Making College Worth It

09/13/2023

If you weren't aware, there's a race for students. Colleges need students to survive and there are/will be fewer looking at college as an option. If they do, the price needs to be lower so MANY colleges are changing the out-of-state tuition to match in-state. Given a more equal pricing model, the other valuable remains, years to graduate. Here in Georgia, last I checked, we have the 3rd lowest 6 year graduation rate in the country. If you believe staying in state is the most cost effective way, please talk to me to confirm. Your total cost could be lower...

Students who want to attend a historically Black college but have few or no options in their home states can attend two Maryland HBCUs and pay in-state prices starting next fall.

09/12/2023

Five Star experience for a One Star price. That's what everyone expects and then the lack of revenue/endowment closes down a college.
I remember when there wasn't this 'Keeping up with the Joneses' mentality. Labs were old and looked well used. Dorm food was cafeteria food. Dorm rooms were cinder blocks. We lived like a pauper so we could live like a prince once we graduate. Somehow, we managed and have fond memories of our years in college.
Now, everything has to be new or being improved. Dorm food is restaurant quality. New lab buildings like Clean rooms for nanotechnology. Dorm rooms have their own bathroom. Everything outside is manicured. Lazy rivers and palm trees entice students.
There is a cost to that. Higher Cost of Attendance. Borrowing more. Now higher interest rates. Too expensive to attend because fewer see the worth. Higher ed and those who will be attending need to shift from the 6 year playground to a four year academic experience that sets them up for life in the Real World.

Murray Sperber says the quality of housing amenities, the robustness of student life program-ming, and the quality of an institution’s athletic teams are primary drivers of undergraduate enrollment.

09/06/2023

Rankings. They have good intentions but are they really helpful? This one, from Money magazine, rates 5 Star colleges. They use averages, average cost, average ROI and average 10 year earnings. They use 6 year graduation rates. They use in-state full cost of attendance for public colleges. They say it's not a list of "elite" colleges and yet most have acceptance rates below 10%.

I don't use rankings from other sources. I use your rankings, what's important to you, taking into account your cost, your ROI, your career earnings, the 4 year graduation rate and ones you'll get into.

08/11/2023

The reduced birth rate from the Great Recession might be the best thing to happen for families with high school students. Declining enrollment is causing three things to happen...
1. The colleges in financial trouble are closing, reducing the seats available. Most are colleges that rely on tuition to pay the bills and the declining enrollment is forcing them out of business because they can't reduce their cost significantly enough to maintain enrollment numbers.
2. As the article states, the remaining colleges are fighting for the students by cutting the cost of attendance. Sometimes it's to get in-state tuition, sometimes more.
3. Majors consolidation. Each college has majors that attract few students. Many are closing out humanities type majors and sometimes are replacing them with majors that help build our new workforce in hi tech.

I stay up to date on all the changes going on in higher ed. Please contact for a free consult.

Enrollment and demographic declines are leading some regional public colleges to entice students from neighboring states, stoking tensions and spurring competition.

07/19/2023

The Making of a Conservative College. If you are cheering for the change in this college, know there are other options if you have conservative values. I can help you find them.

More than one-third of the faculty—36 members—has left the New College of Florida within the past year, The Tampa Bay Times reported. Provost Bradley Thiessen called it a “ridiculously high” number for an institution with fewer than 100 full-time professors.

07/11/2023

Have you lost confidence in higher ed? Do you think it's too expensive and not worth the cost? Could it be the political leanings of colleges in general? Something else?

Let's set up a free consultation to discuss current higher ed and see what can be done to get the knowledge needed to build a successful career.

A Gallup poll shows only 36 percent of Americans have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, which is down by about 20 percentage points from eight years ago.

07/05/2023

The Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action apparently is not only focused on admissions but potentially race based financial aid awards, so thinks Missouri.

If your family fits into this demographic and are worried about reduced funding for college, the colleges will find a way to distribute the money. Many colleges are looking at income based assessments for that scholarship money.

Missouri attorney general tells all colleges to drop minority scholarships. University of Missouri system complies.

06/30/2023

I know this won't make many people happy (those with student debt) but I believe $400 billion of debt movement from student debt to general debt should have more of our representatives being a part of the discussion than a single person, even if that person is the president.

On a different note, the new Income Driven Repayment option could save someone with student debt more than this forgiveness attempt.

The 6-to-3 decision stops the Biden administration from moving forward with plans to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for eligible Americans.

06/22/2023

I love these articles! Scroll down the article and read about their "solutions"... Have the government pay for it by doubling Pell or making some tuition free (meaning the government pays for it).

They also have a low bar for them to hurdle in order to be "worth it". Take the HS degree average income over 10 years and add the cost of the college. That's their Threshold 0 number. Break even after 10 years on the job!

My solution would be to list those colleges in a report like Consumer Reports and have the colleges step up or close up shop. Just like any other business. Throwing our tax dollars at a poor performing college isn't a solution! Maybe offer money to the ones who are performing well!

The analysis shows that about 80 percent of colleges provide a “minimum economic return” that makes an undergraduate degree worth the investment.

06/17/2023

Success can be achieved through a variety of paths, not just through the Ivy’s.

“Like everyone else,” David Kang assumed the Ivy Leagues would dominate, “but the largest place they had gone was to no college at all.”

06/12/2023

They are opting out of college because there isn't someone to show them how to make it work, academically and financially. High school counselors and financial planners can't do the whole job. An independent education consultant can focus on both academics AND finances to build a list of colleges that meet ALL the family's needs. Still skeptical? I offer a free consultation so you can learn more...

Students in a new survey cite concerns about academic preparation, mental health and affordability. Many say college isn’t worth it.

01/20/2023

Checking out Winthrop University today!

08/05/2022

And you know what happens to most merit scholarships after 4 years? They are gone and the full sticker price may be what you are paying for the rest of that undergrad degree.

Know what it takes to get through in 4. Know where it's easier to graduate in 4. If you don't know, I can help so you'll have a better shot at 4.

The average full-time student does not earn enough credits to complete a bachelor’s degree in even five years.

06/27/2022

A recent poll by NPR showed 82% wanted college to be more affordable. If you fit into that category and have HS aged children or grandchildren, we should talk because that's why I started this business...

A new poll shows 82 percent of borrowers believe Biden should make college more affordable.

06/22/2022

After decades of being told that a bachelor's degree (or higher) is needed to be a success, now we need tradespeople.

Instead of being frightened by student debt and steered by the media, make your own decision by making a financially sound decision that right for both your student's future career and everyone's wallet.

At Making College Worth It, we do just that.

As California budgets millions to rebrand long-disparaged vocational education, there are an estimated 30 million jobs in the U.S. that pay at least $55,000 per year and don’t require a bachelor’s degree.

05/19/2022

I just read that the interest rates for Federal student loans are planning to jump to 4.99% for the undergraduate Stafford loans, 6,54% for graduate loans and 7.54% for Parent PLUS loans. Combine that with the double whammy of college cost inflation needing to keep up with 'real world" inflation after very low jumps during the pandemic and the total cost of a degree is going to rise more than it has in the last 12 years.

Oh, and it looks like we may be headed for a recession soon and the stock market is dropping so there are fewer assets to spend on college.

If your family has a high school student and is going to have to borrow to pay for college, I can help you reduce the cost and borrow/spend less.

09/29/2021

Catchy headline, right? We all want a simpler FAFSA form. Read this article and you will see that simpler only applies to the number of questions the family fills in. See what enormous changes are made behind the curtain. How will these changes affect your family? That depends on your family... It could be different depending on the parents marital status, the number in college at the same time, family income and where the money is coming from to pay for college. Some families will pay more, some less, some the same, depending on the above factors and what colleges are on your application list.

I help families develop that list and, given the transition time until these changes take effect, determine how they could impact your family and how you pay for college.

If you know a family with kids heading to college soon, please share this with them. These changes could dramatically change the affordable list of colleges for that family.

The COVID-19 relief legislation simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), reducing the form from 108 questions to about three dozen questions.