Colleges try to meet needs of first-generation students, By Marcella Bombardieri, September 30, 2013, Boston Globe: “To the legions of students who have been tutored and molded and prodded toward a top college most of their young lives, it would be an absurd question: How many of you had to explain to your parents what MIT is?…These students are ‘first generation,’ the first in their families to go to college. And they are the third class to whom MIT has reached out during orientation, not only to offer support but to instill pride in young people who have shown extraordinary drive yet often feel alone and inadequate amid affluent classmates who have already published papers or traveled the world…”
Tag: College degrees
College Education and Earnings
Study: Even for students who borrow then drop out, college pays off on average, By Justin Pope (AP), June 10, 2013, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “It sounds like the worst of all worlds — borrowing money for college, then dropping out and facing the debt without a degree. But a new study argues that the investment in even a partial college education is still worth it, amounting to average earnings of $100,000 more over a lifetime than for those who merely finish high school. That’s a better investment return on average than stocks and bonds — though of course much lower than the return on college for those who finish…”
Low-income Students and College Costs
Public colleges are often no bargain for the poor, By Renee Schoof, May 29, 2013, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Many public colleges and universities expect their poorest students to pay a third, half or even more of their families’ annual incomes each year for college, a new study of college costs has found. With most American students enrolling in their states’ public institutions in hopes of gaining affordable degrees, the new data shows that the net price – the full cost of attending college minus scholarships – can be surprisingly high for families that make $30,000 a year or less. The numbers track with larger national trends: the growing student-loan debt and decline in college completion among low-income students…”