Tag Archives: education

Freshman Finance 101

Coaching, First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,

The focus for this fall’s college freshmen has, no doubt, been academic preparation to be accepted into their chosen college or university and to do well once they arrive.  There’s another important aspect of preparation for college that may not have gotten enough attention – financial preparation.  I don’t mean having enough money to pay for college even though that’s a tremendous challenge.  I’m referring to money college students will spend for other things.  Parents can’t send them everything they need or want.  The question is whether they’ll know how to manage the hundreds or thousands of dollars they spend in cash and with debit/credit cards during the school year whether they earn it or get it from home.

Parents, start teaching your college bound sons and daughters good money management skills before they graduate from high school.  We all know how challenging managing money is even if we know how to do it.  Every month, things happen that can derail our financial plans.  We’ve had time to learn how to deal with these events.  Typically, college bound high school seniors haven’t.

Help your sons and daughters practice good money management skills before they go to college also.  Knowing how to manage money and doing it well are not the same.   Help them get some practice at budgeting and spending their money based on their budget.   Also, strongly suggest that they take a course in personal finance to learn more about how to manage money now and after graduation.   Take a look at this article to read  about four things you can do now so your sons and daughters pass Freshman Finance 101 with flying colors and dollars to spare.

More Challenges For Minority Students in Higher Education

First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,

Picture this in your mind.  World class athletes line up for a 100-yard dash.  All of them are white except one who is Black.  When the gun sounds the white athletes bolt from their starting blocks and run as fast as they can.  The black runner, however, is held back until the other runners have gone 50 yards.  Then he is allowed to run and told “you’re equal now”.  When he asks about the 50-yard head start everyone else got, he’s told to make that up “on your own”.  That’s where we are in America since affirmative action programs have be eliminated in colleges and universities.  Although past racial injustices have not been addressed, blacks and other persons of color have been told to make up the huge gaps that remain “on their own”.  In a recent article from the New York times, Vivian Yee discusses what this “on your own” attitude can produce.  Its’s call the “ideal system” where every student will be evaluated with the same standards based on “merit” alone.  The level of preparation and/or ability resulting from minority students’ k-12 educations will not be considered in any way nor will there be any specific efforts to diversify enrollment.  This may be a reason why  the number of and percentage of minority students in higher education reached a plateau or began to decline in 2011.

Some schools, like Columbia however, have very intentionally worked hard at diversity and have increase minority enrollment and graduation in recent years.  Harvard, in fact, has the most diverse class in 380 years for this fall .  It has been shown that diversity improves educational outcomes at all levels.  I suggest that all parents and students making a college choice look more closely at diversity as a factor and let decision makers in higher education know diversity is important to you by choosing colleges that think it’s important too.

The Most Affordable Colleges in America

Higher Education, Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, ,
From the U. S. Department of Education on Flikr

The cost of a college degree today requires that parents and students get the most for every dollar spent on higher education.  Spending whatever it takes to get the “best” education money can buy is not an option.  The question then is where should students go to get the best combination of quality and affordability in America.  A recent article from Business Insider  provides some answers to this important question.  It lists the most affordable colleges in all 50 states based on a combination of cost and quality.  It might help you make the right college choice.

A Great Way To Save For College Few Families Use

Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,
Copyright State Farm

Paying for college is a real challenge.  Tuition, room, board, books and other expenses can easily exceed $30,000 a year.  There is a way to save for these expenses that is effective and flexible.  In spite of this, few families take advantage of it.  In a recent article from Business Insider I read that only about 13% of families surveyed reported using a 529 plan to cover college expenses – down from 16% the prior year.  The plan allows parents or anyone else to open a 529 account and contribute through direct contributions, payroll deductions or automatic transfers – before a child is even born.  The money grows tax free and can be withdrawn tax free at any point as long as it’s used to cover college tuition, fees, books and supplies.

Each state runs their own plans so check with your state department of higher education for relevant details.  You can read about 111 options for investing funds in 529 plans at savingforcollege.com.  Starting a 529 plan early can help make paying for college easier and reduce the need for student/parent school loans.

Bias Without Thinking

Student Success,
From the U. S. Department of Education on Flikr

A recent article by Seth Gershenson and Thomas S. Dee was about the impact of unconscious racial and gender bias in K-12 classrooms.  The article cites research that clearly shows how this bias hurts minority and female students and, that it is very difficult to effectively counter this bias. To reduce this insidious threat, parents of school-age children must be involved with the schools and specifically their children’s classroom environments. This is even more important today as public schools become more segregated.

Yes, It Can Be Done

Coaching, First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , , , ,
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Baltimore Sun 6/12/2016

I recently read one of several troubling articles on the resegregation of public schools in America.  We seem to be headed back to separate but unequal all over again.  My question is does it have to be this way?  Are there examples of public schools that are doing an effective job of educating disadvantaged youth in the communities where they live?  The answer is yes.  This spring, The Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (BYSYW – pronounced “Bliss”) graduated its first class of 60 young women who are all going to colleges such as Johns Hopkins with SAT scores significantly higher than the city public school average and over $487,000 in scholarships.

The school’s director of college advising stated that “In a perfect world, everybody would go to college.  In the BLSYW world, everybody creates a success plan.”  School administrators said that message is the legacy of the first graduating class.  Take a look at the article from the Baltimore Sun and let me know if you agree that this model needs to be expanded and emulated.

The Virginia Festival of the Book – A Wonderful Experience

Coaching, Events, First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Media Appearances, Mentoring Students, Success In College, The Costs and Benefits of Higher Education, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In March, Donna and I were presenting authors at the Virginia Festival of the Book.  I participated in three events.  On Wednesday March 16th, I talked with fifty students at Albemarle High School about preparing for success in college.  Several of the students told me how much they appreciated the advice and how I shared it with them and the teachers were glad to hear their messages reinforced by someone the students enjoyed listening to.

Wednesday evening, I was one of two panelists discussing the adolescent mindset and the best ways to help students prepare for and have a successful college experience leading to graduation in four years with good grades and good job prospects.  There was a standing room only audience who had sons and daughters in college or preparing to go so they were quite interested in our presentations.  They demonstrated their interest by purchasing all the books I had brought for sale!

Finally, Sunday morning I briefly discussed College In Four Years at the Links of Charlottesville brunch for Festival authors who wrote books relevant to African Americans and/or people of color.  I told the audience of 200 about the value of the book for students and parents and how it could be instrumental in helping them work together for success in college.  The message resonated with them and they also purchased every book available for sale.

In addition to these presentations, I will be sharing more information with students in Charlottesville high schools in May.

Needless to say, I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Virginia Festival of the Book and thrilled with the reception College In Four Years got at all the events and with an opportunity to share information with more students in May.  Take a look at the pictures below from the events.

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The beginning of a great event!
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My talk with students at Albemarle High School.
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The Sawyer Authors!
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My panel discussion on the teenage mindset and higher education with Dr. Florence Jensen (The teenage Brain: Planning for Success in High School, College, and Beyond) and our moderator Ms. Elizabeth Benedict.

 

 

 

The Virginia Festival of the Book

Book Review, Events, First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Media Appearances, Mentoring Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

VaBookFestival2016-OrigI want to let you know that I will be participating in the Virginia Festival of the Book later this month.  Here’s a list of the events, dates, times and locations.  I hope you can join me there:

Presentation of College in Four Years at Albemarle High School at 2775 Hydraulic Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901.  The presentation will be at 10:30 AM on Wednesday March 16th.

A discussion of College In Four Years as part of the Virginia Festival of the Book at 6:00 PM on March 16th at the Northside Library at 705 Rio Road, West Charlottesville, Virginia 22901.  The discussion will be from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

Participation in the 13th annual Celebration Brunch 11:30 AM–2:30PM at the Charlottesville Omni Hotel on Sunday, March 20, 2016 sponsored by the Links of Charlottesville where each author will briefly discuss his/her book.

African America Part II: Changing Demographics

Higher Education, Uncategorized, , , , ,
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By Fonna Seldu on Flikr

In African America: What The Media Won’t Tell You, I wrote about growth in the African American population from “The Untold Story”  – a Nielsen Corporation report.  There are other important facts about us in this report I want to share with you.  First, African Americans are, on average, younger than the non-hispanic white population – 31.4 years for African Americans versus 39 years for non-hispanic whites in America.  This means that advertisers have a longer period to build brand loyalty with African Americans and that we should  be careful about what companies we have long term relations with.  Our dollars will be even more important to them in the future so we should spend them carefully.

This will be even more important in the future because Blacks in America are going to college in greater numbers than Whites in America –  70.9% of black high school graduates versus 67.3% for non-hispanic whites.  This means we will consume longer with more money to spend because we are better educated.  The impact of more Blacks going to college is also reflected in the increased African American presence in the STEM disciplines. In 2011,  6% of STEM professionals were Black up from only 2% in 1970.

Finally, Blacks in America are not just focused on making and spending more money.  As our incomes rise at faster rates than non-hispanic whites, so does money allocated for the future in categories such as insurance policies, pensions and retirement savings.  This is important because too much black wealth has been in real estate instead of financial assets.  That’s why the real estate bubble that started the recession we’re recovering from now greatly reduced Black wealth in America.

This is just some of the information that shows  African Americans will continue to play a more important economic and demographic role in American than what is shown in the media.   Let me know what you think about this data.  Next time I’ll share more information with you about how diverse the black population in America is.  We’re not just one group of people.