Sandra L Berger - College Planning for Gifted Students: Choosing and Getting Into the Right College

Cho osing and Get ting

Into the Right Coll ege

Sandra L. Berger

P RUFROCK P RESS I NC.
W ACO , T EXAS

Copyright 2006 Prufrock Press Inc.

Edited by Lacy Elwood

Graphic Production by Kim Worley

Cover Design by Marjorie Parker

ISBN-13: 978-1-59363-894-8

No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

At the time of this books publication, all facts and figures cited are the most current available. All telephone numbers, addresses, and Web site URLs are accurate and active. All publications, organizations, Web sites, and other resources exist as described in the book, and all have been verified. The authors and Prufrock Press Inc., make no warranty or guarantee concerning the information and materials given out by organizations or content found at Web sites, and we are not responsible for any changes that occur after this books publication. If you find an error, please contact Prufrock Press Inc.

Prufrock Press Inc.
P.O. Box 8813
Waco, TX 76714-8813
Phone: (800) 998-2208
Fax: (800) 240-0333
http://www.prufrock.com

To my wonderful gifted daughters, Bonnie Proctor, Judy Reese,and Deb Berger, who inspired this book.

Table of Contents

College Planning Glossary
and Glossary of Financial Terms

Appendices:

Acknowledgements

College Planning for Gifted Students, written by a parent and long-time advocate for gifted children, is the product of many efforts. Numerous administrators, counselors, teachers, parents, and students were interviewed for and contributed to this book. The author expresses sincere appreciation to the individuals listed below and to the many students and adults who, over the years, contributed indirectly by speaking freely about their concerns and experiences. Last, but certainly not least, I very much appreciate the efforts of the energetic and creative people at Prufrock Press, especially Lacy Elwood, editor. Special thanks goes to Dorothy Knopper, Open Space Communications, who read early versions and made helpful suggestions.

The author would like to thank the following contributors:

The parent of a learning-disabled child and a former homeschool student for telling their stories, which became the basis for the vignettes in the sections on students with learning disabilities and homeschooling students.

The section on career centers was prepared with the assistance of Laurie Kobick, College/Career Center Resource Specialist, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax, VA.

Guidelines for writing a teacher recommendation were contributed by Bernis von zur Muehlen, James Madison High School, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA.

Guidelines for writing a college application essay were contributed by Gail Hubbard, Prince William County Public Schools, Manassas, VA.

The section on college costs was contributed by Joseph Re, Executive Vice President, Octameron Associates, Alexandria, VA.

The Student Questionnaire: Why Are You Going to College? (p. 50) and questions you may want to ask during the college interview (p. 162) were based on the work of Shirley Levin, an independent college counselor.

College Planning

C ollege planning is a major event in the lives of many families. Some parents dress their infants in tiny clothing bearing their alma maters colors and mascots, certain that someday, their child will follow in their footsteps. Other families claim to bleed maroon, burnt orange, navy blue and gold, or crimson red, with generations of family members attending the same university. Across the nation, longtime rivalries are upheld during football and basketball season, and carried over to friendly game-day disputes between siblings, friends, or neighbors who chose to attend competing universities. Only in America is the decal from almost any college displayed proudly on the rear window of the family car.

The hopes and dreams of many American families are connected to a college education. We are surrounded by reminders of higher educationeverything from ads for college financing, to slick TV descriptions of the competing universities during halftime at the fall football games on Saturday afternoons, to a TV series about a rock star finally going to college. In the 21st century, attending college is part of the American success story.

High school students and their parents often have strong feelings about attending, or not attending college, but once the decision is made to go, choosing the right college becomes a different matter altogether. The path from secondary to higher education is poorly marked. Students surveyed for this book said that trying to select a college is confusing, because there is no sound basis for making a decision. They felt overwhelmed by the amount of mail they received from colleges each day featuring sports, special programs, and stately granite buildings set on idyllic grassy knolls or downtown in bustling cities. Each brochure seems to say, Choose me! without giving any clues as to what would be required to actually attend that school. Is it any wonder that students felt overwhelmed? The goal has been set, with no instructions as to how to achieve it.

Why go to college? Maybe a better question is, What do you want to do for the rest of your life? Education, career choices, and future earnings are all related to this decision. In 1997, President Clinton referred to education as the fault line between those who will prosper in the new economy and those who will not ( 1). His words are truer today than ever before.

Consider the following statistics from the U.S. Department of Education (2004):

A high school dropout earned $22,100 per year in 2001.

A high school graduate earned $30,056.

A college graduate earned $54,704.

In 1998, the male college graduate, aged 25 to 34, earned 63% more than his counterpart who did not attend college.

According to the 2001 U.S. Census, college graduates earned $1 million more during their lifetimes than high school graduates. Looking at this another way, the lifetime earnings of a person with a college degree is about three times that of a person without this education, or $1.5 million versus $500,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004).

A recent research study (Barrow & Rouse, 2005) echoed the above results. Researchers estimated that the average cost of earning a 4-year college degree is about $107,277, which includes the average cost of tuition (about $30,000 for 4 years), plus the salary these young people would have earned if they had gone to work right out of high school.

Using the latest data, they estimated that a college degree would boost the total lifetime earnings of a student who entered school in 2003 by $402,959 over what they would have earned if they skipped college. That means the net value of a degree to the average student is roughly $295,682. A typical college graduate can expect to recoup his or her investment within 10 years.

We all have heard about people who became highly successful without a college education, but they are in the minority. We know who they are because their unusual achievement stands out. People without an education and job-related skills have a more difficult time finding work because they are competing against those who have more training. Further, if parents do not have a college education, the chances are that their children also will not attend college, primarily because their children never receive practical advice on applying to and attending college (Plank & Jordan, 2001). The reverse is also true: If you went to college, your children are more than twice as likely to attend.