?>?> 2010 December

Twitter Followers or Facebook Fans: Which is better?

December 27, 2010 By

Facebook
Creative Commons License photo credit: Franco Bouly

The answer is Twitter according to research from ExactTarget. According to the study and reported on by Social Media Today, “Twitter followers are more likely to induce advocacy and future purchases” than those on Facebook. Social Media Today reported that “according to their data, 37% of respondents were more likely to purchase from a brand after following them on Twitter as opposed to only 17% of those that “like” a brand on Facebook.”

When the respondents were asked if they were more likely to recommend a Brand after following them on Twitter, 33% of Twitter followers were more likely to recommend a Brand compared to 21% of Facebook fans.

What has been your experience?

Filed Under: FaceBook, marketing, social media, twitter, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

President Obama Pledges DREAM Act Not Over: Calls Failure of Legislation “Biggest Disappointment”

December 22, 2010 By

Today President Obama  pledged the “DREAM Act” was not over because “it is the right thing to do”. On December 7, 2010 I moderated a chat on Twitter  and discussed whether the Senate should pass the DREAM Act. Perhaps what was most interesting to me were the conversations I had with #CollegeChat participants the day following the chat. I came to realize that a number of attendees were hesitant to share their thoughts on the “DREAM Act” in public. What became clear to me is how charged this proposed legislation has become to the point that if you feel strongly one way or other you may be afraid to stand up for your beliefs publicly. The “DREAM Act” has become another polarized issue where the facts don’t seem to matter. This “dream” for so many illegal immigrant children will now have to wait a bit longer.

Filed Under: CollegeChat Tagged With: , , ,

8 Tips for Applying for Financial Aid for College Bound High School Seniors

December 15, 2010 By

Widening Perception
Creative Commons License photo credit: jurvetson

While January 1, 2011 marks the deadline to apply to college for many colleges across the country it also signals the beginning of the financial aid process for the 2011-2012 school year.  Increasingly, for many college bound high school seniors, what they are able to get for financial aid will largely determine what college they attend. During #CollegeChat, Sharon McLaughlin, a college planning consultant and financial aid expert and founder of McLaughlin Education Consulting (http://www.headforcollege.com) provided her best tips for college bound high school seniors to ensure the best financial aid package.

1. Apply for Financial Aid early. In order to have the best chance to receive the best financial aid package possible, students need to make sure they apply for financial aid as soon as possible. College Financial Aid Offices have a fixed amount of institutional aid to dispense each year. In addition, many states have their own deadlines for students to complete the FAFSA in order to be eligible for state funds.

2. Understand what falls underneath Financial Aid. Grants, loans, institutional scholarships, and work study make up a typical financial aid package. Grants and scholarships are not paid back so are generally considered the most desirable forms of financial aid.

3. Fill out the FAFSA. In order to begin the financial aid process you must fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  In order to be considered for any financial aid—even institution based scholarships as well as merit aid scholarships—families must fill out this form. Although the 2011-2012 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet isn’t available yet you can review the 2010-2011 worksheet to review the materials you will need to have to apply.

4. Find out your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is what the government says a family and student should pay based on family income and assets. The EFC is determined by the information a family reports on the FAFSA application. Families and students need to understand that the EFC is merely a starting point and colleges can award money however they want.  If you haven’t filled out the FAFSA yet, you can get an estimate of your EFC through CollegeBoard.com online EFC calculator at http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp?noload=Y . FinAid.com provides both a federal and institutional calculator at http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml.

5. Find out if you need to complete the CSS Financial Aid PROFILE. A number of private colleges and universities require students to fill out a CSS Financial Aid PROFILE. You should be able to easily determine whether the college you have applied to does by going to their financial aid section on their web site. If in doubt, contact the college financial aid office directly.

6. Remember all students are eligible for financial aid regardless of income. “One of the biggest myths about financial aid is that my parents make too much,” said McLaughlin. “All students are eligible for financial aid even if it’s only Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans. Families that make over $200,000 per year may qualify for loans and non need based scholarships and grants.”

7. What can you do if your parents refuse to fill out the FAFSA. “Parents who refuse to file the FAFSA only hurt the student,” said McLaughlin. “No FAFSA means no aid in most circumstances. Students should not try to get parent information on the sly. A parent signature is needed in order to file the FAFSA and falsifying the FAFSA is a federal crime.”

According to the FAFSA web site, “Under very limited circumstances, an otherwise dependent student may be able to submit the FAFSA without parental information due to special circumstances.” To find out if you fall under special circumstances you can review http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/faq002.htm#faq002_3 .

8. How to appeal a financial aid decision. In the event a family’s situation has changed financially due to a job loss or other reasons, a student should appeal to the financial aid office for a review. McLaughlin recommends the first step should be to call the financial aid office and explain what has happened and how to go about appealing the financial aid package.

Sharon McLaughlin is a former college administrator with more than twenty years of experience in student enrollment services. Sharon draws her expertise from her work at private and public colleges in New England, both as a college admissions and financial aid administrator. Sharon holds a MEd in Adult Education and was the first professional college planning consultant in Central Massachusetts the designation of Certified College Planning Specialist (CPPS) from the National Institute of Certified College Planers (NICCP).

About #CollegeChat

#CollegeChat is a live bi-monthly conversation intended for teens, college students, parents, and higher education experts on Twitter. #CollegeChat takes place on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6 pm Pacific/ 9 pm Eastern. Questions for each #CollegeChat edition can be sent to Theresa Smith, the moderator of #CollegeChat via http://Twitter.com/collegechat , by entering questions online on the CollegeChat Facebook page at http://ht.ly/1XIqV , or by email. More detailed information about signing up for Twitter and participating in #Collegechat  can be found at  http://pathwaypr.com/how-to-participate-in-a-twitter-chat .CollegeChat can also be found on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/collegechat .

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Customer Service Lessons from Steve Jobs via the Business Insider

December 13, 2010 By

Filed Under: customer service, How to, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Think Tank Night December 7, 2010 on #CollegeChat

December 5, 2010 By

On the December 7, 2010 edition of #CollegeChat (at 6 pm Pacific and 9 pm Eastern via Twitter) we will be discussing:

  • Whether the lame-duck Senate should pass the DREAM Act.

Caroline Winter recently reported for BusinessWeek in her article “Harry Reid’s Dream Act: Help for Undocumented Workers” that Reid’s proposed legislation “would allow students who arrived in the U.S. before age 16, have been in the country at least five years, and have a high school or equivalent degree, to apply for permanent residency after two years of college or military service.”

According to Winter, “Of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. today, about 65,000 complete high school each year, according to the Urban Institute. Of those, about 5 percent to 10 percent go to college. The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, estimates that less than half of 2.1 million eligible youth would meet the act’s requirements.

For students in the U.S. illegally, the soaring cost of tuition is a near-insurmountable barrier. They are ineligible for federal loans and, in most cases, in-state tuition. For those accomplished enough to make it to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Dartmouth, admission means a full ride—tuition, fees, room, and board—if they are needy. Some non-Ivies, including Amherst College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have similar policies. Brown and Cornell offer full rides for needy U.S. students only, but often help non-U.S. students, too.”

In a December 4, 2010 editorial the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The reasons to support the DREAM Act are moral, pragmatic and economic. Young people go where their parents take them, and it is unjust to punish them for being brought into the country illegally.”

Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times also reported that “the Congressional Budget Office said that, to the contrary, the DREAM Act would result in revenues of $2.3 billion annually, mainly from the income and corporate taxes paid by all the newly legal workers.”

  • Are colleges –most recently Notre Dame—doing a good job of protecting, reporting and pursuing justice for students who have been victimized by other students.

Notre Dame is the latest college to come under the microscope for the way it has handled the investigation into a freshman student’s allegation of sexual abuse at the hands of a Notre Dame Football player that may have led to the freshman’s suicide.

Roger Canaff, a special victims prosecutor, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post commenting on the case titled “Elizabeth Seeberg Could Not Have Done More.”

Canaff wrote, “A freshman at St. Mary’s, a sister school to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, she (Elizabeth Seeberg) reported a sexual assault by a ND football player the day after the incident, and followed through with everything asked of her by law enforcement and supportive professionals. Ten days later she was dead, an apparent suicide.”

In his article he goes on to write, “That’s why I’m trying to understand why Notre Dame, the world-class institution where she reported being attacked, has reacted the way it has. Why, for instance, did ND campus police wait more than 10 weeks — only after the Chicago Tribune began to demand answers — to turn a file over to the St. Joseph’s County District Attorney’s Office, the prosecutorial authority that actually has a Special Victims Unit? And what’s behind the school’s refusal to release police records about this incident, even to Lizzy’s parents? Police records are an exception to privacy laws that guard educational records.

Finally, and most disturbingly, I don’t know why the man Lizzy reported against has played an entire season of football. While it’s true that he is and should be considered innocent until proven otherwise, his privilege to play football isn’t in any way related to his legal rights as a citizen. The fact is, a young woman reported swiftly and completely a serious crime to the proper authorities that control this man’s ability to play football, and she followed through with evidence collection, counseling and cooperation. But ND has yet to even acknowledge her complaint, let alone bar him from playing at least until the investigation is completed. Coach Brian Kelly won’t state whether he’s even spoken to the accused player about the incident. He’s stated he stresses respect for women in his program, that he’s a father himself, and wants “the right kind of guys” on his team. Well, the player hasn’t been benched in three months; from this we can fairly deduce that Coach Kelly supports him as someone worthy of wearing the uniform. If that’s so, why won’t he give his reasons?”

Additional background reading for #CollegeChat:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/04/opinion/la-ed-dream-20101204

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_47/b4204037354156.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dream-act-20101128,0,5057601.story?track=rss

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/22/notre-dame-sex-attack-pro_n_787185.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-canaff/elizabeth-seeberg-could-n_b_790725.html

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-21/news/ct-met-notre-dame-story-20101121_1_sexual-attack-campus-police-sexual-assault/2

New to Twitter?

In order to participate in the chat, attendees will need to have a Twitter account.  To sign up for a Twitter account, go to http:// twitter.com. The easiest way to follow the chat is to use TweetChat (http://tweetchat.com). Simply log in to TweetChat with your Twitter information (email or username followed by password) and then enter in CollegeChat without the “#” and you will be placed into the chat room with only those participating in #CollegeChat. More detailed information about signing up for Twitter and using TweetChat can be found at http://pathwaypr.com/how-to-participate-in-a-twitter-chat .

About #CollegeChat

#CollegeChat is a live bi-monthly conversation intended for teens, college students, parents, and higher education experts on Twitter. Questions for each #CollegeChat edition can be sent to Theresa Smith, the moderator of #CollegeChat via http://Twitter.com/collegechat , by entering questions online on the CollegeChat Facebook page at http://ht.ly/1XIqV , or by email. CollegeChat can also be found on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/collegechat .

Filed Under: CollegeChat, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sharing the UCLA 8 Clap Heard Around the World

December 4, 2010 By

This. Was. Fun!

Filed Under: Uncategorized, YouTube Tagged With: , , ,