College Fair Season Gets into Full Swing

Once admissions decisions are mailed, college reps hardly have a moment to breathe before they’re expected to hit the road again for various college fair road shows. In addition to the NACAC Spring College Fairs, colleges will be exhibiting at several local events:

2010 SEC College Fairs
The twelve Southeastern Conference (SEC) member universities will gather for two northern Virginia college fairs. The first is scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, at Oakton High School, in Vienna VA, and the second will follow on April 8, at the Waterford across from Fair Oaks Mall. Both fairs will run from 4:00 to 8:30 p.m. Students are invited to meet with representatives from each of the SEC schools and learn more about their “winning traditions” both on and off the field. Registration is available on the fair website.

Northern Virginia Regional College Fair
Scheduled for April 21st, the Northern Virginia Regional College Fair plans to have 200 colleges and universities exhibit from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the Patriot Center Arena on the campus of George Mason University. No registration is required.

Colleges That Change Lives
Since 1998, the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL)—forty colleges and universities dedicated to the support of student-centered college search processes—have been traveling together to meet directly with students and families. In 2010, the CTCL will visit the Washington DC area on May 23, at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel. The program begins with a 30-minute information session immediately followed by a college fair.

Remember that some fairs offer pre-registration options, but most are walk-in events. You can prepare for the fair by reviewing a list of participating colleges and noting those you wish to visit, including a few less familiar schools. It’s a good idea to print out some “mailing” labels with your name, mailing address, phone number, month and year of high school graduation, and email address. These can be quickly applied to information request cards. And bring a backpack or something similar for carrying all the materials you will be receiving.

Here’s a tip: In addition to admissions information, exhibitors often come equipped with materials introducing summer enrichment opportunities available on campus. Be sure to ask about the availability of summer classes, camps, or other similar programs when meeting with the admissions rep staffing the exhibit.

Colleges Still Accepting Applications for Fall of 2010

This article has been revised for 2011 (click here).

For students a little slow to get off the ground or those not happy with admissions results so far, you might be interested to know that a significant number of colleges and universities are still accepting applications for the fall of 2010.

Locally, Marymount University, the Corcoran College of Art & Design, St. John’s College, Randolph College, and Hood College are still accepting applications. Hundreds of others across the country are also ready and very willing to consider applications—sometimes as late as the last day of August.

If you’re still looking or thinking about submitting additional applications, here are a few insider tips to kick start your research:

• Common App member institutions still open to new applicants may be found by going to the Common App website, scrolling down Member Colleges and Universities, and clicking Search for Colleges. Indicate that you’re looking for First Year and Fall 2010, and complete the deadline box according to your interest. Bingo. If you’re looking for colleges with a deadline on or after May 1, 2010, you’ll be rewarded with a list of 113 institutions located in every corner of the country.

• For slightly different information, check out Peterson’s Colleges with Late & Rolling Application Deadlines. Late is defined as having an application deadline of July1st, so any schools with deadlines between now and then are not included. Nevertheless, you may be surprised at the number of colleges and universities still accepting applications well into the summer months.

• Using the College Board’s Matchmaker search engine, select your preferences for size, location, majors, and so forth, but under Admissions and Selectivity?, choose More than 75% accepted and click on See Results. Many—not all—of the schools on the list will have extended deadlines.

Once you have a starter list of schools that may still be accepting applications, verify deadlines by going to individual websites. Note that schools with “rolling admissions” accept applications until their classes are filled. If websites are unclear as to the current status of the process, contact admissions offices directly and simply ask the question. You might be surprised to find many are still happy to hear from you.

Engineers Dominate the List for Top Starting Salaries among 2010 Grads

Once again, engineering majors dominate the list for top starting salaries, says a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). NACE’s winter 2010 Salary Survey shows that engineering specialties account for eight of ten best starting offers among 2010 grads.

According to the survey, petroleum engineering continues to earn the highest starting salary at $86,220—nearly one and a half times the average reported for bachelor’s degree graduates overall. Chemical engineering comes in a distant second at more than $21,000 per year less.

Evidently, employers remain conservative despite signs of economic recovery, and average starting salaries are down two percent compared to those offered a year ago. Liberal arts majors continue to take a big hit as starting salary offers fell significantly compared to averages reported in the winter 2009 Salary Survey—down almost 11 percent to $32,555.

“This first look at salaries for the Class of 2010 shows many disciplines posting lower salaries, but it’s important to put this in perspective,” suggests Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “…graduation is several months away.”

Among the business disciplines, accounting majors and finance graduates saw their averages fall by less than one percent. Business administration/management graduates experienced a drop of 1.5 percent.

As a group, graduates with computer-related degrees (computer programming, computer science, computer systems analysis, and information sciences/systems) posted a 6.1 percent increase—the highest reported in the winter 2010 Salary Survey. Engineering graduates experienced a 1.2 percent increase in starting salaries, but still remained at the top of the heap.

Top-Paid Bachelor’s Degrees

1. Petroleum Engineering: $86,220
2. Chemical Engineering: $65,142
3. Mining & Mineral Engineering (incl. geological): $64,552
4. Computer Science: $61,205
5. Computer Engineering: $60,879
6. Electrical/Electronics & Communications Engineering: $59,074
7. Mechanical Engineering: $58,392
8. Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering: $57,734
9. Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering: $57,231
10. Information Sciences & Systems: $54,038

NACE will provide a second look at the salaries for the Class of 2010, later in the spring

Colleges Committed to Meeting Full Financial Aid of Admitted Students

It sounds too good to be true. Are there really colleges committed to awarding enough financial aid to meet the full financial needs of all the students they admit?

The short answer is yes. There aren’t very many institutions wealthy enough to make such a promise, but about 3 percent of all the colleges in the country have, including Georgetown, UVa, and the University of Richmond.

Naturally, there are a few strings attached to the offer. Most of these colleges will only guarantee to meet the needs of those students who are US citizens and who apply for financial aid before the school’s posted deadline. All bets are off if you are foreign, late or waitlisted.

And the “Golden Rule” applies. In other words, “He who has the gold, makes the rules,” so there are varying definitions of need, most of which will not match yours.

For example, some schools provide enough grant money to make up the difference between a family’s federal Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and the college’s total Cost of Attendance (COA). Others calculate their own EFC, using a personalized formula that may or may not count home equity or other elements of net worth. Under these rules, a student’s level of “need” can vary wildly from college to college.

And how do these schools meet full need? That too varies significantly by institution. Several schools provide enough in grants and work-study income to meet a student’s entire need without throwing loans into the mix. Others will expect you to take out modest loans or will offer aid packages that include federal student loans of up to $7500. In this case, the balance between grants and loans becomes a key consideration.

While a list of colleges committed to meeting full financial need might seem very appealing, keep in mind that you could end up with lower tuition bills at other schools. Nevertheless, according to US News and World Report the following schools are committed to meeting the full financial aid needs of admitted students in 2010:

Adrian College, MI	Amherst, MA	Barnard, NY
Bates, ME	Boston College, MA	Bowdoin, ME
Brown University, RI	Bryn Mawr, PA	Caltech, CA
Carlton, MN	Chapman, CA	Claremont McKenna, CA
Colby, ME	Colgate, NY	Holy Cross, MA
Columbia, NY	Cornell, NY	Dartmouth, NH
Davidson, NC	Duke, NC	Emory, GA
Georgetown, DC	Gettysburg, PA	Grinnell, IA
Hamilton, NY	Harvard, MA	Harvey Mudd, CA
Haverford, PA	Lafayette College, PA	Macalester, MN
MIT, MA	Middlebury, VT	Mount Holyoke, MA
Northwestern, IL	Oberlin, OH	Occidental, CA
Pitzer College, CA	Pomona, CA	Princeton, NJ
Reed, OR	Rice, TX	Salem College, NC
Scripps, CA	Smith, MA	St. Olaf, MN
Stanford, CA	SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, NY	Swarthmore, PA
Thomas Aquinas, CA	Trinity College, CT	Tufts University, MA
University of Chicago, IL	UNC—Chapel Hill, NC	Notre Dame, IN
U Penn, PA	University of Richmond, VA	University of Virginia, VA
Vanderbilt, TN	Vassar College, NY	Wabash College, IN
Wash U, MO	Wellesley, MA	Wesleyan College, CT, CT
Williams, MA	Yale University, CT

College Road Trip Planner Update

For those of you who don't own a GPS or who prefer to have a second opinion when taking to the road, a wonderful college road trip planning service is available free of charge from the American Automobile Association (AAA). And you don't even have to join the club!

Simply visit the AAA website and enter your zip code. You'll be routed to a local club, which for me is AAA Mid-Atlantic. At this point, find For Your Travels at the center of the page and click on TripTiks & TourBooks (reminds me of the old days with the spiral-bound booklets and routes designated in green magic marker). Under TripTik®, click on Launch TripTik® Travel Planner.

Now here’s where it gets fun. Under the Directions tab, click on Starting Point and fill in your starting address. Move on to Destination, where you'll find a nifty dropdown menu under Location type which includes a College/University option. Select a state and you are presented with a complete list of every college and/or university located in that state. You don’t have to know an address, the school mascot, or anything else about the school. Just click “Get Maps & Directions” and you have the first stop on your college tour neatly mapped and annotated with advisories on traffic or construction.

For your next stop, click on Add Destination and repeat the process. You can do this for an entire road trip. Each stop will be tagged with a colorful pushpin and the TripTik® will keep a running tally of miles and hours on the road. If your goal is to visit two of Virginia’s private colleges each day of spring break or during Virginia Private College Week, this is a terrific planning tool. AAA members can even go old school and order a traditional Trip Tik® online, which will be sent by mail.

While you're on the AAA site, you can do some more comprehensive trip planning and find information on hotels, entertainment, or car rentals located near the colleges you are visiting. Discounts (including the one my daughter used on AMTRAK over four years of undergraduate and three years of graduate school) are available to members only. For thrifty travelers, AAA provides fuel conservation tips as well as a very handy Fuel Price Finder by zip code. As far as I can see, it's updated daily and accurate to three decimal places. Beat that!

UVa, William and Mary, and Christopher Newport Explore Increases in Freshman Class Size

In conversations concerning proposals to increase the size of William and Mary’s incoming freshman class by 50 students, University Provost Mike Hallernan revealed that the College is among several Virginia public universities considering larger class size to help compensate for severe losses in state revenues.

According to Hallernan, the University of Virginia may be increasing its student body by as much as 1500 students over the next several years. He also indicated that Christopher Newport University officials discussed a plan at a recent board of visitors meeting to grow its current 4,900-member student body to more than 5,100 students and increase out-of-state students by up to 10 percent of total enrollment by 2016.

In recent years, higher education has taken a huge hit in Virginia. Although he declared education to be an important part of the state’s economic recovery and recommended few new funding reductions, Governor Bob McDonnell signaled he supports deep cuts proposed last fall by former Governor Tim Kaine, including a controversial plan to take about 5 percent of mandatory student fees paid to universities to help offset state budget problems.

To stem the flood of red ink, several Virginia universities implemented highly unusual mid-year tuition increases. William and Mary, the University of Mary Washington, Christopher Newport, as well as Virginia’s community college system were all forced to hike tuition for the second semester of this academic year.

In his announcement of mid-year tuition increases, William and Mary President Taylor Reveley said, “The financial outlook for 2010/11 looks even less promising than the situation this year.” While already producing grumbling about stress on academic programs and college facilities, the additional 50 freshmen would only make up for about $500,000 of a potential $6.7 million shortfall in William and Mary’s base budget.

Individual universities are waiting for the Virginia General Assembly to act on budget recommendations before setting tuition rates for next year. CNU has already warned students that a tuition increase is on the horizon. Given the state of the Commonwealth, it’s likely the rest will follow with a series of revenue-enhancing measures including tuition and class size increases as well as enrollment of additional out-of-state students who pay considerably more than their in-state classmates.

Why College Students Drop Out

In the first of three studies commissioned by the Gates Foundation, Public Agenda looked at why so many students who start college never finish their degrees. The findings, published in “With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them,” challenge traditional assumptions about college-bound students, the college selection process, and how students transition to college.

According to the US Department of Education, fewer than 60 percent of students who begin higher education at four-year institutions receive a degree within six years. And these statistics reflect an average—at some institutions, the numbers are truly disturbing.

Traditional explanations for the failure of so many students to complete degrees focus on rising tuition costs, poor academic preparation and study skills, insufficient student support and advisory services at postsecondary institutions, and the pressure to go on to college even when interest isn’t there.

Probing these theories, the Gates study surveyed 600 young adults, aged 22 to 30. Answers were compared between those who started college but did not complete and those who had successfully completed two- or four-year college programs. The findings might surprise you:

1. Most students leave college because they are working to support themselves and going to school at the same time--the stress of work and study simply becomes too much. The US Department of Education reports that among students in four-year colleges, about 6 in 10 work more than 20 hours per week and more than a quarter work in excess of 35 hours each week. At some point—usually in the first year—it all gets too difficult according to survey respondents.

2. Students who fail to finish college are often on their own financially—they’re essentially putting themselves through school. Studies, including this one, show that young people who leave college without a degree are more likely to come from less privileged backgrounds and are substantially less likely to have received scholarships, financial aid, or loans.

3. Among students who don’t graduate, the college selection process is far more limited and often seems “happenstance and uninformed.” According to this survey, many students, especially those who fail to get their diploma, barely go through any college selection process at all. For those who dropped out, the process seemed more matter of “chance or location, not the pursuit of a specific goal or future career.”

4. Students who leave college are aware that a diploma is an asset, but they may not fully recognize the impact of dropping out on their future. Most young people acknowledge that having a college degree pays off. Those who did not complete degrees, however, are less likely to feel “passionately” about the value of college and are less likely to have had strong parental or counselor support relative to their college prospects.

To learn more about the Gates study or read the entire report, go to the Public Agenda website.