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

SUNY

The College Shopping Sheet and the Needed Transparency of Financial Aid

The College Shopping Sheet and the Needed Transparency of Financial Aid

As admissions into colleges and universities has become ever more challenging, applying for financial aid and understanding the financial aid letter once received, is an equally grueling, though often neglected, piece of the admissions process.

Many families today are making grants and scholarships instrumental in their college searches. For good reason as half of parents, according to a survey conducted by Sallie Mae (the nickname for the SLM Corporation, a publicly traded US Government corporation that originates, collects and services student loans) are not regularly putting aside savings for college.

True Values in Public Education

True Values in Public Education

Consumers Digest in 2011 published its list of Top 100 college values; it included real values.

Number one on the list is Truman State University (TSU) (Kirksville, MO), followed by the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM) (Morris, MN).  Both have out-of-state costs comparable to Cal State’s in-state costs, yet they offer substantially higher graduation rates, smaller class sizes, and a load of major selections that are not impacted. To this duo of public values add FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) which is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. FIT in Manhattan is one of the top five fashion design schools in the world (it includes Calvin Klein among its alumni), and has a COA under $30,000. This is a serious value.