Despite all their faults, experts say some of the better 'guaranteed' college savings plans are still good options for anyone whose kids are likely to attend participating schools. Like all '529' savings plans, the 'guaranteed' plans enjoy lucrative tax breaks. Contributions to the special education accounts build up tax free as long as the money is eventually used for tuition or school supplies.

College Education Concerns in the 21st Century
(c) M. Ryder

Turning Two Years Into Four
Carol Frey

Can't come up with the money for four years at a traditional college? What if you could take the same courses far more cheaply, experience life on a residential campus, and transfer smoothly after two years to complete your bachelor's degree at the university you thought you couldn't afford? That's the attraction of many community colleges.

7 Ways to Cut Thousands from your College Costs
by Kim Clark

Many students are ratcheting their budgets downward because of reduced incomes and financial aid. Nevertheless, college aid officers still see plenty of students appealing for aid for what the colleges call "lifestyle" expenses.

Secrets to Finding a Student Loan
by Kim Clark

The credit crunch and debacle on Wall Street have wiped out those easy-peasy $40,000 college loans that used to be all over late-night TV. And the feds are considering a dramatic consolidation of the educational lending industry that could reduce options still further. But no matter ...

Is Student Debt Really a Problem?
by Kim Clark

Most college students and recent graduates are not saddled with oppressive educational loans, according to a report issued by the College Board. But the report also documented a surprising and troubling increase in the debt loads shouldered by students attending the lowest-cost schools of all -- local, public community colleges

The Challenge for Black Colleges
Kim Clark

The downturn that has forced cutbacks at some of the nation's richest colleges is endangering survival of some of the poorest, including some historically black colleges and universities. But alumni, professors, and outside analysts say that the better-funded HBCUs' experience weathering hard times and helping students whom other schools have shut out may boost their appeal

First-rate Colleges Not as Selective as the Top Universities
Diane Cole

A truth that college applicants all too often forget: Beyond the small roster of nationally renowned schools lie many that aren't household names but have first-rate programs and strong reputations.

Different Paths to a College Degree
Carol Frey

Unemployment has changed many a kitchen-table conversation about college. One of the best ways to ensure a job is to have a bachelor's degree. But a college education is now more difficult for many families to afford. That means many students are on the prowl for bargain bachelor's degrees--and some are finding them in nontraditional programs such as three-year bachelor's degree programs, online education, and work colleges.

Unified Admissions, Affordable Loans and 'Gap Years' -- Might Help American Colleges
Thomas K. Grose

While many foreign models won't work in the States there are some practices, mainly cherry-picked from Britain, that would be welcome additions: a less punishing student loan program; more encouragement for students to follow the British tradition of taking a 'gap year' break before starting college; and, of course, a central admissions process

SAT Offers Level Playing Field in College Admissions process
Gaston Caperton

The SAT is the most widely used and most heavily researched college admissions test in the country. In combination with other data, such as a student's grade-point average, college application essays, and letters of recommendation, the SAT has proven to be a valid, fair, and reliable data tool for college admissions. All of the available research supports this point.

Students are More than SAT Scores and Numbers in College Admissions Process
Jill Tiefenthaler

The accepted framework for college admissions is showing rust at the joints and no longer supports the right parts of the educational enterprise. It is time to rethink college admissions, and particularly the role of standardized testing. With only marginal predictive value for performance in college, standardized scores do nothing to suggest what a student might contribute to the character and vitality of an intellectual community.

Dreaded Financial Aid Form will be Easier to Fill Out Next Year
Kim Clark

Applying for financial aid is about to get a little less annoying, and loan repayment will get more affordable for some students, thanks to recent initiatives from the U.S. Department of Education.

Casting the Widest Possible Net: College Tuition Assistance & Financial Aid
Kim Clark

Back when jobs were plentiful, investments were growing nicely, and borrowing was easy students and parents could generally cobble together the $18,000 or so cost of a year at a public university using some variation of the oft-recommended "thirds" strategy: one third from savings, one third from debt, and one third out of the family paychecks. But how can they scrape together tuition money now that the bear market has wiped out savings, banks are scared to make loans, and layoffs have eliminated millions of high-paying jobs? Simple ...

Serious Tracking to Hunt Down Cheapest Student Loans
Kim Clark

One of the most surprising results of the turmoil in the lending markets is how students' loan options have diverged from parents'. Here are the keys both should bear in mind

Calculating the Hidden Costs of College
Kimberly Palmer

Forget the meal plan and new computer -- those college costs pale in comparison with the unexpected school expenses that add up each month, from vitamins to stave off exam-season colds to formal wear for the next big Saturday night soiree. Here are 13 often-overlooked items that you might want to budget for, along with their estimated costs ...

Regional Agreements allow Hefty Discount for Students from Nearby States
Nikki Schwab

Out of State at In-State Tuition Rates. In many areas, regional tuitiion rate agreements for public state colleges and universities allow a hefty discount for students from nearby states. But you have to know where to look ...

The Real Secret of College Admissions
David L. Marcus

I'm a volunteer interviewer for my alma mater, Brown University. I know the hard statistics: Only 1 out of 10 of those I meet will be admitted. I've come to see the admissions process as a game whose stakes really are not that high. While screening these applicants for the past couple of years, I was writing a book about the college quest. I became convinced that rejection is frequently a blessing.

Healthcare Giving Students Opportunity to Pay their Way through College
by Steven Yaccino

Many students are expected to lean on the healthcare industry for employment this year as the part-time job market sinks even further south. Lucky for them, a deluge of aging baby boomers drives one of the healthiest industries today. Seven of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are related to healthcare, according to government data.

Students & Professors use Twitter to Communicate Inside & Outside the Classroom
by Zach Miners

Though Twitter might not be quite as popular among students as Facebook or MySpace, a growing cadre of professors and administrators are embracing it and using it to introduce their classes to a different kind of communication and networking -- one that doesn't involve "poking" friends or posting your results from quizzes and polls.

Budget Cuts Hit Nation's Public Colleges Hard, Even as Demand for Well-educated Workforce Soars
Kim Clark

The recession, state budget cuts, and hidebound bureaucracies are endangering some of the most important foundations of the American dream -- the low-cost, high-quality public colleges created to provide anyone with smarts and diligence the training needed to succeed.

Women's Colleges have had to Broaden their Appeal and Support
Jessica Calefati

According to one study, just 3 percent of collegebound women will even consider attending a women's college. Yet on many traditional coeducational campuses across the country, female students now outnumber their male peers. Some argue that this combination of factors demonstrates that women's colleges are obsolete, some think otherwise ...

Best Tech for the Collegebound
David LaGesse

At the top of every college student's list are the modern tools of campus life, the technology that gets students through their academics and socializing. We've scanned five key categories of tech for collegiates. While these can be used for entertainment, the emphasis is on work and communications.

School Lunches Go Vegetarian
Zach Miners

A new nationwide survey by the School Nutrition Association says almost 2 out of 3 U.S. schools now offer vegetarian fare for lunch on a regular basis. That's a 40 percent increase since 2003, the first year veggie meals were tallied by the nonprofit group. However, rising prices are hitting districts hard ...

An Amazon Kindle for Every Student
Zach Miners

Forget better standards, merit pay for teachers, or rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure of America's aging schools. No, if we really want to fix the U.S. education system, we must start with Kindles. Thomas Z. Freedman, the primary author of the paper, writes that having a "Kindle in every backpack" (the title of the proposal) is not just an educational gimmick but could improve education quality and save money

Technology as Our Teacher
Mortimer B. Zuckerman

How can average teachers become better teachers? The secretary's special funding could make a crucial difference by financing a national program exploiting the electronic miracles of the Internet and video. We could escape geography by using the technology to have the best teachers appear in hundreds of thousands of disparate classrooms. This is a force multiplier.

New Path to a Career in Education
Jessica Calefati

Since it began in 2002, the little-known Broad Residency has placed more than 130 participants in 32 of the nation's largest urban school districts. There, they have led efforts to overhaul budgeting processes, revamp human resources departments, and make the purchase of textbooks and supplies more efficient. Interest in the program is starting to skyrocket, perhaps because of President Barack Obama's advocacy of public service and school reform.

Keep Back-to-School Shopping Costs Down
Zack Miners

The National Retail Federaton predicts the worst back-to-school shopping season for stores in more than a decade, with a spending drop of 8 percent. But many retailers are doing everything they can to win back business, and you can do your part to stretch your dollar by considering these recommendations ...

Tough Job Market for Law School Students
Jessica Calefati

Law students are competing for about half as many openings at the country's most prominent firms as their classmates were last year. For the first time in decades, the promise of a lucrative corporate law career for top students is uncertain, and in response, growing numbers of students are considering firms in smaller markets, opportunities in government, and jobs with public interest groups.

Our Colleges, A Quiet Crisis
Clarence Page

President Obama's new community college initiative brought to mind an old Chris Rock monologue that went something like this: "You know why they call it 'community college'? Because that's who you see when you go there: The 'community'!"

Hidden Costs of College Education Really Add Up
by Kimberly Palmer

Forget the meal plan and new computer -- those costs pale in comparison with the unexpected expenses that add up each month. Here are 16 often-overlooked items that you might want to budget for, along with their estimated costs

New Benefits Help Veterans Go to College
by Anna Mulrine

Under the new GI Bill passed by Congress in 2008, another generation of war veterans -- and their families -- will begin receiving expanded educational assistance this year. The benefits are considerable--more than some Defense Department officials, who were concerned about the possibility of U.S. troops leaving the military to take advantage of the bill, had backed.

How Much Do Colleges Really Teach Students?
Kim Clark

Until now, students shopping for a college couldn't get answers to some of their most important questions, such as 'How much do students learn at this school?' That finally might finally be changing. A growing number of colleges are posting results of tests that gauge how much their students learn as undergraduates.

New Student Loan Repayment Plan Is Based on Borrower's Income
Kathy Kristof

A new federal student loan repayment plan goes into effect this month that could dramatically reduce payments for highly indebted borrowers. Called "income-based repayment," the plan limits the monthly payments to a percentage of the borrower's monthly income. The program is complex and won't apply to every borrower. But those who have federal student loan balances that exceed their annual income almost certainly qualify

School's Over Way Too Soon, Literally
by Ana Veciana-Suarez

These days, though, pushing for a longer school year is akin to asking the boss for a pay raise. Chances are I'll get laughed right out the recessionary door. School districts around the country have cut programs and laid off teachers. How are we going to fund an initiative that obviously will require more money

Supreme Court: Strip Search of 13-Year-Old Unconstitutional
by Zach Miners

In a decision that could have significant implications for school administrators' ability to keep their campuses safe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 8 to 1, this week that the strip search of a 13-year-old Arizona girl by school officials who were looking for prescription-strength drugs violated her constitutional rights.

Presumption and Assumption: Government Failures in Education
by Cal Thomas

Some people presume that government is better suited to handling problems than individuals or private entities. And then there are the accompanying assumptions that government, for those who have faith in its supposedly superior capabilities, will always produce the desired outcome. Nowhere has the failure of presumptions to produce results from assumptions been more evident than in public education.

In Urban Classrooms, Least Experienced Teach Neediest Kids: Novices learn on the job & children suffer
by MaryEllen McGuire

Teachers with the least experience are educating the most disadvantaged students in the highest poverty, most challenging schools. Low-income kids are being taught not by experienced teachers, but by those with fewer than three years of teaching to go on. Does it matter? Absolutely.

College Graduates Get Lesson in Hard Economic Times
By Ana Veciana-Suarez

A college diploma guaranteed a comfortable foothold in the American Dream. But this year's graduates find themselves in the worst economy their generation has known, and what should be a time of celebration has morphed into a bout of full-blown anxiety.

Which Colleges Leave Students With Most Debt
by Kim Clark

Seniors at for-profit colleges are more than twice as likely to have accumulated dangerous amounts of education loans as seniors at other kinds of four-year colleges, according to a new report.

Web a Starting Place for Selecting a College
by Steve Rosen

Here are a handful of resources that you may not have discovered that go beyond the words and numbers of the college Web site and financial aid packets.