October 2008 archive

The New Bailout

Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | 0 comments | Permalink |

It was a scary day when I realized that I was going to have to find a college. The options are staggering and the cost was bound to give me the biggest case of sticker shock I had ever experienced. This is not at all uncommon happening for college students, especially this fall.

Students all over America are going through this same experience as they search for the college of their choice. In light of the fluctuating economy, 52% of prospective students are looking to their second and third choice universities due to cost.

Since college loans exceeding $22,000 have risen by 5% in the past year, parents have been forced to rethink how closely they support their kids. As many college grads crumble under high interest loans and low income jobs, a great number of parents feel compelled to help bail them out. Instead of saving for retirement, the modern university system has essentially left parents the responsibility of footing the college bill when they never intended to.

By Aaron Dodson

Is It a College Loan or a Home Mortgage?

Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | 0 comments | Permalink |

With excessive borrowing the name of the game for college students today, many are forced to take on debt they won't pay off until their mid-fifties. It's now becoming apparent to college administrators that asking an 18 year old to borrow a similar amount of money as others do to fund a home mortgage is unfair, unwise, and simply ridiculous.

To combat this problem, an increasing number of institutions are requiring loan-bearing students to attend non-credit financial literacy courses, essentially requiring the student to go deeper in debt to combat the inevitable crunch they'll later feel after graduation.

With institutions charging more and more for the "college experience," a greater number of students are opting for alternative means to achieving their degree. Not only are they engaging in distance learning options but are also working part time or taking lower course loads to make ends meet. Or, like in Florida, they're going on welfare and buying groceries with food stamps.

Posted by Shawn Cohen

Is Distance Learning Economical?

Posted on Monday, October 13, 2008 | 1 comment | Permalink |

What's the most inexpensive means for obtaining a bachelor's degree these days? News flash: It isn't at the University of Phoenix.

This college and many like it are entities owned by for-profit corporations that, as recent statistics show, are charging almost as much in tuition as their non-profit counterparts. In a recent survey by the National Center for Education Statistics, students at a for-profit university paid $14,908 in tuition during the 2007-2008 school year. an academic year. This is $9,178 more than their in-state counterparts in the 2007-2008 school year. Furthermore, for-profit institutions reflected the same rate of inflation as non-profit colleges and universities.

Additionally, the typical for-profit university only cost $4,139 less than a private brick and mortar institution.

Students looking for an economical way to complete their bachelor's degree may need to look beyond mere distance learning outlets since tuition at highly touted online universities are just as expensive as traditional colleges and universities.

Posted by Shawn Cohen