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With college costs escalating, many parents and students wonder if they are getting what they pay for in a college or university. Most people think that a high price tag means a higher quality of education. That is not necessarily true. Many schools are simply overpriced according to America’s Best Value Colleges, 2006 Edition, published by The Princeton Review.

In the following article, “The Importance of Cost,” published on MSN’s Encarta web site, the truth about college costs and education quality is explored.

“Generally, a school’s cost is a pretty good indicator of the quality of the academics it offers. Otherwise, why would perfectly reasonable people shell out so much cash to go to one school over another that charges significantly less? But there are definitely exceptions to that rule. Some schools are simply overpriced. Other schools–like the 81 in America’s Best Value Colleges, 2006 Edition, for instance–are, for one reason or another, exceptionally good deals. There’s a really good chance that you will find happiness and a great education at one of these schools.
Check out America’s Best Value Colleges, 2006 Edition to find out why college tuition keeps rising.

You should also keep in mind that many factors will probably influence your decision about which colleges you apply to and where you ultimately decide to go. In addition to cost, there’s location, size, and your intended major.
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The Holiday Season has sent millions of high school students home for a short break from school, but the task of getting into college continues. With application deadlines looming, financial aid applications to complete and standardized tests to retake, high school seniors are feeling the pressures of getting into college in new ways. The increased stressed seems to have increased their creativity as well.

One student wrapped his University of Notre Dame application in a leprechaun made of balloons. Another sent Indiana University photographs of herself as a toddler in a crimson cheerleading skirt to show a lifelong passion for all things Hoosier. Others include resumes, videotaped pleas for acceptance and newspaper clippings of high school highlights.

Universities and colleges do not want most of those frills, but admission officials report a surge of them in this year’s applications. More than 50,000 applications will reach Indiana colleges and universities this year.

Read the full Indianapolis Star article here.

Making the time to meet with all of your students on a regular basis is little more than wishful thinking for most high school guidance counselors. Large case loads, small budgets and few resources present challenges on all levels. But, there are a few things you can do to help your students make the most of the time they have with you.
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College students have always taken advantage of the transfer policies at most colleges and universities. An increase in the rate of transfers has caused some higher education administrators to raise an eyebrow in alarm.

According to the National Survey of Student Engagement results released this week, nearly half of all college students take courses at more than one university before attaining their degree.

“It’s a myth we have in higher education to say students start and finish at one institution,” said Jillian Kinzie, an Indian University professor and author of the survey.
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CNN Money recently reported on the tuition costs at the ten most expensive colleges and universities in the nation. The most expensive schools list includes both private and public schools located across the country.

Although some of the schools boast a hefty tuition cost, many place limits on the amount of financial aid in loans that students can borrow. Rather than force students in loan debt to pay for the high costs of a college education, they increase the amount of grants that students can qualify for. This can come in handy for your high school students who are concerned about paying for a college education.
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The recent reports on the cost of a college education have generated much buzz in the media and blogosphere lately. As the cost of a college education rises at a slower pace, the amount of financial aid has decreased at a much faster rate. After decades of trying to make college accessible to the general public, rising cost increasingly make college something only the elite in America can afford. Preparing your students for the realities of paying for a college education should be done early and often.

Because need-based financial aid is decreasing, high school students must rely on other financial aid options such as merit-based aid, private and local scholarship programs, community service scholarships and business grants.
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Boot camp is not just for military enlistees or out-of-control teens in need of structure and order. Now high school guidance counselors charged with helping students prepare for, and gain acceptance into college can attend boot camp.

“180 counselors from high schools in Illinois, Missouri and elsewhere gathered at a “boot camp” at Elmhurst College last week. At the Academy for College Admission Counseling, which continues this week, they swapped stories ranging from dealing with intense parents to cracking the Ivy League and figuring out financial aid.”

At the boot camp, high school counselors learned how to handle pushy parents, underachieving students and college admissions counselors. Read more about the boot camp at Chicago-Sun Times. ‘Boot camp’ helps college counselors cope

Rather than enroll in pricey summer enrichment programs on college and university campuses across the country, high school graduates who want to continue their academic progress during the summer months can take advantage of community college offerings.

“This is around the time that fliers fill mailboxes wooing students to pricey residential enrichment experiences for the summer at universities or camps. But perhaps an overlooked alternative for high school students looking to continue academic progress this summer is community-college courses. “

Read the complete article on the academic offerings of community colleges.

There is a lot that goes into choosing a college or university. Parents, teachers and guidance counselors alike help high school students decide which college or university is best for them. But can guidance counselors do students a disservice by instructing them to set their aims too low?

Teresa M?ndez, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, wrote an article about the danger of guidance counselors failing to encourage their students to aim high when it comes to college. While no one advocates filling students with unrealistic dreams, it is dangerous to eliminate possibilities altogether.

Read more about how you, as a guidance counselor, can help your high school students aim high.

Nowadays, the majority of high school graduates go on to college of some form. Whether it is a traditional four-year college, a two-year college, a career college, a technical college or an apprentice program, higher education is a necessity in our technology-driven world.
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