Is a College education a good investment?

The Value of a College Education


The escalating cost of higher education is causing many to question the value of continuing education beyond high school. Many wonder whether the high cost of tuition, the opportunity cost of choosing college over full-time employment, and the accumulation of thousands of dollars of debt is, in the long run, worth the investment. The risk is especially large for low-income families who have a difficult time making ends meet without the additional burden of college tuition
and fees.

In order to determine whether higher education is worth the investment, it is useful to examine what is known about the value of higher education and the rates of return on investment to both the individual and to society.

THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

There is considerable support for the notion that the rate of return on
investment in higher education is high enough to warrant the financial burden associated with pursuing a college degree. Though the earnings differential between college and high school graduates varies over time, college graduates, on average, earn more than high school graduates. According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million (Day and Newburger, 2002).



These sizeable differences in lifetime earnings put the costs of college study in realistic perspective. Most students today-- about 80 percent of all students--enroll either in public 4-year colleges or in public 2-year colleges. According to the U.S. Department of Education report, Think College Early, a full-time student at a public 4-year college pays an average of $8,655 for in-state tuition, room and board (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2002). A full-time student in a public 2-year college pays an average of $1,359 per year in tuition (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2002).





These statistics support the contention that, though the cost of higher education is significant, given the earnings disparity that exists between those who earn a bachelor's degree and those who do not, the individual rate of return on investment in higher education is sufficiently high to warrant the cost.

OTHER BENEFITS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

College graduates also enjoy benefits beyond increased income. A 1998 report published by the Institute for Higher Education Policy reviews the individual benefits that college graduates enjoy, including higher levels of saving, increased personal/professional mobility, improved quality of life for their offspring, better consumer decision making, and more hobbies and leisure activities (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998). According to a report published by the Carnegie Foundation, non-monetary individual benefits of higher
education include the tendency for postsecondary students to become more open-minded, more cultured, more rational, more consistent and less authoritarian; these benefits are also passed along to succeeding generations (Rowley and Hurtado, 2002). Additionally, college attendance has been shown to "decrease prejudice, enhance knowledge of world affairs and enhance social status" while increasing economic and job security for those who earn bachelor's degrees (Ibid.)

Research has also consistently shown a positive correlation between completion of higher education and good health, not only for oneself, but also for one's children. In fact, "parental schooling levels (after controlling for differences in earnings) are positively correlated with the health status of their children" and "increased schooling (and higher relative income) are correlated with lower mortality rates for given age brackets".


Brad Asbury
basburycsa@yahoo.com
PO Box 348056
Sacramento, Ca. 95834
Ph 916.607.3104

"Downturn Expected to Drive Tuition Up"

"Downturn Expected to Drive Tuition Up"

By Tamar Lewis, New York Times


Tuition costs rose slightly faster than the Consumer Price Index last year, and students received record amounts of financial aid, according to the annual reports on college pricing and student aid released Wednesday, November 29, by the College Board. But while financial aid is still growing, average student borrowing is still going up, as well. With the troubles in the stock market, they said, both public and private colleges may soon be in serious financial straits, forcing large increases in tuition." Given the economic strain on state budgets, the pressure on state governments to shift the cost of education to students and families may prove irresistible," said Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education, "Private institutions, too, given the loss of endowment income and expected cutbacks in private giving, will likely be forced to increase tuition at the same time they struggle to increase institutional financial aid." For the current school year, the reports found, the average in-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions increased by 6.4 percent - to $6,585 - not much more than the 5.6 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index. Private four-year colleges and universities' average tuition and fees are $25,143, 5.9 percent higher than last year. But as the costs of college rise, so does student aid. Last year, the reports said, graduate and undergraduate students received more than $143 billion in financial aid, including grants, federal loans, federal work-study assistance and federal tax credits. In addition, they borrowed $19 billion from state and private sources. With worsening economic conditions, public and private institutions alike may cut back the "merit aid" offered to attract particular students - often, those whose grades and test scores will improve their rankings - and use that money on aid to needier students instead. According to the report, public four-year institutions give only 44 percent of their aid dollars to students with financial need. On average, 38 percent of the public universities' aid goes to non-need-based merit aid, and 18 percent to athletic scholarships.

Notice to All Seniors and their Parents!!!

The colleges that you are applying to all have specific requirements for being considered for their scholarships. Most of the institutions have deadlines of January 1st. Failure to properly apply will remove you from consideration. We strongly encourage you to spend the next couple of weeks accessing each of your college's websites, downloading and completing the scholarship applications properly and returning the applications before the cutoff date. Failure to do this could literally cost your family thousands of dollars which may make it financially unfeasible for you to attend even if admitted to your school of choice. Feel free to contact a local volunteer if you have any questions regarding this time sensitive issue.


I am a Consultant for the Access College Foundation-A member of the American College Planning Foundation and the California Association of student Financial Aid Administers

Access College Foundation (ACF) will provide the following services:

1. Assist with the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. (FAFSA)
2. Confirm accuracy of the Student Aid Report. (SAR)
3. * Create Expected Family Contribution (EFC) reports using both the Federal and Institutional Methodology Formulae.
4. Provide monthly College Roadmap newsletters.
5. Assist with the completion of the Financial Aid Profile Application, as needed. (FAP)
6. Assist with the completion of Institutional Forms, if required.
7. * Provide access to an online interests/abilities assessment designed to confirm or create a student’s career path.
8. Provide an interactive Student Positioning Session to help family/student select/confirm the best colleges for a career-appropriate pool of 6 to8 choices.
9. Produce college financial assistance history; detailing their Cost of Attendance, average merit award, % of need met, and their Grant to Loan ratio.
10. Recommend specific actions to maximize Financial Assistance Eligibility by reducing your EFC, when possible.
11. Assist with negotiation of the college award offers, when appropriate.
12. Assist in responding to any IRS verification requests.
13. * Develop a cost-effective funding plan to pay for your family’s college costs.
• Develop tax-efficient strategies to reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
• Develop customized plans utilizing current resources and cash flow to pay for college without diminishing or delaying retirement goals.
14. Provide guidance with education loan applications, if necessary.
15. Provide unlimited telephone and email support.

* (Pro-bono, if through Access College Foundation presentation)


Brad Asbury
basburycsa@yahoo.com

Types Of Financial Aid For College

Many students will need some type of financial aid to help they pay for college. Luckily for them they have many different financial aid sources to choose from.

In order to receive federal financial aid from the government a student needs to fill out the FAFSA application form. I help families fill out this form properly.

Once the FASFA financial aid application is processed, you and the schools you have chosen will receive your personalized Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number. This is the number used to evaluate the amount of federal aid you can receive.

Student Loans

Student loans are money that is borrowed and must be paid back with interest. The different types of student loans you can choose from are:


* Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans - Federal Stafford Loans that are offered to undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate a financial need.

* Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loans - Federal Stafford Loans offered to undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of financial need.

* Federal PLUS Loans - Federal loans for undergraduate students that are offered to parents to help finance their child's education.

* Federal Perkins Loans - Low interest government loans made through a participating school to undergraduate and graduate students with substantial financial need.

* Private Student Loans - Also referred to as alternative student loans, these are loans offered by private institutions that are very flexible and have higher limits.

Grants

A grant is an award offered from a federal agency to help you pay for your tuition, and the best thing about them is that they don't need to be paid back. Over 1,000 grant programs are offered by 26 federal agencies such as the Department of Education.

Scholarships

Scholarships are free money that is offered by everyone from colleges and churches to local cities and non-profit organizations. There are literally millions of scholarships to choose from if you search online or talk to your school counselor.

Work-Study

Federal work study provides jobs for both undergraduate and graduate students who exhibit financial need. It helps you earn money to help pay for your college expenses by working on or off campus or performing community service work. Plus, you even get extra spending money for the weekends!

Student loans are great ways to help students pay for college. Many of them don't have to be paid back until 6-9 months after you graduate, and they can even be consolidated into one monthly payment to take away some of the financial stress that life in the real world can bring.

But don't forget about grants, scholarships and work-study opportunities, all of which can help you cover the cost of college tuition.


Brad Asbury

basburycsa@yahoo.com
Ph 916.607.3104

The importance of SAT scores

Ok, this is a newspaper article, but, the information is very important!

SAT: UNFAIR? ELITIST? OVERRATED? ALL OF THE ABOVE
Hartford Courant -- May 29, 2009
Rick Green Column

New research suggests that colleges pay even more attention to the dreaded SAT than we thought.

But the provocative new study by University of Colorado researcher Derek Briggs also concludes that if I'm willing to pony up for one of those pricey SAT prep programs, I could get a leg up — not only in getting my kid into a top school, but in capturing more financial aid.

Now that's kind of interesting, because as a middle-class, college-educated white male, some might say I already have a few advantages.

Cough up a little more and maybe a few more doors open up. What a country!

All this got me thinking because like a lot of you, I'm beginning to sweat about how to pay for college for my children. I've got a daughter who did pretty well on the PSAT this year and the SAT is now on the horizon.

When I called Kaplan Test Prep and explained my situation and my daughter's test scores, "Jeffrey" told that me my daughter "would probably need one-on-one tutoring. She needs something more." Boy, don't they always!

At-home tutoring packages start at $3,299 for 20 hours, he told me.

"We guarantee a score increase," he added.

Because it's widely known that test scores often go up from the PSAT to the SAT, I wasn't so sure that $3,299 — or even that budget course the town offers for a few hundred dollars — would have much impact.

And although Briggs' study discounts a huge effect from test prep, he has a paradoxical conclusion.

For a student who already scores pretty high, a 20- or 30-point increase might make a big difference, said Briggs, author of "Preparation for College Admission Exams," which he wrote for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Indeed, small gains for students with already high scores can make the difference at elite colleges, because some of these schools have rigid cutoffs for scores.

I asked him whether this merely accentuates an already unequal system.

"If you are from a wealthy family and you want to get into the Ivy League, you might increase your odds," Briggs said. "The people who are getting the advantage of coaching and test prep are people who already have an advantage."

Or, as Briggs concluded in his report, "If money and time are no object, commercial coaching or private tutoring may well be worth the cost."

College, it seems, might not be the great equalizer some of us think it is.

Peter Schmidt, author of "Color and Money," a book that takes a critical look at college admissions, told me that "people out to get an unfair edge" are part of a distorted admission process at top schools that puts too much emphasis on the SAT.

In a recent online essay for Alternet, a website, Schmidt went even further, arguing that "most elite higher-education institutions systematically favor people from privileged backgrounds who display selfish, cutthroat behavior."

Whoa. My ears pricked up a few minutes later when I reached Robert Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, who told me that better scores often mean more financial aid.

"We know already that test scores go up with family income. Kids who already have the advantage, their parents are able to buy them another leg up and then get paid for that," he said. "It's a classic example of the rich getting richer."

All of this, Schaeffer said, "shows that the fear students and parents have about how some colleges use SAT scores are not over-exaggerated."

Fearful is right, but I do admit to a cutthroat motive behind why I want my children to get the best SAT scores they can — college without bankruptcy.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-sat-college-panic-0529may29-column,0,3646129.column