In this episode you will hear: (07:07) In this week’s news segment, an article from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Unkept Promises: State Cuts to Higher Education Threaten Access and Equity”, by Michael Mitchell, Michael Leachman, Kathleen Masterson, and Samantha Waxman. State funding for public two- and four-year colleges in the school year ending in 2018 was more than $7 billion below its 2008 level. This article makes the case that funding has only rebounded slightly for colleges and universities and why lawmakers need to reinvest in public higher education with increased funding and better financial aid policies.  We discuss which states have made the largest cuts and which states have increased tuition the most.     (24:52) We are in Chapter 97 of 171 Answers and Mark explains how your Expected Family Contribution is calculated and why it is important for you to understand. Mark explains the difference between the Federal Method and the Institutional Method. Mark also explains why EFC is such a confusing concept for people to properly understand.   (45:29) This week’s question asks if a student should leave the question about race and ethnicity blank on their college application. Mark shares the perspective a recently articulated by an AO at a highly selective school and Mark makes the point that a lot of times an AO will be very PC when this question is asked.   (57:10) Mark kicks off his interview with Emily Griffin, Director of the Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning, at Amherst College in – How can you evaluate and fully utilize a college’s career center - Part 1 In Part 1, Emily covers the following areas:   Emily starts off by sharing her backstory with all of its twists and turns “What services do college career centers provide?” What are the student facing vs employer facing components of the work of the Career Center   (01:05:37) Mark’s recommended resource of the week is The recommended resource for episode 97 is the following eight minute video that looks at the pros and cons of the three biggest MOOCS-Cousera, EdX and Udacity.   (01:19:58) The College Spotlight is Seton Hall University   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com 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"