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Showing posts with label gap year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gap year. Show all posts

Thursday, February 17, 2011

194. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Snapshot of One College’s Admissions Process, by Jacques Steinberg - http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/today-grinnell/

"The segment linked above, which was broadcast this morning on NBC’s “Today” show, takes viewers behind the closed doors of the admissions process at Grinnell College in Iowa. Grinnell, which has received nearly 3,000 applications for an incoming freshman class of about 400, follows an intensive, holistic process similar to those used at dozens of other selective (and in some cases fiercely competitive) colleges."

2. Price Check at Sewanee, by Scott Jaschik - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/fCxruy

"The University of the South on Wednesday announced that it is cutting total student charges (tuition, fees and room and board) by 10 percent -- one of the more dramatic shifts in tuition policy announced by a competitive private college in recent years. Total charges this year at Sewanee are just over $46,000."

3. How Class Dictates Delay, by Allie Grasgreen - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/e9K6Yi

‎"Not only are high school graduates of lower socioeconomic status more likely to delay college, but they also experience longer gaps and are less likely to graduate once they do enroll."

4. Notre Dame sex assault investigation, by Stacy St. Clair and Todd Lighty - chicagotribune.com: http://t.co/0ypEQDv

"I'm involved in this because I love Notre Dame and I don't want to see this happen again," he said. "Notre Dame has done so much good over the years, but I think there's an issue that needs to be corrected."

5. MSU-led study identifies risks for quitting college, by Andy Henion MSU News Michigan State University: http://t.co/uMywWrm

"The critical event with the most influence was depression. Students also were sensitive to being recruited by an employer or another institution; losing financial aid or experiencing a large increase in tuition or living costs; unexpected bad grade; and roommate conflicts.They were less sensitive to critical events such as death in the family; significant injury; inability to enter their intended major; becoming addicted to a substance; coming into a large sum of money; losing a job needed to pay tuition; and becoming engaged or married."

6. House Budget Ammendment Targets Rules Seeking Accountability for For-Profit Colleges - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/16/for-profit-colleges-ammendment_n_823868.html?ir=College

‎"The budget amendment, sponsored by Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., and supported by Democratic Reps. Alcee Hastings of Florida and Carolyn McCarthy of New York, would prevent the department from issuing or enforcing any of the regulations regarding student debt burdens through the end of the fiscal year in September."

7. President Obama Proposes Cut in Aid Programs to Preserve Pell Grants: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-kantrowitz/president-obama-proposes-_b_823236.html

‎"The program's recent growth is partly because of the economy and partly because the maximum grant was increased to compensate for four years of flat funding during the Bush administration. The number of students filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is up by about a third in the last three years. More of the applicants are qualifying for the Pell Grant."

8. 'Some College Needed to Step Up and Say, Enough', by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/i0OjRx

“The university has made a bold and perhaps risky move,” John M. McCardell Jr., vice chanceller of Sewanee (and former president of Middlebury) tells Ms. Lewin. “But given the realities of higher education in the current economy, we believe that some college or university needed to step up and say, ‘Enough.’ ”

9. Bucking Trend, College Will Cut Price, by Tamar Lewin - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/education/edlife/17tuition.html?_r=1

‎"The college, formally Sewanee: The University of the South, is betting that the drop in tuition — which at this point it can afford — will help it compete on two fronts: with the public universities that are siphoning off a growing share of the students it accepts, and with other private colleges where tuition is likely to increase by 4 to 5 percent this year, as it has for the last two years."

10. For-Profit Colleges Show Increasing Dependence on Federal Student Aid, by Goldie Blumenstyk - http://chronicle.com/article/For-Profit-Colleges-Show/126394/

"The 90/10 rule applies only to for-profit colleges. And only federal student-aid money, commonly referred to as Title IV funds (for the section of the Higher Education Act that authorizes them), is counted toward the 90-percent limit. Other sources of federal aid, such as money from the GI Bill or military tuition reimbursements that many students use to pay for college, are not treated as part of the Title IV side of the calculation."

11. Earmark Idiocy, by Joe Klein - http://t.co/HJ4jKp6

"Finally, a Senate staff education expert told me: "In education funding, an earmark is anything that isn't granted by federal formula [like Title I money to poor districts] or a contract determined by competitive bidding. There are about a dozen national programs that are about to be cut from the education appropriations bill this year, including Teach for America, because they are technically considered earmarks."

12. Program to increase college financial aid applications stalls, by Yesenia Robles - http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17397844

"The project's goal is to provide names of students who have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), those who have incorrectly filled it out and those who haven't started it, so that schools can target the help they provide.Canty-Woessner said the goal was to have the information updated weekly. But a delay in compiling and distributing the data at the federal level means districts won't know which of their students have filled out the form until early May — too late to reach the students as they graduate, and too late to get them the maximum amount of money they might be eligible for."


"Cal State Northridge has the highest percentage of underrepresented minorities in the entire state of California,” said Dr. Harry Hellenbrand, CSUN’s provost and Vice President for academic affairs. . . . The report also states that roles have reversed for many CA residents and their children. Parents are increasingly dependent on their children. Some students are using their financial aid to help support their household."

14. Financial aid brings long line - http://shar.es/36pRf

"Though there is usually a long line once each fall and spring, there were twice as many people than usual trying to pick up checks on Tuesday. The snow days prevented students from picking up one round of checks, so the financial aid office was working double-time to get the checks out, said a college spokeswoman."

15. Asheville City Schools' summit to target achievement gap, by Julie Ball - http://t.co/3W7sjG8

‎"Superintendent Allen Johnson has said the system is “declaring war” on the achievement gap. . . .“We've got to start here and make some inroads. We've got to come up with a plan to address it immediately,” said Gene Bell, chairman of the city school board. . . . This issue is not unique to Asheville City Schools — it is a national and statewide problem."


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Monday, January 3, 2011

161. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Congress Targets Spending, by Patrick O'Connor and Janet Hook - http://on.wsj.com/eOVkTc - WSJ.com

"Republicans aren't proposing an across-the-board cut on the government, so some departments could see deeper cuts than others. The top targets could be programs whose budgets saw a jump under Democrats, like foreign aid and Pell Grants for middle-income college students."

2. Study less, earn more--at least in the beginning, by Michael Vasquez - http://t.co/Q2ciV5a via @miamiherald

"What the numbers say: Bachelor's degree recipients from the state's 11 public universities earned an average starting salary of $36,552 in 2009. Meanwhile, those who received associate in science degrees from Florida community colleges earned an average of $47,708 -- a difference of $11,000 more per year."

3. Cuomo Names Developers of a Student Loan Center, by Kareem Fahim - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/01/nyregion/01student.html?_r=1

"Mr. Cuomo said Friday that $13 million in settlements paid by dozens of colleges and lenders in the case would be used to finance a national student loan center, to help young borrowers and their parents navigate the complexities of the college lending process."

4. Winter break is high season for dropouts, by Alan Tripp - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/college-inc/2010/12/winter_break_is_high_season_fo.html

"Their reasons are many. Students are naturally likely to reassess their college choices and careers at the end of their first semester. Also, and not surprisingly, our coaches have found that freshmen at traditional colleges returning home for their first extended break can have heightened feelings of homesickness. Other students have second thoughts after underestimating the rigors of college and how to balance those with everyday life.
Whatever the reason, these students will join the 800,000 each year who begin a bachelor's program yet never graduate. When 40 percent of our college students fail to graduate, there's a crisis -- one that impacts their lives, the lives of those around them and a country quickly falling behind."

5. Delaying College to Fill in the Gaps, by Sue Shellenbarger - http://on.wsj.com/hVPfkp - WSJ.com

"Gap-year activities range from doing volunteer work or taking classes, to working for pay, traveling or tackling outdoor adventures."

6. For-Profit Colleges Charging More While Doing Less for Poorest, by John Lauerman - Bloomberg http://t.co/DNSz190 via @BloombergNow

"The industry, including Washington Post Co.’s Kaplan University, has tripled enrollment to 1.8 million in the past decade by pouring billions of dollars into marketing and recruiting, offering flexible online classes and outfitting more-modern campuses while states slash funding for
for community colleges. As much as 90 percent of revenue at each for-profit college comes from federal student aid.
Today, one in seven minority students attends a for-profit college, as does one in four poor students who receive federal Pell grants for low-income families, according to the U.S. Department of Education and an industry group."

7. College grade inflation feared as GPAs gradually rise, by Diane Smith http://t.co/RzpAudV

"Rojstaczer, who has been tracking GPAs for years, lists his finding on gradeinflation.com--a website with links to GPA data. His findings were also presented in a research paper that was published in March. Rojstaczer said the average GPA nationwide at all schools has gone from 2.93 during the 1991-92 academic year to 3.11 in 2006-07."

8. Universities Are Challenged as Demographics Shift, by Reeve Hamilton and Jon Marcus - http://nyti.ms/hganF7

"Although the changing demographics of college campuses may be grabbing the headlines, the more compelling issue is how the growing number of minority students presents serious social and academic challenges for financially strapped universities, even as the schools are under pressure to boost graduation rates.
Nationally, 52 percent of Hispanic students and 58 percent of black students are unable to earn a bachelor’s degree in six years, compared with 40 percent of white students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics."

9. Study: TRIO Programs May Ease College Racial Gaps, But Parent Support Still Needed, by Sarah D. Sparks - http://t.co/C2JjW5o

"In fact, adolescent interventions brought the college-going rates of low-income Hispanic and black students up to the level of middle-income white students. "Upward Bound and Talent Search are examples of adolescent intervention programs that can benefit African-American and Hispanic students immensely when properly implemented," Ms. Walsh concludes.
The downside? The programs still do not make up for family support and resources in the college-planning process, a critical intent of the programs."


"With 529 plans fluctuating, financial-aid budgets getting slashed and tuition rising at an alarming rate, the landscape of college financing is changing fast. Fortunately, you still have options. Here are the best college finance tips for 2011."

11. High School Counselors Lack Training in College Admissions, by Caralee Adams - http://t.co/2T3hZA5

"High school counselors, particularly those in poorer urban and rural districts, often don't have the training needed to help students navigate the college admission system. And this can hinder access to higher education for first-generation, minority students, says Patrick O'Connor, past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling in an recent op-ed essay that appeared in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
While 466 colleges offer training for school counselors, fewer than 45 of these programs offer a course showing future counselors how to help students and families select, apply, and pay for college, writes O'Connor."

12. Applying Early Decision: 6 Things to Do When You're Deferred, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/VfRBYzp

"A dear friend of mine’s son recently learned that the University of Chicago had deferred his application and he was devastated. Here, however, are six things that you can do to boost your chances of still getting into your dream school:"



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