Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There's STARS and STARS II. it's all on the website but it is not 100% clear how it works. www.njstars.net
STARS is the base program that gets you into county college and covers all the costs as long as you meet the standards.
STARS II is the extension of the program that allows people who earn a certain GPA in county college to get a scholarship to go to a 4-year state school to earn their bachelors.
There's nothing wrong with it in theory as keeping the best and brightest in the state is a good thing IMO. However, we are taking the top 15% of a high school class (doesn't really equal the "best and brightest") and then we are sending them to community college (again, the "best and brightest" will most likely be going straight to 4-year schools). Then we are taking folks who managed to scrape through county with a 3.25 or better and paying for them to go to a 4-year state school.
This really isn't the "STARS" program, it's more like "the maybe smart kid slacker program" or the "not the best and brightest, but not the dumbest either."
There's nothing wrong with it in theory as keeping the best and brightest in the state is a good thing IMO. However, we are taking the top 15% of a high school class (doesn't really equal the "best and brightest") and then we are sending them to community college (again, the "best and brightest" will most likely be going straight to 4-year schools). Then we are taking folks who managed to scrape through county with a 3.25 or better and paying for them to go to a 4-year state school.
This really isn't the "STARS" program, it's more like "the maybe smart kid slacker program" or the "not the best and brightest, but not the dumbest either."
Yeah, this is different than what I thought. It's definitely not a "keep the best and brightest in-state at Rutgers" which is what I was thinking of. It doesn't mean they aren't bright though.
I think it's more about having a path for kids who might not otherwise go to any college at all due to family or financial factors.
Yeah, this is different than what I thought. It's definitely not a "keep the best and brightest in-state at Rutgers" which is what I was thinking of. It doesn't mean they aren't bright though.
I think it's more about having a path for kids who might not otherwise go to any college at all due to family or financial factors.
A good friend of mine is in NJ Stars/Stars II program. She's very smart, but due to her family's financial situation, she couldn't really afford to go to a 4-year right out of high school. She kept up a high GPA in community college while taking the more challenging courses and is now pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Education at the local 4-year college.
Since we are in the mood of hating and jealous of everyone I'll add my 2 cents. Why should we have any scholorships on any government level. No Pell grants or Star programs for anyone. U want college, u pay. I had 4 kids in college that didn't receive a nickel because mom and dad worked their asses off.
That worked for one of my best-friends. His parents had future goals for both him and his younger brother long before they were born. My friend doesn't have to pay a cent in loans after he graduates. He is very fortunate.
...
However, that did not work for my mother who (before I was born) had another family to take care of (my two older half-sisters) and had to work twice as hard to provide for her family and put food on the table. Given her family and financial situation back then, she wasn't thinking about her future youngest daughter going to university 18 years into the future. She worried about the issues happening there and then. And major stuff did happen around that time! Looking back now and seeing how things turned out, she would have set some money aside.
Funny that you mentioned this, b/c I had asked my mother a question regarding this very situation a few years ago. In a nutshell, she had replied with something similar to the above paragraph.
In theory, it's sounds great is is very practical. However, it doesn't always translate well into practice.
STARS is the base program that gets you into county college and covers all the costs as long as you meet the standards.
STARS II is the extension of the program that allows people who earn a certain GPA in county college to get a scholarship to go to a 4-year state school to earn their bachelors.
There's nothing wrong with it in theory as keeping the best and brightest in the state is a good thing IMO. However, we are taking the top 15% of a high school class (doesn't really equal the "best and brightest") and then we are sending them to community college (again, the "best and brightest" will most likely be going straight to 4-year schools). Then we are taking folks who managed to scrape through county with a 3.25 or better and paying for them to go to a 4-year state school.
This really isn't the "STARS" program, it's more like "the maybe smart kid slacker program" or the "not the best and brightest, but not the dumbest either."
Or maybe for kids from rough neighborhoods and struggling with family issues who held it all together to do better than most in their bottom tier schools. Or the kid who had to work part time to help support the family. Or the kid from the single parent home holding on by a thread. Does that kind of willingness to strive not deserve some kind of boost or do only kids from nice neighborhoods and good schools with stable family lives deserve assistance?
Or maybe for kids from rough neighborhoods and struggling with family issues who held it all together to do better than most in their bottom tier schools. Or the kid who had to work part time to help support the family. Or the kid from the single parent home holding on by a thread. Does that kind of willingness to strive not deserve some kind of boost or do only kids from nice neighborhoods and good schools with stable family lives deserve assistance?
So why do more kids who don't have their college already paid for NOT go to CC instead of racking up big bills? In the end it is where you get the degree,... are companies going to chastise you for going to CC for 2 years and then transferring?
Or maybe for kids from rough neighborhoods and struggling with family issues who held it all together to do better than most in their bottom tier schools. Or the kid who had to work part time to help support the family. Or the kid from the single parent home holding on by a thread. Does that kind of willingness to strive not deserve some kind of boost or do only kids from nice neighborhoods and good schools with stable family lives deserve assistance?
Which is all well and good and was the original intent of the program. However, we set the bar of financial "need" at families making $250k or less a year. Sorry, but families making $250k a year don't need my tax dollars to send their kids to school.
I'm willing to give the kid from Camden from a broken home who worked part time to help put food on the table but still managed to graduate in the top 15% of his class the chance to go to county and eventually on to a 4-year school. Breaking the cycle so to speak.
What I'm not willing to do is pay for the kid from Cherry Hill whose parents live in a $500k house, drive two new cars and vacation at Disney every year the same opportunity on my tax dollars. They can swing the cost of credits at county.
Again, I'm not against the original aim of the program which was to give disadvantaged kids from the inner cities who worked hard but weren't the "best" a chance to go to college.
I'm also not against a program that is designed to take the "best and brightest" of NJ and allowing them to go to our 4-year state schools for free.
Unfortunately this program really doesn't do either and should either be elminated or reformed.
So why do more kids who don't have their college already paid for NOT go to CC instead of racking up big bills? In the end it is where you get the degree,... are companies going to chastise you for going to CC for 2 years and then transferring?
Because, unfortunately, county colleges still have a stigma attached to them that people who can't make it at four year colleges go there. People don't know any better because television and to some extent high schools perpetuate this myth. Have you ever seen the show Community on NBC? It's funny but it portrays the county college scene as a quirky mess. If you have no experience with the environment, this is the only example that you know which is the furthest thing from the truth. I've worked at both county colleges and four year institutions and have found some of the hardest and most motivated students I have ever seen at the county college level.
Which is all well and good and was the original intent of the program. However, we set the bar of financial "need" at families making $250k or less a year. Sorry, but families making $250k a year don't need my tax dollars to send their kids to school.
I'm willing to give the kid from Camden from a broken home who worked part time to help put food on the table but still managed to graduate in the top 15% of his class the chance to go to county and eventually on to a 4-year school. Breaking the cycle so to speak.
What I'm not willing to do is pay for the kid from Cherry Hill whose parents live in a $500k house, drive two new cars and vacation at Disney every year the same opportunity on my tax dollars. They can swing the cost of credits at county.
Again, I'm not against the original aim of the program which was to give disadvantaged kids from the inner cities who worked hard but weren't the "best" a chance to go to college.
I'm also not against a program that is designed to take the "best and brightest" of NJ and allowing them to go to our 4-year state schools for free.
Unfortunately this program really doesn't do either and should either be elminated or reformed.
This is exactly what I was talking about with the house that the family built on Long Beach Island because her kids went to Rutgers on a Stars type of program (they didn't do community college first, but went straight to Rutgers). They have the HUGE house, etc, etc in their home town, and now have a second "vacation" house.
And have you every seen the cars at the community colleges today? I have because I've taken adult business courses during the day at times. The cars are 100 million times better than my kids cars who go to school out of state...because that's what we choose. Out of state. But they are driving beat up old cars because we are paying every single penny for their education, and trust me, they could have more than qualified for Stars, but chose not to. So my point is that I don't mind paying perhaps for the inner city kid from the broken home, but I don't want to pay for the family that sits on the beach in their vacation home that the taxpayers helped pay for.
And yes, I know that a house on LBI costs alot more than $200K. but still, to think that I paid for a tile in their bathroom or kitchen floor annoys the heck out of me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
