Student loans: the biggest preventer in student success?

Posted 07/19/2014 in Education Cost

With 18 million individuals each year leaving high school and moving up to a four-year college, it’s a wonder how each one of them will pay for the high costs of tuition. Sure, there are scholarships and if you are lucky, your parents, but what about the students who don’t have any of that and have to pay for it all by themselves? The obvious answer is student loans, which are now more than ever easier to obtain, but is it worth it? In an article by Peter Coy entitled “Student Loans: Debt for Life”, Coy makes the argument that college could not be worth it. As of 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that student debt had passed $1 trillion. Not only that, the average cost of an out of state college is around twenty five thousand dollars, which does not include the cost of living and books. With the high cost of tuition, many students are regretting finishing their degree. Christina Mills, 30, of Minneapolis, is one of those students. Mills worked for a non-profit organization at the time and you can only imagine her reaction when she found out her student loans would be 1,400 dollars […]

College Affordability: Has anything changed?

Posted 07/17/2014 in Education Cost, Funding education, Industry Trends, Online Education, Uncategorized

As college tuition continues to rise, the possibility of attending a 4 year college for many students begins to fade away. After the 2008 recession, the entirety of the nation had taken a huge economic hit, especially affecting college bound students. We witnessed a rapidly increasing university tuition, disabling thousands of students from considering a 4-year college. Today, students still continue to struggle to pay for college, but the reasons may not be the same as they have been in the past. For example, according to recent research by College Board, the rate of tuition increase has slowed down significantly over the last couple years. In fact, over the past year (2013), the average tuition for public universities has only increased by 2.9 percent, one of the smallest increases for over 30 years. So, why are students still struggling to afford college? Instead, according to College Board, it is the lack of financial aid that has caused many students to fall under. Grants, scholarships, and many other forms of financial aid have failed to keep up with the tuition rise, leaving a much greater ‘net’ price for college paying families. This is not only for public colleges, but for private […]

The Myths About Finishing Your Degree

Posted 07/11/2014 in Education Cost, Online Education, Tips & Guides

Each year, 18 million individuals begin studying at a four-year college or at a place of higher learning. However, it is estimated that there is a total of 37 million Americans who have some college education but have not finished their degree simply because, as Dr. Robert Mendenhall puts in his article, Don’t Let Excuses Stop Your From Finishing Your Degree in 2014, “life simply got a hold of them”. But, is this true? Can you not finish your degree because you can’t afford it or simply because you don’t have the time? In Dr. Robert Mendenhall’s article, he puts to rest all of the common thoughts and myths that individuals have that prevent them from finishing their degree. The first myth he puts to rest is probably the biggest one when it comes to people dropping out of college; I can’t make it to class. Too many people, they might think this is the case. They might work and have a full time job or they could simply have a family they need to take care of. However, we live in a time where many things can be achieved over the Internet, and the same goes for your degree. […]