College Students Split on Political Graduation Speakers

College Students Split on Political Graduation Speakers

Some college students disapprove of the speakers chosen to speak at their graduation ceremonies.

When Wellesley College announced in March that MSNBC host and Tulane University professor Melissa Harris-Perry would be the 2012 commencement speaker, students seemed pleased. Wellesley students have a strong voice in deciding who speaks at graduation, says Kate Leonard, 2012 class president of the women's liberal arts school near Boston.

A committee of students and one administrator first accept suggestions for speakers from all interested Wellesley students via E-mail, says Leonard. Then the committee compiles a list of all the suggestions, and discusses which speakers would best represent the school, and which would feasibly accept Wellesley's invitation. The speaker the committee chooses to invite is always someone initially suggested by at least one student, says Leonard.

Identifying a graduation speaker doesn't go this smoothly at all universities, and the student reaction to the speaker is not always so positive. Some University of North Carolina students are so opposed to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his handling of Occupy Wall Street that a few months after the university's September announcement of him as graduation speaker, they began organizing an alternative commencement.

On May 13, graduating UNC students have the choice to hear from Bloomberg, or attend the alternative ceremony, for which student organizers have secured three different commencement speakers.

"When Carolina invites an active political leader to serve as a commencement speaker, it is always possible that some members of the student body will not endorse that selection," said Ron Strauss, UNC executive vice provost and head of the commencement committee, in an E-mail to the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper.

[Check out an interactive map of this year's graduation speakers.]

Politics are also at the root of student disapproval of the graduation speakers chosen this year by Adrian College in Michigan and Fordham University in New York. Many Adrian students are spreading a petition to stop '50s and '60s singer Pat Boone from speaking at commencement on April 29, citing Boone's "views of racism, sexism, homophobia, and religious intolerance" on their group's Facebook page.

When Fordham, a Jesuit school, announced in March that John Brennan, chief counterterrorism adviser to President Barack Obama, would speak at graduation, many seniors didn't sit well with the decision.

"As a member of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Bush-era, Brennan has been allegedly associated with prisoner abuse and torture for the 'War on Terror,'" states a Fordham student petition for a new speaker.

When University of Pennsylvania announced social activist and education reformer Geoffrey Canada as this year's commencement speaker, many seniors reacted negatively not because of Canada's political views, but because they hadn't heard of him.

[Learn why pre-law students are less interested in political careers.]

With past Penn graduation speakers such as Denzel Washington and Bloomberg, expectations were high, says Penn senior Brian Goldman, and many students had to search research Canada's name online to learn more about him.

Correcting Claremont McKenna's 2010 Admissions Statistics

Correcting Claremont McKenna's 2010 Admissions Statistics

Claremont McKenna College has made public a report from the law firm O'Melveny Myers LLP that detailed the data that the school is now reporting as correctâ€"specifically, SAT, ACT, high school class standing, and application count dataâ€"and the extent of the data falsification that started in 2004.

[Read our earlier post about the final report from O'Melveny Myers on the data falsification.]

Regarding Claremont McKenna's current rank, No. 9, as published in the 2012 Best Colleges rankings, U.S.News World Report Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly said, "Our calculation shows that based on the data now being reported by Claremont McKenna as correct, Claremont McKenna College's ranking will not change."

U.S. News will replace the misreported Claremont McKenna data at usnews.com and in the U.S. News College Compass tool with new data reported as correct by the school for the fall 2010 entering class, where such data was provided by the school.

Claremont McKenna advised U.S. News that, for the factors used in the Best Colleges ranking, its correct average Critical Reading and Math SAT score for the fall 2010 entering class was 1,385, compared to the originally reported score of 1,410, and that its correct percent of high school students graduating in the top 10 percent of the graduating class was 72 percent, compared to the originally reported figure of 85 percent.

U.S. News will not change Claremont McKenna's current rank. We will continue to handle each case of data misreporting on an individual basis.

7 Horticulture Scholarships to Make Your Education Bloom

7 Horticulture Scholarships to Make Your Education Bloom

If you're a student pursuing an education in horticulture studies, you know that it takes air, sunlight, and water to make a garden growâ€"and you also know that it takes a lot of dollars to make your education grow into a successful future. In honor of Arbor Day on April 27, we've been busy digging up scholarships for those of you interested in turning your green thumb into a lifelong career.

Students pursuing horticulture can be found greening urban landscapes, improving the quality and nutritional value of crops, owning and operating nurseries and garden centers, and even working in floral design.

[Find scholarships for agriculture students.]

While the vast number of career options for students of horticulture is a big plus, all the subfields and specialties can make a scholarship search difficult. Our advice: look for scholarships with broad criteria, or those that focus only on your specialty. A little extra research could help you win thousands of dollars, or even full tuition, from organizations like these that have a vested interest in cultivating students like you:

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers two excellent programs that provide full tuition and employment.

1. If you're pursuing or plan to pursue a bachelor's degree in agriculture, natural resource sciences, or a related field at one of 18 institutions known as the 1890 historically black land-grant universities, you may be eligible for the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program. Full tuition, fees, books, and room and board are included, as is employment with the USDA, employee benefits, and even your own laptop and printer.

2. Scholars participating in the Public Service Leadership Scholarship Program work as paid interns with the USDA and become permanent employees upon graduation. They are provided with mentoring, leadership, career development, and a personal computer.

• The Garden Club of America offers 24 merit-based scholarships and fellowships and distributes more than $200,000 to students each year. These programs include:

3. The Douglas Dockery Fellowship in Garden History and Design, which is meant "to further the study of history and design in the American garden and to look to the future of gardens and their unique place in our environment." One graduate student receives $4,000 annually toward study and research at an institution in the United States.

4. The Anne S. Chatham Fellowship in Medicinal Botany awards one annual grant of $4,000 for a student to research about the medicinal use of plants. It is open to students currently enrolled in Ph.D. programs at recognized universities and Ph.D. graduates who have received their degrees in the last five years. 

• Several colleges and universities throughout the country offer scholarships to horticulture students. Here are just a few:

5. On the West Coast, the University of Californiaâ€"Davis Rossi Prize is one of the largest and most prestigious scholarships in the field. Napa Valley high school students in graduate and undergraduate enology and viticulture studies may compete for this $20,000 scholarship.

6. In the Midwest, the University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison offers 17 different awards to both graduate and undergraduate students through its College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

7. Out east, the Virginia Tech Department of Horticulture offers scholarships for both new and advanced students. Many are for students with particular career goals or from particular regions of the state. Collectively, undergraduate students are awarded more than $90,000 in scholarships annually.

While the majority of scholarships in horticulture-related fields are on spring deadlines, we don't recommend resting on your laurels. It's never too early to begin building your application for the upcoming year and working to meet the requirements.

[Note these five considerations for renewing scholarships.]

To increase your chances, seek out volunteer opportunities with a local green organization such as a nature preserve, a botanical garden, or arboretum. Whether you're near oceans, rivers, or lakes, you can lead the charge in organizing shoreline cleanup and restoration activities in your community.

Partnering with a human services organization to provide therapeutic gardening not only helps the environment, but has the added benefit of enhancing the emotional well-being of those in need.

Our research revealed hundreds of scholarships available for students pursuing horticulture. What we've listed above is only a small sampling of available opportunities to pay for school.

When you're finished planting trees this Arbor Day, take a little time to get your hands dirty doing some further research and planning. With a little extra effort, you can secure yourself the financial aid you need to pursue a horticulture degree and sow the seeds of success for your future.

Jenelle Montoya is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. With the help of federal student aid and private scholarships, she completed her English studies in 1999 and was the first member of her family to earn a B.A. Montoya joined Scholarship America in 2012.

New Best High Schools Rankings Launch May 8

New Best High Schools Rankings Launch May 8

Please note we have moved the launch date for the 2012 U.S. News Best High Schools to Tuesday, May 8.

Due to the extensive amount of new data we will be publishing online for nearly 22,000 public schools, we are extending our internal review and testing.

Here's how the rankings will be calculated: First, we analyzed information from nearly 22,000 public high schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia using data from the 2009-2010 school year. A three-step process will be used to determine the Best High Schools on the national level.

The first two steps will ensure that the schools serve all their students well, using state proficiency standards as the measuring benchmarks. For the schools that make it past the first two steps in their state, a third step will be used to assess "college readiness"â€"the degree to which schools prepared students in terms of both participation in and passing of college-level work using Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests as the standard.

U.S. News will then nationally rank the highest-scoring schools. In addition to the main national rankings, there will be other numerical rankings published for the top high schools in each state and for the Best Charter Schools and the Best Magnet Schools on a national level.

Media representatives: To get access to embargoed Best High Schools 2012 rankings materials, please E-mail Education-PR@usnews.com.

Update to Iona College's 2012 Best Colleges Ranking

Update to Iona College's 2012 Best Colleges Ranking

Iona College in New York advised U.S. News in fall 2011 that certain of its data points had been falsified, resulting in the submission of inflated information that was used in the 2012 edition of the Best Colleges rankings, and thereby making its rank in the Regional Universitiesâ€"North category higher than it otherwise would have been.

[See our previous post on Iona's inflation of rankings data.]

Because of the discrepancies, Iona College has changed from being a ranked school to an "Unranked" school in the Best Colleges section of usnews.com. Unranked means that U.S. News did not calculate a numerical ranking for this school.

This Unranked status will last until the publication of the next Best Colleges rankings and until Iona confirms the accuracy of the school's next data submission in accordance with U.S. News's standard requirements.

We will note this status on the school's profile page and will replace the misreported data there and in our U.S. News College Compass tool with the new data reported as accurate by Iona, where such data were provided by the school.

U.S. News will continue to handle each case of data misreporting on an individual basis. U.S. News has not changed the ranking of any other college in the current Best Colleges rankings.

This list shows how Iona College's corrected data compare to what Iona falsely first reported for the 2012 Best Colleges rankings:

Fall 2010 entering class

Average verbal and math SAT

Actual after correction: 1,009

As first reported: 1,101

Acceptance rate

Actual after correction: 67.0

As first reported: 60.2

Average first year retention rate

Actual after correction: 80.75

As first reported: 85.75

Average six-year graduation rate

Actual after correction: 58.7

As first reported: 62.0

Student-faculty ratio

Actual after correction: 15:1

As first reported: 13:1

Average alumni giving rate

Actual after correction: 12.0

As first reported: 26.0

The High Costs of a Low-Rate Mortgage

The High Costs of a Low-Rate Mortgage

Dean Catino

Mortgage rates are low . . . very low! In fact, 30-year fixed mortgage rates have been below or near 4 percent for several months. Often, it makes great financial sense to refinance your home at the lower rates. After all, who wouldn’t want to save a few bucks?

However, before you make the call to “1-800 GET-ME-A-GREAT-RATE,” you need to consider all the costs and fees that go into refinancing your home. The closing costs can get pretty steep, as there are many fees associated with getting that great new 30-year rate, such as: origination charges (sometimes referred to as “points”), an appraisal fee, title insurance, recording charges, transfer taxes, etc. On a $417,000 mortgage, these fees can total about $5,500. Despite these expenses, refinancing to a lower rate may still be the smart move.

The next step is to consider how long you intend to stay in your house and then calculate the “payback.” In other words, how long does it take to pay back the closing costs when you consider the monthly savings with new lower mortgage payment verses the original mortgage payment? For example, the closing costs on a $417,000 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 3.875 percent is $5,500, with a new monthly payment of $1,961. The old mortgage payment was $2,238, which means the homeowner will save $277 per month. The closing costs of $5,500 divided by the monthly savings of $277 equates to a payback period of nearly 20 months. So, if you are going to be in the house longer than that, it’s a good deal. However, if a potential move is in your future, you may want to stay with your current mortgage.

Let’s consider the facts about home ownership and how long people typically remain in their homes. This is, in fact, one of the questions the U.S. Census Bureau asked in its 2007 American Community Survey. Only 74 percent of average single-family homeowners are still in their home after five years. This means that one out of four families had moved! The move-out rate is even higher for multi-family condo owners. One out of two families had moved out after five years!

Next, let’s take a look at the 30-year amortization table that is often provided in your mortgage closing documents. This is the one that you quickly glanced over as you were signing your legal name 39 times (don’t forget your middle initial). Okay, you went with the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, you got a great rate of 3.875 percent, and you paid the closing costs. Since you intend to be in the house for a long time, it’s a smart move.

Now, fast forward five years, and it’s time to move (hey, you got a promotion; good things can happen!). The big question is: How much principal have you worked off over the last five years?  You’ve been paying the mortgage company $1,961 per month, which equates to more than $117,000 over five long years. During this five-year period, only $40,542 has gone to principal, and a whopping $77,058 has gone to interest! Yes, the mortgage company has applied about 65 percent of your payments to interest! Lenders lend money to make a profit on the interest, and mortgages can be very profitableâ€"especially in the first half of the term, when most of the interest is being paid. Also, they know that most families will not stay in their homes for the full term.

If you are one of those families that wants to pay down the mortgage principal faster while also building more equity, consider a bi-weekly mortgage payment. Simply stated, take your monthly mortgage payment and divide it in half. Then pay your mortgage company that payment every two weeks. You make 26 payments per year, which is the equivalent of 13 monthly payments rather than 12. The extra payment should be taken directly off the principal, which will reduce your payment schedule accordingly, and you will pay off your mortgage in about 21 years!  Many mortgage companies offer a bi-weekly payment option, and it’s even possible to convert your current monthly payments into a bi-weekly schedule.

Dean J. Catino, CFP®, CPRC, is a managing director and cofounder of Monument Wealth Management in Alexandria, VA., a full-service investment and wealth management firm. Monument Wealth Management is backed by LPL Financial, an independent broker-dealer. Securities and financial planning offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, member FINRA/SIPC. Follow Dean and Monument Wealth Management on their blog Off The Wall and on Twitter at @MonumentWealth and @DeanJCatino. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for individuals. To determine which investment is appropriate please consult your financial advisor prior to investing.

The Case for Fixing Social Security Right Now

The Case for Fixing Social Security Right Now

Every time I write about the financial condition of Social Security, I get incredibly angry at Congress and the White House. They should step up to the plate and apply the relatively minor financial changes that would restore the program to complete financial sustainability. Next to the truly tough issues of healthcare spending, federal deficits, and taxes, Social Security is a walk in the park.

[See Social Security, Medicare Outlooks Worsen.]

Governments seem to do little right these days, at a time when the public desperately needs to see something positive from its elected leaders. Restoring the public's confidence in the staying power of Social Security would send a positive message to younger generations. They now have ample reason to doubt they will receive benefits that are anything like those being paid to current retirees.

The value and success of this program are not in question. More than 55 million Americans draw benefits today. Some 14 million of them are so dependent on Social Security that they would be impoverished without its paymentsâ€"payments they have largely (although not entirely) funded with their own payroll taxes.

As the values of private investment accounts were tanking after the Great Recession, Social Security proved the benefit of a dependable retirement program. It was there when we needed it, and with modest changes, it can continue to be there for current and future generations.

The Social Security Administration spends about $12 billion a year and employs about 80,000 people to run all its retirement and disability benefit programs. Those are big numbers, but not compared with the much larger profits that private companies charge for running 401(k)s, IRAs, and other private retirement accounts. Social Security is a bargain in terms of its administrative costs.

[See Why the Early-Retirement Trend Reversed in 2011.]

Putting Social Security on firm financial footing for the next 50 or 75 years is not hard because the program's issues are not huge. This week's annual Social Security trustee report said the program would be unable to pay full benefits in the year 2033, three years earlier than projected in the same report last year.

Even so, if nothing was done, Social Security could pay its full benefits for 21 more years and then still be able to pay 75 percent of those benefits after that. So, we're talking about heading off a 25 percent spending shortfall more than two decades away.

Still, 20 years is not far off in terms of gradually implementing changes that would provide for the program's longer-term needs while not forcing jarring changes on people already retired or within 10 years of retiring. The program's smaller disability insurance component is only four years from insolvency, in case lawmakers need a match lit under them sooner.

Lastly, the options for dealing with Social Security's financial needs have been studied to death and then some. There are few surprises here. And there aren't serious ideological issues either, at least not by comparison with the intractable tax-and-spend tug of war that has paralyzed Congress of late. But compromises would be needed.

[See How Delaying Retirement Can Help You.]

The three most prominently advanced reforms are to reduce the size of the annual cost of living adjustment, raise the retirement age, and lift the ceiling on earnings subject to payroll taxes. It's now at $110,100 a year, but because high earners have fared so well in recent years, the program taxes a smaller percentage of the nation's wage income than it used to.

The Simpson-Bowles deficit restructuring plan of late 2010 included these and other suggested Social Security reforms. They provide a well-researched starting point for changing the program. The Social Security components of that plan could be peeled off, introduced separately, and subjected to extensive House and Senate hearings.

If Congress and the White House were serious, the program could be put on solid financial ground again well before the elections. And because Social Security has historically been separate from the rest of the federal budget, its needs could be addressed without opening up that much bigger can of worms.

The common wisdom is that no major issue will be addressed in Washington before the November elections. I get it. It's sad, really, that there is not more heat on legislators to act. Perhaps we've just become too accustomed to gridlock. But wouldn't it send a wonderful message if legislators actually demonstrated that they cared more about doing the public's business than results of their next election? Helping Social Security would set the table for those tougher spending and tax decisions. I am, of course, terminally naive. But wouldn't it be great!