Category Archives: Colleges & Universty

Average College Tuition Cost

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Like everything else, college costs are going up. According to recently released figures, students or their families will pay from $175 to $1100 more this year than last. Still, there is good news. The amount of financial aid available is now almost $170 Billion. In spite of the increases, a college education still remains affordable for most students and their families.

Even though some of the college costs so often mentioned in the news – $36,000 to $50,000 per year for tuition and fees at premier 4 year schools, college is actually more affordable than that. For example, over half of students attend four year schools with tuition and fees below $9,000? When grants are taken into consideration, the net price drops way below the published “sticker price”. Other forms of financial aid drop the out of pocket costs even further.

The College Board has published these figures for the 2009-2010 academic year:

Private four year – $26,273 (up 4.4 percent)

Public four year – $7,020 (up 6.5 percent)

Public two year – $2,544 (up 7.3 percent)

Room and Board will cost $377 to $420 more than last year

The average out of state surcharge for full time students at a public four year institution is $11,528

One of the vehicles to save ahead for future college costs is a 529 college savings program, which allows you to save for college through a state sponsored investment account. Earnings and funds can be used at any school, in any state. Earnings and withdrawals are federal tax free, and funds are treated as parental assets when calculating need figures. There is also a variation which is a tuition prepayment plan which allows you to lock in tuition cost at a particular school

There are other vehicles such as Coverdell savings accounts or Roth IRAs which could be utilized for college savings. There are also cost free sources of money for college – scholarships, of which there are many, and another under publicized vehicle which you can find by following the links below.

College Degree Online – Your Answer to a Career Change

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More people than ever today are taking advantage of the opportunity to get a college education online which could provide them with much-needed job security. The down turned economy has forced us all to take a long look at our job security and learn what we can do to protect ourselves from a lay-off, or worse yet, complete job loss. The protection that many are choosing is to get a degree online. This process allows people to get a college degree online while continuing to work, as opposed to waiting until they “get the ax”, causing them to start scrambling for a job.

There are many choices of programs to help give you the education you need to advance in your career. If you’re interested in learning more about how to get a distance learning degree, you can do a research online from the various credible online education portals including using the search engines yahoo, bing and Google to refine your search results. You’ll soon discover that it’s very easy to earn your college education online. Not only is it easy, but it’s something you can do at a pace that’s comfortable and convenient for you.

Advantages of getting a college degree online

If you’ve already been to college in the past, you may remember the struggles, hard work and commitment that went into earning your college degree. Online programs today can give you the same type of degree without all the hassle and 24/7 commitment and struggle. More and more people are choosing to get college degree online as opposed to giving up their entire lifestyle to enter a local college, which could involve driving miles to the closest campus which is offering the degree program of choice.

There are many advantages when you decide to get a college degree online including:

  • Learning at your own pace and convenience
  • The ability to earn an Associate’s, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree online
  • Financial Assistance available
  • Free Virtual assistance and tutoring
  • The programs offered are in demand
  • 24/7 Student Support
  • Increasing your job security
  • Making you an asset to your company

If you choose to get college education online, you’ll find, like so many others have, that learning is fun and exciting because it’s your choice to be in college and you’re able to do it at your convenience. The results of your getting a college degree online will be that you’ll be competitive in the job field and will be ready for whatever economy throws your way.

College Success – What Does it Take?

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College success is not as difficult for most young students as learning how to take on adult responsibilities. Letting go of adolescence and becoming an adult is more challenging according to Carl Pickardt, Psychologist and adolescent specialist. If you take responsibility for showing up to class regularly, turning papers and work in on time, and sacrificing some of the time spent with friends in favor of more study time, you have won half the battle for achieving college success. Being responsible for meeting the demands of college (ability to respond and step up to the plate) is one of the keys to college achievement.

You already have been using some of the higher level thinking skills needed to succeed in college. You use these skills when you solve your life problems and overcome obstacles. Your lack of success in college will not be because you are not smart enough. There are many different types of intelligence and my experience in working with hundreds of students has shown that practically every student is smart in one way or another. For more information on different types of intelligence other than IQ, you can read the theories of Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences), Robert Sternberg (Successful Intelligence) and Daniel Goleman (Emotional and Social Intelligence).

In addition to self-responsibility, there are three other factors you will need to succeed in college:

1. Learning how to learn and study skills — You need to learn how to learn effectively and the ways that you learn best. Most colleges offer at least one college success course which can teach you these skills. These courses also need to be taught to high school students, but sadly few high schools provide them. A good college success course will teach you: how to study and learn, reading comprehension strategies, your best learning styles and types of intelligences, how to set and reach your goals, time management, discovery of your talents and strengths, career exploration, writing skills, note taking, problem solving, and more.

2. Work Ethic — Good study and work habits will lead you to success in college and in the work force. Good study skills will only be effective if you apply them. They will be worthless to you if you do not use them.

3. Motivation — Without motivation you will not consistently use good study skills, work habits and your intelligence and potential. There are two types of motivation, the carrot (pleasure) and the stick (pain). When you use these together you will have a powerful motivational combination. Keep your long-range goals for achieving a college education in your mind’s eye. For example, let’s say you want a degree in secondary education to become a teacher. Visualize and imagine yourself as a teacher who is making a positive difference for your students. Enjoy the positive feelings that come when you see yourself as a great teacher. This is the carrot and a reminder of one of the benefits (pleasure) you will experience by achieving your goal. Also remind yourself of the stick (pain) or the consequences if you do not achieve your goal of completing a degree in secondary education. It can deprive you of becoming a teacher. Reminding yourself of the benefits and consequences will help you to stay motivated and persistent. Also break your long-range goals into small steps. Every step accomplished provides you with positive feedback and will increase your motivation to reach your long-range goals.

You can succeed in college, in your career, and in your life. Where to begin? Start with college success by taking responsibility, learning how to learn effectively and how you learn best, using good study skills and work habits, and by fueling your motivation to succeed. Use these four keys and you will open the door to college success and the gateway to your dreams.