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Lowest Cost Colleges for Out-of-State Students
July 18, 2013Out of state tuition can be as much as 300 percent higher than in-state tuition at many public colleges and universities. The following listing of the ten public universities with the lowest out-of-state tuition rates was taken from U.S. News & World Reports. The cost of these colleges are in stark contrast to the out-of-state tuition cost at the colleges reflected in the second table.
Compare ACT – SAT Scores
July 15, 2013How to Reach Latino and Migrant Families
July 15, 20132013 National GEAR UP Conference
I am grateful to all of the participants who thought it important enough to engage in the conversation regarding strategies to more effectively reach, encourage, and assist Latino and Migrant families in conceptualizing their college-bound plans. I am also grateful for the very kind and insightful evaluations of my session.
Now that you have taken the time to visit our foundation website, please take time to read some of the other blog entries pertaining to working with demographic subgroups, college planning, and scholarship research.
Below are some of the blog entries I believe you will find helpful in your work.
The research pertaining to the anti-deficit framework that I referenced is by University of Pennsylvania Professor, Shaun Harper, Black Male Success in Higher Education.Click here to read my blog entry…
My references to the “college knowledge gap” and some of the research-based challenges facing students from lower income backgrounds are outlined in my blog entry “Informing Low-Income Students About Their College Options.”
The California Opportunity Report: Roadblocks to College provides other useful research information to more fully understand how to be “research-responsive” to the needs of students living in poverty, Hispanic, African-American, and migrant families.
My blog entry, “Gates Millennium Scholars Scholarship” provides more insight into the program and why it is so important that students who meet the eligibility criteria learn about the program as early as possible during their education so that they have the opportunity to earn the GPA and to engage in the type of leadership activities that will make them competitive candidates.
One of the best kept secrets and greatest opportunities for students of color and students from lower income backgrounds are “Diversity Weekends.” My blog entry outlines a variety of Diversity Weekends hosted on the campuses of some of the most selective colleges in the country. Many of the schools provide free transportation, housing, and meals for invited students. These opportunities go the heart of my presentation, i.e., anti-deficit thinking. If you begin from the premise that your students are not performing well enough to be invited to such weekends, then you will miss the importance of talking to them about the opportunity. The goal is share the opportunity and to inspire them to make themselves into a competitive candidate for such opportunities. Click to go to the category on my blog…
Keep in mind that the three keys I spoke about regarding student and family engagement are Inspiration, Information, and Strategies. Your pursuit of these keys should assist you in identifying the consultants, speakers, and messengers who can inspire your students and parents, inform them of what must be done to navigate their way through the very complicated college admissions and financial aid processes, and provide them with the strategies to make the right college match and acquire the necessary financial aid to pay for college.
Finally,click here to download a pdf file of today’s PowerPoint…
Keep in touch and I wish you the best in serving the needs of students and families in your program.
Is a college degree worth the cost?
July 10, 2013With the increases in college tuition and trillion dollars in student loan debt students are accumulating to earn their college degrees, there is a lot of debate as to whether a college degree is worth the time, money, stress, and commitment. Although the research is clear regarding the many intellectual, income, career mobility, and societal opportunities that accompany a college degree, there is other research that might guide a different conversation. The PayScale company publishes a ROI or Return On Investment ranking of colleges based on the cost to obtain a degree and the earning potential offered. They rank over 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities to determine the potential financial return of attending each institution given the cost of tuition and the payoff in median lifetime earnings associated with each school.
Some of the schools atop the listing are not surprising, i.e., CalTech, MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. However, other schools may be more surprising, i.e., Harvey Mudd (#1), Polytechnic Institute of New York (#3), and Colorado School of Mines. They profile the ROI by gender, major, and school type. It should also be noted that engineering schools are at the top of the list and schools where graduates pursue such careers as education and social work are at the bottom of the list. However, since it will cost a student and his or her family well over $100,000 to pay for the opportunity to obtain a college degree (whether a student actually graduates or not), knowing the potential return on your family’s investment should be considered in guiding your college choice and your choice of college majors.
Top Engineering Schools
Needless to say, there are many well-known colleges and universities in the listing of schools with the greatest return on investment. However, there are also many lesser known schools that students and parents may want to take a closer look at when deciding where students will spend the four years of their life after high school and tens of thousands of dollars in the pursuit of a degree and career.
Coca-Cola Scholarships
July 10, 2013COCA-COLA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO GIVE MORE THAN $3 MILLION DOLLARS AWAY IN SCHOLARSHIPS

www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/04/coca-cola-scholars-program.html
ACT College Readiness 2012: African Americans
July 9, 2013Why focus on demographically identifiable subgroups?
One of the challenges in my work with schools, faith-based organizations, and community agencies is to get them to take a holistic view of student achievement within the context of demographically identifiable subgroups. By this, I mean raising the question, “How are students from our ‘demographic group’ faring in their journey from kindergarten through college?” The question itself provides a much more salient focus than does national high school graduation rates, college enrollment rates, student loan rates, and student performance. As Ministry Leaders for the Education Ministry at the Turner Chapel AME Churchin Marietta, Georgia, my wife and I must concern ourselves with how students like the students who attend our church are doing in their journey from kindergarten into college and careers. To do anything else would cloud our judgment and shift our focus from the challenges that are unique to their demographic group.
From the ACT report, “African American Students, The Condition of College & Career Readiness: Class of 2012” we learn that among 2012 high school graduates who took the ACT college entrance examination, the following reflected the percentage of all students who met the ACT college readiness benchmarks in the four subject-areas tested:
- 67 percent of all students met the benchmark in English
- 52 percent of all students met the benchmark in Reading
- 46 percent of all students met the benchmark in Mathematics
- 31 percent of all students met the benchmark in Science
While the percentage of all students meeting the college-readiness benchmarks may be disappointing, the percentage of African American meeting the benchmarks is tragic. Of the 222,237 African American high school seniors taking the ACT, there was as much as a three-fold gap in their performance and that of students from other demographic groups with only 5 percent of African American students meeting the college-readiness benchmarks in all four subject areas. As evidenced by the illustration below, it is critically important for students, parents, teachers, institutions, and organizations to take demographic subgroup performance data into consideration when determining the scope of what must be done (whether as an individual student choosing to participate in a study group, a parent choosing to enroll their child in tutoring, or an organization choosing to initiate a college/career readiness program).
What it Means and What We Must Do
Demographic subgroup data should:
- Sensitize students to how students from their demographic subgroup are performing in comparison to other students
- Provide a catalyst for conversations between teachers and parents concerned with intervention
- Guide organizations concerned with subgroup performance (i.e., faith-based institutions, sororities, fraternities, and community-based organizations) in developing initiatives and focusing their outreach efforts
A Working Model
National and local subgroup performance data (i.e., SAT/ACT scores, high school graduation rates, college enrollment rates, AP course enrollment, performance on state testing and end-of-course exams, and student loan debt) have been the driving force behind our work in the Turner Chapel AME Church’s Education Ministry. The types of initiatives we have implemented in response to such demographic subgroup data provides a model for other institutions and organizations concerned with the plight of the students and families they serve.
Information Workshops
The workshops that we provide sensitize students and parents to the tragically low K-12 student performance of African American students. Through the plethora of published research, we are able to paint a clear picture of performance outcomes for African American students during their P-16 journey from elementary school through college graduation. While the data is tragic for the entire group, only 10 percent of African American males are proficient in reading by 8th grade.
Beyond the raw data are research studies pertaining to the “anti-intellectual” peer culture many African American students find themselves confronted with where it is not cool to be black and smart. However, with over 60 percent of African American ACT-test takers enrolling into a postsecondary institution following their high school graduation, there is a very important context to frame all of this data in discussions with parents and their children,
“Only 5 percent of African American students are college-ready,
while 60 percent of African American students are pursuing college!
Subsequently, rather than languishing over the 95 percent
who are not college-ready at the end of 12th grade,
let’s focus on what we must do for the 60 percent
who are going to enter college! Placing the data into
such a context can lead to some very remarkable initiatives.”
Training Workshops
While the information workshops serve as a catalyst for parents and students to accept a proactive role in closing the gap between African American students and other subgroups, the training workshops provide the necessary guidance in closing the gap and expanding students’ college options. By drawing on the immense college knowledge and professional capacity of our church members, we offer workshops in essay writing, résumé development, interviewing, course planning, leadership, community service, choosing right summer camps, marketing students to top colleges, college and scholarship research, and college application packaging.
Academic Celebrations
In much the way as other communities make a big deal about athletic competitions, we make a big deal about academic achievement. We publicly acknowledge students in grades K – 12 who earn a 3.0 GPA or higher through 2 bi-annual academic celebrations. Students earn an academic achievement medal, their names are printed in the church bulletin, they are publicly acknowledged via a PowerPoint presentation, their names are publicly called before the entire congregation, and they are publicly celebrated in a reception held in their honor.
Tutoring
To ensure that students who are inspired to do better can, and students who are doing well have the opportunity to pursue even more rigorous course work, we offer tutoring in math and reading.
CRCT Prep
To ensure that students in grades 3 – 8 are able to perform successfully on Georgia’s Criterion Referenced Content Tests, we offer two months of test prep sessions in reading and math.
The Next Episode
In response to well publicized research pertaining to the “college knowledge gap,” which indicates that many African American students and families lack sufficient information pertaining to college planning, college readiness, and college access, we work monthly with high school juniors and seniors guiding them through the college planning and financial aid processes. Through these efforts we have students who have been recognized as Gates Millennium Scholars, Posse Foundation Scholars, and have received full need-based and merit-based scholarships to some of America’s best colleges and universities.
College Fair
To ensure that students are exposed to the full spectrum of colleges and universities, we host an annual college fair where some 50 colleges and universities from local technical schools to some of the country’s most highly selective colleges and universities are represented. Over 2500 students and parents annually have the opportunity to expand their understanding of what it takes to be admitted and what level of student performance is required to be college ready.
College Panel Discussion
We host an annual college discussion panel of current college students from a broad range of public, private, technical schools, military service academies, selective, and highly selective colleges and universities who provide candid insight into how they got admitted, what they have to do to be successful, how much support their institution provide, the differences between PWIs and HBCUs, and what they wish they had done differently while attending high school.
College Tour
Beyond the college fair where students see brochures and listen to recruiters, we ensure that students are able to visit campuses and speak to admission officers face-to-face to further assist students in understanding what is required to be college ready and to be competitive in the college admissions process.
11th and 12th Grade College and Financial Aid Planning Cohorts
Our newest initiative is to work hands-on with 11th and 12th grade students and their parents to ensure that students are college ready, understand the many financial aid options and opportunities, and guided toward the right college choices based on each student’s unique need, gifts, talents, and circumstances.
High School Graduation Celebration
The annual high school graduation celebration provides a formal and very public opportunity to highlight where students have been accepted into college, how much money students have received in scholarships and institutional grants, and how successful students have been in their K-12 performance to ensure they are college ready.
All of these initiatives are in response to demographic subgroup data. Each initiative is led by a parent, educator, counselor, minister, or student who has accepted a role in increasing student outcomes. While anyone can look at student performance data and point the blame at schools, teachers, students, or families—it takes very special people to accept a personal role in changing outcomes. I believe that such special people exist within each church, fraternity, sorority, school, and community. Please contact us if you would like us to show you how to get started.
Contact us at: tcceducationministry@accessandequity.org
Visit our Facebook Page: Turner Chapel AME Education Ministry
2013 Advancing Aspirations Global Scholarship Deadline Friday, July 26
July 8, 2013
About the Scholarship
We believe the future of women’s empowerment worldwide lies in the hands of today’s students. The Advancing Aspirations Global Scholarships (AAGS) are designed to engage young people in pressing women’s issues and to connect students who are interested in the global advancement of women with thought leaders in impactful roles.
U.S. Bank and Discover have partnered with Womenetics to encourage future leaders to think critically about the business issues affecting women today by offering $22,000 in scholarship funds. The prize money is intended to finance education, travel or other opportunities that may lead to further understanding of these important global issues.
Click here to read a letter from Kimberly Topping about her experience as a 2012 AAGS winner.
Prizes
Ten students will be selected to win a combined total of $22,000 in scholarships and grand prize winners will receive an expense-paid trip to attend the Womenetics Global Women’s Initiative conference in Atlanta or Chicago this fall.
Grand Prize (2): $5,000 in scholarship funds and an expense-paid trip to attend the Global Women’s Initiative (GWI) conference and a VIP reception with featured speakers and other top business, academic, nonprofit and policy leaders the evening before the event.
- The US Bank Prize grand prize winner attend the Atlanta GWI on Sept. 25
- The Discover Prize grand prize winner will attend the Chicago GWI on Nov. 13
Runners-up (8): The eight remaining finalists will each receive $1,500 in scholarship funds and an expense paid trip to attend the Global Women’s Initiative conference and a VIP Reception with featured speakers and other top business, academic, nonprofit and policy leaders the evening before the event.
- Four US Bank Prize winners will attend the Atlanta GWI on September 25
- Four Discover Prize winners will attend the Chicago GWI on Nov. 13
You may enter both the U.S. Bank and Discover Prizes only once; however, if selected for one prize, you are automatically ineligible for the other.
Deadline for entry: Friday, July 26, by 11:59 p.m. EST
All finalists will be notified via email on Sept. 3, 2013. Grand prize winners will be announced at the Global Women’s Initiative conferences.
Questions can be addressed to
Like us on Facebook to receive updates about AAGS.
Requirements for Entry
Your essay must be 2,500 words or less and submitted in .doc format
- Include the essay prompt to which you are responding at the top of the document
- Use Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, double-spaced
- Cite your research with proper in-text citations and a works cited page in MLA, APA or Chicago format (The works cited page will not be included in your word count.)
- In addition to the essay, at the end of the document, include a 200-word personal statement about what you would do with the prize money if you win.
U.S. Bank Prize Essay Topics
Shared Value: Everybody Wins
Explore how the concept of creating shared value (CSV) – creating economic value while also creating benefit for society – increases competitive advantage by capitalizing on the interdependence between business and community. Address the social and economic implications of women’s increasing levels of income worldwide. Then, using the principles of CSV, write a persuasive, research-based proposal that urges a corporation to adopt a social impact investment strategy to solve an issue that affects women. Explain how it benefits the company and the global community.
Women’s Influence and Innovation
Study after study indicates that companies with focused diversity and inclusion efforts are more innovative. Examine what conditions are necessary to foster a corporate culture of creativity. Cite examples of companies that saw greater levels of innovation with the inclusion of women in leadership positions. Finally, design a research-based proposal with implementable practices for companies to increase thought diversity and, in turn, innovation.
Corporate Ethics: Women’s Impact
Over the last few decades, women’s participation in the workforce has grown exponentially. Research and analyze the impact increased numbers of women have on corporate culture – particularly in terms of accountability and transparency. Then, citing research, support or debunk the argument that women make more ethical leaders than men.
Women on Boards: Shared Value vs. Quotas
The business philosophy of creating shared value (CSV) focuses on the connection between societal progress and economic growth. Examine the effect that women on corporate boards have on company performance in terms of bottom lines and philanthropic spending. Then, analyze the debate over the European Union’s decision to mandate that 40 percent of a company’s corporate board members must be women by the year 2020. Could incentivizing a CSV approach be an alternative to the “command and control” nature of quotas? Explain why or why not. Write an action plan for companies to increase the number of women serving on their boards, either by applying CSV principles or otherwise.
Plugging Women Into STEM
Despite the rapid expansion of employment within industries related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the gender gap in these fields remains. Provide a research-based analysis of the factors that keep women and girls disengaged from pursuing STEM-related careers. Explain why women’s participation in these industries is essential to the United States economy and propose one or more programs to bolster women’s employment in STEM fields.
Parenting + Career = Struggle
As more women and men choose to combine parenting and career, examine companies that are successful in their efforts to support and retain working parents, especially mothers. Discuss whether investing in and retaining women is important to a company’s overarching success and, ultimately, bottom line. Based on your research, explore how corporate culture and American businesses can adapt in order to address the competing demands of parenting and career, enabling working parents to continue to advance within a company. Propose public and/or private strategies and policies to help accelerate this cultural shift.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants must be:
- Enrolled as an undergraduate student in an accredited college or university.
- A U.S. citizen or legal resident of the United States.
- In pursuit of their first bachelor’s degree. (Students who have already obtained a bachelor’s degree are not eligible.)
- Previous AAGS winners are ineligible to compete for the 2013 prizes
Full Tuition Scholarships at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
July 8, 2013Since 1928 Curtis has maintained an all-scholarship policy. The
Curtis Institute of Music provides merit-based full-tuition scholarships to all
undergraduate and graduate, students, regardless of their financial situation.
For the 2012-13 school year, the annual value of this
scholarship was $36,500 for undergraduate students and $49,500 for graduate
students. These scholarships are renewed each year of a student’s enrollment.
No financial aid application is required for the full-tuition scholarship.
In 2012-13, there were 20 Federal Pell Grant recipients.
There were 125 students who received some type of financial assistance,
including grants, loans and student employment opportunities.
Students who demonstrate financial need will be awarded adequate
assistance to attend the Curtis Institute of Music. No student will have to
leave Curtis solely because of financial need. Financial assistance for living
expenses is based solely on financial need.
Before turning to Curtis for supplemental assistance, students
are expected to utilize funds from non-Curtis sources, including grants, loans,
and scholarships available through private, public, and other sources.
For more information, visit http://www.curtis.edu/admissions/financial-assistance/.
Free Tuition at Berea College
July 8, 2013Every student at Berea College in Berea, KY is awarded a 4-year, tuition scholarship. The amount of the scholarship will vary depending on financial need, and the presence of any additional outside scholarships. The important thing is that, together, these resources cover the entire cost of tuition, which totals $22,100 for the 2013-2014 school year. The actual cost to students and their families is $0. For more information, visit http://www.berea.edu/admissions/tuition-costs/.
Boston University Multicultural Weekend
July 7, 2013At our annual Multicultural Community Weekend, newly admitted freshmen get an inside view of what it’s like to be a student at BU.
Do you want to find out what makes BU a fun, diverse, and vibrant community? We have a full schedule of activities planned for the weekend to show you just that.
Here are a few highlights:
- Welcome Reception with Kenneth Elmore, Dean of Students; and John McEachern, Director of Admissions
- The Amazing Bostonian Race: tour the city and try to outscore the competition
- Terrier Lounge Party: celebrate cultural pride with great food, diverse music, and dance
- Click here to see the schedules for parents and students
Multicultural Community Weekend will be held April, in collaboration with our Open House programs.
By attending both events, you can experience the academic, social, and cultural life at BU all in one weekend.
You will stay on campus for two nights with a current BU student who will serve as your host for the weekend’s activities.
- See the Information page for what to bring, where to stay, and how to get here
- To RSVP, sign up through the Applicant Link