Paying for College…Before College

Parents, no matter their net worth, readily take risks, if they believe their children will benefit. And, the risks parents will take know no bounds—as seen in those facing federal prison trying to guarantee a college admissions to those who go into debt to pay for extra-curricular activities. However, why are parents so willing to take such risks for their children?…

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College Admissions Decisions: The Troll Underneath the Bridge or The Gateway to Oz

As college admissions decisions are delivered to email and postal mail boxes all over the world, the decisions can seem to either validate or condemn a lifetime’s efforts. However, just as in Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do, where Harvard Professor Michael Sandel hypothesizes a straightforward college acceptance letter, the truth can be more layered: In the arms race of college…

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Tuition Surging at California Public Universities for 2017-18

University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) students will pay more tuition for the 2017-18 school year.  For the first time in six years, both the UC and CSU boards have approved tuition and fee increases.  At the same time, Governor Jerry Brown proposes to phase out the state-sponsored Middle Class Scholarship program for students starting college for the first…

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University of California Flagship Cuts Staff

The stress from the continuous reduction in state funding over the last decade has finally come to the University of California’s flagship campus, Cal Berkeley.  The Washington Post reported on April 13: a workforce reduction of about 6 percent that comes as the prestigious public flagship is moving to erase a large budget deficit. In February, [Chancellor Nicolas] Dirks had…

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Does a Free Lunch Exist?

Here’s how to borrow $127,000 in student loans, only repay $87,000 over twenty years, and have the U.S. Government pick up the tab for the $450,000 still owed at the end of the repayment period.  [Notice the quadrupling effect on the total balance owed because of the interest that accrues in the two decade long repayment period? ]