YCBK 204: A new push to create a 3-year degree

In this episode you will hear:   (32:03) In this week’s “In the news” segment, a November 9th, 2021 article by Emma Whitford of “Inside Higher Ed”, “A New push to create a 3-year degree option”. Mark and Dave discuss a new 3-year degree. Is this a good idea or not? Which students are likely to take advantage of this? Mark and Dave discuss this and so much more.   Part 1 of 2     (41:25) Mark was asked in our questionnaire what trends he is observing for the future concerning college admissions, Mark and Lisa discuss 15 different observations Mark has made about where he sees admissions trending over the next 5-10 years.  In Part 3 of 4 Mark and Lisa discuss four more trends.   (01:03:46) Mark interviews two financial aid experts: Michael Ireland, Associate Director of Financial Aid and Courtney Hatch Blauvett, the Director of College Counseling at Miss Hall’s school and the former financial aid officer at four different colleges. Michael and Courtney answer 13 questions that listeners to YCBK sent in over the last three months on all topics related to paying for college, financial aid, scholarships, etc. This is part 3 of 5.      Preview Part 3-preview   Courtney has a great idea that will help families and will be appreciated by some financial aid officers that she shares Courtney takes the lead on the following question: I’ve had schools tell me that Net Price Calculators tend to be inaccurate when someone owns their own business or if a student is coming from a family where the parents are divorced, separated or were never married, do you agree with this? Also, are there any other times that Net Price Calculators are not that reliable? Courtney answers this and she shares another group for whom the net price calculators are useless, and Michael adds a fourth category where calculators may not always be accurate. Michael takes the lead on the following question: Our child intentionally applied to colleges that say they meet full demonstrated need, we completed seven net price calculators and a few schools were more than double the best offer. I double checked my work so I know we never made a mistake, how can financial offers vary so much for schools that claim they meet full demonstrated need? Courtney adds some great tidbits to Michael’s answer   (01:09:40) Our recommended resource for episode 204 is a great source for research on Canadian universities and it is Macleans annual college edition:   (01:21:28) Our College Spotlight is University College London (UCL) and Kevin Newton (our international university specialist) delivers the Spotlight. Part 1 of 2   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news,  and updates about the podcast before they go live:     To access our transcripts, click: Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans is used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   Feel free to pass this podcast on to others who you feel will benefit, even if they are not a YCBK listener.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: . If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you subscribe to our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:       If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340. All Mark asks is that you review the services on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/