Thursday, March 20, 2014

SandyPundits News - Spring Issue

Go here for the first newsletter of SandyPundits.com.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Choosing the Right College, ed. John Zmirak, Ph.D.

Choosing the Right College
 Groundbreaking New Guide Uncovers In-depth, Independently Researched Facts about America's Top Colleges and Universities

"By far the best college guide in America." --Thomas Sowell
 
John Zmirak, Ph.D. is the Editor in Chief of the new 2014-2015 edition of Choosing the Right College: the Inside Scoop on Elite Schools and Outstanding Lesser-Known Institutions - "Easily the best of the college guides," says American Spectator.

Springtime is just around the corner and that is the time of year when high school juniors start meeting with their education counselors to plan out college visits over the summer. It's also the time when students and their parents start to panic over the never-ending rise in college tuition and the debt they'll soon be racking up.

How bad is it? One recent study shows that 70 percent of the class of 2013 graduated with college-related debt averaging $35,200. And according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the total amount of student debt has increased by a jaw-dropping 275 percent since 2003.

The average college student will owe upon graduation nearly $27,000 - and some 10 percent of students will owe more than $40,000. College tuitions have risen much more quickly than inflation, their parents' income, or the salaries for entry-level jobs in any profession apart from "international arms smuggler." What accounts for the skyrocketing prices? [Go here for the shocking ways colleges have succumbed to bureaucratic bloat...]

So the question is: Is college worth it? In many cases, no. In fact, about half of all college graduates are working jobs that do not even require a college degree. And no wonder. Employers are unlikely to be impressed by the growing number of graduates with degrees in "Gender and Sexuality," "Race and Ethnicity," and other politically-correct subjects.

But there are ways to get a solid liberal arts education - and the really good job prospects that follow from it - without drowning oneself in debt. So says John Zmirak, editor of the new 2014-2015 edition of Choosing the Right College. Published by the prestigious Intercollegiate Studies Institute (founded in 1953), this invaluable guide is packed with inside information on well over 150 colleges and universities. Plus, new to this edition is an entire section showing how, in each of the 50 states, one can get, at both state and certain private schools, an elite-caliber education at a rock-bottom price. Students and their parents will learn:

  • Which are some of the most overpriced schools - which offer the most bang for the buck - and which schools offer the most financial aid;
  • Which courses and professors to seek out (and which to avoid);
  • The truth about day-to-day student life: living arrangements, campus safety, extracurricular activities, the social scene, and political correctness;
  • Which schools have solid "core" requirements - and what you can do if they don't;
  • Statistics that colleges don't want you to know (such as the average student-debt load of graduates);
  • A roadmap for getting a real education at any school; and much more...
"There are pockets of toxic ideology and large swathes of boring mediocrity at most universities," says Zmirak, "but it's possible to pick a healthy, tasty meal from the vast buffet that streams before you. There's real meat among the glistening piles of spam. It's up to you to choose it. And we're here to help." [more...]

About the Author: John Zmirak, Ph.D., Editor in Chief of Choosing the Right College and CollegeGuide.org received his B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University. He has taught at LSU, Tulane, and the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts. The author of several books, Zmirak has worked extensively as a journalist, writing for publications ranging from USA Today to Investor's Business Daily.