Adversaries of educational Affirmative Action are undoubtedly happy. Today’s big news on the education front is the settlement reached between the University of Michigan and two of the case’s leading plaintiffs. The now historical case has dragged on for almost the last ten years. Over that time it grew into a “nearly 40,000-member class-action lawsuit.” (NY Times, “Michigan: Affirmative Action Suit Settled”).

Like many universities, the U. of Michigan had a strong preference for minorities in their admissions processes, both undergraduate and graduate. The goal of such programs has been to balance the scales of diversity. Michigan settled with the plaintiffs and has had to readjust its undergraduate admissions criteria in order to satisfy the new Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.

Who’s Next?

Clearly the issue raises hackles on nearly every front and the uproar will likely not die down anytime soon. Which raises the question, “Who’s next?”

Ward Connerly, the loudest adversary of Affirmative Action, has led the charge. With a head of steam and cocky from the Michigan win, he is set to test the waters in a range of Northwestern states, including Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota, among others. Where he finds Affirmative Action dug in, he will surely challenge ‘til the death.

Connerly was instrumental in the California Proposition 209 vote, then Washington and now Michigan. An African American himself, Black liberal journalists have cast him as a mouthpiece for “rich, white benefactors” and caricatured him in political cartoons. Many of his critics also argue that Connerly is just too socially privileged to rally against Affirmative Action.

The Other “Minority”

If not ethnic minorities then who else could possibly be a minority group on a college campus in the U.S.? Plenty of sources report that along gender lines women now outnumber men on campus.

Are men, then, a minority?

If you consider the Towson University scholarships that favor academically challenged males, then one may argue young males are a growing campus minority. The program seeks to challenge the persistent devotion to “research that shows that high-school grades, not SAT scores, best predict how students will fare in college.” Towson believes that males are becoming scarcer on campuses because they are ineligible for many programs due to low performance in general academics, in sharp contrast to their typically high SAT scores. In other words male students are smarter than their academic records indicate; they’ve simply been academically “lazy.”

“Like many universities, Towson has a student population that is predominantly female, and it is looking for ways to balance that out.”

Special Admissions

Towson’s program is called the Academic Special Admissions Program. Since the scholarship’s inception in the 2005-06 academic year the majority of students accepted have been male. However, TU makes it emphatically clear that the program is open to all students:

“Towson has been careful to avoid complaints of discrimination. Any student is eligible, regardless of gender or ethnic background. And students who are admitted do not take spots away from those who qualify for regular admission.”

A New Admissions and Scholarship Business Model

TU is just as cognizant of the political climate as is every other American college and university. And right here is a good example of the new model. See, everyone is now eligible to apply for everything. However, smart phraseology will make it possible still for admissions and scholarship programs to be aimed in the direction of specific “minority” populations.

It’s just that the lines between “minorities” are now blurred.

(The Towson University article was originally published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a subscription-based review. The link accesses a copy of the original republished by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.)

Related:

• Minority Scholarships
• White Male Scholarship Guide

Oregon adults! Do you have a partially completed undergraduate degree and at least five years displacement from college? If you have any plans to return to finish up your Bachelors, consider the University of Oregon’s Osher Reentry Scholarship. The Bernard Osher Foundation has just anted up an additional $50,000 for its non-traditional scholarship program, reports the UO. Qualified applicants may earn $2,000. Sounds like incentive enough to finish up.

The Truth About College Student Debt

FAFSA season brings on a lot of talk about the role parents play in making sure all the forms get filled out. But the mountain of student debt is really a college student problem. Fresh college grads, unless they immediately launch themselves into grad school, are responsible for repayment of college loans a quick six months following graduation. You know how quickly six months can fly by?

But if you think college students only have their student loans to juggle, think again. Credit card debt on college campuses is a problem some say is not addressed nearly enough. The actual problem though is lack of financial advice to students or lack of training in the fine art of personal finance:

“Too many college students go off to school without understanding finances, said Shalonda Jones, a representative of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Parents make the mistake of not introducing financial literacy to children at a young age and most parents are equally clueless as to what it takes to remain financially stable, she said.”

Students who shop at the mall, such as The Gap, Victoria’s Secret and others might regularly pay with cash, but the temptation for the retailers credit cards may just be too much. Most retailers offer each buyer the on-the-spot opportunity to receive a store credit card with the added incentive to save a percentage on their current purchase. While the spirit may convince the flesh that it will cut it up afterward, the flesh is weak, weak, weak.

The CNN article underscores the situation of a college freshman who is already “$9,000 in debt,” not to mention “the thousands of dollars in student loans” she’ll face after graduation.

Financial Resources for Students

Most college students likely only run on the teaching of their families. A few programs are becoming well-publicized and recognized for their potential to fill the financial savvy gap:

For NCAA student athletes The Hartford has developed a series of online tools and tutorials. “Playbook for Life” offers financial planning ideas and elementary concepts that lay a basic foundation for a new financially-conscious lifestyle, even while in college.

Middle Tennessee State University offers a course in The Stock Market Game, an opportunity for students to manage their own make believe investments for a semester. The hands-on, albeit fictional, curriculum provides valuable skills not learned elsewhere.

While the whole brouhaha over cuts in student loan interest rates may seem attractive, even helpful thanks to the political rhetoric, students actually in college or prepping for college will have to look elsewhere for financial relief.

What the Interest Rate Cuts DID NOT Do

A couple of weeks ago the House of Reps voted to cut the interest rates accorded to big student loan lenders. The move, dubbed the College Student Relief Act, was hailed by many as a smart response to the skyrocketing costs of a college education that just don’t stop. Others, like the White House, argued the measure was inconsistent with the real meat of the matter—college costs.

See the interest rate cuts really benefit college grads. They are the party who may see adjustments in their student loan repayment, but for those in the thick of college or looking for financial aid relief now, the whole political handshaking scene is worthless:

“So the College Student Relief Act is really the College Graduate Relief Act - the expansion of a regressive wealth-transfer program benefiting a demographic group earning $1 million more per capita than the hardworking American taxpayers without college degrees who will have to pay for it.” (Baltimore Sun, Carbone)

If Not This, Then What?

The student loan business is really not poised to change very much. State and federal programs are not budging; no, you’re not going to get more money for your Stafford Loans. So if not student loans, then where should college-bound kids look for more cash, because what they have now, ain’t working?

Right now it seems that the biggest break students can get is a two-fold process: scholarships and the savvy to know they can qualify if they work at it.

In Kentucky, plans to create scholarships and grants that would benefit hundreds of college kids and their families are already underway. Eastern Kentucky U., Western Kentucky U., and Morehead Universities are all patting themselves on the back for their contribution to the college cost problem. And we’re not talking a little $200 scholarship for a couple of students. The KY institutions are taking the problem seriously and going after it in a proactive kind of way:

“In the face of persistent evidence that a college education is becoming less affordable, three more public universities in Kentucky have announced financial-aid initiatives to help students.” (Lexington Herald-Leader, Jester)

BEACON Scholarship Program at EKU comprises a set of scholarships, including the Math/Science Scholars program that awards a current 22 students with over $11,000 each; the Regional Scholars program that recognizes the academic fortitude of low-income students with $2,600 scholarships; Scholastic Opportunity Grants will focus on students who are already Pell Grant recipients; and the Transfer Scholarships will assist those students who wish to transfer in from one of the state’s communities colleges.

Western Kentucky U. is launching its “Top it Off” program. The aid measure awards financial aid grants equal to the disparity between a WKU tuition and the federal and state financial aid awarded to low-income students. Future plans are to cover the tuition disparities of over 500 students.

Morehead U.’s Eagle Access Program is also a “cover the difference” program.

Second Part of the Problem—A New Mantra

Still, according to financial aid experts, too many families and students are selling themselves short. Fill out the FAFSA, is the mantra. Whether you think you qualify for aid or not the form is important. Many colleges and universities want the FAFSA for other types of aid. Miss the deadline and you miss out entirely. And typically those who think they don’t qualify are dead wrong.

Turn off the boob-tube and the Play Station and haul your butt to that student loan/financial aid workshop.

The “We Don’t Qualify” Syndrome

According to many financial aid experts, too many families are of the belief that they just don’t fit into the financial aid scheme, not qualified for state or federal aid, won’t be eligible for any scholarships or grants. In most cases, they are wrong.

Not only this, but the whole financial aid process has become one big mish-mash of processes, that should require you have something akin to an agent to decipher. Okay, so you don’t get a personal agent, but there is a new movement afoot: financial aid workshops. The Rocky Mount Telegram today reports,

“As seniors grind through the final months of their high school careers, now is the time for those planning to attend college to think about their options to pay for it. It’s a process with many nuances, and one that financial aid advisors say is often misunderstood.”

The New Trend in Financial Aid

In our era of self-help books and workshops for everything from cooking to healthcare, investing and retirement planning, of course the trendiest new workshop movement is student financial aid.

From catchy workshop names like the “Cash for College” workshops offered to students in California, slated for a run of well over 300 programs, to on the spot scholarships such as the $1,000 award offered at the regionally offered Sallie Mae Paying for College workshops, are becoming a necessity.

College Goal Sunday is a nationwide program that was so successful when it first was launched in Indiana that now the program, with funding from generous organizations like USA Group, Lilly and Lumina Foundation, is available in almost every state. Students and parents are encouraged to attend beginning early in their high school careers. For those on the brink of college, Coal Goal Sunday leaders even offer help with FAFSA filing. The form is long, complex and leaves many families alienated from the process:

“Many students don’t access the thousands of dollars in aid available from the government, or don’t make it through the complicated application process, college administrators say. The money could benefit students forced to drop out for financial reasons.”

College Goal Sunday time is now. Check the website for workshops in your area.

Today’s Scholarship Good Word

Are you a high school female with even the slightest interest in pole vault?

Seriously, if you can manage an 11-foot vault, you could win a college scholarship for the pole vault. A component of the Track and Field arena, pole vault has only welcomed women for the last ten years and it is currently one of the most wide-open fields for a female athlete as far as scholarships go.

College costs are a leading topic of conversation in the higher education realm, especially when FAFSA season rolls around. It’s human nature. At tax time the talk is about taxes, at Christmas it’s about all the money we’re putting out on gifts and so on. When it’s in, it’s in.

Putting Off the Inevitable

Right now there are even more college cost conversations underway, many that have sat dormant and now are all rising to a big head. Each year about this time parents have the job of sitting down and completing their college-bound kids’ FAFSA form. In order to do that a careful summarization of their last year’s income is tallied and submitted online to get back the dreaded Expected Family Contribution (EFC)—a figure that ranks your eligibility for and level of financial aid.

Expected Family Contribution—a Narrow-minded Figure

The manner in which the EFC is calculated is the same throughout the U.S. Newsday today raises the question: what about families who live in areas with a very high cost of living? For example, what about families who live in California, or New York, New Jersey and Connecticut; their income may seem “well-to-do” compared to many in the country, but

“The government’s formula for determining financial aid, used by many of the nation’s 2,533 colleges, factors income but does not account for the costs of housing, energy, insurance or sales and property taxes.”

Neglected or Overlooked Processes Cost Too

For some maybe it is the EFC that strings them precariously along the financial aid spectrum, for others, reports the New York Times (“Cracking the Books for Financial Aid to College,” Chura), college costs may mount in more elusive places, like simple ignorance of the whole process, such as deadlines and availability of aid resources, the limits of 529 accounts and a slew of other factors:

“People shortchange themselves if they wait to understand their options until they are in the thick of filling out aid applications.”

For those who have some investments and the recommended 529 accounts, apparently there are “mistakes” that can be made that cost you even more when all is said and done:

“Mistakes range from giving money directly to a minor to selling investments in the year that an aid application is made.”

For example, many parents have had the wherewithal to open custodial accounts and/or 529s, but they must have enough advance notice on college plans to be able to use them effectively. Using funds improperly, even the financial differences between types of colleges and programs, could cost in fees, lost interest and other ways that may just be too late to see.

Half Empty or Half Full?

Again, many Americans simply neglect financial chores, the FAFSA and other aid forms being big chores. Miss deadlines for financial aid and you stand to lose thousands. If you don’t look for scholarships, you also stand to lose. They have deadlines, too, by the way.

Add up everything you have to lose and it’s enough to drive you to drink, but think about all you may gain, and you may just pull out all those forms you’ve stacked up and simply get it done.

Your world of scholarships might seem a tangle of long-standing college endowments, perpetual merit and need-based awards and perennial corporate-sponsored “big” prizes like Coca Cola Scholars and Microsoft Scholarships. But even these scholarships had a beginning once upon a time, most likely heralded by press releases and blurbs in local or national news lines. You’ve come to take them for granted. They are just there.

With scholarships quickly taking on the visage of a business necessity these days, it’s important to recognize the nature of such a business.

Origin of a Species

Whether you know it or not, each new day, or week, often is greeted by scholarship news from somewhere: “college/university adds more money to its coffers,” “company Z launches new scholarship,” “celeb sponsors scholarship.”

Your scholarship search is a dynamic process. The playing field is changing daily.

So given the fact that scholarships should be big news, but likely only hang out in the bigger maw of media, how do you best go about keeping current and ahead of the scholarship pack?

The Early Bird…

I propose that one way to get a leg-up in college scholarships is to simply be good at surfing the net, including the ability to quickly scan and dispose of information at the speed of light and an eye for what’s important to your needs. Almost all the current news you could possibly take in is flung out into cyber space on a 24/7 continuum; it’s non-stop.

If you had been “up” on the current Education news bites over the last week, and poked and prodded the maw of material to cull only those newsworthy for scholarships, you would have accumulated a fresh scholarship list that looks like this:

• Missouri students could see the state double needs-based scholarships.
• Oklahoma’s OHLAP program to get much-needed funds for longevity.
• 50-KFC Colonel Scholarships; up to $5,000 per to be awarded this year; awards renewable.
• Penn State College of Agri Sci to get $100,000 endowment for undergrad scholarships.
• Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation (SLEMCO) in LA will give 20-$2,000 scholarships to employees and dependents.
• Residents of oil town El Dorado, AR hit the jackpot with $50 million in scholarship dough from local oil company.
• Celeb Alicia Keyes new scholarships–$5,000 to students in NYC, Jacksonville, FL; Atlanta, and New Orleans.

Well, this is actually only a partial list. Which underscores my point. These snippets represent millions of dollars in scholarship news, happening as we speak.

Accessing Information

Get the latest Education news en masse via RSS feed or on Google News, my preferred method. Information too overwhelming? Chop out the unnecessary vegetation with a more granular filter/search term like “college scholarships.”

You find the programs that may work for you with daily diligence; overlook something and you could miss out. Remember: the early bird gets the worm.

If you are seeking an online degree consider going to a college which helps subsidize your education costs via financial aid.

The Online Education Database recently commissioned a study which ranked accredited online schools by the percentage of students who are receiving financial aid.

Over 50% of students at the top 10 ranked online universities receive tuition assistance, with Grand Canyon University coming out on top.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Affirmative Action is under fire in the college/university realm. At the epicenter is Michigan, which has recently passed a proposition—a.k.a. the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative,—a la California’s Proposition 209 passed in 1996. California’s landmark law made it illegal for state colleges and universities, as well as any other public institution, to consider college admissions and financial aid on the basis of gender, color, race, creed or nationality.

But for the last few decades that is exactly how colleges and universities have diversified. The last decade itself saw scads of science, engineering and technology (SET) scholarships targeted specifically and unabashedly to minorities and women. If you listen to such watch-dog organizations as the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) then you will likely be influenced to believe that higher education is now turned on its ear racially. Others argue for the gender side—white males are a minority on college campuses, thanks to years of preferential scholarships for minorities and women.

Yes, it’s one big messy Pandora’s Box and everyone has a gripe.

How We Do “Race-Blind”?

“Race-blind” is the new buzzword in college admissions. But the issue encompasses gender as well. For college students all this political rhetoric and positioning portends a muddle of scholarship and financial aid shifts, including careful rewording of applications and criteria and selection rationale. But will it change anything, really?

The New York Times (Colleges Regroup After Voters Ban Race Preferences, Lewin) today suggests that colleges and universities en masse will scramble to find their way around the issues, alter application criteria to include more ambiguous terms all the while staying ON race:

“At Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, a new admissions policy, without mentioning race, allows officials to consider factors like living on an Indian reservation or in mostly black Detroit, or overcoming discrimination or prejudice.”

Popular Vote—Who’s Popular?

Michigan’s Proposition 2, it’s noted, was passed by a “popular vote” of 52 to 48, “despite strong opposition from government, business, labor, education and religious leaders.” Since the issue now polarizes voters, and it’s unclear how many of those are college students registered to vote, the question becomes WHO exactly is getting out the vote?

If you’re looking at colleges, especially public, this will likely affect you, regardless of your color, race, creed or sex. And the issue is becoming pervasive:

“Both defenders and opponents of affirmative action say the lesson of last fall’s campaign in Michigan…is that such initiatives can succeed almost anywhere.”

It would be interesting if the demographics of the vote in Michigan were available; for instance, how many African American, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and women voted for the measure? Better yet, how telling it might be to actually see the numbers of registered college voters that participated. Because once all is said and done this may be THE minority group we’re talking about.

Even though the CEO and others may argue that race is sucking the life out of college admissions and financial aid, there are just as many others that argue killing Affirmative Action will assuredly set off a juggernaut of racial inequality on campuses across the U.S. How do they suppose that?

Race-Blind Undoes Diversity Measures

Follow-up to the California Proposition 209 and similar measures in Texas have proven the theory. UCLA’s numbers on Blacks, Hispanics and Asians entering next gen classes have been incrementally dropping since 209 was passed. In fact, according to the NYT Black freshmen at UCLA are at a “30-year low.” Texas universities revealed similar scores, which subsequently impelled officials to once again include race in the admissions criteria for public universities.

Since it seems that nationwide campus diversity will continue to be a bugaboo for institutions regardless of the “popular vote,” which I’d argue is largely post-college, what can be done to maintain fairness and diversity?

Wayne State University in Detroit set one of its law professors on the problem. His job was to develop a workable plan that jumps through Michigan’s new legal measures, while at the same time it discreetly circumnavigates the brouhaha. Carefully worded language and rephrased criteria that summarily avoid the word “race,” instead troll for students based on:

“…first in the family to go to college or graduate school; having overcome substantial obstacles, including prejudice and discrimination; being multilingual; and residence abroad, in Detroit or on an Indian reservation.”

New Age of Scholarships and Financial Aid

Yes, there are changes afoot, but how drastically they will change is hard to say. Colleges and universities know they must find a way to stay the course with diversity measures at the same time they must respect the law. In the future you will find that your “disadvantage,” whatever it may be, must be approached from a more subtle aspect. Students who mention race, gender and any other Affirmative Action-related labels and terms may be pushed aside in the name of the law.

Do you write about politics?

If so, please submit your application for the chance to win $2000 towards your college education.

You can read more about this contest at The Political Scholarship page.

Also, you may nominate a friend if you yourself are not eligible. Good luck to all!

CNN has reported on a recent survey in which it seems a surprising sample of college students prove their “first choice” was just too expensive.

Over 270,000 students were surveyed for the annual UCLA Higher Education Research Institute poll. This perennial poll is a tool that’s been useful over the years for underscoring current collegiate tides and emerging trends. This newest current is fomented by the fact that college costs continue to rise faster than other costs in life:

“Average tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose more than 6 percent last year to $4,836, and prices are up 35 percent over the last five years…”

A few days ago, we noted the latest interest cuts accorded to big student loan providers in the realm of federal loans, all in the name of making college more affordable. A White House statement associated with the cuts called on colleges and universities to take their responsibility to heart for the unchecked tuition costs. These additional findings will, of course, continue to sharpen the criticism of college pricing.

Savvy Shoppers

Think you are the only one to be concerned about first-choice costs? Get this: nearly one third of the close to 50% who’d gotten into their first choice, ended up at a second, third or fourth choice due to cost issues.

“ The survey found 32.7 percent of freshmen were attending college somewhere besides their first choice — the highest percentage since 1988 and the second-highest ever.”

College students are among the newest savvy shoppers: many pick the top schools, and for the most part get accepted. And like smart shoppers, they opt for the deal at the store down the street, where the item is similar, but far more equitably priced. Is there simply a satisfaction in knowing you “made it” into your top pick?

Might the degree and overall experience at Number 2 or 3 be just as valuable as the one turned up at Number 1?

“Many students at second- or third-choice schools flourish, and eventually decide it was the best place all along.”

“Survey Says…”

Because the survey question about “first choice” was new this year, evidence of any trend is still to be collected. Guess we’ll wait patiently for UCLA’s future surveys before we have any conclusive trends taking shape.