A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.-O.Wilde

Just a quick and unexciting word about financial aid, as I get these questions now and then. In general, if you've been accepted at an institution, you will be allowed to accumulate the debt to attend. If possible and practical, think ahead a year and file your taxes as an independent rather than a dependent on your parents' taxes, as this may mean that your financial situation, rather than that of your parents, will be considered in the financial aid formula. However, be careful to consider the overall (for both you and your parents) tax, healthcare, insurance, etc., consequences. Similarly, if feasible, you might consider establishing residence in the state of a public institution.

Whatever your financial obligation, you should order your thinking to consider scholarships/grants, then government loans, then private loans. For all of these sources your search should begin at the financial aid office. Ideally, you should make an appointment to speak with a financial aid officer about your options (often summer is a good time to do so when they're less busy). Before doing so, go online and/or buy one of the several publications about paying for college and learn about the scholarships available, what "Pell" and "Stafford" mean, etc. Don't do anything until you meet with the financial aid folks, though. They're the experts and can counsel you appropriately. Also, your financial aid office is likely to have links to or at least knowledge of various student loan programs. And don't forget options like work/study (or, if a graduate student, think "assistantship," which may waive tuition, provide additional money, and perhaps gain significant experience or connections with faculty). Remember, free money first, then government loans, then private loans, but of course you will likely have a part-time job in there somewhere as well. Once you get the options from the financial aid office, take some time to consider/discuss the information, then jump into debt if need be. Go to the best college you can. You'll pay the loans off in a few years; the benefits of the best school will be with you forever.

American Idol- Who Cares?

I do not own a cell phone or a pair of jeans, have never taken drugs or cheated on my wife or taxes, and am not exactly a social butterfly. But what really makes me an outlier is that I have never watched American Idol. It's OK with me if you do, but why do so many of you care so much about it?

I do like the idea of exposing the fact that, consistent with what the normal curve would predict, in a country of over 300 million people there are an enormous number of folks with a lot of talent. While every once in a while there comes to light someone, like Luciano Pavaroti, that really is a few standard deviations from the mean and is truly great, more common are the very many that are really good. Some are famous, but most are fronting bands at the local Ramada Inn or serenading in the shower. Sure, training, practice, personality, etc., can hone singing ability, but basically you're born with the pipes, and a lot of people are. Success then becomes a matter of connections/position, luck, marketing, etc. (Witness the success of such relatively ordinary- or less- talents such as Paris Hilton and Tori Spelling, the packaging of the boy bands and Madonna, and the stories of those on the right stools at Schwabb's Drug Store- probably didn't spell that right, but odds are most aren't going to get the reference anyway.) So the show does allow a slightly fairer, more egalitarian opportunity to attain one's 15 minutes and perhaps a monstrously overpaid career, despite any criticisms of the methodology or Sternsian meddling. Though entertainers are way over-valued in my opinion, I like the democratization of the process, and it does foster involvement in the audience, but why so much? This goes way beyond the good old fashioned Gilligan's Island-type escapism.

I get it if you just want to hear some of the many talented people, or you like the berating of those not-so-talented, but why do you care so much? OK, we each have our guilty little pleasures when it comes to TV, and inexplicably get attached to stupid little shows, and that's fine. But shouldn't you know it's just a stupid little show and not take it so seriously? I hear people discussing, even arguing about "Idol," as they call it. They seem to know everything about Jordan Sparks, but do they know anything about Monica Goodling?

Shortest Fairytale

No matter how old you are...

... you want to know what you're going to be when you grow up.