The Internet Schools, Inc.
Virginia Internet High School
http://www.internet-high.com/
Orange, Virginia 22960
- Press Announcement -
February 5, 2002College-bound seniors and high school graduates planning to enter a state college next year will want to review the newly released 2002 edition of the Shopper's Guide for Virginia Colleges. From "self-assessment" to "time-to-degree" to "degree costs," the Shopper's Guide takes students and parents step-by-step through the college selection process. With average in-state "bachelor's degree costs" equaling $54,420 at the public colleges and $103,384 at the private colleges, every college-bound Virginian needs to shop very carefully.
Is the student ready for college?To begin the selection process, students will need an accurate assessment of their own educational abilities and expectations. In the absence of a standard measure, the Shopper's Guide recommends using the SAT and its five-year graduation benchmarks established by the 1989-90 US college freshmen. Students with a combined SAT score of 900-999 should be pleased to learn that 61% of their group graduated after five years. Those with scores of 1100-1199 may be somewhat disappointed that only 67% (6% more) of their group had obtained their degrees after five years. Once students have a clear understanding of their own qualifications, they are ready to start shopping for their "right college."
Can the student spend six-years or more getting a bachelor's degree?The first reality students and parents must deal with is that only 40% of entering freshmen at the state's public and private colleges earn their bachelor's degree in four years. In fact, just 62% of entering freshmen at Virginia's public colleges and only 51% at the state's private schools get their bachelor's degrees after six years. Knowing how long similarly qualified students have taken to get their degrees at each school this is under consideration is an absolute necessity for the accomplished shopper.
Does the college graduate its students in the time expected?Shoppers can use the median SAT scores and GPA's of the 2000-01 freshmen classes at Virginia colleges to identify the schools serving similarly qualified students. These freshmen SAT scores also provide a very precise indication of what each college's five-year graduation rate should be. A comparison of actual graduation rates to those indicated by their freshmen SAT scores finds that only five public and two private colleges equaled or exceeded their expected five-year rates. The guide lists the actual and expected graduation rates for 40 of Virginia's senior colleges and universities.
Which are the five-year, six-year, and seven-year colleges?To further assist shoppers in assessing the state colleges and universities, the schools are grouped by the number of years it takes for 50% of entering freshmen to graduate. Only four of the state's fifteen public colleges and nine of the 25 private schools graduated 50% of their 1994-95 entering freshmen after four years. After five years, another three of the public colleges and seven of the private colleges had graduated 50% of their 1994-95 freshmen class. The remaining colleges and universities (eight public; nine private) had failed to reach the 50% rate after six years. Based on their student SAT scores only one of the public colleges and three of the private colleges should have required more than five years to graduate 50% of their entering freshmen.
How much will my degree cost?As with most purchases, the final factor in selecting the "right college" is "degree cost" or the total expenses that will be incurred in obtaining a degree. These costs vary greatly even at the same school because of the difference in the number of years it takes to earn a degree. The Shopper's Guide points out that students must budget for the same number of years it takes for a majority (50%) of entering freshmen to obtain their degrees at the college.
"Degree costs" for in-state students at the public colleges range from $47,664 at the University of Virginia to $78,595 at Virginia Commonwealth University. Private college "degree costs" for in-state students range from $57,800 at Christendom College to $133,750 at Shenandoah University. The costs for out-of-state students at the public colleges range from $74,804 at Mary Washington College to $134,035 at Virginia Commonwealth University. "Degree costs" for non-residents at the private colleges are $12,000 more than for in-state students. Actual out-of-pocket costs for students may be less depending upon the amount of financial aid available.
Grand Opening of online Guidance eOfficesTo announce the grand opening of its new eOffices and eClassrooms facilities, Internet Schools is making its 2002 "Shopper's Guide for Virginia Colleges" available online. College-bound students and their parents can see a copy of the Shopper's Guide in one of the Virginia Internet High School's new online Guidance eOffices located at (http://www.internet-high.com/va/home.htm). To enter the eOffice, visitors will need to use "the name of this newspaper in lower case" as their User Name and "the reporter selected password in lower case" as their Password. After May 15, 2002, the Shopper's Guide and subsequent editions will only be available in the Guidance eOffices leased to local high schools and middle schools.
NOTE: Virginia school divisions can obtain "free access" during the Grand Opening.