For many high school juniors and seniors picking a college to attend is probably the most stressful part of high school. Well, that and worrying about whether or not you will have a date for the upcoming dance. So many factors come into play when making this important decision. Do you pick a school based on reputation? Do you select a school based
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A woman I work with wrote a nice article on paying for college. Please take some time to 1) read it and 2) Digg it:
Digg: Choosing a College and How to Pay for it
We will see what kind of visibility we can get with your help!
It’s not all in your head. It is harder to get into college this year.
Selective schools nationwide are reporting more rejections than ever. There has been a bulge in the number of college-age students, which is expected to continue until the end of the decade. Add in an increased desire among their baby boomer parents to enroll their kids in elite schools and you have the ingredients for a season of frustrated hopes and unexpected disappointments.
Many of the best-known and most-selective universities announced record low admission rates this year. Yale Univeersity set an Ivy League record, accepting only 8.6 percent of its 21,099 applicants. Last year, the school accepted 9.7 percent of its 19,448 applicants. Other record lows were reported by:
About 3 million students are expected to graduate from high school this year, and about two-thirds of them are looking for college spaces.
To search for more college, go to:
http://www.howtogetin.com/college-search/
The Vassar College Board of Trustees has announced another significant step toward assuring access to a Vassar education for students of diverse economic backgrounds, by approving the elimination of loans from the financial aid packages of students with calculated family incomes of up to $60,000. The college will replace those loans with additional Vassar scholarship grants, adding approximately $1 million a year to the college’s already strong financial aid commitment. The policy will take effect in the fall of 2008 and will apply to students in all four classes, including current students.
“We believe strongly that financial circumstances should not be a barrier for a qualified student who wants to come to Vassar,” said Catharine Bond Hill, president of the college and a nationally known economist specializing in higher education, specifically issues of affordability. “For Vassar, increasing access is a priority, and our Board has strengthened the resources necessary to live up to that commitment. Our financial aid is an investment in the rich diversity of our students, which is central to our mission.”
Vassar is one of only a half dozen colleges with endowments of less than $1 billion to take the step of replacing loans in financial aid awards. Among its peer colleges and universities, including many of the schools that also have announced loan replacement policies, Vassar annually is a leader in the percentage of its students who receive financial aid, with approximately 55% of its students currently receiving aid. All Vassar financial aid is based on need.
The Board’s action follows its decision last spring to return to a need-blind admissions policy, with admissions decisions being made without regard to a student’s ability to pay. The need-blind policy and the elimination of loans apply to all students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The college has historically met 100% of the demonstrated financial need of all of its admitted students, including international students, for all four years and will continue to do so.
“With a number of the very wealthiest colleges and universities reducing tuition or loans for students, the Board believes it is imperative to reaffirm that Vassar, one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the country, is also an institution committed to affordability,” said William Plapinger, chair of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Vassar class of 1974. Plapinger is a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and the coordinator of its European offices.
He continued, “Almost all of our trustees are Vassar graduates and many were the recipients of financial aid. We know firsthand the benefit of having doors opened that might have otherwise seemed closed, and we believe family income shouldn’t be an impediment to any qualified student.”
In the current (2007-08) academic year, the average total financial aid award per student across all four classes is $32,500. The average loan component for students with family incomes of up to $60,000 is $2,950, bringing the average four-year loan burden for those students to $11,800. The new policy eliminates that loan amount and replaces it with scholarship funds. Annually, tuition and fees cover only slightly more than half of the costs of a Vassar education, with the other half coming largely from the college’s endowment and fundraising. The Vassar endowment was valued at approximately $890 million as of December 31, 2007.
The college expects to spend $34.5 million in Vassar scholarship grant funds for students for the 2008-09 academic year, more than a 50% increase over the amount spent for financial aid five years ago and more than double the amount spent a decade ago. This current commitment to financial aid represents more than 23% of the college’s annual operating expenses.
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.
Nearly 30 percent of MIT students to have all tuition charges covered
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) today announced its financial aid program for 2008-2009. Increases in financial aid will make it possible for a larger fraction of MIT students to have their tuition and fees completely covered.
Under the new plan, which will take effect in the 2008-2009 academic year:
The Institute has a long tradition of opening its doors to talented students from a full range of economic backgrounds. For more than four decades, MIT has made its undergraduate financial aid decisions by following a three-part financial aid philosophy. “First, we are need-blind in admissions, meaning that we admit all undergraduates on the basis of academic merit alone, without considering their ability to pay,” said Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel Hastings. “Second, MIT meets the full demonstrated financial need of all students we admit. Third, we award all our aid based on need alone; MIT does not award any academic, athletic or other forms of merit scholarships.”
Total financial aid budget is one of the highest per enrolled student in the nation.
Building on this commitment, MIT will increase its financial aid budget to $74 million. MIT’s total financial aid budget is one of the highest per enrolled student in the nation. Sixty percent of MIT undergraduates receive scholarship aid from the Institute’s internal resources. Fully 90 percent of MIT undergraduates receive financial aid of some kind, from a range of sources. While MIT focuses assistance on those with fewer resources, it also provides aid to families with incomes well above $100,000 who demonstrate need–for example, because they have more than one child in college at a time. In fact, approximately 38 percent of our current MIT scholarship recipients come from families earning more than $100,000.
Tuition and fees for the upcoming academic year will increase 4 percent to $36,390; however, this figure represents less than half of what it costs MIT to educate an undergraduate. As Hastings noted, “In a pattern MIT has followed for many years, we are increasing funds available for financial aid this year at a far greater rate than the rise in tuition.” During the past decade, the net tuition for undergraduates–what students and families pay after financial aid–has, on average, dropped by more than 15 percent when adjusted for inflation.
“For those receiving an MIT scholarship, which is six out of every 10 MIT undergraduates, net tuition is $8,100–an amount that approximates the in-state cost of many public universities,” Hastings added.
Tradition of ensuring access and affordability for those who need it most.
MIT has long taken an aggressive position on aid because its students demonstrate a much higher level of need than students at peer institutions. More than 22 percent of MIT undergraduates come from families with annual incomes less than $60,000 a year; 17 percent come from families with incomes under $45,000.
Two years ago, the Institute took a leadership role in the national debate on financial aid when it became the first private university to match Federal Pell Grants, dollar for dollar, effectively doubling this federal grant for the neediest students. Approximately 14 percent of MIT undergraduates receive a Pell Grant, the largest federal grant program for undergraduate education.
“We will continue our longstanding financial commitment to students and their families in the years ahead,” Hastings stated. “That we can welcome to our campus such extraordinary students, regardless of their economic background, is due to our historic dedication to need-based financial aid.”
Carleton College is pleased to announce its new Access Scholarship program aimed at reducing or eliminating student loans for its neediest students, starting with the 2008-09 school year.
Carleton’s commitment of nearly $1 million to the new financial aid program over the next four years continues to demonstrate the College’s historical commitment to a diverse enrollment in the current environment of growing tuition costs nationwide. The College firmly believes that access to a Carleton education is not only an offer of admission, but should come with the financial means to make it accessible for all students.
The Access Scholarship program is targeted to those families with an annual income of $75,000 or less. The scholarship aids in reducing the loan component in each eligible recipient’s aid package. Each student’s financial need will continue to be fully met. To be eligible, students must gain admission to Carleton, apply and qualify for need-based financial aid and possess a family income of $75,000 or less.
Those families making less than $40,000 annually receive a $4,000 scholarship, or grant; those with annual incomes of $40,001-$60,000 are awarded a $3,000 scholarship and those from families with yearly incomes of $60,001-$75,000 receive $2,000 from the scholarship fund.
“These Access Scholarships will break down yet another barrier for students who have concerns about the cost of coming to Carleton,” says Rod Oto, Carleton’s associate dean of admissions and director of student financial services. “Although it may not alleviate all loans while at Carleton, recipients will graduate with a more reasonable amount of loan debt to pursue broader career choices.”
The new program, according to Oto, significantly reduces loan debt for students from these income brackets, which in recent classes exceeded $19,000 total over the four years. Those receiving the highest level of support through the Access Scholarship can expect about a 70 percent reduction in loan debt; those at the $3,000 level will see a 50 percent reduction in loan debt and those with a $2,000 Access Scholarship will experience a 33 percent reduction in loan debt.
For more information on this program or about financial aid at Carleton, please contact the Carleton student financial services office at (507) 222-4138 or visit them on the web at http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/sfs/.
Courtesy of Carleton News
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What are your favorite College Search and Advice websites?
