New York Times. Washington Post. We all know the story. Every year the articles are always the same. Predictable even. We all know that the cost of college is rising. We all know that for low-income\/first-generation students the burden is overwhelmingly disproportionate.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m about to say might be a bit unorthodox, especially since I too, at times have been guilty of giving in to the pressures from time to time but I didn\u2019t name this blog \u201cFinancial Aid Revolution\u201d because I wanted to keep things the status quo. Here it is- we\u2019ve got to stop presenting 90-minute\/2-hour workshops on scholarships and financial aid as the solution to the student loan debt and retention crises.<\/p>\n
While I agree that workshops definitely plant a seed, particularly for disconnected youth that would not typically interact with financial aid advisors, given the fact that the average low-income student is taking out loans to fund their education is proof that it\u2019s simply not enough. I\u2019m stepping out on the limb to say that financial aid panel discussions won\u2019t prevent students from going home for balances less than $1000. A 90-minute workshop won\u2019t equip students with the appropriate tools to close the gaps in their financial aid packages. All the financial conferences in the world won\u2019t have a measurable impact on the average student loan debt upon graduation, which is currently approaching $30,000.<\/p>\n
Do I have the answer? I certainly believe a large portion of it revolves around strategic, ongoing supports to help families (note \u2013 I said families, because we can\u2019t expect students to do it alone) to develop realistic college funding strategies. For me, this isn\u2019t about promoting The Scholarship Academy\u2019s curriculum or announcing our new Virtual Scholarship Center. It\u2019s really about the calls our office is still receiving each day from students who owe $5000 or less, and are in danger of not being able to return to school next semester. Which workshop will enable them to maintain matriculation? Which news article will trumpet their cause?<\/p>\n
I say, let\u2019s do something radical. Let\u2019s challenge colleges to re-evaluate their policies for declaring students financially ineligible to maintain matriculation. Let\u2019s make sure families create 4-5 year college funding plans. Let\u2019s do more than talk about websites and search engines. Think about it- what could YOU do to help students go to college without going into debt?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New York Times. Washington Post. We all know the story. Every year the articles are always the same. Predictable even. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":1,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,11,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jessica","category-the-debt-free-degree-zone","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Tawanda-Pic-e1493474190320.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6jfBU-H1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2508,"url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/i-am-college-material-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":0},"title":"I AM College Material Project","author":"JJohnson","date":"August 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"[section background_repeat=\"repeat\" background_position=\"center top\" background_attachment=\"static\" background_scroll=\"none\"] [one_third valign=\"top\" animation=\"none\"] [box style=\"simple\"] WORKSHOPS [\/box] [\/one_third] [one_third valign=\"top\" animation=\"none\"] [box style=\"simple\"] BOOTCAMPS [\/box] [\/one_third] [one_third_last valign=\"top\" animation=\"none\"] [box style=\"simple\"] SCHOLARSHIP FAIR [\/box] [\/one_third_last] [\/section]","rel":"","context":"In "Financial Aid Revolution"","block_context":{"text":"Financial Aid Revolution","link":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/category\/jessica\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/the-scholarship-academy.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/the-scholarship-academy.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/the-scholarship-academy.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1981,"url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/video-i-am-college-material-scholarship-fair\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":1},"title":"VIDEO: I am College Material Scholarship Fair","author":"Christopher","date":"January 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Financial Aid Revolution"","block_context":{"text":"Financial Aid Revolution","link":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/category\/jessica\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3977,"url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/op-ed-about-student-loan-debt-in-georgia-for-the-ajc\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":2},"title":"Op-Ed about student loan debt in Georgia for the AJC","author":"Christopher","date":"October 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Get Schooled [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Your source to discuss and learn about education in Georgia and the nation and share opinions and news with Maureen Downey. [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Fault for broken college dreams & soaring debt falls on families, schools and\u00a0state [\/vc_column_text][mk_image src=\"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/studentdebt.jpg\" image_size=\"large\" align=\"center\"][vc_column_text] Jessica D. Johnson is founder of\u00a0the Scholarship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/category\/newsevents\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/studentdebt.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/studentdebt.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/studentdebt.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":450,"url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/standard-post-format-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":3},"title":"When Being \u2018College Material\u2019 Isn’t Enough","author":"Christopher","date":"August 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Facilisis aliquet ligula egestas. Mauris tempus quam eget dui consectetur sit amet dapibus ipsum tincidunt hendrerit .","rel":"","context":"In "Financial Aid Revolution"","block_context":{"text":"Financial Aid Revolution","link":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/category\/jessica\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/rounded2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/rounded2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/rounded2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/rounded2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/rounded2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/rounded2.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3187,"url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/the-7th-annual-scholarship-fair\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":4},"title":"The 7th Annual Scholarship Fair!","author":"Christopher","date":"October 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Scholarship Academy to host its 7th Annual Scholarship Fair on November 17 from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM at Atlanta City Hall. Each year, with the help of Atlanta businesses and organizations, hundreds of high school juniors\/seniors and their families learn how to secure Financial Aid and Scholarship options\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News & Events"","block_context":{"text":"News & Events","link":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/category\/newsevents\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/scholarship-academy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/scholarship-academy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/scholarship-academy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/scholarship-academy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1787,"url":"https:\/\/scholarshipacademy.org\/online\/the-scholarship-academy-launches-its-2012-national-strategic-communications-campaign\/","url_meta":{"origin":2667,"position":5},"title":"The Scholarship Academy Launches its 2012 National Strategic Communications Campaign","author":"Christopher","date":"February 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Daniel Brown - 214.764.7750 (Dallas, Texas \u201301\/19\/12) - The Scholarship Academy has retained Dallas-based Concierge PA as its Agency of Record for Strategic Communications. 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