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Why College?

Is it worth it?

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(h ttps://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/its-not-just-the-money.pdf)

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College Matters: It helps you to BUILD WEALTH

Higher Earnings Potential

Average annual earnings 134%
Lifetime earnings 114%
Retirement income 2.4 times

Better Job Security

Poverty 3.5 time lower
Receiving workers’ comp 2.4 times
Unemployment 24% higher

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College Matters: It helps you to STAY HEALTHY

Health insurance via employment 47%

Very good or excellent health 44%

Diabetes, heart disease and heavy drinking are significantly

Life expectancy at age 25 is seven years (for those having at least some college compared to those never having gone to college).

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College Matters: It increases your HAPPINESS

Incarceration 4.9 times
Paid vacation, free counseling (EAP), paid sick leave, paid time off for family (babies/adoption/caring for elderly parents, etc)
Being married is 21%
Being divorced or separated is 61%

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College Matters: For your entire COMMUNITY

Crime is significantly
Voting is significantly
Participation in school, community, service, civic and religious organizations is substantially

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Student Loan Debt

Is college worth the cost?

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The Goal:

Your college journey should be about

graduating financially free and

ready to reap the rewards of a college degree.

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How to graduate from college

debt free (or close to it)

without being a rockstar student, athlete or musician

and just be a normal kid.

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How to Graduate with a 4-year college degree (BA)

with little or no debt

Graduate from HS with GPA under 3.0, Trade, CTE

Graduate from high school with GPA 3.0+

Graduate from HS with a 3.7+ GPA, A’s in PCC classes, extracurriculars, etc

Choose to live at home

(Occasionally clean and cook to say thanks and “pay your rent”

Attend PCC

Graduate with a 2.25GPA,

& transfer to PSU with their tuition free program (if financially eligible).

Attend PSU

w/ their tuition free program (if eligible)

Attend a highly selective college with full scholarships

Graduate!

Questions? Ask Amy Potter, Jefferson College Coordinator; apotter@pps.net

Be willing to live at home, because it’s free. (Help your parents clean the house and make a meal or two for them to thank them!) Cost of living at most colleges is very expensive.

GPA (what’s a cumulative GPA and how is it figured out?)

If you graduate below 3.0, attend PCC first then transfer to PSU

If you graduate above 3.0 you can attend either PCC first or PSU

Even with a higher GPA, PCC may still make a lot of sense from a financial perspective.

Needs based grants (not loans), from federal govt and state

OPG - $4000 (for PCC bound students)

Pell Grant- $7400

If you qualify for max aid (based on family’s financial needs), that’s approx $11400 - which is $5,000 more than the cost of PCC. What happens to that extra $5,000? Students get it back in the form of a check that goes into your bank account! About $1500ish a trimester. What to do with that check?.......Pay for textbooks and fees, first check get a refurbished computer, trimet pass. Save the rest and put in a high interest savings account. When you transfer to PSU, you’ll have that money to pay for textbooks and fees.

After you graduate from PCC with an AAOT degree, then you transfer to PSU, and if you financially qualify (pell eligible) and graduated with at least a 2.25GPA, you will transfer to under their tuition free program.

Students can also go straight to PSU after high school if they graduate with at least a 3.0. Students who are “pell eligible” will be admitted under PSU’s Tuition Free program. However students will still have some fees and textbooks to pay for and will probably not receive a student refund check. This is partially why many students decide to attend PCC first, even if they graduate from HS with a 4.0GPA.

What is the best decision for you? It depends on the kind of experience you want to have, etc.

OSU and UO also have tuition free programs, but you’ll still need to spend $15000 on housing costs and food.

The green pathway is a high-challenge, high-reward path. It requires dedication now, but the financial freedom on the other side is immense.

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Which Pathway is Yours?

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How to Graduate with a Great GPA

(and succeed at any job you’ll ever have)

Show up, on time, every day, to every class. Make Lamar’s job boring.

Do your work. Turn work in, on time, for every assignment.

READ READ READ. Readers Make Leaders.

Study a little bit (even just 10 minutes) every day for most classes, even when you don’t have homework.

Ask for help when you need it. (And then follow through on the shared advice)

Be kind to yourself, your peers and your teachers. Help out in class. Thank your teachers. Even if you don’t like someone.

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How to get great scholarships at selective colleges

Build a compelling narrative around your passions and achievements, show initiative & demonstrate excellence.

Achieve excellent grades in rigorous classes (3.8+GPA)
Earn awesome letters of recommendation - evidence for how you show up in the world, as an academic and a human.
Develop great writing skills- evidence for your thinking skills
Participate in internships and extracurricular activities- evidence for your interests, your initiative & dedication to building your craft, & engagement in your community & the world
High SAT/ACT/AP test scores (if applicable)

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College Coordinator

Amy Potter

apotter@pps.net

College and Career Center, B-35

Stop by anytime!