Research Opportunities
Ralph Becker
The Importance of High School Research

Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.

The Importance of High School Research

EFC

The Inexorable Tuition Escalation

The Inexorable Tuition Escalation

The cost of attending a college or university keeps rising without an apparent limit year in and year out.

To give a sense of the relentless rise, since the early 1980’s tuition has increased over 1000% while the consumer price index (CPI) has risen a relative paltry 240%.  From a slightly different perspective, in 1970 the percentage of the average household income it took to pay for tuition in a four-year college was 16%; by 2010 it was 36%.  As a consequence of the rising costs, students are taking on debt as never before.

Borrowing for College

Borrowing for College

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry”-Polonius, Hamlet I, iii

To pay for college, most students have to borrow. In 2012, the average student graduated with over $26,000 of debt. That would buy a 2014 Subaru Forester sport utility 2.5i and still leave enough money to tour the Rockies for a month. All told, total college debt amounts to over a trillion dollars, and it is relentlessly rising.

Gaining the Best Financial Aid Packages

Gaining the Best Financial Aid Packages

Financial aid is confusing. It’s even worse than income taxes. According to the American Council on Education, in 2006, 1.8 million students who would have qualified for federal and financial aid failed to apply. There is no reason to be among that number.

The fundamental precept of financial aid is filing the FAFSA as soon after January 1st of senior year as possible. The whole idea is to be at the front of the line when scholarships and grants are being allocated. At most of the public schools, including the University of California system, only filing the FAFSA is required. This vastly simplifies the process. Filing solely by the federal method (FM) makes applying to state schools almost a pleasure.

Financial Aid for the International Student

Financial Aid for the International Student

Six schools, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst, and MIT are all ‘need blind’ and ‘full need’ regardless of a student’s country of origin. This means that if accepted, international students will obtain the necessary financial aid to attend. Be aware, however, that though these schools advertise themselves as being “need-blind,” which technically means that financial circumstances are not considered in the admissions process, how this might actually translate into the reality of admissions warrants consideration.

The Financial Aid Award Appeal Process

The Financial Aid Award Appeal Process

Usually along with your offer of admission comes your financial aid letter. Some schools, like Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, however, send a link to have you log on to their financial aid site to view your financial aid package. Whether paper or digital, the key question is: does the financial package offered allow you to attend without incurring painful debt?

Last year, I had a number of students who were admitted into some of the top liberal arts colleges in the country: Reed, Whitman, Occidental, and Vassar among them; yet, their joy of being accepted was soon forgotten by financial aid packages that did not adequately address Need (as you might remember: Cost of Attendance (COA) – Effective Family Contribution (EFC) -which is calculated from the FAFSA form-= Need).