Posts Tagged ‘college tuition’
What to Know About the Occupy Student Debt Campaign
The price of college tuition matched with a not-so-great outlook for jobs with the salaries to pay off big student loans is making students mad. The system is broken. And just like the thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters, students want to be heard.
The Occupy Student Debt Campaign is founded on 4 principals:
1. The single, largest step we could take to alleviate future student loan debt would be to guarantee tuition-free education for students enrolled at public colleagues and universities.
2. Student loans are not consumer loans, and they should not be packaged as if they were consumer credit debt.
3. Students at private and for-profit universities and colleges have a fundamental right to know how their tuition dollars are being allocated and spent.
4. The student loan industry has profited from borrower vulnerability through predatory lending practices such as compounding interest rates, high collection fees, and few consumer protections.
The campaign is asking borrowers to default on their student loan payments after one million individuals have similarly signed the debtor’s pledge. But before you decide to sign anything and default on your own debt, think about it. Perhaps the ideas of the pledge hit at your heart strings, but the reality of defaulting on your loans will have long-term effects including the garnishing of future wages and tax refunds and other penalizing tactics that could be huge roadblocks for building your life. It’s basically like a black mark.
The realistic lesson we can take from this? Do your homework before you sign for a student loan. Really understand what you are getting into before you sign your life away. The more informed you are about your finances, the more in control you can be.
Do you feel like your in control of your college tuition?
15 Colleges and Universities with Best Return on Investment
In light of the current financial atmosphere and increasing cost of college tuition, a lot of people are wondering if it’s even worth it to go into debt for a college education. Well, fortunately for those who do wind up paying mind-blowingly large heaps of money to pay for their higher education costs, research generally shows that they will earn millions more than peers with no college education over the course of a lifetime. So–good news–there’s definitely a return of investment for most college degrees.
According the Daily Beast‘s college rankings, degrees from certain colleges are worth even more in terms of return on investment (ROI). But, this ROI ranking doesn’t just take into account money, although it’s a big part of it. This ranking takes into account nostalgia and good memories from college, aka: happiness.
So,the Daily Beast’s list of schools with “Best Return on Investment” is based on satisfaction of alumni with college experience along with donations to school and Payscale.com’s ranking the colleges worth the investment.
Here are the top 15 schools:
7. Georgia Institute of Technology
10. California Institute of Technology
11. Carleton College
13. Davidson College
15. Union College
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Cappex.com Announces Rock Star and College Pro Scholarship Winners
Two high school seniors, Maria Zilberman and Walter Chang, have been awarded Cappex’s newest scholarships, the Rock Star and the College Pro, worth a combined $7,500.
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Rock Star Scholarship Winner: Maria Zilberman, from North Miami Beach, Fla., plans on attending college this fall to study pre-medicine.
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College Pro Scholarship Winner: Walter Chang, from Houston, Texas, will attend college in the fall to study engineering and musical performance. |
Zilberman and Chang qualified for the scholarships by playing the “Cappex Cap Challenge,” where students collect virtual “cap” badges for completing key activities in their college searches. After earning at least 10 badges in the Cap Challenge, students become eligible to apply for special Cappex-sponsored scholarships. Examples of virtual badges include:
- Leader (Abe Lincoln hat) : For sharing leadership examples
- Artsy (beret): For providing accomplishments in the arts
- Volunteer (halo): For detailing how you’ve helped your community
- Yeeehaw!!! (cowboy hat): For representing a western state
- Road Warrior (roadster): For using the “Cappex Campus Visit Planner” to plan a college road trip
- College Reviewer (fedora with press pass): For providing a college review
Zilberman, of North Miami Beach, Fla., qualified for the $5,000 Rock Star Scholarship by collecting 25 badges, but it was her outstanding leadership in founding her high school’s international humanitarian club that won her the scholarship.
“The Cap Challenge guided me to explore colleges, which allowed me to learn more about them through student reviews, seeing my chances and organizing my application,” Zilberman said.
Chang qualified for the College Pro Scholarship by earning 10 virtual cap badges.
“Cappex.com improved my college search process tremendously, with all the key facts of each college compiled into one page and several student reviews to provide further perspective,” Chang said. He was awarded the $2,500 scholarship for his dedication as the school orchestra president who helped fundraise over $30,000 to help the school purchase a new grand piano.
“We started the Cappex Cap Challenge to give students a fun and new way to discover colleges and find matching scholarships,” said Chris Long, Cappex president. “Maria and Walter took on the challenge and also clearly demonstrated their accomplishments improving their respective communities. We were thrilled to award our Cap Challenge scholarships to these deserving students.”
Interested in the Cappex Cap Challenge? Make your own Cappex profile now.
Looking for scholarships? Find more here!
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The Most Expensive Public Colleges for Out-of-State Students
Does going to a public school mean you’ll be saving money on tuition? Well, it really depends. If you’re going to a public college or university as an out-of-state student, tuition can still be pretty steep. According to US News, the average out-of-state student at a public school paid $16,678 in 2010-2011 for fees and tuition.
Why are they so expensive? One reason could be that some of the schools on this list are not the most expensive schools for in-state students, meaning that out-of-staters are making up the difference.
If you’re set on an out-of-state school-especially a California state school– you might want to think about scholarships to off-set the cost.
In the meantime, here’s the list of the most expensive public colleges for out-of-state students:
1. University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$36,163
Cool fact: Michigan Stadium, or the Big House, is the largest college football stadium in the nation and one of the largest football-only stadiums in the world, with an official capacity of more than 109,901.
2. University of California-Davis
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$34,863
Cool fact- UC Davis campus is the largest campus in the UC system, spanning over 5,500 acres and across two counties: Yolo and Solano.
3. University of California-Irvine
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$34,792
Cool fact- UC Irvine has an underground network of tunnels connecting different buildings and have been the subject of much campus lore.
4. University of California-Santa Barbara
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$34,509
Cool fact- In the late 1960s and early 1970s UCSB became nationally known as a hotbed of anti-Vietnam War activity. Other than UC Berkeley, no other California college received as much attention from the national media for its antiwar activities
5. University of California-San Diego
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$34,185
Cool fact- The UC San Diego Sun God Festival, which is in its 28th year, has grown into a 20,000 person event with student org booths and performers, as well as an eclectic mix of musical acts across 3 stages.
6. University of California-Riverside
Tuition and Fees 2010-2011-$33,901
Cool fact- UCR is currently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United States.
7. University of California-Berkeley
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$33,747
Cool fact- Berkeley student-athletes have won over 100 Olympic medals.
8. University of California-Los Angeles
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$33,660
Cool fact- Not to rain on Berkeley’s parade, but the student athletes at UCLA have won 214 Olympic medals – 106 gold, 54 silver and 54 bronze. But, hey! Anyone embarking on higher ed is a winner.
Mind that gap: the next school is not from California.
9. University of Virginia
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$33,574
Cool fact-Since 1842, UVA has an established Code of Honor where students at the University have pledged not to lie, cheat, or steal. The honor system, for instance, would allow the freedom for students to take exams outside trusting that students would not cheat. Offenses of the UVA honor system are presented to the Honor Committee, a student judiciary body.
Don’t get too comfortable out of California state lines, because we’re heading back in:
10. University of California-Santa Cruz
Tuition and fees 2010-2011-$33,505
Cool fact-Imagine the Lord of the Ring’s Shire and now plop that into UC Santa Cruz’s northern campus where shrines, dens and other student-built curiosities are scattered around in the undeveloped forested area. These structures, mostly assembled from branches and other forest detritus, were formerly concentrated in the area known as Elfland,but relocated after new building in the 90′s.
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5 Easy Summer College Scholarships!
Summer is great time to get big parts of your college search done, including finding scholarships to help pay for your college tuition.
We’ve put together a list of 5 broad and easy-to-apply-to scholarships with deadlines approaching at the end of May and early June.
See if you’re a match and apply today!
1. CarDonors.com Scholarship
Deadline-May 31 Amount-$500
2. C.I.P. Scholarship
Deadline-May 31 Amount-$1,500
3. Proof-Reading.com Scholarship
Deadline-June 1 Amount-$1,500
4. The Big Dig Scholarship
Deadline-June 1 Amount- $3,000
5. Akash Kuruvilla Memorial Scholarship
Deadline-June 1 Amount-$1,000
Want more scholarships? Make a profile on Cappex.com to get your scholarship matches.
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Often times, students nix the private colleges on their college search lists because they figure they’re going to be more expensive than public schools. But, that’s not always the case! A lot of times private colleges and universities have huge endowments and can offer many more, and often larger, grants to admitted students.
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