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College Preparation/Choosing a College

Preparing for College 101 New Hampshire Public Radio September 1, 2010 My spouse and I thought we were prepared to guide our first born through his college search. Turns out, we were in for some culture shock. What we've learned this summer may surprise those who haven't been on campus for awhile.

3-2 Engineering Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges US News & World Report August 31, 2010 There are a handful of 3-2 engineering programs which allow students to attend a liberal arts college for three years and obtain a bachelor's degree in a major like physics or chemistry in two years. The joint education track is attractive to employers since students possess the technical skills of an engineer and know how to write papers and make presentations.

2010 College Rankings Washington Monthly August 28, 2010 Unlike U.S. News and World Report and similar guides, this one asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country. Are they educating low-income students, or just catering to the affluent? Are they improving the quality of their teaching, or ducking accountability for it?  Every year we lavish billions of tax dollars and other public benefits on institutions of higher learning. This guide asks: Are we getting the most for our money?

Reader Response: How Americans Pay for College, by School Type New York Times - Economix Blog August 24, 2010 According to Sallie Mae/Gallup reports, students who attend private colleges are 1) relatively less reliant on using their own income and savings and 2) receive more in grants and scholarships compared with their peers at public schools, both in relative terms and absolute terms.

A Different Way of Ranking Colleges New York Times - Economix Blog August 23, 2010 The biggest flaw with the famous U.S. News & World Report ranking is that it largely rewards colleges that enroll highly qualified (and, typically, affluent) students, regardless of how much those students learn while on campus. Washington Monthly instead tries reward those colleges that do a good job educating students.

College Costs Are Dollars Well Spent U.S. News & World Report - Opinion Piece August 17, 2010 At our best private institutions, if you can't afford the sticker price, you won't pay it. These colleges and universities are deeply committed to bringing the most promising young scholars to campus, no matter their families' wealth or income.  In fact, they are more committed than ever. Even in the face of the Great Recession, the nation's top private research universities and liberal arts colleges are awarding larger financial aid packages to more students. Over the past five years, the median need-based aid grant at those schools has increased in size by a third; more than half of last year's freshmen received aid.

These days, stellar grades aren't nearly enough for admission to good colleges Washington Post - Column August 9, 2010 These days, getting into a good college is so competitive. You're more likely to be attacked by a shark -- on land -- than to get into some of these super-exclusive universities. The brochures make that clear. We went on one college tour where the admissions officer suggested that students who had written peer-reviewed articles submit them along with their applications. The problem with the American college is that to get into a good one, you have to have already gone to college.

How to Tame College Costs - It's Not Just Tuition Wall Street Journal August 8, 2010 With all the added costs associated with the academic side of college, it can pay greatly to look for ways to cut back in different areas of college life.  According to the College Board, students at four-year universities spent an average of about $12,500 for the 2009-10 school year on things not related to tuition and fees.  Here are five areas where you can cut college costs.

College housing woes rise with enrollment Beacon-News, Aurora, Ill. August 4, 2010 The reason for the tight fit in campus housing is a record freshman enrollment. And Aurora University isn't the only university dealing with eye-popping numbers.  Universities from Colgate and Syracuse on the East Coast to Oregon and Seattle out West are all reporting record freshman numbers this fall.  Fact is, despite the recession - or, as it turns out, because of it - more students will be heading off to college than ever before, according to a July survey released by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

‘Feel Free. Be Yourself. It’s the Only Marketing Device That Can Work.’ New York Times - The Choice Blog August 4, 2010 As director of college counseling at Horace Mann School in the Bronx, every day I encounter warm, energetic, funny and shockingly intelligent kids with a genuine hunger to learn. But for all of their talent and brains, they seem to be hard-wired to worry about getting into college.  You can get an exceptional education at hundreds of outstanding colleges. This is a buyers' market. Take advantage. Have a great senior year. Apply to the usual suspects. They are good colleges. But write your applications in your own voice.

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