Get Schooled

By Ernest

December 30, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this

Very relevant topic for my family. I’m proud that my son has been accepted to two colleges thus far as a part of ‘early decision’, one in state and the other out of state. While I would like for him to attend the college of his choice, finances will definitely play a part of the decision. I have already told him that based on what FAFSA indicates we can contribute, given the state of things, we may not be able to go much higher than that. We are setting expectations that he will need to apply for scholarships and perhaps consider loans if his ‘choice’ college costs more than our means to assist. In an idealistic way, he indicates he is willing to take out loans but I’m sure many of us would agree the thought of starting your career in debt is not appealing.

I spoke to a friend who went through the same thing recently with his daughter. She attended the college of her choice, took our loans, and is now having regrets given the debt she has accumulated. Sometimes we as parents have to let our children find things like this on their own with the hopes they can ‘grow’ from this later in life.

By DB

December 30, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

FAFSA doesn’t seem to take it into account when you have TWO kids in college, and it’s sometimes been difficult to work with the schools on that. FAFSA has a recommended contribution — but when you have two kids, that amount is halved, and the different schools often don’t recognize it. As one school told me, “your other child’s tuition is not our problem.” One flat-out told us that in order to qualify for a higher scholarship, we would have to withdraw our second child from the private school they had attended for 11 years (on partial scholarship!) As it turned out, the first child ended up with a 90% scholarship because of some academic awards, and we could manage the rest, plus room and board.

By Lee

December 30, 2008 10:57 AM | Link to this

Okay, one more time…

You stay in state and attend one of Georgia’s public colleges using the HOPE Scholarship, your cost is almost $0 for tuition and books. The only out of pocket expense you will have will be for room & board, meals, and incidentals.

If you attend one of the many regional public colleges close to home and you eliminate the out of pocket expenses for room & board, meals, and incidentals.

That said, certain degrees lock you into certain schools. You want to be an engineer, you’re pretty much limited to Ga Tech and perhaps Southern Tech. Even so, you can attend the first two years at a community college and get most of the core classes out of the way. Then, go to the University for your degree courses.

You go out of state or private, expect to pay big money. There are scholarships and grants to offset some of that, but most people I know who went this route wound up incurring debt.

BTW, most employers don’t care what the name on the diploma says (unless, of course that degree says Harvard, MIT, et al). They only use a college degree as a filter. After your first job, that degree becomes less important.

I would also suggest looking into an internship or co-op program. The last five new hires my department made were former interns. Great way to make some money while in college and get a leg up on the job hunting competition.

By Ernest

December 30, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this

Lee:

All excellent points! I’m sure you understand there was a point in our lives when many of us knew ‘everything’ :) In my son’s case, he will probably go to graduate school. Many schools have already said that in most case, it does not matter where you get your undergraduate from as you can get a good education at many schools. This is the ‘discussion’ we are having with him, hold onto your money in the short term for when you may need it down the road. If he is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to go the the school of his choice, we will support that. After all, this is the biggest decision he will have to make in his life thus far.

By Dewi

December 30, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this

@Lee: HOPE only covered about half of my fees for GT. Yes, it covered tuition and I’m told books, though I never saw a penny of the so-called book stipend, but that was half of the total fees. There’s a lot that HOPE doesn’t cover, so staying in-state for the sole purpose of getting HOPE may not be right for everyone. It depends on the financial aid package offered by the school. It was actually cheaper for a friend of mine to go to Auburn over Georgia because of the difference in financial aid packages. At Georgia, she would’ve gotten HOPE, a couple loans, and that’s about it. Whereas Auburn gave her more scholarship money and in the end turned out to be the better option for her. Really it depends on your situation, don’t use HOPE as a crutch or an ultimate solution. It needs to be taken as a part of the puzzle, no more, no less.

I have to agree, to an extent, that degrees are just filters now. With exceptions (Ivy League, Stanford, etc) most liberal arts degrees and probably a lot of business degrees are mainly used as filters. If your degree is in the engineering field or another field that requires a professional license (architecture, landscape architecture, etc), then it does matter where you got your degree. A SPSU degree does not carry nearly the clout that a GT degree does. And then it varies even more by the type of engineering. Same goes for architecture, a GT architecture degree may not carry the same weight or mean the same as a similar degree from Auburn. You see where I’m heading with this? If you’re unsure about your major, you should get the core classes out of the way first at somewhere smaller and cheaper, then transfer to the bigger school to specialize. It’s often times easier to get in that way, and you’ll be better prepared for it.

By Toni

December 30, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

Everything sound so great. I been on my job for 15 yrs and can’t send either one of my children to college. Both came from Dunwoody High.

By Brenda

December 30, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

My son qualified for the HOPE Scholarship however, he is attending college in New York City, NY. His tuition is nearly as much as our mortgage. His school supplies, which we thought was part of this tuition, are paid for by us. He eats out a lot, which is also expensive. Traveling from New York to Georgia for visits is also rather expensive although I have found that using a travel agency helps. One thing to consider other than the cost are the moments when your children really needs you and he/she is so far away. I miss my son so very much (He is an only child). If I had a choice, I would have kept him near home; however, he is attending the best fashion school in the country. School is expensive and at times emotional, but the good certainly outweighs the bad. Simply knowing that your child has extended his/her education beyond high school brings happiness. I wish all parents and families the blessings of God; you are making a wise decision by sending your children to college.

By Brenda

December 30, 2008 1:45 PM | Link to this

By Toni

December 30, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

Everything sound so great. I been on my job for 15 yrs and can’t send either one of my children to college. Both came from Dunwoody High.

You might not be able to send your children to college but God can. You must talk to counselors at their high school and at different colleges. Some colleges can get your children enrolled at no cost to you especially if they had good grades. Have them write essays and apply for scholarships. I have a friend whose daughter is attending Journalism school in Kentucky and she is not paying any money; the college gave her daughter scholarships. There are way; please don’t give up. God bless you and your family.

By jim d

December 30, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this

There are many ways to get someone else to pay for your college education.

here’s one of them

By Old School

December 30, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this

I’ve posted this information before about the Academic Common Market. Georgia is a member as are most all the South Eastern states. This program allowed us to send our daughter to Middle Tennessee State to get her degree in Recording Industry. Out of state fees are waived for those whose chosen majors fall under this program.

Check it out at: sreb.org and look at the degree programs offered (undergrad and masters).

Lee, we chose to take out PLUS loans to help both our daughters get fine educations at the schools they wanted to attend (Berry for the oldest and MTSU for the youngest). While I am continuing to pay off both my PLUS loans and their consolidated loans, it is debt I willingly took on so they could get the best educations possible in their chosen fields. I’ve not been disappointed in them nor regretted my decisions for one second.

By GaNative

December 30, 2008 2:25 PM | Link to this

By all means send your kids to a state of Georiga Public School if they attended high school in Georgia. HOPE has really helped me out a lot. I’ve sent 4 kids to college, 3 have graduated college (2 from UGA and 1 from GA State) and the youngest is a sophmore in college. There is no way I could have done it without HOPE. Also, one thing about the FAFSA is that it takes into account your previous year’s income from the Tax Return. Things can change within a year. For example after I filed my FAFSA for one year they told me my EFC Expected Family Contribution was some ungodly figure. I became unemployed and didn’t come near what they said I could contribute, so I filed an amended FAFSA. Your financial aid counselors can help you with it if you ever need it.

By GaNative

December 30, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this

There is no way I could have educated my 4 kids through college without the HOPE scholarship. If you kids are eligible to take advantage of it, by all means send them to a Georgia Public University. I have 4 kids, three have graduated (2 from UGA, 1 from GA State) and the last one is a sophmore at UGA. One more bit of advice.. The FAFSA is based on the previously filed Tax Return. Things can change from the time you file it. In February of 2007 (based on 1006 tax return) I filed the FAFSA and my EFC Expected Family Contribution was some ungodly figure for my two that were in college. I became unemployed in March of 2007, Paid for my kids expenses when they started in August 2007, but when the winter semester of December came around I was hurting. I filed an amended FAFSA and guess what.. My kids qualified for a portion of a PELL Grant because my income had dwindled to nothing. There are ways to make it happen, just stay in touch with the couselors in the Financial Aid Office.

By Lee

December 30, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

Other thoughts…

• 529 College Savings Plans. Allows you to save money tax deferred until your child uses it for college expenses. Good deal as long as the politicians leave the tax deferred aspect of it intact.

• Many colleges now allow you to pre-pay and/or lock in rates. Not sure of the specifics, but some friends of ours prepaid for their child to attend Univ of Ala. at some very good rates.

• Don’t overlook employer educational reimbursement programs. Many large companies will reimburse employee education expenses for certain fields. That’s how I went back to school and got my MBA.

• Since this is an educational blog, look into the HOPE Teacher Promise scholarship for aspiring teachers. Pays you $1500 per semester during your Jr and Sr years in an educational program for a maximum of $6000. You “pay it back” by working as a teacher in Georgia one year for every semester you received. I.e., you recieve a total of $6000 for your Jr & Sr years, you would have to work as a teacher 4 years for your grant (or loan, or however they classify it) to be paid off.

At the end of the day, it’s a personal decision to be made by the student and the student’s parents. Personally, I would hate to see a student (or their parents) incur a large amount of debt for a degree in a field where the earnings potential is limited.

By Ernest

December 30, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this

There is something to be said about working while in school. I was a part of a co-op program and paid for about 60% of my education and living expenses. I learned quickly about the importance of ‘money management’ and that you could not party after every paycheck.

OldSchool, thanks for posting the information again about the Academic Common Market. I will definitely look to see if that is an option.

By OldSchool

December 30, 2008 5:27 PM | Link to this

I had the HOPE for Teachers grant when I began working on my Masters. Biggest mistake I ever made. Those folks evidently never talk amongst themselves because I got completely different information, answers, instructions each time I called. Once I thought I had everytbing all straightened out, the university informed me they had not received the funds and the deadline was past. I wrote a check. The univ. returned the HOPE money (since I was then paid up) and within a couple of weeks I received 2 notices that I was in repayment, even though I owed nothing. This followed me all through the program. It took letters and phone calls to get it all straightened out.

Then I checked my credit reports and found I was listed as “in repayment” and owing $0.00 to the HOPE program.

All this for a measly $1,000. (by the way, I graduated with a 4.0 GPA and continued to teach full time (extended day).

By Why can't educrats get it?

December 30, 2008 5:51 PM | Link to this

If you’re an administrator, check out this post from a CCPS teacher and answer one question. Why do school leaders insist on destroying morale with their teachers? I would bet 99% of this CCPS teachers, feel the exact same way; totally disrespected, totally feeling like an opportunity to actually benefit their students is wasted with yet another cure all training, yet administrators keep making the same mistakes over and over again, and then wondering why there is so much turnover.

This is the kind of dynamic we need to have a discussion about, not some drivel about standards.

**CCPS is going to lose even more good teachers if the system can not show respect for workdays and give us the workday that was planned in the schedule for Monday, January 5, 2009!

Stealing time from teachers for a stupid “High Schools that Work” seminar is NOT the way to get on our good side. I don’t see the middle schools and elementary school teachers having their work day taken away. Do not hold high school teachers hostage, let us have our workday back!

I would think CCPS would be trying to keep the competent teachers instead of running us off. You have angered every teacher that I know and it is little things like this that make us wonder if we are truly appreciated by the system. Moves like this make me contemplate moving to another system more and more. I’m not like your poor TAPP teachers, that have to stay for three years or pay to get away.

Don’t think waiting until the Monday before the holidays made this any more palatable. I was COUNTING on that workday to actually get work done. To not be able to work in my classroom and get things ready for a new semester makes me wonder, does anyone really work in the Central Office? Whose BRILLANT idea was it to take a workday, force high school teachers to travel other schools and still in classrooms for a workday? To make it fair, it should have been all the teachers that suffered, not just the high school teachers, but hey, we’re expendable.

Good luck with your “High Schools That Work” thing, because I plan on doing absolutely nothing with the “training” you are forcing me to go to. Wait, I take that back, I plan on remembering this and the next time someone asks me to do something extra, or give extra time, I’ll just remember this waste of a day and say “No, I’m sorry, I can’t!”**

By Echo

December 30, 2008 6:54 PM | Link to this

This puzzle is far more complicated than those who look at the Hope Scholarship as the final answer. Our son got an excellent scholarship and good financial aid thanks to a terrific financial aid expert at the University of Montana who helped me through the FAFSA forms, which are confusing. He made a 32 on his ACT, but due to family issues when he was a freshman his GPA had taken a hit. He wrote a letter explaining to Auburn, where he should have been eligible for a big scholarship, but they kept losing his transcripts. I met with the financial aid and scholarship officers at Univ. of Montana and they bent over backwards to help us. It’s an excellent value in a beautiful part of the country. He loves it and couldn’t be happier. Get to know the financial aid officers. They can help a lot.

By GaaK

December 30, 2008 8:32 PM | Link to this

If your children are still not of college age, consider signing up for FreshmanFund.com. Family or friends can make donations to your child’s 529 plan instead of giving them gifts that will last just a short time. I would much rather contribute to my grandchild’s future than give her a toy that she will grow tired of.

By lindy

December 30, 2008 8:38 PM | Link to this

Echo

If you are still around, why Montana? What was the draw? I have a child who would love to go West for college…

By Andrew

December 30, 2008 10:58 PM | Link to this

HOPE doesn’t pay for everything. Even with HOPE I still had to get a federal loan to pay for on campus housing. HOPE only gives you 150$ for books too. That might buy you one book for the semester as I shell out about 350-400$ per semester on books alone.

Here is what I have to pay this semester:

Lab Fee (one class) 20.00

Mandatory Fees 600.00

USG Institution Fee (because they don’t know how to run a balanced budget) 100.00

In-State Tuition 2,167.00

Term Charges: (total what I pay to the school) 2887.00

This doesn’t include any housing or food, but consider one semester on campus at GSU will run 2100$ or higher. Or you can pay 600$/ month to live in town. I live at home and drive 40 miles, so with gas down now I’m actually saving a little money.

By jim d

December 31, 2008 7:52 AM | Link to this

OK TEACHERS

Here’s educating for human greatness an opportunity to do something to change NCLB

Here’s replace NCLB another.

This is an opportunity for you to have a real impact on how our children are taught, freeing you up to actually teach rather than follow a script.

Please check them out, get involved with other educators, already working for change, and forward to your Colleagues’

THANKS

By catlady

December 31, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this

Andrew, try to be grateful that the taxpayers of Georgia are subsidizing your college experience to the tune of over $15,000 per year which you are not paying. (Students in public colleges in Georgia pay (counting HOPE, loans, etc) about a fourth of the actual cost of educating you, without including housing and meals which you have to have in one form or another whether you are in college or not. You are still getting a good deal.

Best wishes on your continued educational achievement.

By jim d

December 31, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this

Wow, let me share a little insight from one member of the above links.

If you want public school teachers to perform at the highest possible level, give them something challenging, yet possible to do, and invite them to do it

More

By catlady

December 31, 2008 8:23 AM | Link to this

Caution to early decision parents: be sure to understand the rules on early decision regarding financial aid. Understand that they vary from school to school. Get everything in writing (brochure or whatever). Some schools will give you a f.a. estimate in winter, others will let you de commit if the f.a. award (which sometimes comes out in the early summer, well after acceptance times for other colleges) is not “adequate”. Be sure you know who decides if it is “adequate.” Understand all timelines or each school—these vary also. Find out if your prospective school meets 100% of FAFSA-established need. Few do nowdays, especially private schools.

Finally, don’t judge the school by its sticker price. You don’t know how much it will cost you until you see the f.a. package with its mix of grants, loans, work, and student/family contribution.

By Ernest

December 31, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this

Good advice, Catlady! I’ll admit to having ‘sticker shock’ at some to the tuition prices I am seeing. This is without considering the financial aid my son could be eligible for, in various forms. FWIW, several of the schools my son is considering did say they with meet 100% of the need after FAFSA indicates what we could pay. I’ll check to see if they can provide additional preliminary aid estimates, then maybe I won’t have a cow… :)

By jim d

December 31, 2008 9:49 AM | Link to this

ernest,

Don’t give up on out of state if that is what will serve him better. There is still a good amount of help out there for out of state students. Unfortunately (financially) mine decided on on a military school that wasn’t offering any.

So we just grin and bare it.

The bottom line? I’ll tell you the same thing I told my son when he was struggling with his choice. “don’t let the money issue be the determining factor. Look at what you want to be—How you plan to accomplish it, and which school offers the best opportunity to help you achieve your goals. Then we’ll look for the money.”

By catlady

December 31, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this

Very good advice, jim d. I watched to see where my kids fell in love; they each knew it almost immediately upon walking on campus. The goal is to get them to FINISH their chosen degree. I know too many kids who were pushed into going to college with the main emphasis on how much it would cost, instead of what their goals were and what kind of place they wanted to live, breathe, play, and work in for four years. An adult probably wouldn’t be willing to go live in some awful (to you) place and do some awful (to you) job for 4 years just to save money. I am certainly not saying to indulge evey whim of your child. I am saying there are intangibles to be considered.

By Ernest

December 31, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this

Good advice from JimD and Catlady! Admittedly, some of this could be self induced anxiety, realizing my oldest will be leaving the nest soon. I’m surprised by the amount of scholarship money that is out there. I’m also thinking about his younger siblings who will hopefully follow his path, hence want to make sure they have options also.

Finances should be a ‘part’ of the equation, not the sole determining factor. I still contend that one can get a good liberal arts degree at many schools however employers are more likely to look at your grad school degree with more scrutiny. If you can minimize your expenses during the first 4 years, it helps.

By jim d

December 31, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this

ernest,

“I still contend that one can get a good liberal arts degree at many schools however employers are more likely to look at your grad school degree with more scrutiny”

I contend sir, that an employer would be more impressed noticing a military school or academy ring on your hand.

He instantly knows the training and discipline you have and understands a lot about your character. Which I also contend maybe more important than the sheepskin in the hands of other applicants.

Do not under-estimate the strength of WHERE one earns a degree.

By K G

January 13, 2009 12:00 PM | Link to this

I graduated college in 2005 and I am thinking about getting my MBA. The issue for me is that now I am out of college there are school loans that I never received for my undergraduate studies but I have to pay them back. How is this? I didn’t receive the money, why is it that I have to pay it back? I talked to two other students they say that this particular school did them the same way. They never even received their hope scholarship money and they were the valedictorians of the year that they graduated (each in a different year). Is this legal?