When you take into account all the sources of college aid that are available to students in this country, roughly nine percent comes from state governments. Recently that amounted to $9.2 billion.

How states dispense this aid varies significantly. While nearly all states are strapped for cash, some are far more generous than others to college students. The requirements for who qualifies for the cash is also all over the board.

Families with smart children are happy if they live in a state that doles out money based on merit. Often the teens who have higher grade point averages and test scores can win state grants regardless of whether they have the ability to pay for college. In contrast, families with low and moderate-incomes are more likely to benefit if they live in states where all or the majority of money is based on the financial need of the household.

Financial aid practices in all 50 states

The Brookings Institute just released a report that explores the financial aid practices of all 50 states. You don’t have to read between the lines to appreciate that the researchers who worked on this report — and it relied on some real heavy hitters  – aren’t happy with states that link the majority of their college grants to merit.

Most of the states which reward affluent students through their aid policies – and stiff many lower-income kids – are primarily in the South. The worst offender is Georgia which dispenses all its college grants based on merit. I guess if you’re a poor kid in Georgia and you don’t meet the requirements for a state merit scholarship, good luck paying for college!

In the chart below, you can see a bunch of interesting statistics. The left-hand column, for instance, shares what percentage of adults in each state have earned at least a bachelor’s degree. The next column indicates how many students attend college in their own state. California has the highest percentage of students who don’t cross state lines for college (93%), which I found that fascinating. In my talks around the state (I have one today in Costa Mesa), I will continue to urge California teenagers to look beyond their own state for great financial and academic fits.

The average grant in some states such as Alaska, Arizona and New Hampshire is incredibly low. According to the report, New Hampshire and Michigan fall into the worst possibly category: high tuition/low financial aid states. Alaska, as well as Utah, fall into the low tuition/low aid category. New Jersey and South Carolina fit into the high tuition and high aid category while West Virginia and Louisiana’s policies are characterized as low tuition/high aid.

In the second and third column from the right, you can see what percentage of state aid is based on financial need and what the average grant is.

I agree with the report that with limited resources, states should be directing their money to the students who actually need help to attend college. The report (Beyond Need and Merit: Strengthening State Grant Programs) recommended that states give their grants to students who have the most financial need and then link these grants to incentives to get the recipients to actually graduate. For instance, a student might be required to take a full class load of 15-credit-hours a semester to keep a grant.

What is painfully clear is that the states aren’t doing enough to support their higher-education systems, which is making the cost of college more expensive for all students heading off to state universities.

What do you think?

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of the newly released second edition of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price.

Today I am reprinting an article written by Lee Bierer, a friend of mine, who is a nationally syndicated columnist and independent college counselor in North Carolina. Lee writes the Charlotte Observer’s weekly Countdown to College column, which is syndicated nationally to McClatchy Newspapers.

I asked Lee if I could reprint her column because it reinforces what I’ve been saying for years: families should cast a wider net when they look for colleges. Here’s another way of putting it:  Let’s show some imagination when devising a college list.

Drawing Up a College List

Here is Lee’s column:

The build-up was big, but boy, did he deliver. Robert Franek, senior vice president/publisher at Princeton Review and author of The Best 376 Colleges and The Best Value Colleges, was recently a guest speaker at Myers Park High School in Charlotte.

Franek is nothing if not informative, interactive, energetic and entertaining. He began with two simple facts:

1. It’s never been harder to get into college
2. It’s never been easier to get into college.

Franek got everyone involved from the get-go. “Who here is concerned about getting into a good college?” he asked.

All hands were are raised.

“Who has fear or anxiety about the college admissions process?”

All hands remained up.

Franek suggested that everyone take a deep breath as he observed, “We’re all scared.”

In the Princeton Review’s Hopes and Dreams survey, everyone was united in their fear. According to the survey, the No. 1 worry for students is that they will get into the school of their choice, but won’t be able to afford it.

Picking 3 Dream Schools

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Franek asked students and parents to write down the names of three colleges they would like to see themselves or their children attend, with the caveat that neither financial aid nor the college’s level of selectivity were factors – just where they would like to go to college if there were no obstacles. Franek gave them a minute to think and then shouted, “Cross off any Ivy League schools.” Okay, not much reaction.

“Cross off University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.” Audible moans.

“Cross off Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina State University, Elon and the University of South Carolina.”

The list went on until he ticked off roughly 25 colleges. He then asked “How many of you have three colleges left on your list? How many have two? You see, everyone is applying to the same 25 colleges and universities.”

So what’s the take-away message?

Students should have a good mix of colleges on their college list, Include a few of the usual suspects, but teenagers should try to find one or two schools that meet their criteria but don’t have as many applicants from their high school.

Read more at The College Solution:

If you want to learn more about students’ tendency to apply to the same group of colleges – and why that’s a bad idea, read these posts that I’ve written during the past few months on my college blog:

What’s Wrong With College Dream Lists

Where Students End Up Attending College

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of the newly released, second edition of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price.

One aspect of the top story that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times shocked me.

The number of students who borrow for college is much higher than I thought. I’ve routinely seen estimates that two-thirds of students take out loans for college. The New York Times, however, conducted an analysis that concluded that 94% of students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow. That’s up from just 45% in 1993.

Only 7% of students at public colleges and universities graduate without borrowing while only 5% of grads at private schools can pull off this feat. The average debt is $23,300, but 10% of students borrow more than $54,000 and 3% borrow more than $100,000.

Here is the link to the NYT article:  A Generation Hobbled by College Debt

Why Do So Many Borrow?

Why do so many more students need financial help to attend college? As the article mentions, state governments have been shifting more of the responsibility to families:

Another College Cost Culprit

Colleges are also to blame because they have not been addressing the affordability issue in meaningful ways. Institutions routinely urge students to apply regardless of their family’s ability to pay. The following is an amazing statement from one of the nation’s most highly visible university president:

It’s Too Easy to Borrow

If a student wants to take out hideous amounts of debt to attend, it’s rare for a college to talk them out of it. Easy credit plays into this. Beyond the federal student loans, it’s not too tough to take out private student loans. So people who have no business borrowing this way can because the lenders know that they can almost never, ever get out from under their obligation. These private loans shouldn’t even be considered “student” loans and instead should be treated like unsecured loans. This distinction would reduce the amounts of money students can borrow recklessly for college because borrowers would enjoy more protections, including the ability to declare bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, student borrowing is often used by politicians for political posturing. I co-wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times last week that touched upon this. Congress has been battling about a fairly insignificant student-loan issue while ignoring more important ones such  as college affordability. Here is the op-ed piece:

Much Ado About Student Loans

Not all college debt is bad. As I’ve mentioned on my college blog plenty of times, some debt is perfectly acceptable. If students borrow strictly through the federal Stafford Loan program, they should be fine. For most students that will mean borrowing a maximum of $27,000. Here is a post that I wrote recently on the subject:

What You Need to Know About Borrowing for College

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of the newly released, second edition of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price. 

Since there is so much interest in sports scholarships, I decided to devote another college blog post to the subject. If you missed yesterday’s post, here it is:

The Odds of Getting an Athletic Scholarship

I’ve met many parents who ask about particular sports and the odds of winning an athletic scholarship. I’m afraid a lot of families think that there are overlooked sports where pots of gold are hiding.

Sorry folks, that’s not the case.

Why Full-Rides Are Scarce

Yesterday I mentioned that the odds of a high school athlete getting a sports scholarships is 2%, but the odds are far worse on getting a full-ride.  Here’s the explanation for why that is which I pulled from the athletic chapter in my new edition of The College Solution:

And Then There’s the Equivalency Sports

All the other sports, including soccer, baseball, lacrosse, golf, swimming and every other one not among the six head-count sports are classified as equivalency sports. The NCAA dictates the maximum number of scholarships allowed per sport, but full-ride aren’t required. Coaches in the equivalency sports can divide up their scholarships to attract as many promising athletes as they can. Slicing and dicing scholarships often leads to some pretty dinky awards. Smaller awards, by the way, than you would routinely get for merit scholarships!

The New York Times ran a story back in 2008 that tracked the number of scholarships offered nationwide in each sport along with the number of sliced-and-diced scholarships. I couldn’t obtain a more current list from the NCAA and I assume that the numbers are still in the ball park. Here’s a couple of examples that I pulled from the research:

More than 600,000 girls competed in track and field in high school while there were only 4,506 scholarships. These scholarships were split among 9,888 athletes and the average award was $8,105.

More than 330,000 boys played soccer in high school while there were 2,357 soccer scholarships. These soccer scholarships were split among 6,047 students and the average award was $8,533.

These are dreadful odds.

Women’s Rowing

The only sport that I’ve found where there is almost as many participants as there are scholarships is women’s rowing. I attribute that to the fact that not many high schools have rowing teams. About 2,360 girls rowed on high school teams and there were 958 rowing scholarships divided among 2,295 athletes. The average rowing scholarship was $9,723. Actually, this even might be misleading because many teenagers out here in San Diego, at least, only row at private clubs so the number of high school rowers could be artificially low.

The New York Times article had a chart that listed the number of scholarships and the average amount by sport. Here is the article:

Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships

In the article’s side bar, you can find a list of the NCAA sports by their average scholarship amount.

Bottom Line:

It’s best if families assume that an athletic scholarship isn’t going to happen. Instead students should focus on being the best students they can and, if they do, they will increase their chances of earning academic merit award where the odds of receiving one are far higher and the awards are far greater.

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price.

Do you hope that your child is going to win an athletic scholarship?

I run into a lot of people lately who hope/expect their children to pay for college with their athletic prowess. Some of these jocks, by the way, are in grade school! I’m not kidding.

Even my own sister, whose daughter is 10, has fallen prey to the belief that a soccer scholarship is in her future.  And frankly she should know better.

The chances are miniscule, however, that my niece or any other child will someday win an athletic scholarship. About 2% of high school seniors win sports scholarships every year at NCAA institutions. The average scholarship, by the way, is less than $11,000.

Being an athlete, however, can boost a teenager’s admission chances because all schools, regardless of whether they offer scholarships, desire strong sports programs. Your child doesn’t have to be a superstar athlete to increase his or her chances of admission. And your child doesn’t need to capture a sports scholarship to ultimately make your college tab more affordable.

Athletic Scholarship Realities

In reality, athletic scholarships are often not as generous as regular financial aid or merit scholarships that jocks can earn for their academics and other talents. Striking it big with an athletic scholarship, however, resonates with parents whether their children are still in grade school or well into their high school years.

If sports scholarships sound appealing, here is something to keep in mind: Families often end up shopping for athletic scholarships rather than for schools that represent good academic fit. If you are a gifted athlete or the parent of one, I’d recommend that you first identify schools that would be a match academically and then inquire about the sports. Getting a college education is infinitely more important than playing a sports. And remember, the money you receive for academic accomplishments is often more than a sports scholarship.

Athleticism won’t make up for poor grades

What’s tragic about the focus on sports scholarships is that is encourages students to spend more time on their sport than their grades. Kris Hinz, an independent college counselor, once shared with me her experience with high school athletes that nicely sums up the problem. Here is her observation:

In my practice, parents often apologize about their kid’s grades, then quickly say, “But he’s a great athlete and we’re hoping hat can be his ace in the hole.” They are hoping that his athletic prowess will get him accepted and get him money! A tall order! They are usually wrong on both counts. And the worst part is, all the time that has been devoted to sports has siphoned off time that could have been spend studying to earn a strong GPA.

I’m answering a question today from a reader, who is interested in locating MBA placement rates. The advice is also pertinent to those wondering if a particular school will give a child a boost when applying to graduate school and other professional degree programs.

Is there any info out there on colleges with a good track record for MBA admissions down the road? Lots have great medical and law school results, but with the work experience gap typical of MBA candidates, there’s little info we’ve been able to find. Our youngest is thinking a liberal arts college, economics/philosophy major but a good MBA admissions track record would be a real hook in his search.

This is a tough question and probably impossible to obtain meaningful figures. In fact, I’d be skeptical about any grad/professional figures that schools publish.

Why?

Because these placement figures are self reported. Schools send surveys to students, but they only formulate their grad-school admittance rates based on alumni who respond. Human nature suggests that college graduates who were rejected for post-graduate work wouldn’t be eager to share that information.

Don’t Believe the Stats

When I talked to admission reps at the college conference that I attended last week in Reno, they largely downplayed any statistics that institutions were generating about law/medical/biz/grad school placement.

When I posed this question to an admission official at UCLA (I can’t find her darn business card!), she said it would be hard to track grad/professional placement figures at undergraduate institutions. Instead she suggested that students contact graduate schools about where their students are coming from. She acknowledged, however, that this wouldn’t give a family any information about the admission success rate of students attending grad/professional schools from a particular undergraduate institution.

The UCLA administrator also addressed a common misperception that students enjoy a grad-school advantage if they attend the institution as an undergrad.  She said some UCLA undergrads think they will enjoy an admission edge to professional-degree programs at UCLA, but it’s not true.

A Better Idea

Andrea Hendrickson, the West Coast admission rep at Lawrence University, an excellent liberal arts college in Wisconsin, suggested that prospective students spend time asking in-depth questions about pre-advising programs for professional degrees at undergraduate institutions. Don’t just inquire if a school has pre-professional advising programs, ask for detailed information about how they work.

Excellent pre-advising programs are essential for undergrads because it’s extremely difficult for an undergrad to know what’s involved in qualifying for programs after a bachelor’s degree is in hand. I’d also ask to speak to students and recent grads who have used the services.

For graduate programs outside law, business, medical schools, I think it’s wise to assess what kind of support professors have in helping direct students to graduate programs. What kind of mentoring goes on — if at all. Once again, you’ll also want to talk to students and recent grads about their experience.

MBA Programs

Going back to the original question – as the mother suggested, I think MBA will be especially problematic because students usually don’t aim for a MBA right after getting their bachelor’s degree. Business schools rightly want students who have had experience in the work force.

One way to boost your chances of ultimately getting accepted into an MBA program is to major in something other than business. One of the most popular posts at my college blog at CBS MoneyWatch during the past year provides many reasons why a student should think twice before pursuing a business degree, which is the most popular of college majors. More than one out of five college students graduate with one.

8 Reasons Not to Get a Business Degree

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of the second edition of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, which was released earlier this month.