If you’re the parent of a college-bound teen, you’ve probably heard about Early Decision (ED), the “binding” admissions plan that can sometimes boost your student’s chances of getting into a dream school. But as more families question the fairness of college admissions, some wonder: Is Early Decision on its way out?
The short answer: not yet, but the pressure is building.
Continue reading Is Early Decision on Its Way Out?
In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, timing can often be crucial. For many students, the college application process can be a whirlwind of deadlines, essays, and decisions. But what happens if you miss those deadlines or simply need more time to decide on your future path?
Fear not, as there are still opportunities available. Several colleges and universities understand that life doesn’t always adhere to strict deadlines, and they’re extending their application windows to accommodate prospective students. Let’s explore some of these institutions and the opportunities they offer.
Continue reading Colleges Still Accepting Applications
This year’s FAFSA changes are mainly cosmetic. The online FAFSA form is receiving a visual update that gives it a similar look and feel that puts it more in line with other tools featured on StudentAid.gov. A new simplified form being released in October of 2022 also has just 36 questions to answer, down from the 108 of previous years.
Noticeable changes you may see if you fill out the FAFSA later this year include:
Continue reading Changes Coming to the FAFSA in October
There’s a new documentary on PBS called “Try Harder!”. It chronicles the lives of some students at Lowell High School, a prestigious high school in California with predominantly Asian students. Their goal–get into the Ivies or the UC colleges. Why? Because according to them, anything else communicates failure.
I was struck by one young man who said, “If I don’t get into one of these schools, I won’t make a difference in the world or be successful.” How sad. What type of message are we conveying to our students? Try Harder.
Continue reading Try Harder–Is This the Message We Want to Convey?
This past Saturday, President Obama unveiled his new College Scorecard. “You’ll be able to see how much each school’s graduates earn, how much debt they graduate with, and what percentage of a school’s students can pay back their loans,” the president said in his weekly address.
College Prep Expert and Long Island College Prep Examiner, Wendy David-Gaines, explains how the scorecard works:
Information about the performance of U.S. institutions was collected from over 7,000 colleges and universities over a period of 18 years. In addition to families using the College Scorecard to personalize their own college ranking list, the national and comprehensive data can be used by policymakers and researchers for their own analysis. “The old way of assessing college choices relied on static ratings lists compiled by someone who was deciding what value to place on different factors. The new way of assessing college choices, with the help of technology and open data, makes it possible for anyone – a student, a school, a policymaker, or a researcher – to decide what factors to evaluate,” according to the White House Fact Sheet.
Parents and students can use the scorecard to make more informed, wise decisions about the ROI of a college education. For further information on the college scorecard, read:
College graduation usually conjures up images of black hats getting thrown into the air and refrains of pomp and circumstance. What you don’t see, however, is the swell who started at the same time as the robe-clad flock but aren’t graduating — a number that would triple the size of grads (and make the ceremony even longer). In fact, at four-year colleges only 31.3% of students actually graduate from the school. The other 68.7% might be sitting at home, working a job that doesn’t require a degree, or maybe they’re still chipping away at the books after switching majors or signing up for a lengthy program. The latter is evident: The number swells to 56% who graduate within six years of starting. On the surface, it might seem like today’s student is lazy or lacks follow-through, but a closer examination reveals steep costs of schooling and family responsibilities a bigger decision-maker for college dropouts. Of course, the numbers vary widely across colleges when looking at college graduation rates, with some earning gold stars for graduating their students and others earning the nickname “dropout factories.” We take a closer look at the best and worst of 2-year and 4-year schools to help degree-seekers navigate to a college that will help them stay afloat.
Courtesy of OnlineColleges.net
Did you know that over 75 percent of the world’s population owns a cell phone? As a matter of fact, according to one recent article, there are more people across the globe who actually have access to a mobile service than to a toilet. So, being that over 90 percent of individuals between the ages of 18-24 have cell phones and also being that they, on average, talk on the phone close to 22 hours each month, if they’re in college, they might as well use some of that time to upload some great mobile apps.
We feel the exact same way. That’s why we’ve provided you with a list of what we feel are the five most useful mobile apps for college students:
These are only a few of the apps out there for college students. If you have a favorite that’s not listed, please leave a comment.
Here’s a very interesting and thought-provoking infographic about Apple and how they are making their mark in the field of education. Will they be the impetus to spur an entire different method of learning? Will students learn more if technology is at the forefront of the education process?
Via: OnlineEducation.net
The Washington Post published a blog article a few days ago, “The Cause of Standardized Test Cheating and How to Stop It” citing these disturbing statistics:
FairTest has documented confirmed cheating cases in 30 states and the District of Columbia in just the past three academic years. Hardly a week, or a day, goes by without a reminder that the mounting evidence of cheating in cities and states across the nation shows no signs of abating. Sadly, neither does the damage caused by the standardized testing mania that underlies the cheating scandal, as explained in a new FairTest fact sheet.
As parents, we need to look at the underlying cause BEHIND the cheating. Is there too much pressure to test well? Are students not taught throughout their lives that cheating is wrong? Has the invention of technology made it easier to cheat?
Here’s an infographic that outlines cheating and it just doesn’t happen in high school and college. Sobering–to say the least
Created by Online Masters Degrees
With all the talk this week about the latest U.S. News and World Reports rankings of America’s Best Colleges, I thought it might be nice to put it all into perspective. I’m afraid, as usual, we have gotten a little too big for our britches in this country and our higher education system is suffering. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, America’s global rank in college completion is slipping.
Wendy David-Gaines (POCS Mom) adds some additional insight into the college ranking craze with her recent post about global college rankings.
Here’s a look at how China compares and what they are doing to lead the globe in education:
Created by: Online University Rankings