The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Never Too Early To Start The Application Process

Most students at Mildred Avenue Middle School come from low-income, minority families and have parents who didn't go to college. Many don't speak English at home and have no plans to attend college. Which is exactly why officials decided to make it the only middle school in Boston with a full-time college counseling office. They want to convince the school's 560 students that college is attainable. Middle school offices specifically dedicated to college guidance are part of a growing trend at schools across the country as officials try to make sure students don't begin planning too late. Read more at:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h1tsWZMTKY4YsltLcIs8iqSinuawD90ASI3O0

Helping Students Deal With College Application Stress

This year’s crop of applicants faced an unusually grueling admissions process. A demographic bubble has produced the largest group of graduating seniors in history, and they now are facing rejection by colleges at record rates. Students complain about lack of sleep, stomach pain and headaches, but doctors and educators also worry that stress tied to academic achievement can lead to depression, eating disorders and other mental health problems. Some high schools are trying to improve the process by easing up on the workload of seniors who are filling out college applications. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/health/29well.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Students Prefer An Out-Of-State College Experience

During a meeting with high-achieving students at Taft Information Technology High School on Monday, Gov. Ted Strickland learned the students' college plans had little to do with the state he runs. One by one, the nine students, the rapidly improving school's cream of the crop, told their personal stories and said where they plan to go to college: "Morehead State," said Jasmine Feaster. "Eastern Kentucky," said another; "Michigan State," and "Georgia Tech," the list continued. Of the seven who gave specifics, just two named an Ohio school, and only one public state school, Wright State, made the list. Read more at:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/NEWS0102/804290336/1077/COL02

Grassroots Efforts To Help Veterans Get GI Bill Benefits

Decades after the GI Bill transformed American society after World War II, another generation of veterans is returning home -- more than 800,000 as of last summer. What they find is quite different from the comprehensive benefits that once covered all the costs of an education, from undergraduate straight through Harvard Law. The current GI benefit covers just half the national average cost for tuition, room and board, veterans' advocates say. "It falls dramatically short," said Eric Hilleman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. A recent survey found that nearly half of recent veterans are un- or underemployed, and advocates say education can be key to a successful reentry. So a patchwork of efforts, public and private, have sprung up. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/28/AR2008042802994.html?hpid=topnews

Expect Less IT Investment On Your Campus

Information technology executives are focusing on cutting costs rather than investing in technology this quarter, according to a report released this week by research analysts at IDC. More than half of the executives interviewed said that their IT budgets had already been "negatively impacted" by the current economic downturn, with the rest "expecting a negative future impact." More than two-thirds also said that their funding is"moving back to being more centralized...in part for better control and efficiency." Read more at: http://campustechnology.com/articles/61464/

Rich Kids Are Still Getting Merit Scholarships

High school counselors who have examined awards from many colleges say that only a few dozen extremely generous schools are making sure that every student who needs financial help gets enough scholarships to attend. Meanwhile, a growing number of schools and states are awarding scholarships to students from wealthy families. Some of the wealthy students are receiving "merit" awards because of their top grades or test scores, but counselors say they are increasingly seeing run-of-the-mill but wealthy students receive "merit" awards, too. Read more at:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2008/04/28/some-rich-students-merit-financial-aid.html

Where The Student Loan Business Went Wrong

For years, financial firms made good money making government-guaranteed loans to college students. Few borrowers defaulted and the federal government backed the loans if they did. Not any more. The $47.5 billion federal student loan world has been thrown into chaos in recent months. Lending has turned unprofitable for many firms, prompting scores of them to shut their doors or scale back. Already, more than 55 lenders, which originate 13% of federal loans, have dropped out of the program. Read more at:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/24/news/economy/stuloans/?postversion=2008042512

Playing The Admissions Waiting Game

More than 6.3 million applications were submitted to four-year colleges in the fall of 2006, and though the numbers aren't yet available, they most likely increased this school year. And more schools are hedging their bets by upping the number of applicants they put on the waitlist. So what's the secret to getting in off the waitlist? Some waitlisted students use the time to take action. Read more at:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734829,00.html

In Global Competition Yale Plans To Stay Top Ranked

America's big research universities are the best in the world today. But General Motors once was the world's mightiest auto maker. Yet many U.S. universities are complacent, preoccupied with internal intrigue and rivalry with one another. When Richard Levin became president of Yale in 1993, he knew it wasn't assured of a spot in the top ranks, despite a prestigious brand and lustrous history. Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120897631641438977-54DgzB1tG1Et4ZHAJ7oOpfQz_Lk_20090424.html?mod=rss_free

Turns Out That SAT Writing Test Could Be Of Real Value

The controversial new writing portion of the SAT is actually a better predictor of grades for freshmen college students than the older, more-established, critical reading and mathematics portions, according to preliminary results of two new studies. While the best predictor of grades is a student's high school GPA, the writing portion of the SAT is the most important among tests required by the UC system. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-24-sat_N.htm