College in America Blog

There is an ad running on television where a crusty old fart sweeps a bunch of books off his desk and growls, “Let me be direct, you are doing TV wrong.”  Well, here’s another crusty old fart telling you, “You are doing college wrong,” specifically, you are going about choosing a college in the wrong way. […]

 Nobody has explained to you just how risky student loans can be:  Most student borrowers don’t have a four-year financial plan.  Most student borrowers don’t have a career plan with a targeted starting salary.  The federal student loan system is a trap for the unwary. Almost any high school graduate can find a college or […]

I spend way too much time on these “going to college” websites. Here’s something, written by a parent, I read recently.  What Did YOU Do When Your Kid Was Accepted to College?  “It is one of life’s big moments, a never-to-be-forgotten day, when your teen logs onto the website of the college they will attend […]

Tip 1 Do Your FAFSA Homework.  I get multiple, silly questions about the FAFSA every week. For example,  “Who pays for college in FAFSA?”  “What are the requirements to keep FAFSA?”  The FAFSA is an application, not financial aid. It is an important tool. Yet most parents and students spend very little time thinking about […]

The New York Times recently published a story exhorting their readers that we have an ongoing college enrollment crisis.  “College Enrollment Drops, Even as the Pandemic’s Effects Ebb.”  The editors at the New York Times seem to have forgotten Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which was on their best seller […]

“In their lifetime, on average, college graduates will make a gazillion dollars more than a high school graduate. It stands to reason everyone should be going to college.” How many times have you heard some version of this statement egging kids on to attend college? While I admit the statement sounds like it could be true, […]

The American system of higher education is based on seven myths:  A college degree is the sure fire, slam dunk path to middle class or better prosperity. At one time this was true. However, for a lot of reasons, college doesn’t work that way anymore.  Every child can be anything they want to be. That sounds warm […]

In 1965, the federal government mandated that cigarette packaging include this warning: Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health The intent was to educate consumers about smoking, and emphasize the health risks, e.g. lung cancer, coronary disease, bladder cancer, and pulmonary disease. In the same year, as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society […]

According to the BLS, sixty-two percent of the jobs in the US pay $20 per hour or less. Those aren’t the jobs you want.  White Collar Jobs  Parents and students figured out the solution to this dilemma years ago. If you go to college and graduate, you can get a well-paying, professional job.  However, it […]

“Going to college” is a complex, six figure, multi-year project with a lot of moving parts, and a 66% failure rate. To get a rough idea of what college costs, look at the College Board’s typical annual college budget study. Average Estimated Undergraduate Budgets, 2019-20- Research – College Board Making a success out of college […]