Weekly Wisdom

Synopsis:
Intro. Financial aid weekly wisdom. Financial aid articles about merit-based scholarships and financial aid common blunders, will financial aid hurt my admission chances, 10th and 11th grade summer plans, and a look at The University of Michigan.

Introduction:

This week we would like to cover some financial aid topics and articles. We think it’s the opportune time to look at this, because now that acceptances and letters of intent are going out, some of you may be wondering how you are going to pay for college. Those of you juniors and sophomores might want to find out more about financial aid in general.

Weekly Wisdom

Why are colleges so expensive?
There are a number of reasons that colleges cost what they do. First, they
have to hire a lot of people, especially professors, and there's fierce
competition for the best - or at least the best-known - ones. Colleges also
need a lot of facilities: classrooms, dorms, libraries, labs,
super-computers, cafeterias, etc. In short, colleges can't really get "more
efficient" and educate more students for less cost.
There's also the declining level of public support for college education -
college subsidies are tempting targets for politicians looking to cut the
budget.
That being said, the truth is that very few colleges are as expensive as you
might think. Only about 4 percent of students attend colleges whose tuitions
and fees total over $20,000 - it's just that those elite colleges are the
ones we hear and read about all the time. Around 80 percent attend far less
expensive community colleges and public four-year colleges. And the quality
of the education and professors at many of these institutions is quite good.
Think about it - there are a lot more Ivy League graduates who want to teach
college than there are teaching jobs in the Ivy League, so a lot of them end
up teaching in less expensive and less prestigious institutions.

Upcoming Deadlines

ACT - June 11, 2005
Registration deadline: May 6, 2005
Late registration deadline: May 20, 2005

SAT and SAT II: May 7, 2005
Registration deadline: March 25th, 2005
Late deadline: April 6th, 2005

SAT and SAT II: June 4th, 2005
Registration deadline: Apr. 29, 2005
Late registration: May 11, 2005

Articles in the News

With our financial aid focus this week, we are presenting two articles that we feel are important.

The first is from our old favorite Jay Matthews, who writes about the reduction in need-based scholarships in favor of merit-based scholarships. He questions who wins in these scenarios and talks about the pressures on the colleges. Interesting read.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ARTICLE

The second article is an important one to read for any of you thinking of applying for financial aid either for next year or for juniors who want to apply for financial aid when they fill out applications in the fall. It details the top ten blunders to avoid while going through the financial aid process.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ARTICLE

Ask The Experts

asktheexperts@thepreptalk.com

Q: Will applying for financial aid hurt my chances of being admitted?

A: It depends on the college. A rich school like Harvard has a "need blind" admissions policy: They admit students without regard to need. Many schools, however, can't afford that and have a "need aware" policy in which financial need is considered to some extent when making admissions decisions.

Application & Essay Tips

Juniors, start a file or get a file box and organize all of those brochures you are getting in the mail. Interested in the college? Then make a file for it and start including anything you collect about it in there. In the fall, this will not only make the unwieldy process easier, but you will be able to answer questions you have about the school by looking at the materials you have saved and filed, since colleges are pretty good at including lots of information in little tiny brochures. The more organized you are about this process from the beginning, the better off you will be.

Featured College

The University of Michigan

Go Blue. Just like its football team, the University of Michigan doesn’t play second fiddle to any school. You would be hard-pressed to find a school anywhere in the country that inspires the kind of loyalty that U of M does. It’s not very hard to see why – with a top athletic program in nearly every major sport, a huge and diverse student body with hundreds of organizations to choose from, and top-notch academic credentials, U of M students have a lot to be proud of.

Ann Arbor, where the university is located, is very nearly the picture of a college town. Students run the show here, and the town happily obliges. Ann Arbor often places near or at the top of the list of “best college towns.” Everything a student could want off-campus is within walking distance, and student-friendly places abound.

As for the campus itself, it is beautiful no matter what the season. But don’t discount the seasons. For non-natives, the cold of Michigan can be harsh. For example, nights right now, in mid-April, are routinely in the 30s, and days will often stay below 50. Snow blankets the campus during the winter. This is both a blessing and a curse for students. Fun in the snow can be had, but getting to classes in freezing cold is never something to look forward to. Aside from the inclement weather, there is little to find wrong with this university.

13 academic colleges split up the 25,000 or so undergraduates. Even this split, though, doesn’t give the University of Michigan a small-school feel. You have to make the most of myriad opportunities on your own. You don’t get things handed to you. Most students, though, seem to enjoy it. The dorm rooms are reportedly smaller than at some other schools, but this may also help to contribute to the collegial atmosphere that just can’t be denied at Michigan.

Out-of-state tuition is pretty steep (around $25,000 per year) and admission from out-of-state is also a little tougher (average SAT, by the old scale, in the high-1200s to low-1300s), but you get one of the best public educations around. There are so many opportunities, so many different colleges, and such an emphasis on school spirit that Michigan indeed seems to have something for everyone. If this type of college experience, coupled with a stellar academic reputation, is what you crave – check out the University of Michigan.

Vocab of The Week

This week, we will not be presenting vocabulary words because we are starting an entirely new newsletter to coincide with the release of our vocabulary CD, “Pop Vocab”.

This CD contains over 160 commonly used SAT words, along with definitions and funny sentences using popular culture to help kids remember the meanings of the words. Our writing team has four Emmy awards for comedy writing, and we are very excited about it.

You can buy the CD here, or you can check it out and listen to some samples at www.popvocab.com.

WE WARN YOU – this CD is fun to listen to (kids actually report to us they listen to the entire thing, a first for vocabulary CDs!) but sarcastic, and uses celebrities as the butt of jokes – so if you are a huge Britney Spears or Paris Hilton or Ben Affleck fan, well, you should probably get a life.

The CD is not recommended for kids under age 13, just like our popular culture shouldn’t be.