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'Making College Pay' analyzes investment
(by Sue Hoffman - September 28, 2011)
'Making College Pay' analyzes investment
By SUE HOFFMAN
While high school seniors busily work on their college applications, they are faced with many questions: Does a more highly prestigious college give them a better chance for success? How much debt should they take to finance their education? Does the college investment still pay off?
With skyrocketing tuition costs, a global job market that's becoming increasingly competitive and studies showing that only 57 percent of college students graduate within six years, these questions become even more important.
"In a nutshell, the enrollment numbers are higher, the costs are higher, the stakes are higher, but the financial, social and developmental rewards may not be," according to the new book "Making College Pay: Strategies for Choosing Wisely, Doing Well and Maximizing Your Return."
Solon parent Fran Stewart, a writer, editor and designer, co-authored the book with her sister, Alice Stewart, a business strategy professor at North Carolina A&T State University.
Ms. Stewart, who has sons in seventh and 10th grades in the Solon School District, began exploring the college choice in terms of return on investment while writing about personal finance for Cleveland's daily newspaper. In 2006, she helped found College 101, a twice yearly magazine for Ohio high school students.
She has also written about economic development, public policy and urban issues for organizations and government. Her first book, "In Their Path: A Grandmother's 591-Mile Underground Railroad Walk," examined Ohio's abolitionist history.
Her sister offers 30 years' experience in academic settings, from elite research institutions to small private colleges. The authors aim to give students and parents a more strategic, "big picture" view of the college decision.
"There is a dark side to the oversimplified message about the importance and value of college," Fran Stewart said. "The rewarding payback for your investment of money and time to earn a bachelor's degree is nowhere near the sure bet it once was. That means you need some different strategies and different tools to help you make choices about your educational investment."
"Making College Pay," published in 2011 by Eagle Creek Press, in Solon, offers those tools. The authors speak to college applicants, but parents will find the book just as engaging.
"When all those slick, glossy brochures begin to arrive in your mailbox, maintaining a cool, rational business approach to the college choice process is difficult," the authors write.
Success during the college years is also difficult. "From our perspective, success isn't just getting the grades in the classroom. It's getting the degree and making a transition to the real world that won't leave you right back in your parents' house a few years down the road."
Tools for success include sticking to three main goals, they said. The goals are to minimize costs, increase marketability and improve the likelihood of graduation.
"If you choose to go to college, you've got to finish," Ms. Stewart said. "Otherwise you will see little benefit from your investment of time and money."
"Making College Pay" includes a college payback ratio and demonstrates how to calculate "the marginal market value" of a specific degree. "This is how much more you can expect to make in one year because you have chosen to pursue education beyond high school," the authors wrote.
"We've taken some basic business principles and applied them to college," Fran Stewart said. The book emphasizes the need to focus on skills for the work world. "Even if you're pursuing your passion in art, take advantage of opportunities to make it more marketable."
Ms. Stewart will be selling the book as a fundraiser for the Solon High School PTA for programming and scholarships. The cost is $18, with $8 going to PTA. Those interested in purchasing a copy should call PTA President Cheryl Kresevic at 440-349-1434.
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