143. 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. Student Protests Paralyze City Centers In Italy - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/30/italy-student-protests_n_789632.html#s194317

‎"They claim funding cuts means faculty positions are going unfilled. Similar protests snarled other cities, including Milan, Turin, Naples, Venice, Palermo and Bari. In Genoa, students protested under the slogan "they block our future, we block the cities."

2. 25 Colleges With the Worst Professors, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/fNtziyB

"The upper Midwest is a hot bed for bad professors, according to data an education think tank culled from millions of RateMyProfessor teacher evaluations. Among the top 25 schools with the worst professors, six of them hail from Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nearly a third come from all parts of the Midwest."

3. 25 Colleges With the Best Professors, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/8ep9aYq

"What do the colleges on this list share in common? All of them are small private institutions. Most of the schools are liberal arts colleges with student bodies well under 4,000 students. And that’s not surprising since liberal arts colleges tend to offer smaller classes and the prime focus of professors at these schools is teaching not research."

4. Bill Gates Listens to the Wrong People, by Diane Ravitch - http://t.co/TWHufcK via @educationweek

"These are the people who teach our children, these are the members of the public who serve their local schools without compensation year after year. They and their children and their children's children will be here long after the corporate reform crowd has moved on and been forgotten. These are the people on whom our public schools depend. They care deeply about their children, their communities, and their public schools."

5. State Student-Aid Policies Drive College Prices, Researchers Say - http://chronicle.com/article/State-Student-Aid-Policies/125569/

"The researchers who conducted the study found that an increase in need-based aid resulted in higher tuition and fees at both public and private institutions in the state. Public colleges also lowered their average institutional-aid awards, while there was no change at private colleges."

6. Early college admission applicants: Have Plan B - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/college-admissions/early-college-admissions-appli.html

‎"The reality is that early decision good news or bad news will come, regardless of whether the student has a Plan B. But the bad news is a lot more difficult to deal with when there is no alternate plan."

7. Dropout Rates Dropping, but Don't Celebrate Yet, by Andrew J. Rotherham - http://bit.ly/gVhooK - reading from @time

"According to the report, by Johns Hopkins University, along with two education-oriented groups, America's Promise Alliance and Civic Enterprises, eight states had graduation rates below 70% in 2008, and 2.2 million students still attend dropout factories. An achievement gap also persists: only 64% of Hispanic students and 62% of African Americans graduated in 2008, while 81% of white students did."

8. Announcing the Release of the Best Colleges 2011 Rankings, by Greg Scott Neuman - http://t.co/lwfNRhQ

"According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual income of workers who hold a bachelor's degree is now almost $20,000 more than those who hold only a high school diploma. Over a 40-year working life, that’s a difference of more than $700,000 – quite a significant pay increase!"

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105. MVCAP fyi

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1. Pay for 8 years of college on 1 salary http://t.co/iLu6eyd via @CNNMoney

‎"Spend the kids' assets first. Aid offices assess money in a student's name at 20%, vs. up to 6% for a parent's money. So Amy should spend her kids' savings accounts and bonds before the 529s--the latter is typically considered a parental asset."

2. Drafting a College List in a Tough Economy#more-23659#more-23659 - http://nyti.ms/aGdtcK

‎“When I started as a counselor in 1981, kids would apply to two reach colleges, two targets and two safeties,” said Eileen Connolly, who oversees guidance at John F. Kennedy High in Bellmore, on Long Island. Now she estimates that most of her students apply to 15, not including those who apply early to one and get in."

3. http://huff.to/cOMO6R Huffpost - Celebrating Community Colleges and Their Students

"But the American Dream is more than access to college. It's about a complete education and the better future that comes with it: a steady income, a rewarding career, a home in a nice neighborhood where you'd want to raise your family. Increasingly, to achieve those goals, students have to get a college degree or a professional certificate after high school. According to every measure -- employment rates, wage premiums, labor forecasts -- students who get those credentials can seize opportunities that those who stopped their education with high school can't. In 1973, only about one-quarter of the American workforce needed a postsecondary degree or credential in order to get or hold on to a job. In 2007, that figure hit 57 percent. New research predicts that, by 2018, 63 percent of jobs in America will require an education beyond high school. Unable to find enough skilled workers here, U.S. businesses are outsourcing millions of high-skill, high-wage jobs to Germany, Japan, Singapore, Korea."

4. http://huff.to/djphS8 Huffpost - College: It Pays

‎"According to a College Board report released earlier this month, college graduates on average earned about $22,000 more than those with just a high school diploma ($55,700 compared to $33,800) in 2008. What's more troubling is that the gulf between the two has increased by 13 percent since 2005. And with the economy in tatters, there's probably little doubt who's suffering more. Unemployment has jumped for both college graduates and for those with a high school diploma. However, the gap in the unemployment rate between the two groups has more than doubled in the last five years. The point is if you don't have a college degree you're far more likely to be unemployed."

5. http://huff.to/cja9EW Huffpost - College Squeezing Out the Middle Class

"The cost of higher education is spiraling out of control. It is squeezing middle class families out and making America less competitive. We pride ourselves on the best higher education in the world, but we're coasting on the reputation of three dozen selective institutions. Most students pay too much, get too little, and half drop out. For students being priced out of the market, there are a growing number of cheap or free alternatives and many are personal digital learning options."

6. At Rallies Across the US, Students Turn Out in Defense of Public Education http://chronicle.com/article/Students-Turn-Out-in-Defense/124853/

"Students are becoming the cash cow for the institution because the university is banking on whatever they can pay," Mr. Chapela said. "They're standing up for what they believe to be wrong budgetary policies in both the state and the nation."