Cutting College Costs

I've talked before about saving money by either going to a public college for your first couple of years, then transferring into a private school. Here is an example of another way of saving money.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst guarantees admission to students graduating from an approved Joint Admissions associate degree program through a Mass Community College with at least a 2.5 GPA.

Additionally, if you were able to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, Massachusetts has a program called Tuition Advantage Program which will give you a 33% tuition waiver.

UMass Amherst will go even further by waiving the other 67% of your tuition. This waiver doesn't include fees, but it's still a pretty good deal. Make it through with at least a 3.7 GPA and they will throw in a $500 book scholarship.

There are further scholarships and financial aid available. You can check it out at http://www.umass.edu/umccc/financial-matters.

More Massachusetts College News

At a meeting on March 22, 2011, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education voted to require students entering Mass four year schools starting in the fall of 2016 to take four years of high school mathematics. The actual wording from the committee reads:
Mathematics, 4 courses (Algebra I & II and Geometry or Trigonometry, or comparable coursework) including mathematics during the final year of high school.

This new policy will affect students entering ninth grade in the fall of 2012 and later.

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College Grants Under Fire

As state and Federal budgets continue to show huge deficits, no programs are off limits. At the Federal level, the proposed House budget would slash Pell Grants by almost 15%, with the maximum award being reduced from $5,550 to $4,705. President Obama is looking to reduce the Pell by eliminating the summer Pell and also by stopping the subsidy on graduate school students loan interest. Stay tuned for the latest updates.

A little lower on the radar is the Academic Competitiveness Grant and the SMART Grant programs are set to expire at the end of June.

Checking in with the states, proposed funding for the Connecticut Independent College Student Grants would be reduced by 25% in FY 2012 and 50% in FY 2013. Funding for the Kirkland M Kerr Grant would be eliminated. This program provides a stipend for students of veterinary medicine who need to attend an out of state program, since there is nothing similiar offered in Connecticut.

On the other side of the country, California is considering reducing Cal Grant expenditures by not allowing for profit colleges that have high rates of drop outs and loan defaults to take part. Additionally, all students would be re-evaluated each year to make sure they still qualify. While some students may disagree, this one seems like a no-brainer. If a student's family financial status changes, so should their eligibilty for various programs.

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