The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
Ramapo College of New Jersey is third overall, behind Princeton University and Stevens Institute of Technology
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Mahwah NJ, Ramapo College of New Jersey remains the #1 public college in New Jersey, according to College Choice, a leading authority in college and university rankings and resources.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, one of President Joe Biden’s most memorable campaign promises was his pledge to address the student debt crisis. And, in recent days, he seems to be inching closer to a deal that would forgive up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower, with a few exceptions.
Continue reading 86% of Borrowers Took On Student Debt Because of BIDEN’S FORGIVENESS PLEDGE
To go to college or not to go to college?
This discussion has become a familiar debate over the years. As things evolve and people begin making careers out of doing things that were once not viable job options, the importance of a college education has become a hot topic.
Continue reading How Going To College Can Benefit You Both Financially And Personally
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Ridgewood NJ, the ugly reality is that America devotes more resources to higher education than other high-income countries . For about half of the approximately 2 million high school graduates that will enroll this fall in a quest for a four-year degree, and college for many will prove a lousy investment both for the nation and those students who will emerge heavily in debt.
The guiding premise beneath federal student loan programs beginning with the 1958 National Defense Education Act is that college is a good investment. For the nation, a better-prepared labor force increases productivity, and for students, because graduates earn better pay.
Continue reading Growing Skills Gap in College Grads
A College search is an overwhelming exercise for students. As a parent who wants the best for your child, it is your task to ensure that your child’s choice of college is the best. Some of the most important factors to put into consideration include, the happiness of your kid, the affordability of the college, and the quality of the college and the course. For the last part you can always visit DegreevsDegree to get some guidance.
Continue reading Your Child’s Education Is In Your Hands. How To Choose The best College?
Ridgewood NJ, Writing essay is an essential part of the college application process and even if field is not necessarily in writing colleges still expected and to excel on the paper for any given school. Essay should be original and unique and make good impression on the selection committee. Students can scream every time English teach utters this elusive phrase and to identify. Basically just bear in mind that the changed a way of completed assignment now. On the other hand it is very easy to hire the services so you can also hire from https://essayshark.com/.
Continue reading Essay writing tips for college students
Annie Holmquist | January 4, 2017
One of the first big education stories to hit headlines in 2017 was the announcement that New York state will be offering free college to its residents this fall. According to The Washington Post, this offer of governor Andrew Cuomo’s stems from the fact that college is now viewed as a necessity:
“‘College is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success,’ Cuomo said Tuesday at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. ‘And the way this society said we’re going to pay for high school because you need high school, this society should say we’re going to pay for college because you need college to be successful. And New York state is going to do something about it.”
It struck me that Governor Cuomo might benefit greatly from a little fable from 1904 by American author George Ade. The fable, entitled The One or Two Points of Difference Between Learning and Learning How, describes two schoolboys named Bradford and Otis.
Bored by lessons and eager to be working in the real world, Bradford scorns higher education and goes into business for himself, working his way up the ladder by his own common sense and elbow grease.
Otis, on the other hand, is convinced that education is the pathway to wealth:
https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/college-shouldnt-be-considered-only-option-success
TARA NURIN | SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
Amid growing recognition that some students are going hungry, Rutgers-New Brunswick is the latest university in New Jersey to open a food pantry
Ramen noodles. Priced around 13 cents a bag, they’ve been a staple of college life for decades, helping the archetypal “starving student” afford tuition, housing, books, and the occasional beer. But the typical shrug in reaction to this paradigm is giving way to real concern as institutions of higher learning realize that hunger on campus is a serious problem that’s hurting students’ ability to learn.
This summer, Rutgers University-New Brunswick became the latest of at least five New Jersey colleges and universities — and more than 300 nationally — to install a free food pantry on campus. So far, about 30 students have taken advantage of Rutgers’ non-perishable goods. But the need is far greater.
September 6,2016
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Hillsdale, Mich, Hillsdale College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the College in the 2017 edition of its flagship college guide “The Best 381 Colleges,” published August 30, and cites the College as being one of the best in the Midwest.
“Hillsdale’s commitment to teaching not only the ‘what’ but also the ‘how’ and ‘why’ is rare in American colleges and universities today,” said Dr. David Whalen, provost of Hillsdale College. “But our inclusion among The Princeton Review’s ‘Best 381 Colleges,’ as an institution who accepts zero federal or state dollars, is further evidence that a classical liberal arts education is the best preparation for students to meet the challenges of modern life.”
In addition to profiling the nation’s 381 best colleges, The Princeton Review produces lists of the top 20 colleges ranked in various categories. Hillsdale College appeared on several of these lists, including:
No. 1 on Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
No. 6 on Professors Get High Marks
No. 9 on Best College Newspaper
No. 15 on Students Most Engaged in Community Service
The Princeton Review also calculates ratings in eight categories based on institutional data it collected during the 2015-16 academic year and/or its student survey for the book. The ratings are based on a scale of 60 to 99. Hillsdale College scored:
97 for Professor Accessibility
99 for Professor Interest
93 for Academics
92 for Quality of Life*
In its profile of Hillsdale College, The Princeton Review notes that admission “is a privilege extended to students who will benefit from, and contribute to, the academic, social and spiritual environments of the College. Important determinants for admission are intellectual curiosity, ambition, leadership and volunteerism.”
Published annually since 1992, the ‘381 Best Colleges’ list includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all of the schools in eight categories based on The Princeton Review’s surveys of students attending the colleges.
About Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College, founded in 1844, has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies — even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. It also conducts on outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 3.5 million.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep and college-admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House.
* Indicates increase in rating from previous year
As New Jersey senators came down on the state’s college loan program, Financial Planners stress the importance of developing a strategy early.
August 23,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, After an article in the New York Times that detailed one family’s nightmare in dealing with their son’s death and his student loans through the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), New Jersey State Senators heard testimony on the program, which some have called “predatory” and “loansharking.”
“My own experience was very similar even in 1980 student loans we a scam and students were not provided with proper accurate information to make a rational financial decisions” the Ridgewood blog Founder James Foytlin
Financial Planning Association of New Jersey (FPANJ) Advocacy Chairman John Crosby was also in attendance in Trenton. He has counseled clients in similarly tough situations with HESAA. The program has been characterized with extraordinarily stringent rules that can easily lead to financial hardship. Loan repayments cannot be adjusted based on income, and few breaks are given for unemployment or other hardship.
“While there were no representatives from HESAA present, a letter from Executive Director Gabrielle Charette was submitted for testimony. I’m happy to say that things will be forced to change,” Crosby said. The testimony led to a unanimous vote by the higher education committee to approve S-743, which would require HESAA to forgive the student loan of someone who dies before completely repaying it, as the federal government does.
The experience with HESAA for many families is in stark contrast to Francis Astorino’s. His diligence in planning for college with his family began early, especially as his triplets eyed college with another already enrolled. A CFP® and President of The Astorino Financial Group, he recalled the struggle to put himself through school, and didn’t want the same burden for his children. He said it still took a lot of discipline and sacrifice to fund college for his four children, and it had to be a family decision.
“We put our kids to work early as early teens, helping in the office. And at about 16 years of age we sat them down and showed them the file with their balance sheet,” Astorino said. “However nice it was to say we could send our kids anywhere, we wanted them to know we weren’t going to fund their lifestyle, because we thought it was important that they had some skin in the game.”
Crosby said, “The key takeaway I get from both of these stories is how incredibly important it is – whether or not you’ve planned early – to have a CFP® Professional there. It goes beyond building wealth…it really is about protecting your home, your family and your livelihood.”
ABOUT FPA of New Jersey and FPA:
Financial Planning Association of New Jersey is part of The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®). FPA connects those who need, support and deliver professional financial planning. FPA believes that everyone is entitled to objective advice from a competent, ethical financial planner to make smart financial decisions. FPA members demonstrate and support a professional commitment to education and a client-centered financial planning process. Working in alliance with academic leaders, legislative and regulatory bodies, financial services firms and consumer interest organizations, FPA is the community that fosters the value of financial planning, and advances the practice and profession of financial planning.
New Jersey’s four-year colleges and universities reported 84 rapes on campus in 2014, according to new federal data. Adam Clark and Kelly Heyboer, NJ.com Read more
JAMBOREE 2016 – RIDGEWOOD REWIND!
Ridgewood NJ, Since 1947, Ridgewood’s Jamboree has presented an original musical revue raising funds for need-based college scholarships for graduating RHS seniors.
Over 125 RHS parents and guardians participate and contribute each year by singing, dancing, acting, performing in the band, designing and making costumes, building sets, managing set changes and being back-stage heroes.
The Jamboree Scholarship Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) qualified charity and all contributions are tax deductible. The entire production and all Jamboree fund-raising efforts are 100 percent voluntary. All Fund revenues are raised through program advertising, ticket sales and corporate and individual sponsorships.
Wheelchair accessible! VIP paid parking available!
TICKETS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR!
ALL ONLINE TICKET SALES FOR A PARTICULAR PERFORMANCE DATE ENDS ONE HOUR BEFORE SHOW. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2485468
Donations are welcomed on our website – www.rhsjamboree.org!
August 17, 2015, 04:47 pm
By Bradford Richardson
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban says Hillary Clinton’s plan to curb growing student-loan debt will actually make attending college more expensive.
“[Hillary’s plan] stands a better chance of increasing the amount of money students owe than decreasing it,” Cuban said on his Cyber Dust app on Friday.
“Just as easy money led to the real estate bubble a few years ago, the easier it is to borrow money for college the easier it is for colleges to raise tuition. Tuition keeps going up because no matter how high they raise it, students can still borrow more to pay for it,” Cuban continued.
Cuban, who stars on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and owns the Dallas Mavericks, has for years warned of a “student loan bubble.”
“At some point, it’s going to pop,” Cuban told Business Insider in March.
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/251321-mark-cuban-pans-clinton-college-plan
JULY 30, 2015, 7:35 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015, 8:24 PM
BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The positions of 64 full-time lecturers at Bergen Community College have been cut as the school struggles to cope with a mix of stagnant state and county funding and declining enrollment.
The move will save nearly $934,000 and comes after 150 part-time staffers either had their hours eliminated or reduced earlier in the month in an effort to save $1 million more, said school spokesman Larry Hlavenka Jr. on Thursday.
The lecturers carry a full teaching load – about five courses each semester – and are paid $38,600 a year plus benefits. They must reapply for their jobs each semester and are considered temporary employees, Hlavenka said.
Only 28 lecturers will be kept. The other 64 are being asked to reapply as adjuncts, who make about $2,100 per course and have no benefits, according to the college.
The cutbacks will not affect any of the 350-400 full-time tenured faculty, Hlavenka said.
There was concern that the departure of the lecturers would affect teaching quality at the school.
Posted by Joe Sinagra On June 15, 2015 5 Comments
By Joe Sinagra | The Save Jersey Blog
You may have heard that students are refusing to repay their federal student loans as part of a protest designed to pressure the government into forgiving their debt, Save Jerseyans.
The problem? College graduates and students who default on their loans can lose their paychecks, tax refunds, or a portion of their Social Security benefits further down the road. Not paying back that debt can also ruin their credit, making it difficult to buy a house, car or even land a job. Interestingly, a large percentage of these Federal loans are encumbering seniors. Around 3 percent of U.S. households that are headed by a senior citizen now hold federal student debt, comprised largely of debt they took on to finance their own educations according to the GAO.
These are people who went to college, earned a degree and made decent money during their careers.
The Rutgers-Camden Campus in Camden, New Jersey.
Graduates who earned master’s degree years ago have seen their finances dwindle away by illness, divorce, the cost of raising children, the housing bust, and the economic downturn and now want their loans forgiven because they can’t afford to pay them. The GAO report goes on to say that “[a]s the baby boomers continue to move into retirement, the number of older Americans with defaulted loans will only continue to increase.”
The cycle shows no signs of letting up. Younger graduates want a degree and have no problem doing whatever they need to do to obtain it, but now that it is time to pay the piper, they balk at the idea that they now have to pay back these loans. They say they can’t afford to pay the funds back because the economy is bad and they can’t get a good job. Well,Save Jerseyans, the economy has been bad for quite a few years now and I would think an educated person at some point would realize that their bills are getting higher and they need to stop accruing more liability and figure out how they are going to pay off their current obligations.
https://savejersey.com/2015/06/college-debt-who-is-going-to-pay-for-it/
