TORCH Opinion / Cost of a College Education

[jerseyshorejohnny]

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

Reform for higher education: The time is now

Suzanne Ciechalski, Opinion Editor

September 18, 2015

It is no secret that the cost of a college education has risen through the roof and become, quite frankly, ridiculous in every aspect. CNBC reported this summer that college tuition has been rising about six-percent above inflation since the 1970’s. Despite constant reporting on the average American family’s inability to afford higher education, the price continues to go up. Unsurprisingly, a Gallup Poll published in April 2015 shows that 79% of Americans believe that higher education is unaffordable.

Students are pushed to go on to receive a degree after high school and I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment; however, it is difficult to achieve all that is expected given the cost. By “all that is expected” I don’t just mean going to college after high school. I mean attending a school that is considered “good” in the eyes of the public, meaning a high-priced, private university with a stellar reputation. Are you even smart if you’re not attending Harvard? It simply isn’t enough to just attend college after high school nowadays. Students feel pressured to attend prestigious schools where it is expected that they will graduate and become active members of society, as if it’s that easy.

First, there is certainly an issue with the education system in the United States as a whole. With all of the focus being put on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs and pushing students in that direction, the humanities (religion, history, language, etc.) have taken a huge hit. Standardized testing has also deeply affected elementary through high school students as these exams play a huge part in the college application process (looking at you, College Board).

There’s also a huge lack of emphasis on trades, which, contrary to popular belief, are necessary to keeping this country going. Why are students forced into going to school for accounting when they want to work with their hands as a carpenter? Or, maybe they want to become mechanics or plumbers. There should not be a stigma surrounding the trades, as there’s an obvious need for them to keep this country alive and breathing.

Besides the stigmas that surround college attendance, affordability is also a huge problem. Government aid is supposed to alleviate the expense of higher education, but many students still have difficulty affording college with scholarships and aid. In many cases, students have difficulty even receiving some type of aid because they don’t meet the government’s requirements for FAFSA, which, quite frankly, does not take enough into account in terms of a family’s finances. Once FAFSA is filled out and an Estimated Family Contribution is calculated, there is very little that can be done by universities to aid students any further.

Student loan debt has consumed the country, yet loans are still the go-to method of affording college for most students. Student loans are advertised as the greatest thing since sliced bread, yet according to CNN, as of September 2014, student loan debt hit a record breaking $1.2 trillion dollars. If that doesn’t spell a problem for the United States and colleges across the country, as well as students, I’m not sure what does.

Discussions take place constantly surrounding this issue but there is not nearly enough action being taken, as is the case with most issues in America these days.

President Barack Obama has said, “We shouldn’t be making it harder to afford college–we should be a country where everyone has a chance to go and doesn’t rack up $100,000 of debt just because they went.”

Just like the President, many politicians have stood before us discussing the issue, complaining that the cost is out of control, that every student deserves the opportunity to receive an education without graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and that we need to take action to combat the growing costs before they spiral out of control.

Among these politicians is Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who has introduced a plan to make four-year public education completely free.

President Obama himself has also introduced a plan to make two-year community colleges free.

Elizabeth Warren has called for more federal funding for higher education.

Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio has also called for reforms in terms of higher education, which the New York Times described as “dismantling the ‘cartel of existing colleges and universities’ that he said left too many students without viable career paths and burdened by tens of thousands of dollars in debt.”

Politicians can talk as much as they want and us students can keep pushing as hard as we want for some kind of action to be taken, but the future of affordability for higher education remains to be seen. One thing is for certain though; as college students and their families struggle to keep up with sky-high costs year after year, now is the time for reform.

- See more at:http://www.torchonline.com/opinion/...ucation-the-time-is-now/#sthash.zt2grG7a.dpuf

 

[beast of the east]

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

Reform for higher education: The time is now

Suzanne Ciechalski, Opinion Editor

September 18, 2015

It is no secret that the cost of a college education has risen through the roof and become, quite frankly, ridiculous in every aspect. CNBC reported this summer that college tuition has been rising about six-percent above inflation since the 1970’s. Despite constant reporting on the average American family’s inability to afford higher education, the price continues to go up. Unsurprisingly, a Gallup Poll published in April 2015 shows that 79% of Americans believe that higher education is unaffordable.

Students are pushed to go on to receive a degree after high school and I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment; however, it is difficult to achieve all that is expected given the cost. By “all that is expected” I don’t just mean going to college after high school. I mean attending a school that is considered “good” in the eyes of the public, meaning a high-priced, private university with a stellar reputation. Are you even smart if you’re not attending Harvard? It simply isn’t enough to just attend college after high school nowadays. Students feel pressured to attend prestigious schools where it is expected that they will graduate and become active members of society, as if it’s that easy.

First, there is certainly an issue with the education system in the United States as a whole. With all of the focus being put on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs and pushing students in that direction, the humanities (religion, history, language, etc.) have taken a huge hit. Standardized testing has also deeply affected elementary through high school students as these exams play a huge part in the college application process (looking at you, College Board).

There’s also a huge lack of emphasis on trades, which, contrary to popular belief, are necessary to keeping this country going. Why are students forced into going to school for accounting when they want to work with their hands as a carpenter? Or, maybe they want to become mechanics or plumbers. There should not be a stigma surrounding the trades, as there’s an obvious need for them to keep this country alive and breathing.

Besides the stigmas that surround college attendance, affordability is also a huge problem. Government aid is supposed to alleviate the expense of higher education, but many students still have difficulty affording college with scholarships and aid. In many cases, students have difficulty even receiving some type of aid because they don’t meet the government’s requirements for FAFSA, which, quite frankly, does not take enough into account in terms of a family’s finances. Once FAFSA is filled out and an Estimated Family Contribution is calculated, there is very little that can be done by universities to aid students any further.

Student loan debt has consumed the country, yet loans are still the go-to method of affording college for most students. Student loans are advertised as the greatest thing since sliced bread, yet according to CNN, as of September 2014, student loan debt hit a record breaking $1.2 trillion dollars. If that doesn’t spell a problem for the United States and colleges across the country, as well as students, I’m not sure what does.

Discussions take place constantly surrounding this issue but there is not nearly enough action being taken, as is the case with most issues in America these days.

President Barack Obama has said, “We shouldn’t be making it harder to afford college–we should be a country where everyone has a chance to go and doesn’t rack up $100,000 of debt just because they went.”

Just like the President, many politicians have stood before us discussing the issue, complaining that the cost is out of control, that every student deserves the opportunity to receive an education without graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and that we need to take action to combat the growing costs before they spiral out of control.

Among these politicians is Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who has introduced a plan to make four-year public education completely free.

President Obama himself has also introduced a plan to make two-year community colleges free.

Elizabeth Warren has called for more federal funding for higher education.

Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio has also called for reforms in terms of higher education, which the New York Times described as “dismantling the ‘cartel of existing colleges and universities’ that he said left too many students without viable career paths and burdened by tens of thousands of dollars in debt.”

Politicians can talk as much as they want and us students can keep pushing as hard as we want for some kind of action to be taken, but the future of affordability for higher education remains to be seen. One thing is for certain though; as college students and their families struggle to keep up with sky-high costs year after year, now is the time for reform.

- See more at:http://www.torchonline.com/opinion/...ucation-the-time-is-now/#sthash.zt2grG7a.dpuf

A college education, especially a private college education, is a commodity. Anyone who purchases a private college education must weigh the benefit of spending (even) borrowed dollars and consider the return on investment. Too many 18 year old students are incapable of fathoming what the impact of repaying student loans well into your 30's will have on paying for housing, transportation, saving for retirement, or even their own children's education. Debt forgiveness is not the answer, as taxpayers at large will be footing the bill for this in the long run. Neither is free community or state colleges, which are already heavily subsidized by your tax dollars hard at work. The notion that every child deserves or must have a college education is elitist and ludicrous. Most college educated people would love to earn what their plumber, electrician, or even landscaper makes.

I'm also an advocate of eliminating scholarships in favor of those scholarships being replaced by loans. Imagine how many turns that grant money could perpetuate if a successful graduate, benefiting from that grant, paid that back into a system to grant another student in need the opportunity to attend college. Even at 0% interest, the end result could be flabbergasting.

Unfortunately, too many schools treat the generosity of alumni donors the way our government treats our tax dollars, namely "You keep giving, we'll keep spending, and it isn't any of your business what we do with the money"

It would be great if universities could forego beautiful landscaping, paving stone courtyards, health club level gyms, and coffee shops that Starbucks would envy in favor of offering a rock solid education at affordable prices. I'm sure this sentiment is out of touch in a competitive environment, but it sure seems to make sense.

 

[Andrew]

I don't see how you can compare educating our nation with a commodity. I could care less what car I drive or what house I live in as long as my children have the opportunity to improve themselves and improve this country. Many of the great contributors from the baby boomer generation were able to go to college at affordable prices. Private Colleges now are for the elite and state colleges are not being funded at nearly the same levels that they were 25 years ago and are starting to become unaffordable for many families. A country that is ruled by the elite without any ability to move up in society will eventually collapse.

 

[otis]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

 

[tom in salem]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

Harvard has an endowment of 33 billion dollars.
33 billion dollars.
The sticker price for this year's incoming freshmen class was $60,659.
The legacies and wealthy will pay every penny of that.
College is a business, and if Harvard were a stock, I'd invest heavily.

 

[beast of the east]

I don't see how you can compare educating our nation with a commodity. I could care less what car I drive or what house I live in as long as my children have the opportunity to improve themselves and improve this country. Many of the great contributors from the baby boomer generation were able to go to college at affordable prices. Private Colleges now are for the elite and state colleges are not being funded at nearly the same levels that they were 25 years ago and are starting to become unaffordable for many families. A country that is ruled by the elite without any ability to move up in society will eventually collapse.

Private universities have always been only for a segment of the population. When people ask me why I went to St. John's I have only one answer. It was the only affordable university had had my major in the entire metro area. Today that is no longer true. There was not a single private university that I could have afforded to attend, even with student loans. The entire cost of my 5 year degree cost less than two months at some private universities today when you add the cost of room and board.

As for your argument, though, private universities aren't a public right. They are market driven, and can price themselves out of favor and existence. There is no reason that the product of a private education become the ruling elite when some very fine public universities exist, most of which at the state level are better than schools like St. John's. They are better funded, better staffed, and provide a higher value for the cost to students.

 

[redfanUp9]

Student Debt relief is a really funny thing, I know plenty of people who through careful planning and good financial habits overcame student debt from both college and grad school by the time they turned 28. I also know Academy of Art grads with 100,000 dollars of debt who smoke a pack a day, buy lunch everyday in Chelsea and complain about thier debt. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm all for debt relief provided that the person recieving it chose to go a public school, is fiscally responsible and got their degree in Math Science Law etc. There are plenty of colleges and majors that are worth the cost of tuition, but this idea that everyone has to go to college even if they can't afford it and want to major in theatre needs to and will be wiped from our national conscience.

 

[logen]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

Harvard has an endowment of 33 billion dollars.
33 billion dollars.
The sticker price for this year's incoming freshmen class was $60,659.
The legacies and wealthy will pay every penny of that.
College is a business, and if Harvard were a stock, I'd invest heavily.

Our education system has gone the way of the rest of society, greed rules, more for the sake of more is good and unfortunately those very insightful people who predicted that a capitalist society will eventually "eat" itself are being proven correct as the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks and a totally dependent, subsidized population grows even as we speak. As TIS wrote, colleges are a business, nothing more, nothing less and education by and large has become just another exploited revenue stream.

 

[tom in salem]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

Harvard has an endowment of 33 billion dollars.
33 billion dollars.
The sticker price for this year's incoming freshmen class was $60,659.
The legacies and wealthy will pay every penny of that.
College is a business, and if Harvard were a stock, I'd invest heavily.

Our education system has gone the way of the rest of society, greed rules, more for the sake of more is good and unfortunately those very insightful people who predicted that a capitalist society will eventually "eat" itself are being proven correct as the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks and a totally dependent, subsidized population grows even as we speak. As TIS wrote, colleges are a business, nothing more, nothing less and education by and large has become just another exploited revenue stream.

Which is precisely why Bernie is polling so well.

 

[fuchsia]

Student Debt relief is a really funny thing, I know plenty of people who through careful planning and good financial habits overcame student debt from both college and grad school by the time they turned 28. I also know Academy of Art grads with 100,000 dollars of debt who smoke a pack a day, buy lunch everyday in Chelsea and complain about thier debt. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm all for debt relief provided that the person recieving it chose to go a public school, is fiscally responsible and got their degree in Math Science Law etc. There are plenty of colleges and majors that are worth the cost of tuition, but this idea that everyone has to go to college even if they can't afford it and want to major in theatre needs to and will be wiped from our national conscience.

And I guess we should ban you and members of your family from the Met, MOMA, Lincoln Center, the Museum of Natural History, churches with works of art, nature trails, and non-military clothing stores. Oh wait, military clothing is done by some of the finest and best trained designers in the world.

 

[logen]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

Harvard has an endowment of 33 billion dollars.
33 billion dollars.
The sticker price for this year's incoming freshmen class was $60,659.
The legacies and wealthy will pay every penny of that.
College is a business, and if Harvard were a stock, I'd invest heavily.

Our education system has gone the way of the rest of society, greed rules, more for the sake of more is good and unfortunately those very insightful people who predicted that a capitalist society will eventually "eat" itself are being proven correct as the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks and a totally dependent, subsidized population grows even as we speak. As TIS wrote, colleges are a business, nothing more, nothing less and education by and large has become just another exploited revenue stream.

Which is precisely why Bernie is polling so well.

I suppose it is, the problem is socialism and communism have also proven to be flawed and eventually failed systems; unfortunately, it seems human nature reveals the weaknesses and eventually unravels all of them.

 

[beast of the east]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

Harvard has an endowment of 33 billion dollars.
33 billion dollars.
The sticker price for this year's incoming freshmen class was $60,659.
The legacies and wealthy will pay every penny of that.
College is a business, and if Harvard were a stock, I'd invest heavily.

Our education system has gone the way of the rest of society, greed rules, more for the sake of more is good and unfortunately those very insightful people who predicted that a capitalist society will eventually "eat" itself are being proven correct as the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks and a totally dependent, subsidized population grows even as we speak. As TIS wrote, colleges are a business, nothing more, nothing less and education by and large has become just another exploited revenue stream.

Which is precisely why Bernie is polling so well.

In New Hampshire. The other reason is the Hillary is the true Beast of the East.

 

[logen]

One positive first step would be to encourage colleges to spend their sizable endowments to reduce undergrad tuition.

Information regarding endowments supplied by nacubo and others indicates an "arms race" by all sized schools to stock pile boatloads of money without spending it for the greater good of the students.

see
http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2014_Endowment_Market_Values_Revised2.27.15.pdf

Under my proposal the Feds would establish a formula that requires each school to spend an additional set percentage of its endowment, over a breakpoint percent based upon the school current operating budget, to underwrite undergrad tuition. Each institution would have the burden prove compliance or risk having their endowment subject to taxation.

For example: assuming the breakpoint is the sum of three times current operating budget; if a school has an endowment of $500M and annual operating budget of $75M then it would have the burden to prove that it has subsidized undergrad tuition by the required percent of the $275 (being $500M- $225M) or have the $275M of its endowment taxed. Schools with smaller endowments would be exempt.

Harvard has an endowment of 33 billion dollars.
33 billion dollars.
The sticker price for this year's incoming freshmen class was $60,659.
The legacies and wealthy will pay every penny of that.
College is a business, and if Harvard were a stock, I'd invest heavily.

Our education system has gone the way of the rest of society, greed rules, more for the sake of more is good and unfortunately those very insightful people who predicted that a capitalist society will eventually "eat" itself are being proven correct as the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks and a totally dependent, subsidized population grows even as we speak. As TIS wrote, colleges are a business, nothing more, nothing less and education by and large has become just another exploited revenue stream.

Which is precisely why Bernie is polling so well.

In New Hampshire. The other reason is the Hillary is the true Beast of the East.

The established core of either of the mainstream parties are not going to solve the problems we face and neither will Sanders; now Ben Carson..............................

 

[ras]

One option for students is to attend a community college and transfer to a good 4 year program. That will cut costs significantly . Going to a state school also helps tremendously economicly. For those who think the community college route is substandard, like I did. My daughter started at a community college. She just got 2 masters degrees from Columbia. Fortunately in our case I was Able to pay for Columbia, but I could see the cost of that school being a burden for most families.If I couldn't afford Columibia she could of gone to U of Fl. We are Fl. Residents. Another thing is many prestigious schools offer financial aid to lower income families.Students have to be practical. If you want to be a social worker , a low paying job, w just a bachelors degree, and you have to pay for your own college it doesn't make sense to go the private route and graduate w 100.000 worth of debt.

 

[beast of the east]

One option for students is to attend a community college and transfer to a good 4 year program. That will cut costs significantly . Going to a state school also helps tremendously economicly. For those who think the community college route is substandard, like I did. My daughter started at a community college. She just got 2 masters degrees from Columbia. Fortunately in our case I was Able to pay for Columbia, but I could see the cost of that school being a burden for most families.If I couldn't afford Columibia she could of gone to U of Fl. We are Fl. Residents. Another thing is many prestigious schools offer financial aid to lower income families.Students have to be practical. If you want to be a social worker , a low paying job, w just a bachelors degree, and you have to pay for your own college it doesn't make sense to go the private route and graduate w 100.000 worth of debt.

As private colleges and universities have priced themselves beyond the reach of most Americans without throwing families and/or students into ridiculous debt, the public college route makes the best economic sense. It is why schools like SUNY Binghampton is now a pretty competitive school to get into. It is why Nassau Community College (with a faculty that is likely much better paid, and perhaps more qualified than SJU) is packed with students. In many states, great students aatend state college because it is the only affordable choice and they don't thgink twice about the brand cache of a private school.

 

[jerseyshorejohnny]

Hello Beast,

Please check your PM

Thnak you !!

 

[ras]

I agree w you BEAST. In Fl. UF and FSU are very difficult to get into and highly regarded. Fl. Offers the pre paid college plan and bright futures. My daughter ended up w her BA from FSU and her undergraduate degree was very affordable, which enabled me to pay for her graduate school.I have a lot of neighbors who are doctors and Lawyers who send their kids to FSU or UF because they don't qualify for financial aid and the price disparity between those schools and private ones are so vast especially w the bright future scholis.

 

[Andrew]

One option for students is to attend a community college and transfer to a good 4 year program. That will cut costs significantly . Going to a state school also helps tremendously economicly. For those who think the community college route is substandard, like I did. My daughter started at a community college. She just got 2 masters degrees from Columbia. Fortunately in our case I was Able to pay for Columbia, but I could see the cost of that school being a burden for most families.If I couldn't afford Columibia she could of gone to U of Fl. We are Fl. Residents. Another thing is many prestigious schools offer financial aid to lower income families.Students have to be practical. If you want to be a social worker , a low paying job, w just a bachelors degree, and you have to pay for your own college it doesn't make sense to go the private route and graduate w 100.000 worth of debt.

As private colleges and universities have priced themselves beyond the reach of most Americans without throwing families and/or students into ridiculous debt, the public college route makes the best economic sense. It is why schools like SUNY Binghampton is now a pretty competitive school to get into. It is why Nassau Community College (with a faculty that is likely much better paid, and perhaps more qualified than SJU) is packed with students. In many states, great students aatend state college because it is the only affordable choice and they don't thgink twice about the brand cache of a private school.

Please spell my Alma mater correctly. It is Binghamton University and there has never been a p in Binghamton. It is a very competitive school and has been for many years.

Here is a link to just a small group of our prestigious alumni.
http://www.binghamton.edu/blog/index.php/blog/story/12488/notable-binghamton-alumni/

 

[beast of the east]

One option for students is to attend a community college and transfer to a good 4 year program. That will cut costs significantly . Going to a state school also helps tremendously economicly. For those who think the community college route is substandard, like I did. My daughter started at a community college. She just got 2 masters degrees from Columbia. Fortunately in our case I was Able to pay for Columbia, but I could see the cost of that school being a burden for most families.If I couldn't afford Columibia she could of gone to U of Fl. We are Fl. Residents. Another thing is many prestigious schools offer financial aid to lower income families.Students have to be practical. If you want to be a social worker , a low paying job, w just a bachelors degree, and you have to pay for your own college it doesn't make sense to go the private route and graduate w 100.000 worth of debt.

As private colleges and universities have priced themselves beyond the reach of most Americans without throwing families and/or students into ridiculous debt, the public college route makes the best economic sense. It is why schools like SUNY Binghampton is now a pretty competitive school to get into. It is why Nassau Community College (with a faculty that is likely much better paid, and perhaps more qualified than SJU) is packed with students. In many states, great students aatend state college because it is the only affordable choice and they don't thgink twice about the brand cache of a private school.

Please spell my Alma mater correctly. It is Binghamton University and there has never been a p in Binghamton. It is a very competitive school and has been for many years.

Here is a link to just a small group of our prestigious alumni.
http://www.binghamton.edu/blog/index.php/blog/story/12488/notable-binghamton-alumni/

Andrew, spelled correctly or not (and spellcheck thought Binghamton was wrong, so I went with Binghampton. It's probably spelled differently because Binghamton should never be confused with the Hamptons. ), is on an upwards tick, especially since the near financial meltdown of 2008. The entire SUNY system has become more competitive based on affordable prices. What you may not be aware of is the fact that over the past 40 years our average SAT score of admitted students has not moved up , but those of the better known Catholic schools in this part of the country have. That's also considering those numbers are bolstered by pharmacy school average SATs (which have measurably improved to about 1350 M & V).

The Binghamton class of 2020 had an unweighted average HS GPA of 3.6, an average SAT of 1831, and ACT of 29. It's an inaccurate postulation to suggest that their admission data from 40 years ago, or even in the more recent past, were in that range.

By comparison, SJU's class of 2020 had an unweighted GPA of 3.30, an average SAT of 1660, and average ACT of 26. It's unclear if those numbers reflect the admitted student body, or those offered admission.

Clearly though, not only is Binghamton a better value in terms of cost, but their class of 2020 are considerably more academically credentialed.

You point out with pride the anecdotal success of some prominent alumni. That's nice, but no more notable than St. John's anecdotal touting of its Fulbright scholars. Over time, SJU can point to many notable grads, both on Wall Street and NYC and NYS government and many other endeavors. In SJU's case, those scholars, while notable, are not representative of the academic prowess of the school as a whole. But your pride is notable, and underscores that the current academic standing of a school generally affects what people think of any graduate of a school. BC, Villanova, or Georgetown graduates of a generation ago, are held in higher esteem when job hunting, and their degrees more commendable, than SJU degrees of grads from a similar period when the distance between us and them was narrower. Not only would a more affordable SJU provide a better value for students, but could likely result in improving academic standing by attracting better students, which has happened at SUNY schools.

FWIW, Binghamton (it doesn't look right no matter how you spell it) has been ranked between 89 and 97 among national universities over the past 5 years.

SUNY schools have been on the rise for quite a while:

http://www.brockport.edu/newsbureau/703.html
http://oracle.newpaltz.edu/suny-new-paltz-rises-in-the-rankings/
http://aristotle.oneonta.edu/wordpress/news/2014/09/09/suny-oneonta-rises-in-best-college-rankings/

It would be nice is 5 years from now, SJU could report similar success under Bobby G's leadership

 

[Andrew]

Beast,

I hold St. John's in high regard. I have many friends who are successful graduates. As a resident of Queens for nearly forty years, I consider it along with Queens College as the schools of higher learning that represent the borough. It was with great excitement that my Junior High School graduation was held at Alumni Hall. As an on and off basketball season ticket holder for the last twenty years and having attended games for over thirty years, I enjoy watching the basketball team with the same level of enthusiasm as my beloved Mets and Jets( Queens Teams) along with a great horse race.

I don't remember the average SAT score of my incoming class more than 25 years ago. I know I scored a 1300 without taking a review course and I had a 90+ average at the Bronx High School of Science. Many of my classmates from Science who were excellent students joined me. The students that attended Binghamton particularly the School of Management were all on par with us. I know of few of my fellow classmates that have not been successful in a great variety of fields.