Seton Hall takes a bold step in lowering tuition

When cost-of-attendance numbers at top tier universities first hit $50,000, we thought: that’s got to be the top – no one will pay more than that.
When college costs crept up to $55,000, we thought: this surely is the tipping point.
Now that schools have crossed the $60,000 barrier, is there no end in sight? Can colleges [...]

A modest proposal for runaway college costs

In the last 20 years, the average tuition has risen 130%, while median income has remained stagnant.
Here are some cost-of-attendance numbers for the 2011-12 school year:

Bates College
$55,350

NYU
$55,539

George Washington Univ.
$56,625

Sarah Lawrence College
$58,784

As college costs continue their runaway trend, a Scottish academic offers a modest proposal.
Sue Rabbit Roff of Dundee University suggests that students be allowed to [...]

College admissions reps admit spying on applicants

Here’s something you won’t find disclosed on a college application…
But it could be as important as your extracurricular activities or teacher recommendations.
According to a recent survey, more and more colleges are “using social media to evaluate applicants.” In other words, college admissions officials are spying on students online.
Evidently, it’s not just the occasional curious onlooker. [...]

America Online visits Complete College Planning Solutions

Complete College Planning Solutions been getting some nice media coverage lately, with appearances on News12 NJ, the Channel 11 morning show, multiple Patch stories… and now America Online.
The first email address I ever had was AOL. So it was fun when I got a call from AOL headquarters asking if a team from AOL Daily [...]

A window of opportunity for New Jersey college students

We’ve been reporting for over a year now that state universities are accepting more outof-state students. The reason: out-of-state students pay 2 to 4 times more tuition than in-state students. And cash-strapped state universities can use the money.
The New York Times reports that for the first time, the University of California will get more money [...]

Budgeting for college costs beyond tuition

Many of our 2012 seniors are starting to get acceptance letters. It’s usually at this point — when they realize that their child is indeed going to college — that parents discover there are more to college costs than room, board and tuition.
I can tell you from personal experience of putting two girls through college [...]

Undergraduate Subsidized Student Loans Survive Cut

Remember last summer when Congress was wrangling over raising the debt ceiling? Couched within many of the proposed bills was a sword of Damocles hanging over college subsidized federal student loans. This is the feature that permits qualifying undergraduates and graduate students to pay zero interest on their student loans while they’re still in school.
Good [...]

Back on TV on “12 in Our Schools”

Not too long ago, the producer for the TV program “12 in Our Schools” on News12 New Jersey, called with an interesting college question.
She said, “Ian, The college admissions process is getting out of hand. If you want to attend a known East Coast college, you may be in competition with 20,000 or 30,000 other [...]

Why 529 college savings plans are risky

This is normally not the forum for me to opine about financial matters. I usually confine that to Sage Financial Partners, our investment advisory service. But after reading the headlines the last few days, I thought I’d comment briefly on 529 college savings plans.
As I write this, the Dow has hit 13,000. Some in the [...]

Some facts about tuition refund insurance

Have you ever used travel insurance? Colleges have something similar called tuition refund insurance. Tuition insurance reimburses you for college costs if your child is forced to withdraw from school for medical or other reasons. A few parents recently asked me about it.
Some colleges and universities offer tuition refund insurance directly. Some offer it through [...]