The economy is in a bad place (duh) and funding is being cut all over the place. Schools have had to make serious cuts in various departments, businesses are closing, thousands of people have lost their jobs, and the uncertain job market makes the idea of finding a job after graduating college frightening.

Even more frightening, though, is the job market for those without a college education.

That fact, paired with the fact that most Americans have had to cut back on how much money they’re spending, has pushed more and more high school seniors to apply to public schools. Unlike their insanely expensive alternatives (the Privates), public universities and community colleges are extremely affordable and still provide an excellent education.

And now everyone is starting to notice. Read More »

Last week, I warned you that the grad school application process is quite a time consuming effort. Well guess what folks? You’re going to need to put ample time into choosing your prospective grad schools too! Sure, this might seem a bit obvious, but this columnist doesn’t always think things through.

For me, grad school was a roll of the dice, and six possible schools came up for me: Georgetown, Rutgers, Ohio State, North Carolina State, San Francisco State, and the school I eventually chose, hereafter refered to as X University.I chose these schools on a whim. Georgetown was my “reach,” and the closest I could get to Ivy League while maintaining a glimmer of hope for acceptance. Rutgers was relatively close to my hometown (by close I mean a 5 hour drive); Ohio State is a party school notorious for it’s tailgating parties (I swear, that’s why I applied- don’t judge); North Carolina State was an hour from my only other friend attending grad school; and San Francisco just seemed like a cool city to live in, as did the location of X University.

Rule number one in choosing grad school? Don’t be superficial when planning your future! Read More »