TuitionCoach.com - Paul's Corner

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3

Education and Technology
2006-12-16 06:37:00
At last, there?s some intelligent, largely zero-based thinking about our system of education. In the December 15, New York Times, David Herszenhorn reported the findings of a bipartisan group of distinguished Americans including two former Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Education . Whether one agrees with the report?s conclusions is not as important as opening a frank dialogue with everything on the table. As the report suggests, in the past we?ve tweaked the system ad infinitum with precious little to show for it. But now it is time for some serious, imaginative thinking in an early 21st century setting with new technology and a burgeoning sense of globalization. The question is how do we harness the former to compete successfully in the latter? The report begins by urging that school start early, as soon as age three. Along the way, the study recommends definable benchmarks with ?quality-control? examinations that will better direct students into educational paths that...
More About: Technology , Cat , Techno , Tech

Choosing College Majors and Careers: Another View
2006-12-14 03:06:00
As parents, we get a little nervous about our kids? apparent lack of direction. We find ourselves offering direct and indirect hints that they should be thinking about a major in college and even a career. In fact, as a student management tool, many colleges require that a student indicate a major in the application. Let?s get real. What do most kids know about careers at 17 or 18? What did we know at that age? Almost nothing. So we intentionally or otherwise press our children to pursue a life about which he or she knows only through vague impressions, or even worse, though the mass media?s version of that career. There?s a downside to this. First, young people who think they know what they want to do when they enter college, transform an educational experience without limits to one that is more like vocational training and in doing so, they may unwittingly limit life?s possibilities. College is a place where young people can become an educated adult and in the process dec...
More About: Other , Careers , Care , Career

Ask Paul: 5 question college podcast #2
2006-12-14 02:36:00
Dr. Paul Wrubel answers five questions in this Ask Paul podcast: 1. How important is the college essay? 2. I have twins. How can I possibly afford to send them both to college? 3. If we need financial aid, will it count against my child in admissions? 4. What is the business farm supplement, and why do some colleges want it? 5. When is the best time to begin college planning? Ask Paul Dec. 13, 2006 Get the Flash Player to see this player. var FO = { movie:"http://www.tuitioncoach.com/blojso m/resources/flashmp3player/mp3player.swf" ,width:"380",height:"20",majorversion:"7" ,build:"0",bgcolor:"#FFFFFF", flashvars:"file=http://www.tuitioncoach.c om/collegecost/podcasts/podcast3-121306.m p3&showdigits=false" }; UFO.create(FO,"player3"); [right click to download] Length: 7 minutes 50 seconds Submit your questions and comments for "Ask Paul" via e-mail. Please note that not every question can be answered on air, but we'd love your feedback.
More About: Pod , Question , College , Podcast , Cast

Ask Paul: 5 question college podcast
2006-12-13 09:25:00
Dr. Paul Wrubel answers five questions in this Ask Paul podcast: 1. How do you choose a college? 2. Why do some colleges require the CSS PROFILE form? 3. When should we visit colleges? 4. What's the most important thing to keep in mind when paying for college? 5. How important is it for students to know what they want to major in? Ask Paul Dec. 13, 2006 Get the Flash Player to see this player. var FO = { movie:"http://www.tuitioncoach.com/blojso m/resources/flashmp3player/mp3player.swf" ,width:"380",height:"20",majorversion:"7" ,build:"0",bgcolor:"#FFFFFF", flashvars:"file=http://www.tuitioncoach.c om/collegecost/podcasts/podcast2-121306.m p3&showdigits=false" }; UFO.create(FO,"player2"); [right click to download] Length: 7 minutes 59 seconds Submit your questions and comments for "Ask Paul" via e-mail. Please note that not every question can be answered on air, but we'd love your feedback.
More About: Pod , Question , College , Podcast , Cast

Financial Aid Administrators: Heroes
2006-12-07 22:49:00
In this time of artificial heroes and reality-based TV and its instant super-stars, there are some real heroes never in the spotlight but, rather, in a twilight zone called the college financial aid office. Financial aid administrators are 21st century alchemists. They are the people who develop financial aid packages for the millions of American families facing a college price tag they cannot afford. It is a nearly impossible task in the face of rising college costs that easily outpace income advances, relatively static pools of financial resources to fill that increasing need, endless rules and regulations with its associated paperwork, long hours and few psychological benefits. It is, by any standard, a very, very difficult and often unrewarding job. And yet, there they are, day after day, year after year tilting at the financial aid ?windmill? trying to find ways to make it possible for ordinary families to attend college while also addressing the needs of both the college th...
More About: Heroes , Mini , Trat , Admin

Divorce and College: A House Divided
2006-12-06 00:52:00
According to the U.S. Census statistics, the national divorce rate in 2005 was somewhere between 43 and 50%. In the vast majority of those families there were children who are or will be attending college in the years ahead. The divorce is typically followed by the usual trappings: alimony, division of property and child support. The latter usually extending through age 18. Rarely does the divorce decree include specific arrangements relating to college support and if they are, they are rarely sensitive to the rules governing college financial aid. Either way, unhappy consequences are likely to follow. College is expensive not only for families but there are also fiscal consequences for colleges themselves as they try to provide a financial life preserver to low and middle income families in the form of need-based financial aid. To soften the economic impact on colleges, they understandably want to know where all the ?pockets? are in a family and in the absence of an agreem...
More About: Divorce , House , A House , Ouse

The Gorilla in Your House: The real cost of college
2006-11-28 02:24:00
We all know that college costs are rising dramatically. According to the College Board, the typical college price tag has increased by over 30% over the last five years (see here, here and here). But that tells only part of the real story. A college degree should be attainable in four years or less but it is taking longer across the board. Depending upon where you enroll, the latest figures from the College Board suggest that it will take an average of 6.2 years at a public college and 5.3 years at private colleges. Too often as we assess the increased cost that accompanies extended college, we simply tack on the out-of-pocket costs to the extra years needed to obtain a degree but there is more, much more to consider. Add to the cost mix not just the cash outlay of another year or two but include ?opportunity costs? as well. Opportunity costs refer to the income the student would have been earning as a college graduate if he or she were not languishing an extra year or two at...
More About: House , Cost , Your , Real

College Doors will Open Wider Under the New Congress!
2006-11-18 08:36:00
?No child left behind? is a nice, catchy slogan but, in the end, it is just a slogan. According to the US Department of Education, during the last decade, up to two and a half million qualified young Americans, ??stricken by the cost of higher education, either will be forced to drop out or won?t enroll at all.? So for many students, the slogan is a cruel hoax. They are likely to play the role of the eager, persistent suitor who, after 12 or 13 years, finally wins his prized mate and then gets jilted at the altar. But, on Tuesday, November 7th, the slogan may have found a real champion, us. With the shift in Congress , high on the list of immediate priorities is the roll back of the cruel interest rates on student and parent loans. Under the current Congress, interest rates on student loans, rose to a hefty 6.8% while parent loans, an important tool to help parents deal with out-of-pocket college costs, escalated to an eye-popping 8.5%. The new speaker of the House, Nancy Pelo...
More About: College , Open , The N , Wide

Welcome!
2006-07-23 01:54:00
On behalf of TuitionCoach, welcome to our site. We have launched our beta because while we believe we have something extraordinary, we need you to tell us whether or not this is as friendly and useful as we intend it to be. But before you start clicking around (you?ll get your chance soon enough) I want to share my thoughts about why we started TuitionCoach. Our goal is to produce a user-friendly, effective online partner for all families facing the specter of college costs. We designed TuitionCoach to give parents the information they need to lower the price of a college education and help them fill out the forms required to apply for financial aid. Instead of applying to college based on costs, we believe students should apply to the colleges of their dreams ? the ones that best meet their academic ability and social needs. We believe TuitionCoach can make going to college within reach for all students. We also want to create a useful service for school guidance counselors...
More About: Welcome , Come