Seton Hall takes a bold step in lowering tuition
April 2, 2012

Ian Welham discusses Seton Hall’s new initiative to lower college costs

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 continue to gouge families at will, forever?

I don’t know if you caught the good news from Seton Hall recently, but finally there’s a major institution acknowledging that college costs need to be reined in.

Seton Hall announced that any student who enrolls in 2012 will pay the same tuition rate as the Rutgers in-state tuition rate. In other words, you can go to Seton Hall for $10,104 dollars (vs. $31,440 in 2011). That’s a $21,336 tuition savings.

There are a few terms and conditions, but overall, they seem quite reasonable:

• Applying students must have a minimum of a 27 ACT composite score or combined 1200 on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT (with not less than 550 on either section)
• You must enter Seton Hall directly from high school (does not apply to transfers)
• You must be in the top 10% of your high school class
• You must apply by Dec. 15

Seton Hall guarantees that this tuition rate will remain in effect for four years, provided that you maintain a 3.0 GPA, complete at least 24 credits a year, and maintain full-time enrollment.

According to Dr. Gabriel Esteban, President of Seton Hall, “This initiative reflects Seton Hall’s commitment to servicing our community and putting a high quality, personalized education within reach of more students and their families. In this way we make a firstclass, private Catholic college experience as affordable and accessible to students as a public university.”

Is this the first high-priced college domino to fall? Will other universities follow suit? Stay tuned.

A modest proposal for runaway college costs
March 30, 2012

Ian Welham shares an idea from Europe on how to pay off expensive student loans

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:

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 sell their kidneys for tens of thousands of pounds to pay off student debt.

According to an article in The Scotsman, Ms. Roff’s intentions are altruistic. Her logic goes like this: Three people die in the UK every day waiting for a kidney donor. So if you make it legal to sell the body part, more organs would become available, more lives would be saved and students could pay off their burdensome student loans.

Under the Human Tissue Act (2004) it is currently illegal to sell organs and tissues throughout most of the world.

Roff proposes that donors be paid £28,000, the average UK annual income.

This is not a tongue-in-cheek suggestion. Roff is a senior research fellow at the university’s Department of Medical Sociology, and her comments appeared in the British Medical Journal last month.

What do you think? A win-win idea, or does Ms. Roff need to go back to the lab?

College admissions reps admit spying on applicants
March 28, 2012

Ian Welham channels his inner Sherlock Holmes to warn students about what they post online

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. The number of college admissions officials checking out students’ digital presence increased 400% in the last 12 months, reports USA TODAY.

The two primary methods of spying are Googling and Facebook watching. What are they looking for? Essay plagiarism. Vulgarities. Inappropriate photos.

Ray Brown, admission dean at TCU claims he rejected one applicant who had posted pornographic photos of herself online. Other inappropriate photos include underage drinking.

The other thing they’re looking for is consistency between your college application persona and your online persona. “If you were able to find out that somebody misrepresented themselves in their application, I think it could be used to help [us] make a decision,” declares Paul Marthers, VP for enrollment at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

I was surprised at how often admissions officials say they find objectionable posts. 12% say what they found “negatively impacted” the applicant’s chances of being admitted. That’s a much bigger percentage than I would have guessed.

Warning to students: Be careful what you write, what pictures you post, what kind of banter you engage in online. Your college career may depend on it.

America Online visits Complete College Planning Solutions
March 26, 2012

Ian Welham talks about the day AOL came to the Springfield office to capture his advice for cutting college tuition costs

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 Finance could come to our Springfield office to capture some of my recommendations on college planning and funding.

When they mentioned the shooting schedule was 3-4 hours, I thought: “What in the world can I talk about for 4 hours?” But the reality is, the time flies by.

They want to get everything just right, so you end up doing multiple takes. Between lighting, equipment, phones ringing, electrical interference, background noises, etc., there are plenty of things that factor into production and require time to sort out. Plus, they shoot 10 times more footage than what they need – then chop it down in the editing room.

The name of the segment is: Study Up on Cutting the Cost of College Tuition If you’d like to see the end result on AOL, go to: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/03/20/study-up-on-cutting-the-cost-of-college-tuitionsavings-experiment/

If you check it out can you do me a favor? Please take the online survey rating the video as useful. AOL likes that and it will help us.

Also if you’d like to add a positive comment under the video, that would be a big help as well. Even one sentence is good. Or simply click “Like.”

Thank you kindly for your help and support, I really appreciate it.

A window of opportunity for New Jersey college students
March 16, 2012

Ian Welham talks about the opportunities at out-of-state colleges

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 from student tuition than from state finances this year.

Now our friend Steve Cohen, co-author of the recommended book Getting In!, reports that this trend has found its way even to the best state universities in America. As a result, some great schools might be easier to get into than in years past.

For example, 5 years ago, the percentage of out-of-state students at University of California-Berkeley was 5%. For NJ kids it used to be as hard to get into Cal-Berkeley as Stanford. This year, Berkeley will accept 20% out-of-state students.

The University of Virginia will accept 33% out-of-staters this fall. Michigan will accept 40%. The Univ. of Washington will accept 27% out-of-staters – a 42% increase in just 3 years.

You might not find much leverage at schools such as Maryland, Delaware and Vermont. While they, too, are accepting more out-of-state kids, they already get lots of NJ applicants. But if you’re willing to venture further away, being from NJ might actually be an advantage.

To wit, the acceptance rate for non-California kids at UCLA was 30% last year. For California students, only 21%. At Berkeley, 24% of California applicants get in, while 39% of out-of-staters are offered acceptance.

Even though out-of-state students pay more than in-state students, you still might pay considerably less than you would at top private schools. Here are some tuition-only costs for out-of-state students:

To read Steve Cohen’s complete article, go to:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/18/college-admissions-which-stateschools-give-an-edge-to-out-of-state-students.html

Budgeting for college costs beyond tuition
March 14, 2012

Ian Welham discusses college costs beyond tuition and room and board

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 — and now one in grad school — that the incidentals always add up to more than you expect. To that end, let me share with you a few ways to ease the pain.

1. Make two budgets – one for the big stuff such as books — and one for the small stuff such as late night pizza study breaks. Otherwise you risk running out of money by Halloween. And that’s scary.
2. Choose your meal plan wisely – Do you really need the 21 meals/week meal plan? Probably not. But at many colleges this is the default option. You can save money by opting for fewer dining hall meals.
3. Get a job – Whether you have work-study as part of your financial aid package or not, there are limitless job opportunities in and around college campuses. Just takes a little effort.
4. Used furniture – between Craigslist, the university newspaper and local thrift stores, furnishing your dorm room shouldn’t require taking out a line of credit.
5. Used books – textbook prices increased 22% according to a New York Times article. Some science and economics textbooks now cost $200. Outrageous! Have your student inquire at the college library about free texts online or renting books (see Chegg.com). Here are a couple other options:

   Amazon.com – you can now rent Kindle textbooks and read them on your computer or smartphone, no Kindle required.

   Affordabook.com – compares prices from 15 online retailers, including Amazon, Half.com and others.

6. Leverage your ID – a student ID entitles you to discounts on everything from movies and concerts to off-campus restaurants to computers and electronics. A $20 Student Advantage card (www.StudentAdvantage.com) saves you 15% off Amtrak fares, 20% off Greyhound, and additional discounts at BarnesandNoble.com, Target.com and other online retailers.
7. Free room and board – We can show you a way to make room and board free starting sophomore year – without becoming a resident assistant. This can save you $10,000 a year or more. Call 973.467.0101 to set up an appointment.

Undergraduate Subsidized Student Loans Survive Cut
March 12, 2012

Ian Welham explains the changes in college subsidized federal student loans

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 news. Undergraduate students were spared in the compromise package worked out in Washington. Subsidized student loans continue unabated.

Phew.

However, graduate students were not so lucky. Effective July 1, 2012, graduate students will no longer have access to subsidized student loans.

Another subsidy that looked like it was on the chopping blocks — the Pell Grant — also escaped cuts. For now.

Given all the saber rattling, coming through with two out of three important subsidies intact, can only be considered a victory.

One for the good guys.

Back on TV on “12 in Our Schools”
March 9, 2012

Ian Welham talks about his return visit to the News12 New Jersey studios

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 applicants. But does it have to be so complicated and time intensive? What are some simple ideas that any high school student can do to stand out from the crowd — without having to devote his or her life to it?”

I shared my answer with “12 in Our Schools” host Bryan Jenkins.

Basically I came up with a simple A-B-C formula that any student can use to improve his or her chances for college acceptance. A short, valuable list. Nothing too difficult or complicated. Best of all, my suggestions will not only get you extra admissions consideration, but will also likely increase your financial aid package.

If you missed the show, you can check it out at:
http://completecollegeplanningsolutions.com/pages-faqs/radio/

Why 529 college savings plans are risky
March 7, 2012

Ian Welham on why 529 plans are not the best way to save for college

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 financial press are reporting this news as if we just landed on the moon for the first time. They’re cheering because the Dow has now reached the highs last seen in 2008. Good. That’s better than going down. But it also means if you had your 529 savings tied to the Dow since 2008, it’s just stagnated.

Does this sound like a prudent place for college savings?

I know I’ve said this before, but I need to say it again. For many parents, 529’s are not the place to put the bulk of your college savings. Two simple reasons:

1. 529’s count against you for financial aid; and
2. if they’re invested in equity mutual funds (as most are), they’re too risky

I remember 2009 all too well, when parents were coming into our office in tears — devastated that their 529’s had fallen by 40%. (Did you know that if your investment falls by 40%, it has to subsequently grow by 67% just to break even? Do the math yourself.)

When you’re within 3-4 years of college, few can afford to risk their savings in a volatile market. That money needs to go somewhere safe, where it cannot lose value — and where it doesn’t count against you in the financial aid system.

Some facts about tuition refund insurance
March 5, 2012

Ian Welham discusses the basics of 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 a third party. There are some group policies out there from companies such as GradGuard.

At $100 to $1,000/year, tuition insurance might be considered a bargain — especially if your child is attending a $50,000+ college and you’re paying the bulk of the cost out of pocket. Here are some pros and cons to weigh.

First, most 18-21 year-olds are healthy. So the insurance might be more for peace of mind than anything. Some offer extras such as identity theft protection and emergency medical evacuation — something to consider if your child is going to do a semester abroad and you don’t already have that coverage with your credit card or elsewhere (make sure coverage extends overseas).

Before you buy a policy, double-check your college’s refund policy. Many universities offer full or partial refunds if you withdraw for health reasons, so insurance may be superfluous. Often, the schools who sell tuition refund insurance don’t have a generous refund policy. Shocker, right?

Pay close attention to the exclusions. Many plans exclude suicide or intentional selfinjury, injuries from participation in protests and demonstrations, and withdrawals due to the use of controlled substances or alcohol abuse.

I’d also check how the insurance company views pre-existing conditions. Are they covered or excluded? That’s not the type of fine print you want to discover after the fact.

With some plans, not all sicknesses are treated equally. For example, if your student withdraws due to a physical injury, you get 100% of your tuition money back. However, if your student leaves because of mental health issues, you get only 60-75% of your money back. This is important because, according to a recent New York Times article, insurance companies “get more claims for mental health-related withdrawals than for physical injury or illness.” And not only is the payout less for mental health claims, but a 2-day hospital stay is required before a claim is considered.

If your child has struggled with mental health issues, I recommend reading the Times article. It can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/your-money/studentloans/a-tuition-refund-policy-that-pays-less-for-mental-illness.html?pagewanted=all

There is one exception we found (there may be others but this is the only one we’ve come across). According to their website, GradGuard’s Tuition Refund Insurance covers “100% of covered fees due to medical ‘disability’ withdrawal due to emotional, nervous or mental disorders. The key word there is “disability” and you want to make sure you completely understand what’s meant by that. Also, coverage is excluded if the “Loss” first occurred before the “covered person’s” “period of coverage.”