The Greatest Country on Earth

In the spirit of full disclosure, let me start by saying that I am a huge Aaron Sorkin fan.  The West Wing, Sports Night, and The Social Network are, for me, must see entertainment.  The reason I bring this up is because as I reflect on yesterday’s Independence Day, I am struck by the brouhaha Mr. Sorkin has created recently with his newest endeavor, The Newsroom (HBO).

In the first episode of The Newsroom, the lead character, a news anchor with a reputation of being a bit vanilla in his news commentary, is challenged by a college student to provide his views on why the United States is the greatest country in the world.  His response:  It isn’t – at least not anymore.  If you haven’t seen the clip, it is a worthwhile conversation piece.  (warning: contains language which some may find offensive.) 

Now, whether you believe the sentiment Sorkin presents or not, he certainly has struck a nerve, enough so to lead CNN to publish a series exploring the concept of American exceptionalism.  I certainly won’t claim to be enough of an expert to debate the merits of Sorkin’s position either in favor or against here.  But, what I can say with some level of authority is that what has, does, and will make this country great is insuring an educated citizenry.  This is not just an economic imperative; it is also a moral one.  There are reams of data that show conclusively that higher education results in significantly higher lifetime earnings and lower unemployment.  The difference in earnings and unemployment between college degree earners and non-degree earners is intensified when isolating groups such as lower socio-economic status, underrepresented groups, and first-generation Americans.  But what about the other impacts of education?

For starters, people with higher education are healthier, live longer and are less likely to be smokers, a benefit both to the individual and to our health care system.  They are also far more likely to engage in volunteerism and are more politically active and aware, resulting in higher engagement in the democratic process through voting.  Conclusion:  Higher education benefits our society.

As we look back on what we have done and look ahead to what we will do as a nation, education is a cornerstone to that once and future success.  Whether you believe America is or isn’t the greatest country on Earth, it certainly can be going forward if we are intelligent enough to invest in ourselves by insuring an educated citizenry. 

Confessions of a Theatre Major

When people learn what I do for a living, I quickly become quite popular at parties.  Inevitable questions about college selectivity, preparing for college, and “so what really is the best school” ensue.  The most popular question I get, though, is “so what did you major in for a career in higher education.”  The answer is often a surprise:  I was a theatre major.

Yes, I was a theatre geek (along with a double major in English, the degree that receives an equal amount of praise as major most likely to lead to a job at McDonalds:  see also Garrison Keillor.)  I picked up the acting bug when I was 16 when I got talked into doing a summer musical production of Sound of Music.  Fellow thespians can relate to that first experience on stage – the exhilaration, the fear, the sense of accomplishment.  It actually offered me the same high as I feel on the soccer field, except I’ve never felt stage fright before a soccer match.

Soon I was heading off to college.  I told my parents that I was going to major in Political Science and get a law degree.  Needless to say they liked that idea.  But, it wasn’t long before I realized I wanted nothing to do with political theory and what I really wanted to do was spend as much time as possible acting and singing.  After all, the people involved were pretty cool and what could be easier than a Theatre major, right?

Here’s a little secret:  being a Theatre major is HARD.  If you are in a liberal arts environment (which I highly recommend, but more on that later) then you are balancing Theatre courses with traditional curriculum.  You still need to take science, etc. as well as your acting and voice.  Not only that, Theatre majors study a lot of history, and Theatre History and Art History courses are quite extensive, along with literary criticism, art, design, and technology.  Then there are the practicum hours.  These are hours spent outside of regular classes and rehearsals honing the non-acting skills in areas of lighting, costuming and scenic design and construction.  Believe me, anyone that doesn’t understand why they need to learn higher math in high school figures out the reason really quick when applied to these skill areas.

And this is the point:  when you are in an undergraduate liberal arts environment, your specific major isn’t as important as what you study.  Yes, this is a highly nuanced statement.  What I mean is, if you major in music or art or history, you are still taking courses in science and math.  But what really makes liberal arts education work is the opportunity to apply that knowledge across different fields.  Musicians will back me up on this – the most successful musicians, composers and producers understand math and science, they have just learned to apply that knowledge to an artistic endeavor.  It is no wonder that I know a number of former music majors who are doctors, lawyers, and even a couple engineers.  The same is true for my Theatre major friends; doctors, lawyers, business owners, corporate leaders.  Did I also mention that Dr. Wife is also a Theatre geek?  How do you suppose we met?

A couple years into my first job out of college, I decided to test the waters and apply for a corporate job.  I interviewed with an international management consulting firm in New York City.  At the conclusion of the interview process, I met with one of the VP’s.  We got to talking and it turns out that this corporate VP actually majored in Dance in college.  He graduated, worked for a number of years on Broadway, went on for his MBA and now he was running a company.  With an undergraduate degree in the arts.

So, when you (or your son or daughter, depending on who is reading) decide you might want to major in the arts, don’t run away from the decision or let someone tell you it isn’t ‘practical’.  Arts graduates get jobs, even good paying ones.  Some do so in their artistic field, but many more pursue careers outside of the arts.  I’m reminded of the NCAA commercials that air during championship games:  going pro in something other than sports.  They are also satisfied with their choices as this recent study suggests:  http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/06/19/arts-graduates-are-generally-satisfied-employed.

Pursuing a Theatre major gave me a number of tools that have helped me be successful.  Critical thinking.  Communications.  Writing.  Creativity.  Problem solving.  Not to mention the ability to accept failure (every Theatre major faces rejection every time they audition for a show) and to persevere.  I’m comfortable in front of large groups of people (useful in my line of work) and I think well on my feet.  Though I never fully pursued a career in Theatre, I use my Theatre major every day in almost everything I do.  Not to mention meeting Dr. Wife.  It is good to be a geek.

College Cost, ROI, Student Loan Debt, and Mass Hysteria

George Orwell truly understood the nature of our society.  In 1984, Orwell creates a society where three ‘states’ exist and the ‘state’ of the protagonist is perpetually at war with one of the other states, thus creating a sense of fear in the populous designed to keep the masses in line.  This approach is not too different from Presidential politics and the usage of higher education as a pawn in this current Presidential cycle to illicit fear and manipulate the electorate.

Lest someone label me some sort of anarchist, let me explain my position.  In an effort to curry favor amongst voters, the candidates have launched predictable salvos at each other designed to create emotional responses from the middle class.  This year’s cause celeb is higher education.  Why?  Because higher ed is an easy target.  Everyone knows it is necessary for success in today’s economy, and everyone knows that it requires an investment.  However, in a down economy, that investment can seem quite daunting.

To stir the pot, the candidates and their surrogates are prone to hyperbole.  They spout scary statistics about the increase in the overall student loan debt without explaining the information behind the statistics.  They bemoan the rise in college tuitions but don’t look at what students are actually expected to pay.  And, they suggest that somehow a college education is less valuable because people are having a hard time finding a job.  This creates hysteria and scares many away from the most important investment they can make in their futures over an unfounded fear. 

So, let’s examine these arguments and infuse a little reality.  We’ll start with student loan debt.  Yes, overall student loan debt has reached record amounts (passing $1 trillion this year).  However, what no one is talking about is why.  Here’s the answer:  more students are going to college, which means there are more students borrowing.  In addition, the student loan debt total is the sum of ALL student debt including graduate school programs and professional programs such as medical school and law school, not just undergraduate.  To put this in perspective, my doctor wife had over $100,000 in medical school loans when she graduated which counts in that $1 trillion.  However, with those loans came pretty great earning potential and, by the way, loan forgiveness programs to help lessen the burden. 

What about the rising tuition question.  Have tuitions gone up?  Yes, they have.  But, when you buy a car, do you pay sticker price?  Hopefully not.  The same is true with college tuition.  Check out this graphic from the NPR Planet Money blog:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/05/22/153316565/the-price-of-college-tuition-in-1-graphic.  What you will see here is that, while ‘sticker price’ has gone up, net price (what you actually pay) has actually gone down as colleges give out more grant aid.  So, over the last 10 years, college actually HAS NOT GOTTEN MORE EXPENSIVE.

Finally, has a college education become less valuable?  One could argue that earning potential has indeed dropped recently for college graduates, but this is not an indictment of the value of the degree, it is a reality of an economy slowly emerging from recession.  In other words, EVERYONE’s earning potential has decreased, but it won’t stay that way forever.  A better question is whether you can afford NOT to get a degree.  Look at unemployment.  The national unemployment rate is 8.3%.  However, the national unemployment rate for college graduates is under 4% while it is over 15% for non-college graduates.  Today’s global economy requires education, and education isn’t free.   It costs money to provide first-rate facilities, keep up with rapidly changing information technology, hire good teachers and, by the way, feed and house students.  Residence halls aren’t tents – they are your home away from home and need to not only be comfortable but conform to codes and regulations for occupancy and safety. 

Let’s go back to my doctor wife.  She comes from a decidedly blue color background.  In fact, she grew up in a trailer.  Today, she is a doctor.  Think the investment she made in her education wasn’t worth it? 

Before you consider running away from higher ed, examine all the facts and consider the investment you are making in yourself and in your future.  If you want to own a home, have a family, be able to take vacation and climb the economic ladder, you need an education.  And now is the best time to go to college.  Why?  Net cost is down and, if you don’t go, do you think you will get a job in this economy?  But if you wait until the economy gets better, you’ll be enrolling in school when you should be graduating and getting the benefit of graduating in a good economy – that is return on investment. 

At this time of year when students watch anxiously for "fat envelopes", I wanted to share some great insight from Patrick J. O'Connor, Ph.D., Director of College Counseling at the Roeper School in Birmingham Michigan 48009. He really hits the nail on the head...

The Best Advice When Colleges Say No

School counselors know the real March Madness begins next week, when some of the nation’s most selective colleges release their admissions decisions. As a pre-game warm-up, let’s stick with the facts we’ll need to comfort the Class of 2011

Most selective colleges are reporting a huge increase in the number of applications.
This increase is due in part to more American students applying to college, and colleges seeking out more students from overseas. Since this also happened last year, many colleges enrolled too many students last fall. They’ll have to make up for that, so many colleges will be admitting fewer students this year…and wait-listing more students. This increase means fewer students will be admitted from the wait list come May—and if they are admitted, financial aid will be scarce.

If none of that does any good, then just say this:

850.

No, this is not the high score on some new version of the SAT, and while it may indeed be the number of times Charlie Sheen appeared on TV last week, that (happily) has nothing to do with college.

850 is the number of valedictorians rejected last year from one of America’s most prestigious colleges. These students represented the best in their high schools; they did everything they were “supposed” to do—and yet, they didn’t even get to the wait list.

Once you share this with your students, ask them how these 850 students felt when they were rejected. Sooner or later, the right answer will come forward—“They probably felt like they put in all of that time and effort for nothing.”

And there is the teachable moment.

It had to be hard to be turned down by a school they loved—but did all of that preparation really lead to nothing? Given everything these students had learned, the many ways they had grown, and how they overcame adversity and embraced creativity in making Plans B, C, and Q, did they really get nothing out of it?

If so, they have every right to be unhappy, but not with the college. They should be unhappy for letting the sun rise and set 1307 times from the first day of 9th grade to the day the college said no, never once appreciating all that each of those days had to offer in and of themselves.

They should hang their heads a little to realize, just now, the difference they’ve made to their classmates, their teammates, and the people they served in the soup kitchen.

And if they look back with a little regret on the many times they blew off a compliment from a parent or a teacher because the goal of college wasn’t realized just yet, that’s more than OK. They now know it was at that moment that the goal of fully living each day was conquered with a flourish—and understanding that will make each day all the richer at the wonderful college that had the good sense (and room) to take them.

It isn’t easy to watch wonderful students work through the dismay and disappointment college decisions can bring, but if we remember the most important part of our work has nothing to do with who gets in and everything to do with who gets it, the disappointment will fade faster than the memory of the teams we had in last year’s NCAA pool, and students can move forward with a better sense of who they are, and what really matters. Now that’s college counseling.

Abolishing the Transfer Taboo

Here is text of an article I recently had published in Private Colleges & Universities magazine:

The college search process can be stressful. Part of what makes it stressful for many students is the belief that they have one chance to get it right, one chance to pick the right school that is going to be the perfect fit and open the doors to a bright and successful future. Transfer = Failure. That’s the myth.

Here’s the reality. No matter how well you’ve researched your schools of choice, how many times you’ve visited campus and how many “experts” you’ve consulted; the odds are you may consider transferring out of your school of choice. 33% of college students transfer each year according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. That’s 1 in 3 students! In other words, a lot more students than you might think decide to start at one school and then end up graduating from somewhere else.

Reasons for transfer are as varied as students. Some start off with a plan that involves transfer – enrolling in a two-year private or community college with intention to move on later. Others will transfer because they change major or career path and find that the institution they are enrolled in doesn’t offer the academic program to support their new direction. Many others just find that the school they chose didn’t meet their expectations, either in terms of academic offerings, social outlets or it just wasn’t the right fit. Regardless of the reason, there are many advantages to transferring.

If you find yourself at your school of choice and suddenly realize you are in the wrong place, chances are things aren’t going well for you. The fact that you aren’t happy is may be affecting your academic performance. In fact, there is a well documented correlation between student satisfaction and achievement. So, if you aren’t happy, you won’t do as well. Pursuing transfer in this case is not a barrier to success, it is paramount to it. By starting over in a new environment, you can keep moving forward rather than continue to look back.

What happens if you change your academic focus? Believe it or not, this is a regular occurrence on college campuses. Did you know that 70% of college students change their major at some time in their college career and the average student changes majors 3 times? Chances are you won’t graduate college with the same major you intended to pursue or with the same career intentions. Let’s use me as an example:

When I went to college (back in the stone age), I was convinced I was going to be a lawyer and majored in Political Science because all lawyers major in Political Science, right? It wasn’t long before I learned two things. First, all lawyers do not major in Political Science and Political Science was not at all what I thought it would be. I ended up graduating college with degrees in Theatre and English (subject areas I truly enjoyed) and fell into a career in higher education. Who saw that coming? No one goes to college thinking about a career as an admission counselor. Part of college is finding yourself and, if what you find at your first institution is what you want to do with your life, then that is a major accomplishment. If that school doesn’t have the academic program to help you achieve your new goals then it is time to move on to somewhere that can. No failure there!

One of the more popular reasons for transfer is the planned transfer. 39% of American college students are enrolled in a public or private 2 year college (approximately 7 million people!). Of these, some are seeking to earn only an Associate degree, but the majority enrolls with intentions to transfer to a 4 year college or university. Why start 2 year? There are many reasons. Location is a big one. For many students, moving away from home right after high school graduation can seem quite daunting. Enrolling at a community college close to home gives you the chance to ease into the college experience without leaving the nest, so to speak. Another reason is cost. Most 2 year schools, public and private, are less expensive than 4 year colleges because they don’t have the same infrastructure costs. This means you can save a lot of money and take fewer loans by starting in a 2 year and transferring, leaving you with significantly less debt upon completion of your Bachelor’s degree.

For the majority of students at Dean College in Franklin, MA, starting at a 2 year school is all about positioning to gain admission to their dream schools. Let’s face it, high school isn’t for everyone. I spend my days getting to know students who perhaps didn’t live up to their potential in high school but who are capable of incredible success on the college level. Unfortunately, a large part of the admission process at many of the more selective colleges and universities is based on the academic transcript so a student with intelligence but not the grades or test scores to match can get shut out. By coming to Dean, these students are given the opportunity to reinvent themselves academically, learning important organization, time management and study skills in the process. In some cases, it may also provide you the chance to prepare for a collegiate transition you may not have been emotionally ready for right after high school.

They do this within a very traditional residential college environment, going to class alongside students with similar experiences and even students in our baccalaureate degree programs. When they graduate, they earn admission to schools that may not have even considered them coming out of high school (98% of Dean graduates who seek transfer are accepted). At graduation each year, I get to share in their successes as I learn of their admission to schools like New York University, Boston University, Cornell, University of Michigan, University of Southern California and many, many more. When they earn their diploma from these selective schools, there isn’t a designation that says “transferred in and graduated”, they get the same diploma as the students who studied there for four years. Success is about what is accomplished at the conclusion of the journey, not where you started.

The transfer process is much easier than you think. Most colleges and universities accept transfers each year and the criteria for admission is often less stringent than the requirements for freshmen admission. How can this be? Basically, you’ve proved you are able to succeed at the college level. For example, a highly selective school may have an average accepted freshman GPA of an A-, but they are willing to accept a transfer student with a B average in college. Some colleges will even waive SAT/ACT requirements for students who have a minimum number of college credits, so if test scores kept you out the first time, proving yourself capable of succeeding in college classes can reopen the door to you.

Transfer is not taboo. Want proof? Talk to people in your community and ask them if they graduated college from the same school they started at. You might be surprised with what you find. As you enter into your college search, keep in mind that there are always second chances and many different paths to the same destination. If you find that your school of choice isn’t what you thought it would be or you don’t gain admission to the places you hope to, remember that the transfer option is not only available, it may just be your ideal road to success.

Know What You're Signing Up For

For anyone wandering into the realm of higher education, the myriad of options may seem overwhelming. What path is best for me? Public or Private? College or University? Big or Small? Community College or Trade School? The list goes on. One of the most confusing additions to these questions is the meteoric rise of for-profit institutions in the last decade.

What is the difference between a for-profit and a not-for-profit. The simple answer is that not-for-profit institutions are not really "owned", they are operated. For example, your flagship state university is not so much owned by the state, it is operated on state or federally held land. This is where the phrase "land-grant" comes from. As a result, all dollars absorbed by a not-for-profit are re purposed within a campus' operations, either through student instruction and services, facility upkeep and new construction, or through re-investment in the endowment which serves as both a pool for distribution of financial aid and scholarships and a sort of a rainy day fund should an emergency arise where a quick dose of cash is needed - for example, the water pipes need replacement across campus. Ultimately, all money absorbed by a not-for-profit is either directly or indirectly used for the eduction of the student.

Not so with for-profit institutions. For-profits are owned by a single owner, an ownership group or a corporation. Because they are privately held companies, they have greater flexibility in what they can do with dollars they absorb and they are under no obligation to put those dollars towards student education. As a result, any dollars brought in by these businesses above and beyond the cost of running the business become profit for the owner(s), they do not need to be reinvested. Given the great need for an educated populous in today's economy, for-profits are able to market an in-demand service and make a great deal of profit with little to no accountability to the consumer. Check out this great article on CNN today that illustrates the pit-falls of the for-profit higher education industry.

This isn't to say that for-profit always equates to bad. For-profits have their roots in providing educational services that meet very specific vocational goals. Schools such as DeVry and ITT Tech have for years been providing students seeking career advancement in specific fields such as mechanics, computer technical repair and secretarial work. However, they do so with a cost and sometimes those costs are more than a student bargains for. Also, the "degree" they earn may not be the degree they thought they would be obtaining. Most for-profit institution credits are not accepted by not-for-profit institutions because they lack the appropriate accreditation, making the credits obtained obsolete when a student goes to transfer.

As with all aspects of the college search, it is important to ask questions and get all the facts before making a commitment. If you are a considering a for-profit, do your research and know what you are signing up for - it could save you a lot of frustration in the long term.

Admissions and Learning Disabilities

Over the last several years, more and more students with diagnosed (and undiagnosed) learning disabilities are pursuing a college education. This is a great step forward for higher education. There are a number of theories on the reasons for this trend ranging from more frequent diagnosis to colleges and universities being better equipped to provide services for students with differing learning styles. Regardless of the why's, it is important to think about the how's and where's.

Dean College has a long history of services for students with learning disabilities. Our ARCH Learning Community offers one of the preeminant programs in the country in this area. But how do you navigate the admissions process as a student with or a family supporting a student with a learning disability? Dean College President Dr. Paula Rooney shares her perspectives in a recent post on the Campus Overload blog for the Washington Post. Great insight to get started!