263. Review of College News

Here are some links to today's stories aboutcollege access and success.
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

1. On College Forms, a Question of Race, or Races, Can Perplex, by Susan Saulny and Jacques Steinberg - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/us/14admissions.html?_r=1&ref=us -"But students can now choose from a menu of new boxes of racial and ethnic categories — because the Department of Education started requiring universities this past school year to comply with a broad federal edict to collect more information about race and ethnicity. The change has made it easier for students to claim a multiracial identity — highlighting those parts of their backgrounds they might want to bring to the fore and disregarding others, as Ms. Scott considered doing with her Asian heritage."

2. For Mixed-Race College Applicants, Question of Boxes to Check, by Susan Saulny and Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/lWYZHw - "Multiracial students confess to spending sleepless nights worrying about how best to answer the race question on college applications. Some say they wonder whether their answers will be perceived as gamesmanship or a reflection of reality."

3. Where Low-Income Students Go to College - http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/06/14/qt#262452 - "Students who grow up in poverty are nearly four times likelier to enroll in for-profit colleges than are other students, and they are far likelier to attend those institutions than they were a decade ago, according to a study released today by the Institute for Higher Education Policy. The study finds that about half of students at all income levels enroll in community colleges as their first postsecondary institution. But of the rest, students who do not grow up in poverty are far likelier to attend four-year public or private institutions (37 percent), while those from poor backgrounds are about equally as likely to attend for-profit institutions (19 percent) as public or private ones (21 percent)."

4. States with the Best and Worst Educated Lawmakers, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/blog/college-solution/states-with-the-best-and-worst-educated-lawmakers/5675/?tag=col1;blog-river - "In reaction to the complaints, The Chronicle of Higher Education conducted an analysis of the educational attainment of the nation’s roughly 7,000 state lawmakers. The research pinpointed which states have the most educated legislators and which ones the least.Below you’ll find the states where the greatest and least number of legislators have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Across the country, 74.7% of state lawmakers possess at least a bachelor’s degree."