College Admission Help

College Admission Aspirations Collide With Financial Realities

By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff
Frederick, MD

High school students in recent decades assumed they would go to college. It was the route of their parents and often their grandparents. But, like much that has changed in today's troubled economy, students and their parents are finding college is not a given.
This is the time of year when seniors are rushing to the mailbox and finding college acceptance letters, but for many the elation is short-lived when they start thinking about how they would pay for it.
Kenan Cola, a Gov. Thomas Johnson High School senior, was accepted into Temple University in Philadelphia but is struggling to line up the money. With tuition and housing costing around $30,000 a year, Cola said he will need significant financial assistance.
"I'm still looking around for scholarships, but all I can do now is to apply for grants to see if I qualify," Cola said.
Parys Martin, another TJ senior, was accepted at The Art Institute of Washington in Arlington, Va., but said she has had to withdraw her application for financial reasons. Enrolling for the sake of enrolling is becoming less of an option for students who are undecided about a career, like Martin.
"My mom didn't want to put up that kind of money with my mind not made up about what I really wanted to study," Martin said. "They had a culinary program I wanted to pursue, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be a chef."
Affordability
Because of the economic difficulties American families are facing, increasing numbers appear to be at risk of not pursuing a college degree, according to a study released last month by the Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The two organizations have been tracking attitudes toward higher education since 1993.
College prices rose 6.4 percent last fall, and a separate National Center report recently flunked 49 of the 50 states on college affordability. The report found low-income families have been hit particularly hard, with the local college now costing the average family in the bottom quintile of income 55 percent of their earnings -- up from 39 percent in 1999-2000.
The study also reported that more people today believe college is financially out of reach for many qualified students.
"Public perceptions are not always accurate, but in this case, they are right on the mark, and these findings hold true for both four-year institutions and lower-cost community colleges," according to the study.
In 2006, Maryland received an F for college affordability from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Today, four Maryland colleges received the extraordinary distinction among the top 50 "Best Value" public colleges in America by the Princeton Review, Gov. Martin O'Malley said in his February newsletter.
O'Malley said the state will use more than $720 million from President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan for education.
"These funds have been available to improve public education and make college education more affordable, and that's exactly what we intend to do," O'Malley said.
By 2010, the University System of Maryland will have gone from having the sixth-highest tuition in the nation in 2004 to the 18th-highest, O'Malley said.
Thomas Powell, president of Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg is more optimistic, saying private institutions like his offer substantial scholarships to students to offset tuition and fees.
The university's communications director, Linda Sherman, said that "while the cost of tuition for the (fiscal) 2010 budget will be $28,420, for the most part that is not the amount the majority of students pay. After the average student financial aid package is considered, the actual average net tuition cost is a little more than $15,000 per student."
Sherman said the Mount has been named among the top "most faithful and affordable Catholic universities in the country by the Cardinal Newman Society, publishers of the Newman Guide, which has been helpful in the school's recruiting efforts for its Division 1 athletic programs."
Last year, the Mount offered more than $17 million in assistance to students. The school expects to offer $17.5 million next year.
Powell said: "Students and their parents should always apply for financial assistance and scholarships. Very few pay the full price of tuition and fees."
But an area of particular concern is the ever-increasing cost of textbooks, some with prices as high as $150 each.
"This is an issue that will require leadership to keep books at a reasonable cost," Powell said.
Hood College spokesman Dave Diehl said tuition is $13,100 per semester. That doesn't include room and board and other fees. Hood's Board of Trustees will discuss tuition and any changes later this month, Diehl said.
"We've been consistently ranked as one of the most affordable colleges in the country, and these rankings are by objective criteria," Diehl said. "We're able to reduce the family's out-of-pocket costs at a level that's often right there with public universities."
Do your homework
Despite the financial hurdles, a college education is attainable, provided planning and effort begin early.
Making good grades, taking hard courses in high school, being involved in school and community activities and beginning a savings plan early are steps that will put a college education within reach, education experts said.
Colleges are looking for students who not only do well in school but also have been involved in extracurricular activities, giving back to the community, or sports, said Michael Concepcion, assistant principal at Tuscarora High School.
Concepcion was one of several presenters at a recent college preparation seminar at First Missionary Baptist Church in Frederick .
"A well-rounded student not only does well in school but will benefit the school as well," he said.
Concepcion was not a scholarship recipient, and he admitted he waited too long before starting to prepare for college. But Concepcion said financial aid options are many for students who have good grades, get their paperwork done on time and stay active in the community.
The Community Foundation of Frederick County is among the many local organizations that provide scholarships for local students. In addition, high school counseling departments post scholarship announcements regularly, said Sharon Boettinger, Frederick County Public Schools supervisor of counseling and student support.
Work study and internship experiences are invaluable for students, and those opportunities often translate into permanent employment after graduation.
"It is important for students to be able to balance studies, employment and other activities such as athletics," Boettinger said. "Those who may be working long hours during the academic year may not be able to devote the time necessary outside of class for studying, writing papers and completing projects."


College Admission Aspirations Collide With Financial Realities