See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap1. Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think, by Zac Bissonnette -
"A University of Texas at Austin professor, Daniel Hamermesh, researched career earnings data sorted by choice of major and concluded that: Perceptions of the variations in economic success among graduates in different majors are exaggerated. Our results imply that given a student’s ability, achievement and effort, his or her earnings do not vary all that greatly with the choice of undergraduate major. A study conducted by PayScale Inc. found that history majors who pursued careers in business ended up earning, on average, just as much as business majors."
2. Veterans, Less Engaged but Satisfied - Inside Higher Ed
"The veterans are predominantly male and more likely than non-veterans to be "older, enrolled part-time, first-generation students, transfer students, and distance learners." Also, they are twice as likely as non-veterans to report "at least one disability." Finally, veterans are less likely to attend what the survey deems "baccalaureate arts and sciences colleges" and "the most research-intensive doctorate-granting universities" than their peers. Most enroll in medium and large master's degree-granting institutions. Despite the fact that they spend as much time studying as their non-veteran peers, veterans do not "participate equally in other forms of engagement," even when the surveyors statistically control for certain demographic traits and institutional characteristics. For instance, freshman and senior veterans reported that they are "less engaged with faculty" and perceive "less campus support" than non-veterans."
3. 11 Best-Value Liberal Arts Colleges: Kiplinger List
"Kiplinger relied on data from Peterson's, whittling down its final lists down from 600 schools and reviewing each for value based on quality, competitiveness and cost, among other factors.Below, check out the 11 best values in liberal arts colleges, and see the Kiplinger website for a sortable lis of schools, which includes a complete data profile for each college. Does your school rank? Share your thoughts and reactions below."
4. Internships: Opportunity or Obstacle for Low-Income Students? by Michael Laracy -
"But many internships today create or perpetuate serious inequalities, especially for students from families of modest means. Because so many internships are unpaid, the current system favors students from wealthier families. Unpaid internships require students to forego wages and finance a living without a paycheck, putting them out of reach for many low-income students."
5. College Admission Cheat Sheet: 8 Things Seniors Need To Do Now, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy -
"To help keep your sanity during these hectic weeks, here’s a college admission cheat sheet that includes eight things you should be be doing now:"
6. Tax-Credit Changes Could Broaden Access to College, by Caralee Adams -
"Last year, the federal stimulus package gave families a welcome break with the creation of the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This temporarily replaced and expanded the Hope Credit from the 1990s. Now families can claim a $2,500 credit, instead of $1,800—and claim it for four years instead of two. The credit also applies to course-related expenses, such as books and supplies rather than just tuition and fees. The AOTC also made the credit partially refundable—allowing low- and moderate-income families to receive a credit of up to $1,000. This means that families could get an upfront payment, regardless of whether they had a tax liability. To expand access to more low-income students, Huelsman proposes the credit be fully refundable and allow families to use that money to invest in 529 college-savings plans when the child enters 8th grade. This way, families could seed accounts with tax credits and have four years to build up their balances before their child enters college."
7. Major & Veteran Status Affect Students' Experience in College, Survey Finds - by Sara Lipka
"The report examines what it calls educationally purposeful activities and high-impact practices, finding that they vary significantly by major. About half of all seniors, for example, participate in service learning, but three-quarters of nursing and physical-education majors do. One-third of students complete a senior project, whereas half of history and political-science majors do. And half of all seniors have held internships, compared with three in four education and journalism majors and two in five accounting and business-administration majors. Business-administration students, according to the report, do more class presentations and group projects but are less likely to discuss career plans with faculty than students in three other popular majors: biology, English, and psychology. English majors most often discuss ideas with professors outside class, and psychology majors are most likely to engage in "reflective learning. . . ."
8. As Late as April, Students Choosing a College Still Think of Stretching to Pay -
"Richard A. Hesel, a principal of the Art & Science Group, said he was consistently surprised by how unrealistic students and families can be about college costs.That families are willing to stretch to pay for college can be a retention risk, Mr. Hesel said. “Institutions have to work much harder to monitor what’s going on with students and stay in touch.”The students who responded in April were more likely to have discussed the cost of college with their parents than those surveyed in the winter, and they were more likely to have considered net cost. But they still did not have a sense of what their education might cost in the long run: Nearly 40 percent said they had “no idea” what their likely monthly payment on student loans would be after graduation."
9. Bridge Programs for Underprepared Adults Could Improve College Completion, by Jennifer Gonzalez
"Fifty-seven percent of adults in bridge programs possess educational skills below the 10th-grade level, with 19 percent having skills below the sixth-grade level. Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents said people who complete their programs are likely to enroll in further education or training within six months. Sixty percent of respondents report that they structure their programs in a "learning by doing" format. By 2018, the report said, two-thirds of the jobs in the American economy will require a postsecondary credential. At the same time, says the National Commission on Adult Literacy, 80 million to 90 million adult workers have low basic skills and are not prepared for those jobs because they lack a high-school degree or its equivalent. Low-skilled adults represent a huge potential reservoir of workers to meet the future work-force needs of employers, Mr. Alssid said."
10. Will John Boehner Be Good for Education? by Andrew J. Rotherham
"As a result of his policy initiatives, Boehner is well regarded by many in the education community. Though he started his career as a bomb-thrower, he evolved into someone even Democrats describe as a sincere legislator interested in practical solutions to education problems. He's "very adult, in the sense that he's a tough negotiator, but he realized always where he needed to find middle ground and was willing to reach that middle ground after making his case," observes Charlie Barone, a former top education aide to George Miller, the current chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Boehner headed that committee from 2001 to 2006, and his rise to chairman highlights his formidable political skills and tenacity — he'd been booted out of the House leadership in the 1990s."
11. Read The Joe Rottenborn Daily for today's top stories on college admissions/financial aid in newsletter form -
