Written by Patrick Hart

 

Our greeter and prayer leader did not show this week, while our songmeister took the day off to pursue other interests. So we had a rather low key opening with President Pinsel leading us in a prayer he read off his phone.

 

David Potts and his bride recently celebrated his 52^nd wedding anniversary, and everyone is predicting there are still more to come.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Elgin Rotary Club will be holding an Octoberfest fundraiser on October 15, which they are inviting us to attend.

 

Jeff Harger also mentioned that the Grayslake Club will be hosting a car show fundraiser this Saturday from nine to noon.

 

And last but certainly not least Jon Robb reminded us that our own club is still holding our world famous famous wine, beer and cigar festival, on October 29, at the Libertyville Civic Center from 3:00 to 6:00. Tickets are now available on line, so it is time to start buying, and telling all your friends to come.  Feel free to invite your enemies as well, since their money can also benefit the cause.

 

 

 

Our fun & frolics master of ceremony also failed to show this week, so President Elliott Pinsel fined everyone two dollars for laughing at Jon Robb’s joke about Elliot’s hair, or lack thereof.  After watching this display of unchecked presidential power being welded to seek personal revenge, I have trouble understanding why we are having a hard time finding a president elect.

 

 

Our speaker this week was Heidi King, who works for College Inside Track.  College Inside Track has been in business for sixteen years, and they assist students who are trying to select a college, by helping them identify an institution of higher education which is a good fit for them academically and socially. They also assist families in dealing with the financial hurdle of trying to pay for college.

 

Selecting a school that is a good fit is a confusing process, and the disruptions caused by Covid to the educational process has added to the challenge.   The fact that 38% of college students transfer schools prior to obtaining their degree seems to indicate that many individuals become dissatisfied with their first choice.

 

For many people college is their second highest lifetime expense, and the costs have skyrocketed in recent years.  Tuition at state universities have risen 213% since 1990, and many families are totally unprepared to meet this burden.

 

There are basically two types of financial aid available: need based and merit based.

 

Need based aid helps students obtain a degree, but many people have a difficult time filling out the very complicated FAFSA form, which is the usual means of obtaining this aid, and some applicants end up being turned down, because they make a mistake in the process.  The main criteria for need based aid is the income on a family’s tax return, and Ms. King recommends that you do not fill in values of assets like homes and IRAs on your FAFSA forms.  She says this information is optional and can be held against an applicant.  She also says that qualifying is not easy, because the assumption is that a family can afford to devote 47% of their income to the cost of higher education. 

 

Fortunately, recent legislation will make it easier to fill out the FAFSA in the future by reducing the number of questions from one hundred and ten to forty.  Also people outside the immediate family, such as grandparents will now be able to contribute to a student’s education without having to report this source on FAFSA.

 

A big part of finding success in obtaining merit based financial aid is knowing the practices of the schools you are applying to.  State schools give out little merit based aid, because they consider themselves to already be a bargain.  Likewise big name schools, such as Harvard and Northwestern hold back on merit aid, because with their prestige they have so many applicants that they do not need to offer it.  At many private colleges though, there are so many scholarships available that practically no one ends up paying the full sticker price.    

 

This week we had a $26.00 daily prize, while our progressive raffle was up to $795.00 with 26 card remaining in the deck.  Howard Jaffe won the weekly prize, but Pat Hart only managed to draw the Jack of Spades and thus fell short of winning the big bucks.

 

Greeter and Prayer:  Seb Karasu, who is looking for a substitute

 

Fun & Frolics and Bingo: Tim Dempsey, and I understand Tim is also looking for a substitute for the Bingo part.

 

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”  Malcolm X