YCBK 116: Financial Hits Pile Up for Colleges due to COVID-19

In this episode you will hear: (14:03) In this week’s news segment, an article from APNews.com, “Financial Hits Pile Up for Colleges as Some Fight to Survive”, by Collin Binkley and Jeff Amy. COVID-19 has triggered a financial crises for institutions as they refund families for fees related to housing and dining; take major losses from athletic ticket sales; all while facing an uncertain fall semester threatened by lower enrollment and faculty cuts.     Mark and Dave have a spirited 15-minute discussion after the news article about whether we expect college to open in the fall? They state they are only sharing their opinions here but we believe our listeners will find it to be interesting and helpful.   (47:41) We are in Chapter 116 of 171 Answers and Mark explains need-based aid and how it is calculated. We touch on Federal, state and institutional need-based aid. This is the first of two weeks in a row where we will be discussing need-based aid. We also talk about why it is so hard for families to get enough need-based aid to make college affordable.   (01:08:07) This week’s question is from Kim in NYC and she wants to know how to determine the financial health of a private college. Mark goes into a fair amount of depth as he shares about eight sources where you can get this information. This is one you will either want to listen to twice or you will want to take notes. So many colleges are in a precarious financial state and you don’t want to enroll in one that closes or has so many program cuts and faculty layoffs that your education quality is jeopardized. This segment will help you to assess the financial health of a college.   (01:39:55) Mark continues his interview with Taylor King, Assistant Director of Admissions at Columbus State in Who Makes a Good Match for a Regional Public University, Part III   (01:48:05) Mark’s has two recommended resources this week: A panel discussion with three admissions officers on how Covid-19 will impact testing and admissions. Here is the sign up sheet:     Secondly, our second recommended resource is the Strivecan college fair. This four-day fair and workshops will be attended by over 300 colleges in 40 states and 10 countries. The workshops cover such a wide range of topics. The target group is sophomores and juniors:   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: [email protected]   There is no college spotlight this week as Taylor discusses Columbus State and we don’t have a spotlight when the interview is with an admission officer who discusses his college.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful! We are excited to give our listeners a chance to play a role in shaping what topics we discuss, as well as what guests we have on our podcast. You can let your voice be heard by completing this survey. Just put the following link in your browser and give us your honest feedback. We thank you in advance. Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy go to Amazon and click:    If you want to place a bulk order, you will save money by purchasing this book at 171answers.com. Every penny goes to The Atlanta Mission, a Christian organization that helps over 1000 homeless residents every day.  If you want to see what future episodes will discuss in the book chapter section,  just go to 171answers.com and then click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers"