Today’s question is inspired by Lynn O’Shaughnessy’s blog, The College Solution:

Less than 50% of students who begin a PhD program leave with a degree.

How does a student know if they’re ready to make the commitment to graduate school? Should they enroll in grad school as a default move after graduation?

Have a thought or an answer? Leave a reply below.

We’ve also asked our @Cappex Twitter followers to chime in! Here’s what people are saying on Twitter:

Key findings of the study suggest that the amount of students who received Pell Grants almost doubled between 2008 and 2010, and that community college enrollments rose as well. Many of the individuals who filled out college applications as a result of having access to Pell Grant funding were full-time students.

"From 2006 to 2011, the Pell Grant program saw record funding increases, allowing millions of new students to move through community colleges toward the American dream," reads the report. "The timing of these Pell increases could not have been better for students and families, coming precisely when the nation entered a period of high unemployment."

The study also suggests that community colleges are uniquely positioned to help workers laid off due to the recession to learn new skills or retrain to get back into work.

If you're thinking of studying a more hands-on vocational qualification, filling out a college application for a two-year school could be an ideal fit. Talk to your admissions adviser and ask about the kinds of qualifications community colleges offer.

Although you've probably got a good idea of the direction you want your career to go in, your plans may be different from what your parents expect from you. Be honest with yourself, and stay true to what you want to do – it's your life.

After figuring out what you want from your career, identifying your strengths and weaknesses could be a good idea. This is another area where honesty will serve you well – there's no shame in admitting you may not be the best at something. Once you've figured out what you're good – and not so good – at, you can start building your resume and looking at job listings. If a job requires more than a few things you're not as good at, it might be an idea to see what else is out there.

Anyone who has every interviewed extensively will tell you to do your research. That doesn't mean having a quick look at a company's website while you're on your way to the interview! Thoroughly research what the company does, and how they fit into their wider industry. Not only will this give you a better idea of what the organization does, it could help you to come up with some good questions for the interviewer. Nothing says you've been paying attention and thinking about the job more than asking intelligent questions.

Speaking of interviews, as with anything in life, practice makes perfect. Ask your parents or friends to help you go through some potential interview scenarios. Tell them not to go easy on you – the point isn't to make everyone feel better about themselves, it's to identify questions and situations that you didn't handle as well so you can focus on improving. For example, if an interviewer asks you to tell them about a situation in which you worked as a team, practicing interview situations can help you feel more confident, prepared and ready to impress.

The SAT is just one factor among many that colleges use while reviewing and sifting through applications. So your score is considered with other factors like teacher recommendations and your leadership and volunteering history. While most colleges accept and require either the SAT or ACT, each college and university uses a different combination of criteria for admission. To understand what your college choices look at, just contact them.

Here are the top 40 colleges with the highest SAT scores. The scores given are actually the top 25th percentile, meaning that of the of the 100 students admitted to The School of Hard Knocks, 25% scored above the stated number.

California Institute of Technology
Top 25th percentile: 2180

Harvard University
Top 25th percentile: 2100

Princeton University
Top 25th percentile:  2100

Yale University
Top 25th percentile:  2100

University of Chicago
Top 25th percentile: 2090

Harvey Mudd College
Top 25th percentile: 2080

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Top 25th percentile: 2080

Pomona College
Top 25th percentile: 2070

Columbia University in the City of New York
Top 25th percentile: 2050

Stanford University
Top 25th percentile: 2040

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Top 25th percentile: 2030

Northwestern University
Top 25th percentile: 2030

University of Pennsylvania
Top 25th percentile:  2030

Tufts University
Top 25th percentile: 2030

Vanderbilt University
Top 25th percentile:  2020

Amherst College
Top 25th percentile: 2020

Dartmouth College
Top 25th percentile: 2020

Swarthmore College
Top 25th percentile:   2020

Rice University
Top 25th percentile:  2000

Duke University
Top 25th percentile: 2000

Brown University
Top 25th percentile: 2000

Reed College
Top 25th percentile: 1970

Bowdoin College
Top 25th percentile: 1970

Haverford College
Top 25th percentile: 1960

Vassar College
Top 25th percentile: 1960

Carleton College
Top 25th percentile:  1950

Washington and Lee University
Top 25th percentile: 1950

Hamilton College
Top 25th percentile: 1950

Emory University
Top 25th percentile: 1950

Middlebury College
Top 25th percentile: 1940

Johns Hopkins University
Top 25th percentile:  1930

Carnegie Mellon University
Top 25th percentile: 1930

Wesleyan University
Top 25th percentile: 1930

Oberlin College
Top 25th percentile: 1930

Wellesley College
Top 25th percentile: 1920

University of Southern California
Top 25th percentile:  1920

Scripps College
Top 25th percentile:  1910

Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Top 25th percentile: 1900

Barnard College
Top 25th percentile: 1900

Macalester College
Top 25th percentile: 1890

This information is from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database.
Have you taken the SAT? Share your story in the comment section below!

If you have faced the loss of a parent, here are scholarships that can help you pay for college:

Forgotten Dependents Scholarship Program
This scholarship is for students between the ages of 16 and 25 who have experienced the death of a biological parent. Students who are children of deceased active duty veterans or those missing in action and believed to be deceased are also eligible. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be US citizens and be unmarried.

Deadline: April 1

LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program
This scholarship is open to college students who have suffered the death of a parent or guardian. An essay about how the death of a parent or guardian impacted their lives is required.

Check with scholarship provider for 2012 deadline.

Through the Looking Glass Scholarship
This scholarship is graduating high school seniors and college students 21 years old or younger who have at least one parent with a disability or medical condition.

Deadline: March 5

All About Pink Scholarship
This scholarship is for high school seniors or currently enrolled college freshman whose parent is suffering from breast cancer, a survivor of breast cancer, or has succumbed to the disease.  A personal interview with each of the top finalists may be conducted as part of the selection process.

Deadline: March 25

W. H. “Howie” McClennan Scholarship
This is a college scholarship for sons, daughters, and legally adopted children of fire fighters who were killed in the line of duty.

Check with scholarship provider for 2012 deadline.

Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation Grants
These grants are for college students who have lost a parent in the line of military duty. Award amounts are based on individual needs and available funding.

Deadline: There is no deadline for application – decisions are made throughout the year and in a timely fashion upon receipt of the necessary documents.

Police Family Survivors Fund Scholarship 
This is a renewable* scholarship is for surviving sons and daughters of police officers who were killed in the line of duty. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be high school graduates and be attending a traditional four-year college, university, technical, or vocational educational institution.

Check with scholarship provider for 2012 deadline.

Legacy of Learning Scholarship
This scholarship is for spouses and children of workers who have lost their lives in work-related compensable industrial accidents insured with the Workers Compensation Fund. Scholarship recipients can use their scholarship to pursue undergraduate as well as graduate degrees.

Check with scholarship provider for 2012 deadline.

*Renewable scholarships offer you the opportunity, following the scholarship provider’s guidelines, to receive the scholarship amount over multiple years of schooling.

So, we asked her some questions about herself and her college and scholarship search experience

What is your secret to finding and applying for scholarships?

My only strategy is to apply for any and every scholarship I am eligible for. You may not win everything you apply for, but I think the practice of filling out multiple applications helps you stay organized and streamlines the application process as you apply for more in the future. Scholarship directories like the amazing Cappex.com make it really easy to sort out which scholarships you are actually eligible for.

Why are you going to college?

Receiving a great education has always been a priority of mine. For me, college is a stepping stone to a brighter future. It’s important for securing a good paying job and mastering a subject area. But more than that, college provides great opportunities for networking, socializing, and learning to be independent. I look forward to learning not only from textbooks and professors, but from classmates, late night study sessions, and the unforseen challenges that go along with being an undergraduate student.

What was a “Butterfly Effect” moment in your college search- a point where something small led to something much bigger in the future?

Honestly, my butterfly effect moment was the instant I signed up for Cappex. I found the site using a search engine when I was a sophomore in high school, and thought it would be helpful for keeping me organized during the college search/admissions process. The site has introduced me to exciting scholarship opportunities and new college campuses that I would have never known about. Just the process of sorting out my schools, finding scholarships, and planning my visits put me far ahead of my classmates. I became so excited about the search process, I began searching schools and finding scholarships for my friends. Also, having a Cappex account made the application process so much easier- my activities were already organized and I knew exactly where I wanted to apply when it came time. Knowing that thousands of students utilize Cappex as a resource, I never expected to win a scholarship, yet here I am, a true Cappex butterfly.

If you could offer a younger student one piece of advice for the college search, what would you say?

Don’t be intimidated! There is so much stress surrounding the modern college search and students all over the country are ripping their hair out trying to find the “perfect school” and hoping that they’ll get in. The college search process should be fun. After all, colleges want you just as much as you want them. A college would be nothing without its students! This is your chance to pick the way you want to study for the next two or four years and you should freely exercise that right. You can’t let the fear of low SAT scores, a “bad” essay, or a low GPA keep you from receiving the education you’ve always wanted. There is a school and program for every kind of student with any sort of interest.

You can discover more scholarships from Cappex and beyond. Simply visit Cappex.com. And thanks again to Aryn for sharing her college and scholarship tips!

The PCAST report says that universities need to change the way they teach STEM majors if the president's goal of producing an additional one million STEM graduates is to be successful. President Barack Obama's goal of encouraging students to fill out college applications for STEM degree programs has been a focus of his education reforms.

"High ­performing students frequently cite uninspiring introductory courses as a factor in their choice to switch majors," reads the report. "Low­ performing students with a high interest and aptitude in STEM careers often have difficulty with the math required in introductory STEM courses with little help provided by their universities."

Although STEM majors can be challenging, students who complete these courses stand a much better chance of finding work after college than some other majors. According to data from the Economics and Statistics Administration, STEM graduates earn 26 percent more than graduates of other subjects, and job growth in STEM fields is expected to grow by 17 percent between 2008 and 2018.

Under new plans by the president, community colleges could revise their admissions factors to try and improve the number of students successfully graduating. However, doing so could harm the open-door policies that make community colleges so accessible for students from economically challenged backgrounds, or individuals whose grades are not the best.

"These colleges also provide access to nearly half of all minority undergraduate students and more than 40 percent of undergraduate students living in poverty," reads a summary of a report by the American Association of Community Colleges. "The open door philosophy not only benefits students attending community colleges, but also benefits other sectors of higher education. Unfortunately, other members of the higher education community may not appreciate this role that community colleges play."

If you're thinking of filling out a college application for a two-year school, ask your admissions advisor about entry requirements. Although most community colleges have open door policies, this could soon change. 

Martha Merrill, dean of admissions at Connecticut College, wrote that many schools will want to see continued effort between submission of your college application and the end of your senior year.

"We expect the students we admit will continue to demonstrate the traits that distinguished them during the admission process throughout senior year and during the years spent on our campus," Merrill wrote. "If you can’t maintain that level of success during your senior year, you cast doubt on your ability to succeed in college."

As well as jeopardizing a potential offer of acceptance, slipping grades can hurt financially, too. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, some schools such as Wilkes University in Pennsylvania offer merit-based financial aid packages based on class rank.

It's hard to keep pushing yourself after submitting your college applications, but the hard work can really pay off. Don't give up, and strive to achieve the very best grades you can right up until graduation. 

The school currently has around 1,500 students. Many of the individuals who have created their own majors do so because they want to study several topics at the same time. The college often requires that personalized degrees be multidisciplinary, and some students are studying as many as four subjects at a time.

College admissions officials at the school say that although some students are a little dramatic with their choice of titles – including majors in grand, romantic gestures and keeping it real – the actual qualifications themselves are usually well-planned.

According to the school's official website, the average class size is around 18 students and a personalized degree takes eight semesters to complete.

What do you think of this kind of program? Would being able to create your own major encourage you to fill out a college application?