In response, a number of schools have developed and become known for excellent entrepreneurship programs. According to entrepreneur.com, here are 12 of the best in the nation. I have added location and total undergraduate enrollment info:

Top Entrepreneurship Programs

#1 -U of Houston, Houston, TX: 30,688

#2 -Babson College, Babson Park, MA: 2007

#3 – Baylor U, Waco, TX: 12,575

#4 – Syracuse U, Syracuse, NY: 14,201

#5 -U of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA: 17,380

#6 – Washington U, St Louis, MO: 7239

#7 – Brigham Young U, Provo, UT: 30,684

#8 – U of Arizona, Tucson, AR: 30,665

#9 – Northeastern U, Boston, MA: 15,905

#10 – U of Oklahoma, Norman, OK: 20,892

#11 – Temple U, Philadelphia, PA: 27,702

# 12 – U of Dayton, Dayton, OH: 7843

In Colorado, entrepreneurship certificates can be earned in undergraduate business programs at CU-Boulder, Colorado State U, the University of Denver, and Colorado Christian University.

For the following I went on the College Board website, and looked at the published information associated with cost and financial aid for several Colorado institutions. In particular, I chose to examine tuition, room and board; average percentage of need met; average amount of need-based scholarships and grants (assistance that doesn’t require repayment later); and average indebtedness at graduation.  Here is what I found for several key institutions for 2011:

CU-Boulder

• TRB = $20,430
• % need met = 90%
• S&G = $7393
• Grad debt = $22,683

CSU

• TRB = $17,214
• % need met = 73%
• S&G = $10,114
• Grad debt = $19,523

CO Mesa U

• TRB = $15,205
• % need met = 59%
• S&G = $4460
• Grad debt = NR

UNC

• TRB = $16,373
• % need met = 61%
• S&G = $2097
• Grad debt = NR

Ft Lewis

• TRB = $13,602
• % need met = 67%
• S&G = $3884
• Grad debt = $18,780

Colorado College

• TRB = $50,450
• % need met = NR
• S&G = NR
• Grad debt = NR

University of Denver

• TRB = $48,273
• % need met = 82%
• S&G = $22,695
• Grad debt = NR

Regis University

• TRB = $31,188
• % need met = 79%
• S&G = $20,392
• Grad debt = NR

Conclusions

One general observation is that there are some real educational bargains available in the state. The winner among the publics for percent of need met was CU-Boulder at 90%. The winner among the privates for the same measure was DU at 82%. Given the far higher cost of attendance at DU, however, this outcome translates into many fewer actual dollars.

I was impressed with the schools that disclosed everything, so hats off to CU, CSU and Ft. Lewis, and a big raspberry for CC, our most expensive institution, which discloses nothing.  Draw your own conclusions as to what might be revealed if they did share their info. I thought CSU looked darn good when their average need-based scholarship and grant amount was deducted from the tuition, room and board charges: $7100, the best outcome among all the schools. Regis looked darn good from this measure as well, coming out at $10,796, far better than DU at $25,578.

Of course this tells us nothing about what might be offered to the most desirable students by way of non-need-based offers; this can be potentially significant, but also highly variable.  So do your homework, and carefully scrutinize those financial aid award letters!

What Are Some Single-Sex Colleges?

Today there are approximately fifty-one single sex colleges in the U.S., with far more of the female-only variety persisting (albeit sometimes struggling), than the male variety. The website http://www.Women’sColleges.org lists some forty-seven women colleges that are still operational (many have closed), including Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith of PA; Spelman of GA (a Historically Black College); Stephens of MO; The Women’s College of the University of Denver; and Mills of CA. The four extant men’s colleges are Hampden-Sydney, of VA; Wabash in IN; Morehouse of GA (another HBC); and Deep Springs in CA.

Advantages of single-sex colleges

Arguments in favor of single sex education include a belief, supported with outcomes research, that a single-sex environment eliminates much distraction from an academic course of study, allowing both males and females to perform at a higher level. The evidence in support of women’s colleges is even broader, including findings that women’s college grads have more successful careers, earn more money, and are overall happier; and outcomes suggesting that women’s colleges produce graduates with higher self-esteem than female grads from coed institutions.

It is not the case that students at single-sex institutions are lacking in opposite sex companionship should they desire it — in fact, just the opposite is often true. Stephens College is just blocks from the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, and Bryn Mawr students can take courses and participate in clubs and activities on the campuses of Swarthmore, Haverford, and Penn.

Consider including single-sex institutions in your college search.  You may be surprised at what you discover, and very glad you did!

The photo at the top of this article is of a pet-friendly room in a dorm at Stephens College — one of the few colleges in the nation allowing larger pets!

Observance of Diversity on College Campuses

Something that I thought of today has to do with how diversity and inequality is observed in college curricula. I am very proud that two of the campuses where I have taught feature a requirement that asks students to consider these social realities.  While some may regard a diversity or multicultural requirement to be a mark of political correctness, I disagree. One of my regular classes, Sociology of Prejudice and Discrimination, gives students a platform to consider what conditions give rise to systems of oppression, and what experiences, actions and policies diminish them. I don’t expect my students to agree with me or with each other on these issues, but rather to consider the questions with open hearts and minds, and come to their own conclusions.

In my opinion the presence of such a requirement in the curriculum of a college is an indication of broad, inclusive thinking, and also a commitment to underrepresented student populations, for the examination of multiple realities often helps students from a range of backgrounds feel valued, and validated.

I encourage my clients to examine the curricular requirements of colleges they’re considering, and I hope that examination of the vast range of human experience is a part of what they are seeking.

Simple answer: Absolutely every college-bound student! Some families assume they won’t qualify, and miss out as a result of an unfortunate, mistaken assumption. It is important to know that there are some sources of aid, like PLUS loans, that are not related to need, and there are some surprising income exemptions that you may be unaware of. Go for it; all you risk wasting may be some time, since completing and filing the required FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) form costs nothing.

What types of aid are available?

For those who do qualify, what options are available? Pell grants, other state grants, Perkins loans, Stafford loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), funds made available from colleges themselves (increasingly available), other private sources for scholarships, and more! Work Study is regarded as a form of financial aid, so to be considered for this type of on-campus employment you must also file a FAFSA.

The FAFSA can be filed after Jan 1 (the best and fastest way is to apply online), so the time is nigh. For some solid comprehensive information on financial aid, see the Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid site, which features great tools, like EFC (estimated Family Contribution) calculators:

http://www.finaid.org/.

The photo below is of my groovy, sweet new foster dog, Shaboo, pictured on the University of Denver campus, while out on a walkie.  Shaboo isn’t applying for college or for financial aid, but you should! To check Shaboo’s adoption availability, see

http://www.rottieaid.org/

Without realizing it, I had an opinion on the topic of college for everyone years before it became a renewed public debate. My view is grounded in my experience as a 28-year college faculty member, presently teaching at a “modified open admissions” college; as an avid reader of writing on education reform; and from conversations with a good friend who is a highly regarded and successful fifth grade teacher at one of Denver’s most diverse public schools.

Economic Benefits of a College Degree

Arguments in favor of college for all typically cite data demonstrating the economic benefits of a college degree when compared with lower levels of educational attainment.  According to U.S. Census data, median incomes for varying levels of education were as follows in 2007 (the most recent year available): high school grads: $32,862; associate’s degree/some college: $40,769; bachelor’s degree: $56,118; advanced degree: $75,140.

These are powerful and clear numbers; however, they mask some hidden realities.  First, education costs money – in fact, ever increasing amounts of money thanks to astronomical inflation in the cost of higher education, leaving many grads in a position to pay back tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. Another reality is that some degrees pay more than others. Science and technology-major grads earn considerably more than their liberal arts-major grads, especially among those who don’t continue on beyond a bachelor’s degree.  Finally, males earn more than females at all levels, largely thanks to the career choices made by women in order to accommodate motherhood and family responsibilities.

It is also the case that many students start college only to drop- or “stop-out” somewhere along the way, due to a lack of preparation/motivation/maturity, or other issues. Every semester I encounter in my introductory-level classes students who are destined to drop out, for whatever reason. My teacher friend sees alienated and struggling students at the fifth grade level, and we swap stories about the parallels in our respective populations. We are in agreement that SOME training and preparation is necessary beyond high school, although not necessarily college education per se.

More so than Bill Gates’ well-intentioned goal of 80% high school graduation with college-readiness by 2025, I agree with the skeptical views of educational commentators like Paul Richlovsky, Paul Krugman, Thomas J. Hanson, and Michael Mazenko. In a May 2011 blog Richlovsky said, “You need not despair in the future if you don’t have a college degree. Pay more attention to enhancing your work skills and making the most of supplemental, job-related educational opportunities.”

A Better Goal than College for Everyone

We will always need sanitation workers, plumbers, and a few factory workers, just as we desperately need highly trained engineers and technology experts. Rather than college for everyone, perhaps a better goal for Gates would be for 80% of all high-tech jobs in the U.S. to be filled by qualified American college graduates — graduates who come out of re-tooled U.S. public schools and colleges with strong support for STEM education at all levels (for those with the interest and aptitude), from elementary school through college. Let’s also make sure there is equally sound education and training for students with non-collegiate goals and interests.

The following are other folks’ blog posts and columns that sometimes address this topic:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/opinion/07krugman.html?_r=1  Paul Krugman, New York Times, Op-Ed

http://www.openeducation.net    Thomas J. Hanson    (see March 27, 2011)

http://www.youshouldgotoschool.com   Paul Richlovsky         (see May 2, 2011)

http://a-teachers-view.blogspot.com  Michael Mazenko    (see Nov. 9, 2008)

Exorbitant Tuition Increases

First, knowing that college costs have increased 466% over the last 25 years, far surpassing the overall inflation rate of 107%, and even exceeding the inflation in health care costs, I feel for students and families today. Having walked away with my undergraduate and graduate degrees with relatively little debt thanks to scholarships and grants, I feel incredibly lucky, and terribly sympathetic for current students.

Secondly, since I launched my education consulting practice in 2007, just as the recession was getting going, I believe I have suffered along with many other small business folk just starting out (and established folks too) who are perceived as offering services that can be “done without” in the present climate.

Help With Reducing College Costs

While I do a fair amount of pro bono and discounted work as do many independent educational consultants, this generally means that I’m not yet making the sort of living I aspire to make, while at the same time many students and families aren’t getting help that might make a difference — including a difference in learning about ways of reducing the cost of college.  Ironies abound.

For my own part I plan to continue raising my voice in protest against much of what is happening with the ever-expanding lack of accessibility of higher education, while at the same time disabusing clients as much as possible from the mistaken belief that the best education must be the most expensive education.

A version of this blogpost will appear this week on the website of the Independent Education Consultants Association: http://www.IECAonline.com/blog

Among my recent clients I have had students apply to as few as two, and to as many as 15. According to NACAC, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, one in four students presently applies to seven or more institutions: http://bit.ly/rTzPpy

Why I recommend multiple applications

In my view there are several advantages to going with multiple applications: first, provided the schools represent a range of levels of selectivity relative to the applicant, it increases the odds of getting acceptances; secondly, it also allows for a solid comparison of offers of aid, permitting a school-to-school comparison of total costs versus all discounting.

Obviously, there is a cost involved in applying to several colleges, both in terms of time and money.  The majority of schools charge an application fee averaging about $50. Students from limited income backgrounds can request a waiver of the fee if it would preclude their ability to apply. I feel there is a level where an extremely high number of applications can approach absurdity, but hopefully the time it takes to negotiate and monitor applications and parental willingness to pay will act to keep things in check.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of academics at the school is the Independent Study Program that requires each student to submit a major research paper or project during senior year. The program, which is in its sixth decade, is widely known and esteemed. U.S. News and World Report has cited the school’s outstanding undergraduate research opportunities and stellar senior capstone projects each year for 10 years (along with Princeton, the only other school named in both categories all ten years). Fiske commends Wooster’s focus on teaching students how, rather than what to think, and Wooster was prominently featured in Lauren Pope’s book Colleges That Change Lives.

The total cost of attendance for 2011-12 is $45,668, but 95% of students receive some form of financial aid, with an average award of $24,820. My client Emma and I toured the campus one day in early October, and we both thought it would be a great place to attend: small enough to have a tight community and large enough to have many academic options and opportunities. See my photo above of Emma and our tour guide Brenna in the library.

For students applying to schools that utilize the Common Application, the same essay can typically be used at all the schools. For those applying at non-CA, moderately selective schools, or some combination of those schools with Common App institutions, you can very likely either use the same essay or essays, or find a way to integrate portions of your other essay into one with a slightly different focus.

Here is a quick run-down of the current set of six Common App questions that students have to choose from, in abbreviated form. Many colleges, whether CA members or not, use similar questions:

• Relate a significant experience, achievement, risk or dilemma you have faced and describe its impact on you;
• Share an issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and indicate why it affects you;
• Describe a person who has had a significant influence in your life and the nature of their influence;
• Identify a fictional character, historical figure, or creative work that has influenced you, and describe that influence;
• Write on a topic of your choice.

In my view this is a nice set of topics, permitting a wide range of approaches. Some CA schools pose an additional supplemental question or essay topic.

Exceptions are Ivy League and highly selective schools, which often feature unique and complex essay topics as a way of challenging their applicants. Not long ago I assisted a client applying to all top tier schools by editing and making suggestions on his essays, and it was fascinating experience, which he was very much up for. At the other end of the spectrum is the occasional school with a clunker of an essay topic. To my surprise one such school  is the University of Colorado, which has as one of the longer of two required essays a request that the applicant make a response to the university strategic plan statement.  I have supported more than one student through the agony of this stultifying assignment, and I can only imagine that they get a lot of boring tripe in response; I can’t imagine why they continue to require this topic!

Whatever the number and topic of the essays you are required to write, take the assignment seriously, and plan on multiple drafts.  Also be certain to run a copy by someone in your life who will give you competent editorial suggestions, whether an English teacher, advisor, or member of your family. Here are two good sources of suggestions and examples for your essay writing:

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/EssayPrompts.htm

http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/seven-deadly-grammar-sins—learn-‘em-avoid-‘em