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Making every tuition dollar count

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We just saw this in the Spokesman-Review (the regional paper for the second-largest city in Washington, which is just 15 minutes down the road), and we definitely thought it worth sharing:

Demetrius Dennis shopped carefully to find the best college education for the lowest price.

“I reviewed the departments, programs offered and cost of tuition,” said Dennis, 34. “Financing contributed at least 75 percent of the deciding factor when I chose a transfer college.”

The Lakewood, Wash., resident had already saved about $20,000 on a bachelor’s degree in journalism by attending Pierce Community College before determining Eastern Washington University offered the best value to finish his studies.

EWU “provides the most reasonable tuition-to-education ratio available in the state,” Dennis said.

You can read the whole article about the rising cost of college tuition and the challenges that today’s students and families face.

By 2018, at least 63 percent of all jobs nationally will require a postsecondary degree, which means college will be necessary for more and more workers.

As states have cut budgets, however, college has grown more expensive, forcing students to be extra savvy when they make their college decisions.

Our goal at Eastern is to make an amazing college education as affordable and accessible to as many talented people as possible, which is why we’ve had fewer and smaller tuition increases than most universities in the state.

Without sacrificing innovative programs like justice studies, psychology, dental hygiene, education or engineering, we’ve quickly become the state’s best value in education … and our students are smarter than ever. Our average incoming freshman GPA went up again this year (from 3.17 to 3.24), which means we’re attracting more and more talented students who see the incredible value in what Eastern offers.

We’re glad Demetrius compared colleges, and we hope you’re doing the same. We’d love it if everyone made their comparisons and decided that Eastern was the best place to be (because it is!), but more importantly, we want you to choose the university that’s best for you and your future.

Wherever you go, we’re here to answer any questions you have along the way.

College fit: it's about you

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If you’re in the middle of your college search, you probably have one huge question: “Out of all the thousands of colleges in the world, which one is the best fit for me?”

Boxcar races at EWU

Traditionally, our society emphasizes two approaches to answering this question. One is the “true love” approach: there’s one school out there that’s going to be perfect for you. All you have to do is find that one school, and suddenly you’ll know that’s where you’re supposed to be. Stars will streak across the sky and purple glitter will rain from giant glitter clouds, and perhaps a choir will burst into song. You can’t miss the signs.

Of course, some of you probably have experience with the second approach, which is a bit like an arranged marriage: 15 years ago, before you’d even had your first nap time in kindergarten, someone picked your college for you. Sweatshirts. Water bottles. Maybe even a tattoo. Even if your situation isn’t this extreme, chances are you know someone who wants you to attend a particular school.

Both approaches have flaws. For instance, the “true love” approach is just like true love in romantic comedies: if you want to be happy in the long term, your true love needs to last. Consider this: that school that has you infatuated right now? It costs twice as much as another school you like, and that could mean a lifetime of debt. That school that seems too good to be true? Students there take classes taught by assistants, not by professors. Will you still be in love when the hard part of the relationship begins?

The arranged marriage approach has a serious flaw, too: it might not be your choice. After all, you’re the one who has to take the classes, live in the residence hall and talk to the professors. You’re the one who will spend four years or more in the college community. So is your college making you happy, or is it making the people you know happy?

All this comes down to one big point that should be your first step in any discussion about college fit: you need to decide who you are and what makes you tick before you decide which school is best for you.

  1. What makes you truly happy?
  2. What’s your learning style?
  3. What classes do you love? What classes do you hate?
  4. Your favorite teacher: what makes that teacher special?
  5. What activities and hobbies define you?
  6. What does “value” mean to you?

Because here’s the truth: you can have fun at almost any college. You’ll meet amazing, brilliant people everywhere in the world. But if you’re choosing a school that emphasizes research when you really want close mentorships with your professors, you’re setting yourself up for heartache. If you need an internship to help land your dream job but you choose a school that isn’t close to a large city, you’re making your dream harder to achieve.

In the end, choosing a college isn’t always about the college. It’s about discovering who you are, determining what you want to do after college and finding a place that helps you make it happen.

How Facebook affects college admission

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Anyone with a Twitter page, Facebook profile or personal blog knows the risks: most of what you post online is visible to anyone with an internet connection. Your friends, your parents, and even your teachers can see your pictures or read about your weekend adventures.

Normally what you post online isn’t much of an issue, but that changes once you start applying for college. Suddenly the information you share in your online profile can affect your future. What you say, what you do, even who you hang out with: all of it can influence an admissions decision.

First the good news: Eastern never looks at your Facebook or Twitter pages as part of the admissions process. Never. Naturally we love it when your reach out to us through Facebook or Twitter. It’s a great way to get your questions answered … but it’s not part of our admissions decision. We only consider the materials you submit when we make admissions decisions.

Now the bad news: according to a recent report, 24 percent of college admissions offices look at your Facebook page and 20 percent Google you as part of the admissions process. If you’re applying to multiple schools, chances are at least one of them is trying to learn more about you through social media.

Eastern Will Never Search for You

So if Eastern doesn’t use Facebook or Google to learn more about you, why blog about it? Well, we have a few good reasons.

  1. We care about the students who apply here, and we want you to feel confident that your private life is really private.
  2. We want you to know that you’re being admitted based on merit only. If you have great grades and high test scores, it doesn’t seem fair to make an admissions decision based on a few photos from your junior prom.
  3. We want you to lock down your personal info. What’s true of the college admissions process is true of the job market, too, and keeping your private life truly private keeps the focus on your achievements, not the crazy antics of your friends. In 20 years, who knows how you or your employers will feel about what you posted on Facebook when you were 17.

So What Should You Do?

If you’re applying for schools, there are a few quick things you can do.

  1. Lock down your Facebook page so that it’s not available to the public, and untag yourself in any of your friends’ photos.
  2. Delete your Twitter feed. If that’s too extreme, visit the “Account” tab and select “Protect My Updates.” Search engines won’t index protected tweets, and they’re not available on the public timeline.
  3. Make your Tumblr or blog invitation-only unless it paints you in a positive light.
  4. Google yourself and start scrubbing anything that might be considered negative.

Let colleges and employers focus on what you’re capable of … not what you did when you were 15.