Classroom Connections

Research Blog #3

During increasing research into my topic, I have found that the idea of "corporatization" has been talked about in class and in our readings which brings up some interesting ideas when thinking about my topic. In Nicolaus Mill's reading The Corporatization of Higher Education, a few things caught my attention. He states that "middle-class families as well as the rich are as a result spending thousands of dollars to hire private college advisors, SAT tutors, and sports coaches". Parents are going to these high extremes to try and get their children into the best colleges and hope for scholarships to help them with the increasingly high tuition. Unfortunately, with schools competing for the highest ratings they use the tactic of rejecting applications to get there. Parents are shelling out all of this money to try and give their children that "edge" and most attempts are not worth it. Furthermore, Mills says, "the students who succeed in getting into our highest-ranked colleges and universities a thus far wealthier than the population as a whole. At elite schools, 74 percent of the student body come from the top quarter of the socioeconomic scale, while just 3 percent come from the bottom". All of the money that parents are spending get their kids into better schools could be used to help pay for the increasing tuition they will be seeing when they get there. That students that are not on the top of the pyramid are the ones that need the financial help to get through college and they need the education to make smart decisions about their options. If parents are willing to spend their money on tutors and advisors, they should be also spending their money on finding someone to give their children the right information about college finances since this is not necessarily easily available for them.

Scouting the Territory

Research Blog #2

I find that the question of how and if high school students are being prepared about their financial options about college is still interesting. However, it seems harder and harder to find any research that backs any of this up. The first thing that I researched was using Google, and when typing in "educational programs about college for high school students" it find multiple summer programs that are held at the universities for high school students. However, these programs do not fit the criteria that I am looking for. When researching "educational programs about finances for college" the page is a mash-up of links for repayment benefits for people in the military, a link for Federal Student Aid, and some news articles pertaining to this topic. When using databases such as Google Scholar, I have yet to find any relevant articles that would help with my topic, but these resources are useful so I will just need to dig a little deeper. It seems that the subject that people are most interested in is government aid. It seems that the major way students are parents are prepared to pay for college is through various government loans from Financial Aid. However, this is the problem that I am trying to uncover. Yes, you will most likely need some sort of financial aid and this information is helpful, but what about the other programs or scholarship opportunities that students could receive to relieve some of the burden of paying for college.

This article from FOX Business: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/12/31/tips-for-low-income-students-to-pay-for-college/>  is interesting because it is giving insight into the various ways to pay for college. Although the title "Tips for Low-Income Students to Pay for College" may target only a specific group it has useful information that every student could make use of. After knowing these options, students then can do some additional research.

This article from College Scholarships: <http://www.collegescholarships.org/grants/> is helpful because it gives detailed information about grants for college. This information gives students the information they need to learn about grants and other ways to pay for college.

Were You Prepared For College?

Research Blog #1: Topic Idea

I would like to write about how students prepared for college and what their expectations were. Did these expectations change or stay the same? I would also like to examine if students knew all of the options that were available to them or if they received the proper education prior to college about the various options to pay for it. For example, many students were not aware of programs such as NJ STARS or what they could do for them financially. Were students given the opportunity to apply for scholarships, their due dates, and other valuable information. I feel that students are thrown into college without knowing all of the facts, and if they did would they have made different decisions? It is impossible for students to know everything even if they have help. How are students being educated about the financial aspects of college and how could such programs impact their decisions? Understanding how students are educated about financials and how they get into their debt will give critical insight into how we can change the outcome for future students.