Applications Down at Private Colleges

The bad economy is being felt at private colleges around the nation, with some schools reporting declines in the number of applicants approaching 30%. Fears of being unable to obtain loans, coupled with the higher cost, are driving more applicants to consider less-costly state universities, which are seeing increasing demand in spite of state cutbacks. Public college enrollments are growing even in states with declining numbers of high school graduates. 

The exceptions to the downturn in private college applicants are the Ivy League universities which offer extremely generous aid packages, thanks to their large endowments. 

Barack Obama's Plan on Higher Education

According to www.barackobama.com, the new administration is pledging to create an American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable for all Americans. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service. 

The Obama administration also proposes streamlining the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply for aid simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used and eliminating the need for a separate application. 

Worried about the economy and your economic prospects? 

Check out U.S. News's annual list of 30 Best Careers, which was recently updated for a rapidly changing economy:

Audiologist
Biomedical equipment technician
Clergy
Curriciulum/training specialist
Engineer
Firefighter
Fundraiser
Genetic counselor
Ghostwriter
Government manager
Hairstylist/cosmetologist
Health policy specialist
Higher education administrator
Landscape architect
Librarian
Locksmith/security technician
Management consultant
Mediator
Occupational therapist
Optometrist
Pharmacist
Physical therapist
Physician assistant
Politician/elected official
Registered nurse
School psychologist
Systems analyst
Urban planner
User experience specialist
Veterinarian


To learn more, and to read descriptions of these careers, check out the full article here.

Where is Financial Aid the Best?

When it comes to financial aid awards, all schools are NOT created equal. Those schools with the richest endowments are now offering very competitive financial aid packages, free of loans, to families earning up to $200,000 per year. As reported in a recent issue of Newsweek, here are some of your best college bets, financially speaking: 

Harvard

Yale 

Princeton

Dartmouth

Columbia

Swarthmore

Pomona

Amherst

Unemployment Reaches New High

With unemployment claims reaching a new 26-year high, it makes more sense than ever to plan carefully for your long-term career goals. This downturn appears to be a deep one, with long-lasting repercussions. December reports indicate that employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November—the most in 34 years—bringing the nation's current unemployment rate to 6.7 percent.

High-paying jobs for workers with low skills in areas such as real estate, financial sales, and construction are among the hardest hit. Many of these jobs are going away and are never coming back. A fundamental shift in our economy is underway.

Where are the current bright spots? Well, healthcare, education, and energy are three fields that generally remain steady through times of economic turmoil. They are extremely resistant to downturns and are more affected by demography than any other factor.

The best way to plan for a successful career without interruption is to educate yourself on the long-term trends and demographic realities that will dominate the workforce in the coming decades. Armed with knowledge and information on statistical realities, you will be empowered to chart your personal career path with confidence amidst the current economic crisis.

Learn more at www.comingjobboom.com.

More Students Choosing Public Colleges During Financial Downturn

The financial crisis is hitting home as families are being forced to downscale their collegiate plans for their children. Families who have been saving for college for years are being shocked to discover the damage to their child's college fund caused by the recent shocks in the stock market. Some families, who had been planning on out-of-state private institutions, are now being forced to look at more affordable in-state options to manage the cost. 

Does an Ivy League Degree Really Make a Difference?

According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of recent bestseller Outliers, not really. For example, Gladwell points out the following list of colleges boasting the last 10 American Nobel laureates in Chemistry:

City College of New York
City College of New York
Stanford
University of Dayton, Ohio
Rollins College, Florida
MIT
Grinnell College
MIT
McGill University
Georgia Institute of Technology

Gladwell's point is simply that going to a less-than-elite college or university doesn't prevent anyone from achieving major success. He also points out, quite rightly I think, that if you're smart enough to get into an elite school, then you're smart enough to succeed no matter where you choose to go to college. It's not the college that makes you smart. It's you.