Reducing College Costs

Start planning early to save on college tuition. Capable, diligent students can take an active part in reducing their class time and tuition costs while they’re still in high school. Of course, they have to be willing to put forth a diligent effort, but the results can be quite rewarding, both academically and financially.

In a previous article I explained that the College Board, the same organization responsible for the SAT, also designs and administers Advanced Placement Exams.  Most high schools include AP courses in their curriculum.  Students, typically those in grades 11 & 12, usually need teacher recommendations to enroll, as these courses parallel introductory college classes.  The coursework is more accelerated or detailed than that in honors courses, so students should be fully aware of the time commitment before they enter the AP class. However, the outcome can be substantially more worthwhile. Students who receive college credit have the opportunity to move more quickly into upper level courses when they enter college. They can graduate from college early or even double major if they have earned a number of college credits while still in high school.

From a financial standpoint, these AP courses are quite rewarding. The average per credit course at a state university ranges from $350-$500.  For private colleges and universities, the per credit cost is much higher, at least $1500.  Each college course is 3 or 4 credits, so the savings are quite substantial. Thus, a high school student who earns AP credit for a class can potentially save his parents $1000-$6000!  

The College Board offers 34 different courses.  Advanced Placement courses must follow a curriculum established by the College Board, because the exams that occur at the end of the course are national.  The focus of the courses includes problem solving and strong communication skills, especially in writing. The exams occur in May. They are scored on a 1-5 scale. Many colleges accept a minimum score of 3.  Students should check with their guidance counselors to determine which AP courses the school offers, and which ones might benefit them the most.  They may be able to start college with several courses already on their transcripts.  

Reality check

So, your children are bringing home stellar report cards and achieving above goal on state tests.  How can you tell how they fare on the national level? For many parents, the first indication of how their children rate on the national level occurs when the students take the PSAT’s.  Sometimes the results are quite unexpected.

I regularly encounter parents who contact me because they are alarmed by their children’s scores on national tests.  They ask why their children, who have consistently achieved honor roll status in middle and high school, score below the 50% when they first encounter a standardized test.  These can be entrance exams required by private or parochial high schools or SAT’s and ACT’s for college entrance.

These are the facts: Reports cards are subjective. They reflect an individual teacher’s experience with a student at a particular point in time. They may fluctuate greatly from term to term for a particular student. The reporting of a letter or number grade may not provide valuable information. The determination of the requirements for a grade may vary widely.  What would constitute an A in one class may be a B or even a C in another.  And attempting to compare grade requirements among different schools may be virtually impossible.

State tests are just that. The Connecticut  Mastery Tests (CMT’s) administered to public school students in grades 3 to 8, and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT’s) given to tenth grade students,  are useful only for purposes of the State Board of Education. They determine a district’s adherence to basic curriculum standards. They aren’t meant to determine a student’s aptitude or potential.

Many independent schools administer nationally-normed exams like the Iowa’s or ERB’s to assess their students’ progress.  Sadly, many, if not most,  public school students and their parents aren’t aware of their comparative standing on the national level until they’re at the end of their high school career.  One way of avoiding an unpleasant surprise is to take a national test like the SSAT in the lower grades or a PSAT before junior year.  It’s critical for a student to have an early indication of where he stands, so he can work towards his potential.  

For more information, go to the SSAT website.

Read the Fine Print!

I’m not talking about a legal document; I’m referring to food packaging. Anyone who’s reading this is clearly literate. But how well do most people apply reading skills to fundamental activities like grocery shopping? Taking a few moments to read the listed ingredients can lead to better, more healthful eating. In fact, the entire family can participate in reading and reap the health rewards.

In this situation, less is better. Usually, a shopper can determine that the fewer ingredients an item has the better the contents tend to be. In addition, the consumer should beware of products that contain unpronounceable ingredients. Finally, she should realize that the suffix –ose usually indicates some type of sugar: Lactose, glucose, fructose, and sucrose all are forms of sugar. 

Having become sensitized to the inclusion of the multitude of additives in processed foods, I recently spent a day walking down supermarket aisles doing some basic research.  I spent some time perusing ingredient labels of a wide variety of items. Considering the ever-increasing expansion of the American waist-line, and the incidence of diabetes in this society, I fully expected to see “sugar” among the first of ingredients in products like cereals, cakes, cookies, ice cream and yogurt—and I did. Indeed,  I was alarmed at the profusion of methods used to conceal that fact. Many companies have eschewed the word “sugar” for more esoteric or chemical designations, like “evaporated cane juice” (How does that differ from granulated sugar?) or “high fructose corn syrup.”  Unfortunately, sweeteners of all sorts also appear in foods that we wouldn’t suspect: I found it in most soy milk and salsa brands and even in pickles! Why?

I do not profess to be a scientist or nutritionist, but I am a reader.  If shoppers take a few extra moments at the supermarket to learn what they’re ingesting, they might very well alter their diets  and eat their way to better health. How's THAT for a new year's resolution?