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Interview With Lawrence Goldstone, Author Of The Anatomy of Deception
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The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Obsession, Commerce, and Adventure
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Interview With Joseph Boyden, Author of Through Black Spruce
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Interview with Nino Ricci, Governor-General Award-Winning Author
Khadijah Williams grew up with her mother and younger sister, moving in and out of homeless shelters in the Los Angeles area for most of her childhood. She attended 12 schools in 12 years, but somehow managed to show that she was a gifted student. She worked through typical problems that people on the street have to deal with – pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers – and used that experience to learn how to keep good habits and find mentors. After her mother and sister disappeared from the homeless shelter one night, Khadijah went to stay with the Londons for the rest of her 12th grade year. They pushed her to apply to Harvard, and finally she was accepted. Read more…
Harvard University is the country’s oldest, wealthiest and most selective university. Now it’s back on top of the U.S. News & World Report college rankings, claiming sole possession of the No. 1 spot for the first time in 12 years.
Princeton slips to No. 2, ending eight straight years of at least sharing the top ranking. The latest edition hits newsstands Monday, but was to be published Friday on the magazine’s Web site.
Yale follows at No. 3, and MIT and Stanford tie for fourth. The University of California, Berkeley is the highest-ranked public university, at No. 21 overall. In a separate list for liberal arts colleges, Amherst moves up one spot to tie Williams, its rival just up the road in Massachusetts, for the top spot.
In an e-mailed statement, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesman Robert Mitchell said that “it is always nice to be recognized in this way. However, our admissions officers always tell prospective students that they should select a college or university that best suits their needs, not by its position in a ranking.”
The ranking formula takes account of factors such as SAT scores, peer reputation, selectivity and alumni giving. Continue reading…
According to CNN
PHOENIX, AZ–(Marketwire - February 7, 2008) - Minority students are taking advantage of affordable education options in increasing numbers, with minority college enrollment up overall and especially at schools with the smallest tuition increases, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. With student debt levels mounting for college students in general, enrollment in these less costly two-year public schools, where tuition hikes have been the smallest, could help minimize the need for student loans.
As a college education has become increasingly imperative in the job market, with 90% of the fastest growing jobs in the U.S. requiring some level of postsecondary education, more students are flocking to colleges across the country.
College enrollment numbers are up across the board, with the largest enrollment increases seen in minority populations. Between the 2000-01 and 2006-07 academic years, enrollment of college-bound White students grew by a little less than three percent, while enrollment of Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students grew by 15 percent and enrollment of Hispanic students shot up by 25 percent.
Enrollment for some minority groups has also shifted toward two-year schools. Hispanic and Black enrollment in two-year schools has increased, while enrollment in four-year public colleges has gone down. Nearly 60 percent of all Hispanic students are enrolled in two-year schools, as are 50 percent of Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students, compared to 43 percent of non-Hispanic White students.
The G.A.O. reports that over the past decade, two-year colleges have seen the smallest tuition increases, both in absolute dollars and percentage-wise. With enrollment at two-year colleges on the rise, three out of every five students in 2006-07 attended institutions where the average in-state tuition and fees were less than $5,000 a year. In fact, only three percent of students attended institutions where average annual tuition and fees exceeded $25,000.
These college enrollment trends, combined with a surge of financial aid reform at colleges and universities, may gradually make it possible for students to begin borrowing less money in federal and private student loans or for them to stop having to rely on college loans at all.
Ivy League heavyweights Harvard and Yale recently announced that they’ll be allocating more of their endowment funds to financial aid awards for middle-class students in order to reduce the amount of parent and student loans families may need. And last year, both Amherst College and Davidson College joined Princeton University in eliminating student loans from their financial aid packages altogether.
Those students who still find themselves in need of financial aid or whose financial aid packages still include student loans should look first at their options for federal financial aid. Federal college loans typically offer more attractive terms than private student loans, so students and families should always take advantage of any available federal financial aid first.
If federal funding doesn’t cover all their education-related expenses, students may be able to get the additional financial assistance they need from private student loans.
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NextStudent, Federal Lender Code 834051, is dedicated to helping students and their families find affordable ways to pay for college. NextStudent offers one-on-one education finance counseling and has a portfolio of highly competitive education finance products and services, including a free online scholarship search engine, federally guaranteed parent and student loans, private student loans, both federal and private student loan consolidation programs, and college savings plans.
For more information about NextStudent and its student loan programs, please visit our website at www.nextstudent.com.
