 62
Oops! There’s some surprising college statistics

36. Average variety of parking tickets per student each year – 2
37. Average quantity of missed classes per university student each year – 26
38. Average quantity of dropped classes per university student each year – 2
39. Average food budget for pupils each year – $2,800 (incl. beverages)
Whatcha’ got?

40. Most common car driven by college students – Toyota Yaris
41. Most common scooter driven by students – GS Motor Works CY50-B – $769
42. Most common item stolen from college students – iPod
What do all these college statistics mean?

Whether you’re a student at a categories listed above or just being a student, these numbers reflect so what can be expected in and out of college for many students.

Category(s): College, College Costs, College Statistics, Statistics

College and University Board Independence Strengthens the Nation

16 Feb 2013 | No Comments »

This isn’t a political essay, although some readers may interpret it to be so. Rather I would like to comment on the essential values of higher education and the trust that we place in the boards of colleges and universities — in particular, those that govern public institutions — to steward those institutions in ways that benefit the long-term interests of our nation.

Public colleges and universities, on the front lines of meeting the nation’s call for increased numbers of graduates, remain challenged by fiscal realities, namely severely reduced state appropriations and cuts in federal research support. Tuition increases, cost containment, and productivity enhancement can help balance budgets, but those efforts frequently attract attention from policy makers and the public.

In fact, governors are increasingly questioning the cost and relevance of these essential academic institutions. Some want to target workforce development and immediate returns on research spending as the predominant priorities of their state’s colleges and universities. From where has such short-term thinking come? As Hunter Rawlings of the Association of American Universities, and his associate, Lillian Aoki, stated in a recent Huffington Post column, “Higher education is not one-size-fits-all; many students go to college to gain an education that will open up a lifetime of opportunities.”

Public colleges and universities clearly should take responsibility for workforce development, and, in fact, community and technical colleges and the career-focused programs of our four-year universities do so. But our political leaders should not sacrifice what makes our public institutions invaluable to America’s overall needs: preparing students to make lasting contributions to our democratic (and increasingly diverse) society and instilling lifelong learning skills that enable them to cope with inevitable life and career changes over the long haul.

Some proposals discussed in state capitals have gone so far as to require colleges to report starting salaries from their graduates’ first jobs. But do we want to penalize institutions if their graduates spend two years in the Peace Corps, Teach for America, or AmeriCorps? Jobs are not careers. Such short-term thinking also ignores the reality of our current marketplace and economy — not to mention what is best for the future of our country.

There are some 10,000 board members — appointees, but volunteers all — who hold ultimate authority over public colleges and universities. State economies and citizens look to the good work that these board members do on behalf of the institutions they oversee.

Governors and legislators who select and confirm the people who serve on public institution governing boards should expect their appointees to weigh all considerations and use their best judgment for the long-term good of the institutions that they oversee, as well as of the states and communities those institutions serve. Elected leaders, regardless of their views on what higher education should or shouldn’t be doing, must value independent judgment on governing boards.

Why would a political appointee, as most public board members are, require full independence from those to whom they owe their position? Because otherwise, higher education becomes overly politicized, and its ability to serve the long-term interests of society is compromised. What distinguishes our higher education governance model is the buffer it can provide institutions from unrealistic expectations and political intrusion.

Governors certainly have the right — indeed the obligation — to frame priorities for their respective states and higher education systems. And, by all means, they should not hesitate to express their concerns to the boards of their state’s colleges and universities. But the independence of our great public university system’s oversight is what fuels its success. If our governing boards are composed of “yes men and women” who view their role as that of being the voice of the governor or other political leaders, then board members will do damage to higher education. I’ve witnessed such efforts at intrusion by state elected leaders from both major political parties.

I implore governors and legislators to select board members based on their wisdom, judgment, impartiality, appreciation of the enduring values of higher education, deep concern about the future of their state or community, and demonstrated understanding of how to lead a complex enterprise. Today, added to the everlasting necessity to balance state needs and priorities with institutional aspirations, our public higher education institutions must grapple with new financing models and educational delivery methods, including online education. Boards must help steward their institutions through such changes.

Our institutions of higher learning have been governed by boards acting independently since our Colonial period. Let us not compromise that most essential (and historic) value–one that has largely worked well–for temporary political expediency.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, News, Statistics, Tuition, University

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Education Will Help Save Youth From Gun Violence

16 Feb 2013 | No Comments »

More than 1,000 people gathered to mourn the death of the young rising star. A person who had already begun to commit their life to change, and was making a difference in their community.

Their death has caught the president’s attention and is being labeled a symbol of escalating violence in Chicago. If you’re thinking it’s 2013, and I’m describing Hadiya Pendleton, you’d be wrong.

In 2009, Francisco “Frankie” Valencia, a DePaul University honor student and political science major who dreamt of being the next Barack Obama, had his life ripped away from him in a senseless act of gun violence in Chicago.

What has changed since then?

The same shock and sentiment used to describe Hadiya Pendleton’s death were the same one’s Frankie’s family and friends heard. And yet the only thing that has changed is the aggressive speed in which the death toll has continued to rise.

By the end of 2012, Chicago had tallied 506 homicides related to gun violence.

What needs to change?

It’s our educational system.

Residents living near homicides were much more likely to be black, earn less money and lack a college degree, according to a 12-year analysis of homicides and census data in Chicago by the New York Times.

That means it’s not enough to demand tough restrictions on guns or harsher punishments on criminals. Our society needs to hold itself accountable and accept that we haven’t just failed Hadiya or Frankie, we’ve failed their killers as well.

We want killers punished to the full extent of the law after committing a crime, instead of investing in preventive measures through education, after school programs and mentoring to curtail the violence on Chicago’s streets before it even begins.

The killer as a second victim is overlooked because we as a society refuse to accept that we have failed him.

Who’s to say that Narcisco Gatica, the man convicted of Frankie’s murder, didn’t have dreams? He might have hoped to one day attend college and receive an education that would allow him to provide for his family.

I saw a glimpse of that side of Gatica during his trial as his sister begged the judge to have mercy on him. I can’t image the pain and anger Frankie’s family felt as they heard her try to paint a portrait of a kind family man. I never even knew Frankie but my own blood boiled and my ears rang at the outrage of her selfish pleas for a man who had unapologetically killed Frankie, a man who was trying to help people like Gatica, break out of the cycle of poverty and violence.

In that moment I realized Gatica became a ruthless killer because that was the option our society gave him.

But it’s unfair to say that it’s all their fault.

They get to that point through neglect and a broken educational system.

This issue isn’t about helping those less fortunate then ourselves. The reality is we’re losing people better than ourselves. It’s time we accept that we are all equal and by helping our neighbors, we’re helping ourselves.

Frankie’s motto was, “We are the future. How will you make it better? How will you be remembered?” This is a haunting reminder that if we as a community don’t accept responsibility and begin to nurture the next generation of youth, Chicago will be remembered as a city of death and violence.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, News, Statistics, Tuition, University

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Performance Funding for Higher Education

16 Feb 2013 | No Comments »

I’m a believer in performance funding for state institutions of higher learning, at least where some measure of sense is displayed in devising the appropriate formula. In 2010 Tennessee adopted a performance-funding model which funnels 100 percent of our state funding through the performance formula. This formula is a huge improvement over the previous enrollment-driven formula, which was effectively frozen in time as of about 1999. That is to say, for more than a decade, Austin Peay State University, the state’s fastest growing public university since 2000, received not a penny more of state funding for its increased enrollment. Any new funding, then, was obviously better than no new funding. But Tennessee new funding formula has not only provided us with additional resources with which to serve our students, it has done so wisely.

The new formula identifies a series of outcomes, most related to student persistence and graduation. It then weights these different outcomes depending on institutional mission. Thus, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a higher weighting for research and doctoral degree production than Austin Peay, which primarily serves undergraduate students. Finally, for most of the persistence and graduation-related outcomes, the formula provides a bonus for two categories of students: low income and adult students.

The recognition of differences in student populations was crucial to evaluating institutional performance appropriately. Adult and low income-students, for example, have national graduation rates significantly less than traditional-aged students, say, in the upper quartile of family incomes. Similarly, a 30-year-old soldier, pursuing a degree online from Austin Peay even while serving her country in Afghanistan, is likely to graduate at a slower pace, if she is able to graduate at all, than a traditional-aged, upper-income student with two generations of college education parents and grandparents attending University of Tennessee, Knoxville. To fail to account for differences in student-demographics when measuring institutional performance is in no way fair or rational. A state might as soon send trucks to ferry resources from adult and low-income serving institutions to those serving traditional-aged, upper-income students.

As I said, though, Tennessee was wiser than this. The state understands full well that it cannot reach its goal of producing more college-education citizens without gradating more low-income and adult students. Its performance-based funding model takes this goal, as well as the goal of fairness, into account.

So far, our determined focus on helping more Austin Peay students succeed is paying off. For the first two years of the new performance funding (2012-13 and 2013-14), Austin Peay has ranked number one among Tennessee institutions for increased, performance-based funding. This year, for example, if Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s budget is approved by the legislature, Austin Peay stands to see an increase of more than $3 million, or 11 percent of its state appropriation.

I sometimes hear it suggested that institutions will lower their standards in states where performance funding is enacted. This thought, in my mind, is akin to suggesting that the only way a student can make better grades is to cheat. It assumes that institutions can’t improve student performance without lowering academic standards. This assumption is — I hope I am not being too caustic — laughable. Any number of strategies have been shown over the past generation to help more students succeed and graduate without lower standards. In fact, students are more likely to succeed in many instances where we expect more from them, at the same time we provide them new or additional forms of support. This, at least, is what I tell the faculty at my university. And I would be astonished if they were to heed, for even an instant, any administrator — including me — who suggested they pave the way for increased state funding by lowering their academic standards.

In any event, I don’t think we’re done improving either student success or student learning at Austin Peay. We can’t ever eliminate the need for students to take responsibility for their own learning. But I’m convinced we can do more to help them learn and to support their success.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, News, Tuition, University

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10 Tips for Women Starting Their College Careers

05 Feb 2013 | No Comments »

The summer after I turned 18, I packed up my teenage life and loaded it into my dad’s car. I was moving to Cincinnati, five hours away, to live in a tiny dorm room with someone I’d never met.

Those four years flew by, and they had their share of joy, and angst, and heartache, and incredible new opportunities and friends. Each person has to make her own way; here is my humble offering of advice to young women starting their own journeys.

You may be in the process of finding yourself in your college years, and it’s the best time to do it.

1) Get a job.

Whether you’re completely funded by Mom and Dad or not, you should consider starting to earn your own money. There are plenty of jobs to be had on campus and off, and if you can find a job that allows you to study, that would be ideal. My job for four years of college was with the intramurals department; I sat in a chair next to the gym, or the racquetball court, or the track, and checked student IDs while reading my text books. Not only was I making money, I was making new friends (and sometimes studying).

When you get out of school, you’ll need a reference — why not work or volunteer part time, even one day a week? It’s a great start to real life, a resume builder, and you might meet some new and interesting people.

2) Don’t let alcohol — or drugs — get the best of you.

The week before I started college, the dorms were open for orientation and general debauchery. My new friends at Siddall Hall were incredulous to find that I’d never been drunk before, and that changed one night. Luckily, these girls had my back and made sure I got home safely and I remember everything, including taking my shoes off on the dance floor at a local club and laughing like an idiot.

Everywhere around you, people will be drinking and trying drugs. I’m not going to preach and tell you to turn it all away; only you can make that decision. Stand your ground if you are not into it and no one will care. Trust me — I was offered drugs plenty of times, especially in the rock band crowd I followed. I said, “Nah… no thanks” and no one made fun of me or asked me to leave the party.

As a woman, you need to be extra careful and don’t drink past your tolerance — blacking out is a bad idea, especially when you’re with people you don’t know well. All kinds of things can go wrong and you wouldn’t know for sure what happened the next day. That first night of Boone’s Farm wasn’t the last night of drinking, but I learned quickly to be careful; as an athlete, I also didn’t want to take a chance on my status on the team. Know your body’s limits.

3) Be cautious about inviting a stranger to your room. And be wary of “friends” too.

I was very naive. Out at a club past midnight near my dorm, I was chatting up a tall blonde upperclassman who happened to be a second- or third-string quarterback for the football team. When I was ready to go home, all of my girlfriends had already left, and Mr. Quarterback offered me a ride back to my dorm (which was just across the street) in his red sports car. I don’t remember if I invited him up or if he asked to come up, but I do remember he was sitting in a chair on one side of the room and I was on the other, talking away obliviously about sports. It wasn’t long before he realized I was clearly not a “Sure Thing Freshman” and took his leave.

Not everyone is quite the gentleman, and another time I was alone with another freshman, he was not nearly as chivalrous. I was at a fraternity party and a freshman hopeful named Jason lured me upstairs with the promise of a tour of the house. He went to high school with one of my girlfriends, and I didn’t think twice about it. Once upstairs, he shoved me onto a bed and began to paw at me as I attempted to detach him and said no as he tried to unbutton my shirt. Luckily, I was pretty strong and he was fairly drunk; I threw him on the floor.

The time that really shook me, however, was the evening I went to the dorm room of a guy who was dating a friend; he called me to come over and talk him through a problem he had (so he said over the phone). I was taken by surprise and I didn’t escape unscathed; I didn’t tell anyone about it, thinking I somehow invited this. In fact, the first time I could bring myself to speak the word “rape” aloud and tell my husband was last year — some 20 years later. Don’t be as naive as I was. And don’t be afraid to tell someone — you deserve to be heard.

4) Be smart. Be safe.

First of all, know the safety statistics of the university or college you’re attending. Where are the problem areas? My husband says that nothing good happens after midnight. My younger mind rebels against this statement, but I’ve come to realize that in certain situations, he’s right. Especially if there is alcohol involved or if you’re by yourself, be smart.

Take a self-defense course. It will help you be more confident and walk with purpose, but you can also potentially extract yourself from situations as in No. 3, above. Even if you you’re a black belt, though, don’t walk alone at night and don’t kid yourself: crime can happen even on the nicest campuses.

5) Change your major if you want to.

Who, pray tell, at 18 knows what she wants to do for the rest of her life? Not too many people. Take advantage of campus career counseling — they’ll steer you in the general direction. Even in high school, your counselors are there to help. And take heart: it’s not likely that you’re going to want to switch from English Lit to medical school. You’re probably in the right vicinity and need to tweak it a little.

Enrolled in Anthropology and hate it? Make a change. Do it now. Don’t look back.

6) Show your professors that you care.

In high school, I think I coasted through. Yes, I did my homework and everything that was required of me, but when I got to college, I didn’t really know how to STUDY. Focus. Pay attention.

After trying to sail through my freshman year the way I did in high school and coming up with a couple of Bs and a C, I was disappointed in myself and made some changes. First of all, I sat up front in class. Sitting in the back in a huge lecture hall doesn’t give you the opportunity to interact and learn the material. When you sit near the front, you are engaged. You’re more likely to ask questions. You have to pay attention because the professor might call on you.

Challenge yourself.

Your professors will also give you the benefit of the doubt if you seek them out during office hours. I was struggling with Statistics, which I detested, and my professor had a very pronounced accent I could not understand in class. Talking to her one on one, I could get the instruction I needed, and I’m sure it made a difference in my grade. In my much-anticipated Philosophy and Religion class, I had earned a C- on my first two essays. I approached my professor to find out what I was doing wrong; he gave me a chance to revise my first two essays and told me if I worked hard to earn an A on the third and final paper, he would give me an A in the class. He was true to his word.

Oh, yes… and try not to skip class. You’ll miss something for which you’re paying thousands of dollars a year to learn.

2013-02-01-college.jpg

7) Be open to new friends.

Moving to a city you’ve never lived before, and rooming with people you’ve just met is daunting. Give yourself a pat on the back just for that. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse yourself in something new. Even if you have 20 friends from high school in your dorm, meet new friends. Look around and find common interests. You might be surprised.

My best friend in college was a tall, slender blonde with a boyfriend with hair as long and blonde as hers. I thought she was cool and untouchable until we realized that we loved the same music and bonded over Motley Crue (and we still love it). We’re still friends, 23 years later.

8) Pick your roommates carefully.

Once you’re out of the freshman dorm, you’re going to look for people with whom you’ll live for the next year or more. I had very thoughtful, conscientious roommates for three out of four years who paid the rent on time, didn’t keep everyone else up all night, cleaned up after themselves, and were terrific people overall.

I also had one roommate who collected the utility money from the other six of us and then used it to buy something for himself. We found out when I opened a bill to discover we were way behind and in danger of our gas and electricity being shut off. When we confronted this roommate with proof of his deceit, he caved and paid it all back quickly.

9) Experiment.

No, not THAT kind of experimentation (see #2, above). Try a class that intrigues you; for me, that was a whole year of Japanese. Years later, I impressed the Japanese-born CEO for whom I wrote speeches by writing his name in hiragana.

College is not just about the school itself… it is the chance to learn how to be on your own.

Be willing to fail to succeed, and put yourself out there to try something new. As a freshman, I was a walk-on for the rowing team after zero athletic endeavors since grade school, aside from aerobics and going to the gym on my own. It became my passion for four years; 5 a.m. wake-up calls and all.

10) Participate.

This goes hand in hand with #9 — the best way to get the most out of your college years is to dive in. Join a club. Rush a sorority, if that’s your thing. My sister was active in Euchre club (ahem — card shark). It will never be so easy to find groups of like-minded people and try activities you never imagined you would. There are so many ways to get involved with your community.

And finally…

BE YOURSELF. This should be No. 1, because it’s the one you need to remember the most. You may be in the process of finding yourself in your college years, and it’s the best time to do it. At the same time, don’t waste it and throw away your own money or your parents’ money. These may not be the best years of your life (for me, that time is right now — many years later) but they are pivotal, exciting years.

HAVE FUN!

P.S. Embarrassing moments will happen (trust me). Shake them off and move on.

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, Statistics, Tuition, University

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Wanted: More College Grads

05 Feb 2013 | No Comments »

If college is the engine of our nation’s economic development, then we need a lot more fuel in the tank. America is neither producing enough college graduates to sustain a robust workforce, nor fulfilling its national promise of economic opportunity for all.

The “typical” college student has changed. Nearly three out of four college students today aren’t enrolled in a full-time, four-year degree program. They’re balancing jobs, family and other priorities as they work to complete college.

Today’s college students need flexible, affordable, high-quality programs that put them on a path to completing a degree because a degree is today’s gateway to good paying jobs. College graduates earn substantially more in their life times than those without degrees. Yet, on average, just 58 percent of students who start at a 4-year college get a degree there within six years, and a mere 30 percent graduate within three years at community colleges. For low-income students and students of color, the rates are even worse, hovering around 20 percent.

With our partners, we are encouraging colleges to evolve in ways that will allow them to meet the needs of today’s college students. This means finding new ways to overcome budgetary constraints and provide students with personalized pathways to college completion.

It means incentivizing colleges to be more transparent, helping them to collect and share information relevant to completion and costs in ways that students can readily understand and access and that will enable colleges to improve their programs.

It means creating pathways that ensure students can move more easily from high school to college, helping students leave high school academically prepared to do well in college level degree or certificate programs, including remedial education programs that enable students quickly to identify and close any gaps in their high-school education.

It means deploying technology, including those that support online instruction and student advising, making sure all students have access to high-quality college education that is tailored to their needs.
We are now exploring new models that ensure the cost of college is not a barrier to completion. Our work focuses on financial aid programs that encourage completion as well as on methods that colleges can adopt to maintain or even reduce their costs and thus the tuition they charge to their students.

To catalyze a timely and vigorous discussion about how federal financial aid could work differently, the foundation invested $3.6 million in grants to 16 organizations with a stake in higher education policy to explore ideas about Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery (RADD). Grantees, representing various interests including students, universities and colleges, and employer groups, are publishing white papers which, taken together, offer a range of original and unique insights into how financial aid can not only continue to help more students access college, but also be successful. Some of these papers have already been released, and others will be published in the days and weeks ahead.

The breadth of these ideas includes simplifying the aid formula and directing funds to those most in need, changing the loan programs to better assess student and institutional eligibility and facilitate loan repayment, and providing potential incentives within the aid programs, reinforcing that a student’s successful postsecondary journey is a shared responsibility. An important starting point for their work is the understanding that giving students access to an education they don’t complete doesn’t do them or society any good. Access to college must lead to completion for a greater number of our students, and federal financial aid can be one important tool for achieving that end.

bag of money with college label

Traditionally, federal financial aid programs have been tremendously successful in ensuring all students have access to a college education regardless of income. Since the inception of the Pell Grant program in 1971, college enrollments have increased 78 percent. Furthermore, as college costs continue to rise at a greater rate than inflation, more students have taken out more loans – that is, money over and above Pell Grants – to pay for their postsecondary education. The impact is twofold: student loan debt has ballooned to the largest source of debt in the United States AND on average students leave college with $26,500 in debt, half of them without a degree.

The phenomenon is attracting increasingly strong public scrutiny on the rising cost of college, due largely to increased administration costs with no corresponding increase in graduation rates. U.S. higher education, once considered amongst the best in the world, has fallen to 13th in college degree attainment. And the human costs are stark for students who find themselves saddled with debt and no degree. We need to look for every tool at our disposal to change these dynamics.

As legislators are keenly focused on national budget issues, they will soon turn their attention to the future of Pell and they ought to do more than address its financial sustainability. With Pell as one piece of the overall $150 billion public investment in financial aid, the time is now to do much more than simply provide access to higher education — a well-structured financial aid system must continue fulfilling this critical mission and also play a more active role in helping students complete their education and live their dreams.

This post was written by Daniel Greenstein, Director, Postsecondary Success, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, News, Statistics, Tuition, University

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Paying For College: Morgan State Student Moonlights As Escort To Cover Rising Tuition Costs

24 Jan 2013 | No Comments »

Veona doesn’t remember her first encounter as an escort, but she vividly remembers the feeling of waiting by the phone for interview call-backs from fast-food restaurants and shops where she’d applied for jobs without success.

“It’s not something I’m happy to be doing,” says the Morgan State University architecture major whose name has been changed in this story to protect her identity. “But when you’re applying for all of these jobs and no one is calling back, it’s like ‘Well, I have to do what I have to do.’”

Thousands of students at historically black colleges and universities nationwide know well the struggle of finding money for education. Loans, grants and scholarships provide assistance for few students working to navigate rising tuition costs, while many balance schoolwork with part-time or full-time jobs.

But steady unemployment across the nation, including a spike among African Americans as recent as last month, has put a premium on entry level and hourly-wage jobs historically staffed by college students. The result has driven some students to more controversial or illegal means of financing their academic goals.

It’s common for college students to see fast money as the most logical way of conquering the higher education hustle, even those who grind their way through menial jobs to make tuition and rent.

Will Arenas, a 2009 graduate of Virginia State University and an independent filmmaker, knows the struggle of balancing work and employment.

Arenas paid for his education working full-time jobs in retail, security and in movie theaters, and says that the experience can ostracize students from a rich college experience.

“You miss all of the social aspects and memories of college when you’re working. You don’t have time to make friends, and that’s if you can even find a job, because coming in, you don’t have a lot of experience. It can be frustrating.”

Arenas says that working full-time impedes the ability to focus on studying and classroom instruction, and says that the tandem of a minimized social life and the regular stresses of working can make the most dedicated college student choose alternative ways of getting fast money.

Veona began escorting after a stint working as an exotic dancer in downtown Baltimore. After being approached by patrons asking her for a private show, she reflects on three years working in a job and an industry that helps her earn more than $1,500 a day, doing everything from accompanying men on dates and outings, to working as a dominatrix.

“It’s not that bad for me, because a lot of my clients don’t want to have sex,” Veona says. “A lot of them just want someone to go out with them, to give them attention. But for those that want other things… its just business. If I’m going to be out here having sex, I might as well do it for money and to help me get to where I want to be.”

Last summer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 28 percent of black youth ages 16-24 were unemployed, nearly ten points higher than the rate for Hispanics, and nearly double the rate for whites. With the national student debt average hovering around $28,000, and with five historically black colleges making the list of the nation’s 20 highest debt-producing institutions, support from parents (in this case, Veona’s mother) isn’t enough to make loan debt worth the long-term expense. It also isn’t enough to cover tuition, books and living expenses associated with attending Maryland’s largest HBCU.

Earlier this month, think tank American Enterprise Institute reported that college textbook prices are 812 percent higher than they were a little more than three decades ago, outpacing the 559 percent increase in tuition and fees over roughly the same period.

Escorting isn’t the ideal employment option for Veona, but is indeed a lucrative one when it comes to her goals of one day owning an architecture firm and developing residential real estate. She continues to apply for legal work and for scholarships, and says that while she has never felt endangered while working as an escort, the possibility of arrest and incarceration are daily concerns.

Illegal means of earning money aren’t exclusive to HBCU students, however. In August, CNN reported on a website some students are turning to for college financial aid. SeekingArrangement.com, which bills itself as “the elite sugar daddy dating site for those seeking mutual beneficial relationships” reportely helped one student bring in $1,500 a month by way of its benefactor pool. Other students have turned to blood and egg donation the report said.

But some black college presidents say socioeconomic realities in black communities often force the issue in the desire to earn a college degree.

“Many communities across the country have used the presence of colleges and universities to jumpstart economic development of those communities,” says Paul Quinn College President, Michael Sorrell, Esq. “Sadly, this has not happened in a meaningful and equal way with the communities surrounding HBCUs, and consequently, the very students who need the employment opportunities these businesses would create are forced to go without them.”

Sorrell and Paul Quinn gained national acclaim in 2010 when they converted an unused football field into an organic farm. Since its creation, the WE Over ME Farm has provided more than 4,500 pounds of produce, which has been sold to restaurants in downtown Dallas, used to stock the college’s cafeteria and donated to needy families in the region. The farm is a core element of Paul Quinn’s Business Administration undergraduate degree program, and develops its student talent through a social entrepreneurship concentration designed to train future CEO’s in bringing economic development to underprivileged communities.

“We should not judge this young lady for the choice she has made in supporting her educational dreams – we’ve seen students everywhere do comparable things. Let’s judge the environment that could not provide her a real choice.”

“I’m thankful that at Paul Quinn, we have the ability to intervene and provide similarly situated students with an alternative.”

The Southern University System of Louisiana offers an entrepreneurial development program of its own at the college’s flagship Baton Rouge campus. The SU Center for Social Research Entrepreneurship Program provides training and resource programs to families in the city, from business plan development to loan access. System President Ron Mason says that students play an integral role in motivating economic growth in HBCU communities.

“The learning environment in HBCU communities extends beyond the campus borders. Part of economic development in these communities is helping students understand the role they play in building business through volunteerism, mentoring and knowledge transfer. They can inspire and help to create the jobs that, in turn, will help peers and future students with college access and affordability.”

Veona says that escorting isn’t a job anyone should be proud of or consider as a top option to finance education, but for those who are on the brink of choosing to stay in school or going home, she would recommend it as an “any means necessary” route for advancement. It’s a route that one psychological expert says is dangerous to start and difficult to end.

“Demoralizing behavior to earn money can become addictive,” says Dr. La Keita D. Carter, a college professor and psychologist in Baltimore. “Just like mood-altering substances such as drugs or alcohol, when done over years, there becomes a history of action that becomes habitual and isn’t easily reversible.”

“This habit is particularly difficult to break, because there’s a reinforcement that not only makes the action behaviorally hard to stop, but in this economic climate, essentially, ending it would make for a hazardous financial decision as well.”

“It’s hard to say what other people should do, but if there are people out there who don’t want to go to college because they think they can’t afford it, there’s always something you can do to make it happen,” says Veona. “I’m doing what I have to do to make it happen, and if I had to, I would choose this route again.”

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Drop out rates, Education, News, Statistics

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College Dropout Crisis Revealed In ‘American Dream 2.0′ Report – College News, Information, and Statistics

24 Jan 2013 | No Comments »

An influential group of college presidents, civil rights leaders and advocates sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is highlighting what it calls a growing higher education dropout crisis and seeks to fix it in part by linking financial aid with successful graduation.

“Education is an economic issue,” Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and a member of the coalition, said in a statement. “We have to build a more equitable system of higher education to make us more competitive in the world economically.”

The group’s report, released Thursday and called “The American Dream 2.0,” said 46 percent of America’s college students and 63 percent of African American students don’t graduate college within six years. Changing the $226 billion financial aid system may help improve that, the report said.

College tuition has been rising faster than inflation as states have cut contributions to higher education. Over the last decade, students have doubled total annual borrowing, from $56 billion to $113 billion in constant dollars. Many students default on the crushing debt and drop out of school. The growing inaccessibility of college, and the huge dropout rate, “is eroding the American Dream and weakening our nation’s ability to compete,” the report said.

The report recommends customizing financial aid to better serve part-time and other non-traditional students, and tying aid to a school’s outcomes, such as graduation rates, instead of just enrollment. It points to states that include Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington that “are aligning the way they fund colleges with expectations for more student success” and outcomes that are geared toward boosting populations that have been historically underrepresented in college.

“At times over the last two decades it seems like we’ve been more comfortable doing nothing than doing something when it comes to improving federal financial aid,” said Jamie Merisotis, president of the Lumina Foundation and a member of the group that produced the report. “But given the fiscal realities and the national imperative to increase postsecondary attainment, doing nothing comes at an increasingly higher cost to the country. Today’s structure and delivery is based on enrollment, regardless of whether or not students complete.”

The recommendation of tying financial aid to college outcomes is likely to be the report’s most controversial. The White House tried to do something similar to regulate for-profit colleges, but the so-called gainful employment regulations were watered down after pressure by lobbyists and challenged in court.

The “American Dream 2.0″ authors said in press materials they hope the report will be as influential as the Reagen-era “Nation at Risk,” which sparked a public education Sputnik moment. The group is also releasing a poll by Hart Research Associates that found that “a college degree … is seen as important and worth it,” defying public handwringing about the value of a college education. Eighty-four percent of poll respondents noted that completing college is either “absolutely essential” or “very important.”

Members of the coalition include Sandy Baum, a Skidmore economist influential on higher education policy, and Christopher Edley Jr., dean of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. It also includes Laura Fornash, Virginia education chief; Janet Murguia, National Council of La Raza president; Robert Reischauer, previous director of the Congressional Budget Office; Amy Wilkins, a vice president of the Education Trust; Ron Mason Jr., president of the Southern University System; and Michael McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation.

Reischauer argued that federal financial aid should take lessons from health care. “The government needs to collect and annually report robust and reliable performance metrics of access, completion, costs and labor market outcomes,” the authors wrote in the report.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced in September major grants to redesign financial aid. One grantee was HCM, the public affairs firm that produced Thursday’s report. When word of HCM’s committee got out over the summer, Inside Higher Education reported that some education policymakers were nervous that the goal of “the need for a higher financial aid return on investment” would give credibility to “short-sighted action by budget-cutting lawmakers.”

Changing the financial aid system does have some public support. The Hart survey found that people who think huge changes are needed in higher education focused on cost and debt. The group conducted a nationwide online survey with 1,401 engaged voters and a telephone survey among 605 Latino and African American parents with household incomes of $50,000 or less.

African American and Hispanic parents were found to consider financial aid reform a higher priority than the general pool of engaged voters. Overall, 57 percent of engaged voters indicated that they wanted to “hold colleges and universities more accountable when they have high dropout rates.” Sixty percent of engaged voters also signaled that basing financial aid on completion instead of enrollment is a “good approach to reform financial aid programs.”

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Drop out rates, Education, News, Statistics, Tuition, University

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Private College Tuition Growth Slows According To National Association Of Independent Colleges & Universities – College News, Information, and Statistics

21 Jan 2013 | No Comments »

– It’s what passes for good news on college costs these days: Private colleges and universities increased tuition 3.9 percent this fall, a rate well above overall inflation but the smallest increase in at least four decades, and substantially lower than prices have been rising at public universities.

The figures released Thursday by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities highlight some of the complexities within an overall trend of rising college costs.

The list price at private colleges remains substantially higher than at publics – $29,230 this fall compared to a bit over $8,000 last year at public institutions (neither figure includes room and board).

But private colleges, which enroll about a quarter of four-year college students, typically also award more financial aid. The latest NAICU survey of 445 private colleges calculates they disbursed 6.2 percent more aid this fall than a year ago, following increases at least as large each of the previous three years.

That reduces the average net cost at private colleges – what families actually pay – to around $12,900, according to the most recent figures from the College Board, whose more comprehensive annual study of college costs is due out later this month.

Factoring in that aid, plus expanded federal aid and tax credits, net tuition and fees at private colleges actually fell 4.1 percent in inflation-adjusted terms between 2006 and 2011, according to the College Board.

“Students and families are increasingly price- and value-conscious,” said NAICU President David L. Warren. “Private college leaders are listening, and working hard to keep students’ out-of-pockets costs as low as possible and provide the best value for the tuition dollar.”

According to NAICU, 24 private institutions froze tuition this year, among them a handful of prominent institutions such as Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Others have committed to holding prices stable for all four years a student is enrolled.

Still, even net costs are eye-popping for families suffering through an extended stretch of stagnant incomes. Student debt is rising and remains higher for graduates of private institutions. New graduates of private colleges who borrowed owed on average $28,100 at graduation, according to the most recent College Board figures, compared to $22,000 for graduates of four-year publics.

For students who don’t get aid, many of the most expensive private colleges now cost more than $200,000 for a four-year degree. Last year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, 123 colleges charged more than $50,000 per year in combined tuition, fees, room and board. Topping the list was Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., whose website lists this year’s costs, including a full meal plan, at $63,727.

According to Sarah Lawrence, about 63 percent of students receive aid from the college, and the average award in 2010-2011 was about $31,000.

The NAICU survey factored in responses from 445 of NAICU’s 960 members, but in past years the survey’s findings have fallen almost exactly in line with those of the College Board’s more comprehensive survey.

Source: thehuffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, News, Tuition

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College Essay Tips: 5 Things You Shouldn’t Put In Your College App Essay

21 Jan 2013 | No Comments »

College application essays scare most of us.

Even if you consider yourself a pretty good writer, the thought of cranking out an essay that will determine whether or not you’ll get into college can leave you in a cold sweat.

But writing that college application essay doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, you can be yourself — relaxed and sincere. Keep in mind, though, that there are some things you definitely shouldn’t include in your essay.

1. Flat-out lies

This one seems obvious but has to be mentioned. While it’s true that there are a lot of facts about yourself you won’t include (such as all those Justin Bieber songs you have on your iPod), you need to accurately portray the ones you will include.

So, if you say you’ve escaped abject poverty and your high school transcript shows you went to some upper-class private school, college admissions officers are going to see right through that. Just be smart about it and honest, while still making yourself look awesome.

A friend of mine had a fellow creative writing classmate who was writing a memoir about being a waitress. While this might not be the typical dramatic memoir you would find in the best-sellers section of the bookstore, she made it interesting without having to appeal to small or big lies. It’s all in how you spin it.

2. Unnecessarily big words

There’s nothing wrong with big words. But using a word that even admission counselors have to look up in the dictionary is not impressive, it’s annoying. Don’t reach into the dictionary just to sound sophisticated. Use words that make the most sense and convey your message clearly and effectively.

It’s not just big words that will trip you up. I had a journalism professor who hated the word “utilize.” While I would argue there are rare cases where this word is necessary, he’s right: Using the word “use” makes more sense in most cases. Heed the favorite saying of English teachers everywhere: “Don’t use a 10-cent word when a five-cent word will do.”

To be on the safe side, especially for you non-writers, enlist an editor to look over the word choices in your essay before sending it off.

3. A voice that’s not your own

In my many years of helping friends write essays (including college application essays), I’ve noticed that they become a completely different person in their writing. Their writing voice is nowhere near their speaking voice.

Now, I’m not saying you should use slang or interject sentences with the word “umm,” but be yourself.

My sister, who I’ve helped with many of her high school and college essays, becomes almost a different person in writing, saying things like, “The indication of her rhetorical strategy…” when in real life she’d just say, “Her style of persuasion…” Which sounds better and more likely to be the voice of an 18-year-old? They want to hear from you, not someone else.

4. Tiny examples to prove big points

Don’t say you’re a hard worker because you take out the trash whenever your parents ask you. Small examples and everyday anecdotes can be great, but don’t go too small.

The logic has to connect. Taking out the trash doesn’t equal hard worker. You could have been taking it out to get your parents off your back or because it stunk. What does equal hard worker is you tutoring disabled children at a local school. Then from there, get into small anecdotes, such as teaching a kid how to tie his shoes.

Take notes from President Obama. He mentions a bigger theme, such as unemployment, and pairs it with smaller examples, such as a struggling mother. This personalizes and drives his point home. You taking out the trash doesn’t connect to any grand, noble conclusion on its own.

5. A list of accomplishments

As mentioned in a recent USA TODAY College article, merely listing all of your accomplishments in your college application essay is a terrible use of your 500+ word limit. It’s boring and might lower your chances of acceptance into those universities in Chicago, New York or wherever you’re dying to go.

I once went to a group job interview where the CEO asked us why we wanted the job. One by one, we all made the mistake of listing our accomplishments. When I started out my answer with, “Well, I’ve been writing for so-and-so years,” he stopped me and said, “Jon, I know that. I have your resume. Just answer the question.”

The same idea applies here. Your GPA and extracurricular activities are well-documented elsewhere. This essay is your opportunity to go in-depth on maybe one or two of these accomplishments. Imagine that they’re allowing you to color in one or two paintings at the art gallery that is your life. Which is the most beautiful when painted with detail?

All in all, be yourself, be accurate and display truths and accomplishments you think are worth sharing.

Source: thehuffingtonpost.com

Category(s): 4- Year University, College, College Costs, College Statistics, Education, News, Tuition, University

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