Remember the time when you harbored hope of free wi-fi access everywhere? Not just a few select cities, but unlimited hot spots for citizens all across our great land?

The theory was simple: logging on would involve a 15-30 second period where we would be exposed to local advertising. These captive ads, paid for by local businesses, would ensure the costs of access for an entire community would be more than manageable for any city.

Move forward to 2009 and here in the northeast nothing could be further from reality. In the State of Maine one has to hunt down a Panera Bread to be able to find a sit down, leisure option, for such access. Amazingly, one cannot even get free wi-fi while waiting for one of those indeterminably-delayed flights at the Portland Jetport.

Of course, we have figured out how to get by. Mainers, ever frugal, now know they may pull into the parking lot of a Staples or Office Max or even a VIP Auto (yes, one of the strongest signals available is in the parking lot of an auto parts store) to be able to check their email.

But finding one of these entities, wheeling into the parking lot, and popping open the lap top is never easy.

Ultimately, we have longed for what might be.

Barnes & Noble to the Rescue

Given our frustration we were thrilled to learn of at least one major company willing to give the idea another go. Book store giant Barnes & Noble recently announced it would drop its pay-per-use store hotspots in favor of free wi-fi access to anyone with an appropriately equipped laptop, smart phone or PDA.

Of course the action is not simply an act of kindness by the book store chain. Instead, the store is promoting its e-book library in hopes that you might just be enticed to purchase the latest best seller.

That is not a problem in our eyes. As we noted earlier, we had anticipated a sales model in return for access. Even if it does involve significant marketing, it is no different than any other magazine, newspaper or web site.

As long as you are disciplined, there is virtually no negative. There isn’t a requirement to purchase an e-book to get online. Instead, as WalletPop points out, B & N is simply making it as easy for folks to “browse the cyberspace aisles as the real ones.”

Retailer Has a Plan

While great for users, there actually appears to be a larger plan at work here: B & N is on the path to competing with Amazon by developing its own e-book reader. But for now the company is simply offering software that enables you to view the best sellers on your laptop, smart phone or other electronic portable device.

In the meantime, for those who also really like books and the atmosphere of the book culture there is also a sign up available for promotional coupons and notices of book signing events. But for the rest of us, what makes the entire option a plus is that signing up for such promotional material is not required for access.

It is, dare we say it, free wi-fi access!

B & N, here we come.

Borrowing from a popular credit card commercial format, we toss out a longstanding fundamental belief about higher education.

Four years in-state tuition and fees: $17,360.00

Books and Supplies: $3,960.00

Computer Fees: $4,160.00

Room and Board: $31,200.00

Earning a College Diploma: Priceless

The Financial Benefits of a College Education

In general, most insist that you simply cannot put a dollar figure on a college diploma. It is truly a priceless commodity leading to greater future earnings and a better chance to pursue something one truly loves as a career option.

That said, in recent years, eyebrows have been raised. College costs have been soaring and critics have begun questioning the value of a college diploma.

For years, the generally accepted figure associated with earning a college diploma has been $1 million. Those calculated additional earnings a college graduate earns in his lifetime above and beyond of a classmate with just a high school diploma continue to be used as the rationale for earning that coveted diploma.

However, that generally accepted $1 million figure has recently been called into question by a gentleman named Charles Miller. According to his analysis, the value of a college diploma may actually be significantly less than the popular dollar figure generally tossed around.

A Much Lower Return?

Miller, the former head of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, raises some interesting dialogue with his set of calculations. He, in sum total, insists that higher education just might have gotten too expensive for what it produces and is certainly too costly for the typical student.

To arrive at that conclusion, he first insists that the calculation procedure used to determine the $1 million figure contains too many false assumptions. For example, Miller rails against one fundamental criterion used in creating the million dollar figure.

When computing the $1 million in additional earnings, estimates are based on an assumption that students finish college in four years. Miller correctly notes that other college graduation data utilizes six years as the standard for earning a degree. So the first significant way that Miller’s numbers are adjusted is to take away two years of earnings for the average college graduate.

Miller also notes two other major calculation adjustments. First, current procedures typically report lifetime earnings in the “present value” of the dollar totals, rather than adjusting for inflation over time. Second, most calculations do not isolate the benefit of those who have only a bachelor’s degree.

Using his assumptions, Miller contends that the lifetime earnings differential for a bachelor’s degree over a high school diploma is a much more modest figure: $279,893.

Easy to See Why Concerns Are Being Raised

There are numerous folks who insist that Miller has low-balled the calculations. In their eyes, he has done everything he can to reduce the value.

Still, the difference is a rather significant number. Certainly, $280,000 in additional earnings is nothing to sneeze at.

However, if we do assume that this more modest differential is somewhat accurate, then the current cost of a college degree does raise interesting questions. Four years of in-state tuition at a local university will set a student back at least $60,000, especially if some time is spent living on campus.

As a monetary investment that number still seems reasonable. We certainly can advocate spending $60,000 knowing full well we can one day expect to pocket $280,000 as a result. Add in the ability to better control one’s career choice and the investment seems to be a no-brainer.

But what of those private schools, of those topping $50,000 per year? Four years of expenses will top the $200,000 mark.

Under such a scenario the monetary piece becomes suspect. In such an instance, the rate of return falls to less than 2% return on the money invested if figured on a per year basis.

With those numbers it is easy why folks are concerned with the skyrocketing costs of a college education. If the costs keep rising, the rate of return ultimately diminishes.

As President Obama has stated on multiple occasions, we must find ways to make college more affordable.

So Where Do We Stand?

Interestingly, Miller’s strong push has at least one agency acknowledging that the $1 million figure may not be entirely accurate. In responding to Miller’s criticisms, the College Board acknowledged that $1 million in additional earnings is misleading.

At the same time, the College Board noted a thought many concur with: there is a very high individual return from a higher education.

According to the Board, a public college graduate will break even by the age of 33. At the higher priced schools, the private colleges, the Board offers a break even point at age 40.

Given those assertions, it is easy to see why education does in fact pay off. Of course, if costs do continue to rise, those pay back ages would rise as well. Pushing them back another ten years would make the dollar return a far more questionable discussion point than as it currently stands.

Without a doubt, students must be mindful of the debt they are incurring as they earn that diploma. They must also have an excellent understanding of potential future earnings: a career in social work or a job as a teacher will not necessarily produce additional earnings towards the $1 million mark.

Great Experience

Ultimately, college can be a great place to spend four years. Students often get their first chance at learning to be on their own. At the same time, you still have a safety net, a “shelter where you can develop yourself.”

At the university level, you will also meet many interesting people and have access to adults who are willing to help you learn new things. Once in the world of work, there will be far fewer people willing to help you become successful.

So independent of the financial figures, college can be a great place to learn about you and about society. College is a place where students get a safe chance to mature even as they pursue a degree and a potential career.

And if you manage the financial piece appropriately, you can expect the opportunity to earn additional funds even as you work in your preferred field. Just don’t go around thinking that a bachelor’s degree is going to make you a millionaire.

If your criteria for choosing a school or major is based on how much you will earn, a recent New York Times article will walk you through the best schools and the highest paying options by major.

In creating the summary, the Times used the data from PayScale, a site that collects data on salaries for different professions, for people whose highest degree was a bachelor’s. That said, the results feature pure earnings, not a comparison of earnings to college costs.

Ivy League Leads

While it is chic to knock the Ivy League schools and their academic peers like MIT and Stanford, the fact is these schools do deliver the goods. In addition to their strong academic programs, these schools produce graduates who go on to earn significant bucks.

However, while Harvard, Princeton and Yale are generally considered the Ivy elite, number one on the list for highest median salary at mid-career was Dartmouth College. MIT came in at number two, topping third ranked Harvard. Somewhat lesser known, but still on the elite list, Harvey Mudd held down the fourth slot while Princeton came in at number five. Demonstrating that the Ivy League is indeed a power, Yale ( number nine) and the University of Pennsylvania (number ten) gave the Ivies five of the top ten slots. Stanford, Colgate and Notre Dame round out the top ten holding down slots six through eight respectively.

However, when only highest median starting salaries are looked at (defined as salaries within five years of graduation), readers would likely be surprised to learn that Loma Linda University came in at number one. That position is a function of the career options at this lesser-known school (excellent programs in nursing, dental and allied health).

Highest and Lowest Paid Majors

When it comes to earning big bucks, there is also a clear indication that the choice of major matters. Engineering, science, mathematics and economics generally held the top slots in both highest starting median salaries and highest mid-career median salaries.

Aerospace, chemical, computer and electrical engineering took home the top four spots respectively. Economics came in at number five followed by Physics. Three additional engineering majors also ranked in the top ten, mechanical, industrial and environmental.

At the bottom we find careers in social work, education, theology, horticulture, hospitality and tourism, and the fine arts.

What Really Matters

While the school and the career certainly do matter to some extent, the Times does a great job of analyzing the data, taking it a bit deeper. We will leave it to the reader to head on over to read the details as to why ultimately Harvey Mudd might just be the overall top performer.

At the same time, the Times quotes some experts who insist the most compelling aspect to consider for the majority of cases is the student. According to the Times:

Hard-working, ambitious students will do well wherever they go. The opposite applies to mediocre or lazy students.

The one exception was lower-income students. For them, the college mattered more.

For the raw data, head on over to the PayScale site directly.

It seems that every family member and friend that I have bumped into this summer, at least those connected to someone considering higher education, is making a point to take some time to visit one or more of the colleges the prospective student is interested in.

I cringe when I hear this. Yes, visiting a prospective college is a very important step in the process of selecting a school. And yes, to truly get a feel for the school, it is absolutely necessary to spend some time on campus.

That said, I am afraid that summer is simply not the best time to make such a visit.

A Convenient Time to Visit

In reality, summer is the most convenient time for families to visit a college campus. First and foremost, not only is school out for the summer, most students also have a break from extracurricular activities. Active individuals know all too well that even during school vacations during the school year co-curricular activities continue to practice making it extremely difficult to find a block of time to visit prospective schools.

In addition, parents of prospective students often are able to find larger blocks of time during the summer months to make such visits. In fact, most parents tend to plan family vacations and pleasure trips around making a stop or two at a college campus in the vicinity.

So, it is understandable that summer is likely the most convenient time for you and your family to make such a visit. Unfortunately, it is simply not the best time to get a real feel for the campus.

Not a True Picture

While it may give you a basic feel for the campus structurally, a summer visit is devoid of the most important element: What does a day at the campus feel like when students are present and classes are in session?

Visiting during the summer will produce a definitive feeling of quiet solitude. That is because there are simply too few individuals around on summer break. That overall feeling of solitude can be very misleading and make it seem like a campus is devoid of any real social life.

There are not likely to be any athletic contests, no meetings and the outdoor quad and student union will be nearly empty. The bottom line is that students do not get a true feel of what it would be like to be a student.

Most importantly, you will have access only to trained tour guides who have been taught to sell the positive traits of the campus. It will be difficult to gain time to simply talk with other students to get the real skinny and nearly impossible to spend a night on campus or visit a class in session.

Make a Visit and Make it at the Right Time

To get a true sense of whether or not a college is for you, you must take the time to make a campus visit. But at the same time, when you are truly narrowing down the decision, you must make a visit during the school year.

Only by visiting during the academic year can students truly discern whether or not a specific college will meet their respective academic and social expectations and needs.

What separates your inner ear from your outer ear?

In what country would you find the Panama Canal?

Which President was known as Tricky Dick?

What does the DC stand for in Washington D.C.?

Man, he looks like he was in the water?

Are any of these folks graduates of your school?

Moving forward, post-9/11 military veterans may want to give careful consideration to pursuing their college education at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The school recently committed $2 million to support qualifying veterans as they pursue their studies at the school.

The program combines two separate elements, the use of the new GI Bill and a complementary prong called the Yellow Ribbon Program. The first element dictates very specific funding levels for veterans and is available to all veterans at all universities– the second represents additional optional contributions from universities above and beyond the funds committed by the federal government.

Drexel has taken the step to fund the entire difference between the federal reimbursement rate and the cost of a Drexel education. The key aspect is that the funds are committed without restriction and admitted veterans will be eligible for a free education.

The program is available whether the student wants to pursue their degree part-time or full or to study on-campus or online. The program is also available at all possible degree levels: undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional. The depth and breadth of options available is significant as Drexel offers several schools and colleges including the Drexel University College of Medicine, Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel at Burlington County College and the Sacramento Center for Graduate Studies.

Lastly, Drexel is placing no limit on the number of veterans who may enroll.

New GI Bill

Under the reauthorized GI Bill, the federal government has made several changes. First, the government will pay each student’s costs directly to the school. Under the prior GI Bill, veterans had to upfront costs and then request reimbursement from the feds.

The new bill also will fund costs at the highest in-state school tuition rates. Those rates of course vary state by state so the benefit amount can vary significantly depending on the veteran’s choice of school.

Finally, the new bill features additional benefits including monthly housing and textbook stipends.

Yellow Ribbon Campaign

Set to get underway August 1st, the Yellow Ribbon program sets up a partnership between a school and the federal government. Under the campaign, colleges may match the government’s contribution of the cost of an education.

At some schools that translates to more dollars but still some out-of-pocket expenses for veterans. At Drexel, it will mean 100% free tuition along with full coverage of all university fees.

To be eligible, a student must meet the school’s admission’s criteria. But every qualifying veteran able to meet that criteria will be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon irrespective of choice of program or campus.

Excellent Online Option

Qualifying veterans who do not live in the Philadelphia area will still want to give Drexel careful consideration. That is because Drexel Online is a nationally-recognized program offering innovative, Internet-based distance education programs.

Winner of the 21st Century Best Practice Award for Distance Learning from the United States Distance Learning Association, Drexel Online features degree programs in engineering, teacher education, nursing, library science and business administration.

Editor’s Note: Drexel is not the only school involved with the Yellow Ribbon campaign. For a state-by-state listing of universities and their level of support for the program, visit the Yellow Ribbon map and click on your state of interest.

J.D. Powers Airline Satisfaction Survey reveals industry leaders for budget-conscious students.

Are you one of those students who has chosen to attend school several hundred miles from home? If so, when it comes time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, you likely have to jump on a plane in order to get back home to share those special holidays with family.

While costly, purchasing an airplane ticket becomes a must because of the time constraints and the overall distance. But as you lay out significant hard-earned dollars to purchase that ticket, you will definitely have some simple expectations:

• you will be dealing with courteous people;
• those people will help you make your trip a positive experience;
• they will get you and your checked belongings to your destination reasonably close to on time.

The last thing you want to do is spend your holiday time sitting in an airport fuming as to why your airline is not on time or wondering why no one at the airline seems the least bit interested in the fact that your bag is missing or your connection is still somewhere overhead.

Air Travel Satisfaction Ratings

If you are one of those individuals who must fly to be able to make it home for special occassions then you will certainly want to check out the airline customer satisfaction ratings recently released by J.D. Power and Associates. According to Power, getting there is not half the fun.

Their 2009 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, measuring overall customer satisfaction in seven distinct categories, reveals that overall customer satisfaction with airlines has now declined three consecutive years and stands at a four-year low. The categories Power assesses in order of importance are:

• cost and fees;
• flight crew;
• in-flight services;
• aircraft;
• boarding/deplaning/baggage;
• check-in;
• reservation.

According to Powers, the overall decline in ratings comes from decreased passenger satisfaction with in-flight services, the flight crew and costs and fees.

That dissatisfaction comes despite the fact that the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports the overall rate of on-time arrivals improved more than five percentage points from 2008 to 2009.

According to BTS the on-time rate now stands at 78 percent. That means, on average, four out of every five flights arrives on-time.

The Ratings

Power breaks the rankings into two segments: low-cost carriers and traditional-network carriers. The Power’s criteria for low-cost carriers are airlines that operate single-cabin aircraft offering typically lower fares. The criteria for traditional-network carriers are airlines that operate multi-cabin aircraft and utilize multiple airport hubs.

The best performers in low-cost category were JetBlue, Southwest, and WestJet. JetBlue led the way as the only carrier to receive an overall customer rating of 5 stars. Customers like the aircraft ( televisions and satellite radio access) and the inflight service (multiple food and drink options). Southwest Air earned 4 stars overall but rated a 5 in both reservations (easy online reservation site) and in costs and fees (low fares, no bag fees). WestJet also managed to receive 4 overall stars, offering positive check-in, boarding, deplaning and baggage experiences.

On the bottom, customers will definitely want to steer clear of Air Tran and Frontier, both earning but 2 stars on the 5 star rating scale. In other words, they may still be cheap but you definitely get what you pay for.

In the traditional category the top performers were Alaska Airlines, Continental and Delta. Both Alaska (great planes) and Continental (great prices) came away with 5 stars though the top overall nod went to Alaska. Delta earned 4 stars based on solid overall category scores. As for the bottom, Powers had both US Airways and United Airlines earning just 2 stars with neither their costs nor their services being terribly worthy of mention.

Flying Home for the Holidays

If you are one of those students who will be in need of a plane ticket come the holiday season, you will want to take the time to review the data. However, be advised that the Power ratings don’t seem to mention specific airports. My experience (and that of my family) has been that specific airports play a huge role.

For example, as a frequent flyer using many different airlines, my experience with Southwest and JetBlue has been excellent overall and Delta quite solid. However, Southwest has been great as long as I don’t go through Philadelphia. It must be noted that Philly just happens to be a US Airways hub.

Likewise, my experience and that of my family with Continental has always been sour despite the great prices. But every flight we have taken has utilized a connection through Newark, NJ. Simply stated, Continental has never been a positive experience for this traveler but I have never flown without connecting in Newark.

Ultimately, it is imperative that you talk to friends and family as well about their experiences with specific airlines and locales, then add in the Power survey results. It is important that you do your homework well, because when it is the holiday season, you will have that wanton desire to get home in a timely manner with your luggage at your side.

Most importantly, you will want to arrive there with your sense of humor intact.

I still remember my surprise at the closing of Bradford College in May of 2000. The previous spring, I had accompanied a family member that was considering small liberal art colleges on a campus visit.

To be frank, that family member was no longer seriously considering the school when the news of the closing was released. Still, the shock was significant.

Especially given that school had been offering students the opportunity to earn a degree for 197 years.

Important Lesson

That experience reveals the importance of the recent analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. That analysis reveals that 114 private, nonprofit degree-granting colleges have failed the department’s financial-responsibility test.

The financial stress test features composite scores based on three critical ratios. The important elements include the school’s debt load, their expenses as compared to income, and the overall resources of the institution.

These institutions were in such poor financial condition at the end of their last fiscal year that they now face extra monitoring on their use of federal student-aid funds. The lowest scoring are also required to post letters of credit with the department.

In essence, the findings call into question the fiscal viability of each school moving forward. In fact, five of those appearing on the 2007 and 2008 lists have either shut down, merged with another nonprofit school, or been sold to a for-profit college company (John F. Kennedy University in California, Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire, Myers University in Ohio, Waldorf College in Iowa, and the College of Santa Fe).

Eerily Similar to Bradford?

The data is reminiscent of that accompanying the close of Bradford. The school reportedly closed when it failed to draw the requisite number of students, by a mere 31 individuals, at a time when it was running significant deficits.

In fact, most experts point to the school’s borrowing $18 million in 1996 to build new dormitories as the real issue. That move was considered very risky in light of the steadily declining percentage of students attending liberal arts institutions.

Closing was still a shock given the college’s lengthy history. Founded as a girls’ school in 1803, Bradford had begun admitting men and offering bachelor’s degrees during the Viet Nam War era. Over the next thirty plus years the school would be on the cutting edge of liberal arts education. It offered excellent student-faculty ratios and was known for its innovative teaching including its emphasis on internships and community service.

But the stellar program that once offered renowned writer Andre Dubus as a teacher for 18 years and educated Portia Marshall Washington Pittman, the daughter of Booker T. Washington, fell by the wayside when the school put itself at too great a risk financially.

The Bradford story certainly explains why students need to pay careful attention to the data released by the Department of Education.

Request Your School’s Score

In general theory, the financial circumstances of every institution differ, so it would be wrong to assume that every college that fails the test is in such financial straits that it is in danger of closing. Still, students should be extremely wary of any school on the list given the difficulty in transferring credits from institution to institution.

Students should be aware that all private colleges awarding federal student aid are required to participate in the Department of Education’s financial-responsibility test. The composite score created ranges from minus 1.0 to positive 3.0.

The full list of schools below the passing mark of 1.5 is available at The Chronicle of Higher Education but only to full site subscribers. The site does offer web passes but given the importance of this data we recommend concerned students check with the college admissions office regarding their respective school’s score.

How about this for a change to that painful FAFSA application form?

According to reports, Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan has indicated plans to add a new button to the online FAFSA application. That one single button would authorize the IRS to fill in all the FAFSA required financial data directly from all relevant, filed tax returns.

That’s right, a button that would authorize the IRS to collect, summarize and drop the pertinent data already submitted during prior tax seasons into the form in the appropriate places. And with that step, the form we all have to do to be eligible for federal financial aid, the form that everyone, sooner or later comes to despise might actually be on the way towards being reasonable and dare we say it, user-friendly.

Now that would represent change we can believe in!

Promises of Fewer Questions and Quicker Response Times

It seems that at long last the U.S. Department of Education is about to streamline the indeterminate FAFSA form. Under President Barack Obama’s continued pledge to increase access to college, the DOE is about to eliminate 22 questions and some 20 different Web screens that used to appear when students filled out the FAFSA application online.

Perhaps even better news for students and their families, instead of waiting weeks and months to get the results, the new application will be able to provide an estimate on the amount of aid students would be eligible for in the matter of seconds.

All of the changes are seen by the Obama administration as increasing college enrollment. The steps come in direct response to data that indicates that one out of every five students that borrows for college does not fill out the FAFSA form.

Many contend that the reason so many students skip the application has been the sheer volume of information asked for on the form. For everyone the form has been a massive headache, but for some, it has been seen as a barrier.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the FAFSA included 153 questions, some of which were not asked for when parents or the student filed their income taxes. The sum total for the DOE is that the form has ultimately been more difficult than filing income taxes.

The result, an estimated 1.5 million students who currently are enrolled in college likely qualify for Pell grants yet they never applied for them.

The Button by January

While work is under way to streamline and simplify the form, the magic button noted by Duncan still is not ready. The goal for the direct upload of information to the FAFSA from the IRS is scheduled to be in place by January.

So those of you about to enter your senior year in high school, and all those further out from applying, the new financial upload button should be in place by the time your turn comes.

Perhaps just as importantly, Obama wants more streamlining for students. Reports indicate he is asking Congress to eliminate another 26 financial questions, all deemed to have minimal effect on how much aid a student is eligible for.

Of course, while these steps will make it much tougher for us to dump on the FAFSA form down the road, we still wonder why it might not be possible to eliminate the application process altogether. Imagine if the government would, as a matter of course, determine a student’s eligibility based on a family’s tax return alone.

Perhaps the government could even take the step of notifying students directly of their potential eligibility and do so as soon as the child enters public school. Now that would be real progress.

Still, we will take the efforts of the Obama administration. Every single one related to the FAFSA is a step in the right direction.