Great College Fit

College isn’t the only option.

Meet the Gen Zers skipping college to take blue-collar jobs and launch trade businesses: ‘One of the smartest decisions I ever made’ A shortage of skilled tradespeople is driving up demand and salaries for blue-collar jobs, creating new opportunities for young adults.

College is $$$$. Be a smart shopper.

Zero surprise here.
"Internal Emails Show Education Department Was Aware Of FAFSA Overhaul Risks

Citing “internal emails and documents,” the New York Times (5/20, Montague) reports that Education Department officials were aware of the risks of overhauling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid “long before” the problems came to light this year. The documents “anticipated a demanding timetable that would require the department to closely manage its priorities over several years to revamp the application form in time for students’ fall 2022 applications.” In several instances, members of Biden’s transition team “were told by the staff at the department’s Federal Student Aid office that the 2022 deadline mandated by Congress was too aggressive.” The emails “likely to add to the intense scrutiny the department has faced over the handling of the project, which threw the college application season into chaos earlier this year.”

Aw man...
ABC News (5/9, Zahn) reports, “The interest rate on a federal undergraduate student loan is expected to climb to 6.5% in July, which would mark its highest level since 2008, financial-aid expert Mark Kantrowitz told ABC News. The current interest rate on new loans is 5.5%.” The benchmark rate is linked to the interest on the 10-year Treasury bond, and it “remained relatively low for years but has surged since 2022, when the Fed undertook an aggressive series of interest rate hikes to fight inflation.” The new rate “will apply to loans for the 2024-2025 academic year beginning on July 1.” This rate increase along with rising tuition fees is making college increasingly unaffordable, especially for low- and middle-income students.

We are seeing this in our practice. Our HS students don't read and it WILL affect them in college.
Parents, PLEASE make sure your kiddos are reading OFTEN!!

"Academics across the country “are talking about the reading problems they are seeing among traditional-age students.” Professors cite numerous issues, including a lack of students’ willingness to work outside of class, weak vocabulary, problems with reading endurance, and an inability to analyze complex texts. Factors contributing to this situation range from a “decline in academic expectations during and after the pandemic,” to the use of smartphones and social media, and “testing culture,” which discourages deep reading." from the Chronicle of Higher Education

https://www.ncan.org/page/fafsa-state-resources-events

FAFSA Resources and Events by State - National College Attainment Network This state-by-state map features online resources and events designed to help high school students and their families learn about financial aid and find workshops that provide hands-on Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion aid.

UC Cost of Attendance (COA) is $42,000 for in state and $76,000 for out of state students. How will your family pay for college?

This just hurts: The Boston Globe (3/27) reports this fall, Boston University, Tufts, Wellesley, and Yale “will now top $90,000 a year for tuition, housing, and other expenses, according to the schools’ admissions websites.” Other private colleges around New England “are also likely to cross the $90,000 annual threshold, but haven’t released their updated costs.” At BU, the total cost for the 2024-2025 academic year “includes $66,670 in tuition, $19,020 for housing and food, plus the cost of books and various fees for a grand total of $90,207. That’s a nearly 42 percent jump from a decade ago...when the all-in cost for a year at BU was $63,644.” The $90,000-plus figures “do not take into account financial aid – in the form of grants or loans – or scholarships.”

Unbelievable.

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡The AP (3/22, Binkley) reported the Education Department “said it has discovered a calculation error in hundreds of thousands of student financial aid applications sent to colleges this month and will need to reprocess them – a blunder that follows a series of others and threatens further delays to this year’s college applications.” According to the department, “a vendor working for the federal government incorrectly calculated a financial aid formula for more than 200,000 students,” which means the information “now needs to be recalculated – even as the department works through a backlog of more than 4 million other financial aid applications”

Due to the delayed FAFSA, the UC’s AND the 23 campuses of the Cal State system have pushed back the SIR (statement of intent to register) deadline to May 15, 2024.

Last night we started the soft launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA® form.
During the soft launch, we will make the form available for periods of time over the coming days while we monitor site performance and respond to any potential issues. We will also be initiating pauses to the site, during which time the form will not be available while we conduct site maintenance.
Students and families will have ample time to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA and do not need to rush to fill out the form immediately during the soft launch. If you visit the site during a pause, check back later to access the form.
Visit https://StudentAid.gov/announcements-events/fafsa-support for more information on what to expect during the soft launch.
Leading up to and as part of the soft launch, we have identified some minor issues affecting user experience. We are aware of these issues and are working to resolve them. For additional questions or to report an issue, please contact us here: https://StudentAid.gov/help-center/contact

Federal Student Aid

Early reports indicate applications are UP by 8%. It's going to be another competitive year in college admissions.
From: Higher Ed (12/15, Spitalniak) reported, “The number of first-year applicants for the 2023-24 academic year has risen 8% year over year, according to new Common App data.” The number of applicants “who the Common App considers to be underrepresented minorities also jumped by 15% year over year,” a jump which “was largely driven by 15% increases each in Latinx and Black or African American candidates. Both public and private colleges drew more first-year applicants than the prior year, though publics experienced more growth. In 2023-24, applications to publics rose 14% year over year, compared to 10% among private institutions.”