105. MVCAP fyi

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1. Pay for 8 years of college on 1 salary http://t.co/iLu6eyd via @CNNMoney

‎"Spend the kids' assets first. Aid offices assess money in a student's name at 20%, vs. up to 6% for a parent's money. So Amy should spend her kids' savings accounts and bonds before the 529s--the latter is typically considered a parental asset."

2. Drafting a College List in a Tough Economy#more-23659#more-23659 - http://nyti.ms/aGdtcK

‎“When I started as a counselor in 1981, kids would apply to two reach colleges, two targets and two safeties,” said Eileen Connolly, who oversees guidance at John F. Kennedy High in Bellmore, on Long Island. Now she estimates that most of her students apply to 15, not including those who apply early to one and get in."

3. http://huff.to/cOMO6R Huffpost - Celebrating Community Colleges and Their Students

"But the American Dream is more than access to college. It's about a complete education and the better future that comes with it: a steady income, a rewarding career, a home in a nice neighborhood where you'd want to raise your family. Increasingly, to achieve those goals, students have to get a college degree or a professional certificate after high school. According to every measure -- employment rates, wage premiums, labor forecasts -- students who get those credentials can seize opportunities that those who stopped their education with high school can't. In 1973, only about one-quarter of the American workforce needed a postsecondary degree or credential in order to get or hold on to a job. In 2007, that figure hit 57 percent. New research predicts that, by 2018, 63 percent of jobs in America will require an education beyond high school. Unable to find enough skilled workers here, U.S. businesses are outsourcing millions of high-skill, high-wage jobs to Germany, Japan, Singapore, Korea."

4. http://huff.to/djphS8 Huffpost - College: It Pays

‎"According to a College Board report released earlier this month, college graduates on average earned about $22,000 more than those with just a high school diploma ($55,700 compared to $33,800) in 2008. What's more troubling is that the gulf between the two has increased by 13 percent since 2005. And with the economy in tatters, there's probably little doubt who's suffering more. Unemployment has jumped for both college graduates and for those with a high school diploma. However, the gap in the unemployment rate between the two groups has more than doubled in the last five years. The point is if you don't have a college degree you're far more likely to be unemployed."

5. http://huff.to/cja9EW Huffpost - College Squeezing Out the Middle Class

"The cost of higher education is spiraling out of control. It is squeezing middle class families out and making America less competitive. We pride ourselves on the best higher education in the world, but we're coasting on the reputation of three dozen selective institutions. Most students pay too much, get too little, and half drop out. For students being priced out of the market, there are a growing number of cheap or free alternatives and many are personal digital learning options."

6. At Rallies Across the US, Students Turn Out in Defense of Public Education http://chronicle.com/article/Students-Turn-Out-in-Defense/124853/

"Students are becoming the cash cow for the institution because the university is banking on whatever they can pay," Mr. Chapela said. "They're standing up for what they believe to be wrong budgetary policies in both the state and the nation."