Higher Education @ Your Fingertips
Thankfully, most of us will never have to think about applying to college ever again. The days of writing personal statements, studying for the SATs or GMATs or LSATs or any another officially acronymed higher-education test, are over. But for prospective undergrads and grads around the world, this is crunch time. These individuals have to research programs, visit schools, interview with admissions, apply for financial aid, and then describe their life story in 200 words or less.
The economy is making it even tougher on these prospective admits. Recently, I read that the competition for schools, especially grad schools, has increased by about 20-25% for Fall 2009. Besides applying in this heavily competitive environment, students also have to weigh the costs of visiting individual schools, application fees, skyrocketing tuition and more.
Business Week just published a great article listing the virtual college fair as one of the best ways to save money during the application and discovery process. By visiting a bunch of colleges all at once, a visitor can save up to $3000 on trip costs, thousands more if they live abroad. Even better, they can chat directly with admissions reps, download all the documents that they need for applying, and listen to webcasts by curent students and alumnae. It may not ease the painfully high costs of college tuition, but it certainly does help a new student save some time and money- both of which are hard to come by in a prospective student’s life!
The next stage is Campus Recruiting Events like the Economist MBA Fair in which students can find a job with leading global corporations so they can start paying off those pesky student loans.
