One out of four of the college students reading this post has a sexually transmitted disease - which pretty much means there's a good chance you could catch one on your next date! I know that sounds shocking, but as they say... "you can't make this stuff up!" OnlineColleges.net recently shared with me this educational infographic they've just released, taking a closer look at Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on College Campuses. They're not making this stuff up! The statistics are interesting, but the really important part is on transmission and prevention. Read on and here's hoping you don't become that one in four.  I can only hope but you can do something about it. I'll steal a phrase from Smokey the Bear and say, "Only YOU can prevent STDs!" PEACE. Source: Online … [Read more...]

The cost of attending college is rising three times as fast as inflation. That's what they say at FinAid.org. In support of that claim InflationData.com reports that the overall inflation rate has increased 107.05% since. That's why we pay twice as much for everything. In that same time frame tuition increased 466.80%. Wouldn't that mean we pay four and a half times as much to get educated? Something about that doesn't seem very smart. The result? A college education is predicted to cost $120,000 by 2015 and today our college grads are saddled with over $40 billion in no-way-out student loan debt. And in case you don't know it, your parents are only on the hook if they co-sign for you. That means that YOU and no one else is 'stuck like Chuck!' The good news is there are a … [Read more...]

THEY... are the National Center for Educational Statistics. According to their stats, across the nation more and more students are taking Developmental Education classes and some colleges are now reporting Developmental Education Departments in their Top 5. What this means is that more and more students are entering college unprepared. To break it down - they have trouble with their basic readin’, ’riting, and ’rithmetic! According to the Lumina Foundation nearly one-third of first-year college students require remedial education in one of the basic three. Making bad news worse... developmental education courses don't count towards their degrees. They do however, have to pay for them. Pretty much the same courses they had in high school for free. If only they'd been paying … [Read more...]

The number of college  students aged 40 to 64 has nearly reached the two million mark. That's an increase of almost 20% in the last decade according to a 2007 survey by U.S. News and World Report. Lifelong Learners - that's the term you'd have to apply to 40+ adults who are attending a class, taking self study courses or engaged in some type of learning including training and basic  education offered outside traditional higher  education, such as distance or online learning. If we count all of them in, the U.S. Department of Education says the number is closer to 90 million! Who are the Lifelong Learners in your life? Are you one of the 90 million? Are you seeing more non-traditional students in your classes? That's what they say... is that what you're … [Read more...]

According to statistics, about 19.1 million students will enroll in degree-granting institutions this year (2011-2012). That's up about 25% since 2000. That's what they say anyway. Who's 'they?' --- The National Center for Educational Statistics. PS. The number of women in college outnumber men and the number of Hispanics now outnumbers Blacks. How's enrollment at your school? Do you think your enrollment numbers have been affected by the economy? Are your classrooms filling up earlier than you expected? Are your classes larger than expected? Is your campus becoming more or less diverse? What's your take? Just curious and would love to see your comments below. PEACE. Rick   … [Read more...]

I did a search on college dating statistics and there was a whole lot more bad news than good news. Sprinkled in among the glaring date rape statistics were a few trendy stories about online dating, how hard it is to find a good date and how to pick up girls but mostly it was stuff like this: ♦ About one in three high school students have been or will be involved in an abusive relationship. ♦ Forty percent of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 say they know someone their age that has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend. ♦ In one study, from 30 to 50 percent of female high school students reported having already experienced teen dating violence. ♦ Teen dating violence most often takes place in the home of one of the partners. ♦ One of five college females will experience … [Read more...]

When I first saw this picture of my friend Steve Wallace I laughed out loud. Then I thought, “Hey! You don’t laugh at a guy with three Super Bowl rings.” Not to mention his successful business life after pro football… (But that is one funny-a** hat!) But Steve was pretty serious about that hat when it was his job to protect Joe Montana and Steve Young. Today he’s pretty serious about college athletes and preventing concussions. Player concussions are such a serious issue that both the NFL and the NCAA – and even several states - have been tightening their rules over the past few years and are continuing look for ways to make their collision sport safe. After suffering five concussions, Steve found his own way. “The concussion rules were pretty lax back then so I had … [Read more...]

Jordan Goodman is a financial guru and his son is just starting his freshman year at Dartmouth. Jordan’s been dealing with money for years as an expert in the field, but for his son it’s a whole new territory. And arming his own son with the right financial tools is new territory for Jordan as well. “Basically he had nothing to do with money,” says Jordan. “So when he went off to school I started teaching him how to write checks and keep his balance, how to balance his credit cards and how to invest in various ways in money markets and CDs. This was all new territory for him and for many kids.” Because he saw the need among his son’s classmates, Jordan held an informal workshop for the fall freshmen to get the off on the right foot. “We had them sign checks over to … [Read more...]

For years, college students have been rocked by credit card debt after being victimized by what can be considered a system that’s no less vicious that the predatory mortgage lending practices that have dominated the news in the past year. That’s the first thing that came to mind when I asked Jordan Goodman, America’s Money Answers Man, about the biggest money mistakes college students make. “Getting into credit card debt over their head,” he says. “The average freshman has about five credit cards and $2,000 worth of debt by the end of their freshman year. By senior year many have as many as seven credit cards and $10,000 in credit card debt. But that’s going to change.” Jordan points to the new Credit Card Reform Act signed into law in June by President Obama. The … [Read more...]