College in America Blog

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” College in America does not work the way it used to, and Hillary’s New College Compact vision is hopelessly mired in the 1990’s. First there is the issue of supply and demand. So far in the 21st century there have […]

In 2015 the average student loan reached $35,000 up sixteen percent in two years. Twelve percent of former students are in default. Many are just making minimum payments. This is not sustainable. Here are fifteen options to avoid or minimize student loans: Scholarships Scholarships, unlike student loans, really are free money. They are described as […]

While the traditional four year degree and the two year associate’s degree are no longer a sure fire path to financial self-sufficiency there are a vast number of jobs available that only require certification. Compensation can vary widely, depending on the choice of careers, but well-paying jobs are available. Health Care, Public Safety, and the […]

One hundred years ago only ten percent of the US population had a high school diploma. (None of my grandparents graduated from high school.) In those days you could graduate from high school, get a job at a bank, and, thirty-five years later, become bank president. My parents graduated from high school. My dad could […]

Woody Hayes was head coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1951 to 1978. During that time his teams won five national championships. Famous for his pithy quotes, one of my favorites is, “Only three things can happen when you pass and two of them are bad.” I was fortunate to attend the […]

With open-admission policies and reasonable costs community colleges provide access to post-secondary education to a wide range of students who are typically underserved. Here are two of the major benefits of community college: 1)With careful planning it is possible to trim $30,000 off the cost of a traditional four-year degree at a state university by […]

“Get a job, Spicoli.” Sean Penn, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982 Sean Penn’s career planning advice to his friend, Spicoli, was to the point, but not very helpful. Young people arrive at career decisions a variety of ways. My dentist knew he wanted to be a dentist at age twelve because his dentist took […]

“Let me see if I’ve got this straight. In order to be grounded I’ve got to be crazy, and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded that means I’m not crazy any more, and I have to keep flying.” Alan Arkin, Catch-22, 1970 Author Joseph Heller coined the […]

High schools, urged on by parents, funnel as many kids as they can into colleges and universities with the intent that this is the surefire path to social mobility and, at a minimum, middleclass prosperity. This is the conventional wisdom. The conventional wisdom does not work anymore. The barista at my local coffee shop is […]

It is against the odds today to enroll in college and graduate with a good job. If you are poor or a first generation college student the odds can be even longer. There is one major variable that determines who graduates from college and who doesn’t–your parent’s income. If your parents don’t make much money […]