“The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation,” reports New York Times writer Tamar Lewin. The study found that 8- to 18-year-olds spend an average of seven and a half hours a day (more than 53 hours a week) with entertainment media accessed through technology.
How much are young Americans online?
February 8th, 2010Register for the March 13th SAT by February 10th
February 4th, 2010Remember to register by February 10th to take the SAT on March 13th. Late registration is also available through February 24th. You can sign up online at www.collegeboard.org.
Ten costly FAFSA filing mistakes
February 2nd, 2010Making mistakes on your FAFSA can be costly, delaying your application and resulting in a possible loss of financial aid. Writer Nancy Griesemer of Examiner.com shares ten costly FAFSA filing mistakes to avoid.
- Waiting to complete your taxes
- Leaving a blank field
- Entering the wrong tax amount paid
- Failing to sign the FAFSA form
- Forgetting to update tax information
- Missing filing dates
- Listing only your top school on the FAFSA form
- Failing to file because of citizenship status
- Neglecting to coordinate related financial aid forms
- Not filing the FAFSA because you think you make too much money
The college interview
January 28th, 2010The College-Admissions-Secrets website offers advice on the college interview. ”If you have the opportunity, you should strongly consider doing college interviews. First of all, you can paint a richer picture of yourself, going beyond what is captured in a high school transcript and some standardized test scores. In addition, the interview allows you to express your interest in the college: if a college has to choose between two similar applicants, then the one who cared enough to schedule an interview and really engage with the interviewer may have a slight edge.”
While interview questions can vary, here are sample questions to consider and talk through ahead of time with family and friends:
- Why do you want to attend this college? (Do your research!)
- What is your intended major, and why?
- What are your long-term goals and dreams?
- What do you like to read, and why?
- Whom do you admire?
- How would your friends and family describe you?
- What’s your favorite academic subject?
- What’s your favorite extracurricular?
- What do you do for fun?
- What are you most proud of?
Using social media to pick a college
January 18th, 2010Josh Catona, writer for Mashable, The Social Media Guide, gives 10 ways to use social media to pick a college. Catona recommends visiting sites such as College Prowler, Unigo, Communiversity and Rate My Professor where you can hear from current students about issues that matter to incoming freshman and go beyond the basic statistics.
UC Regents adopt changes to freshman eligibility
January 14th, 2010The University of California Office of the President reports on the adopted proposal “to change freshman admission to give more high-achieving students the change to apply to UC and receive a full review of their applications. The new rules will take effect for the fall 2012 entering class.”
Different from the current policy are the following:
- Two SAT Subject Tests will no longer be required for admissions. However, the Subject Tests may be recommended for certain majors. As well, students will be allowed to submit scores for the consideration of their application if they choose to do so.
- 11 of the 15 “a-g” courses must be completed by the end of the applicant’s junior year. Currently, only those applicants in the top 4% of their high school class are required to do so.
- Students guaranteed admission based on their high school class rank will grow from the current 4% to 9%.
- Fewer students statewide will receive an admission guarantee. The current admission guarantee applies to the top 12.5% of graduates. This will decrease to the top 10% statewide. However, all students who qualify with at least 3.0 GPA, who have completed the required UC “a-g” courses, and who have taken the ACT with Writing or SAT Reasoning Test, will be entitled to a comprehensive review of their entire application whether or not they are in the top 10% statewide.
Top 25 undergraduate colleges for entrepreneurs
January 11th, 2010Entrepreneur Magazine reports on the top 25 undergraduate colleges for entrepreneurs in 2009. Listed for each college are the number of students enrolled, the number of faculty who are entrepreneurs, the number of entrepreneurship clubs, the number of mentorship programs, and whether the college has a business plan competition.
Deferred admissions
January 7th, 2010Allen Grove of About.com gives practical tips on what to do, and what not to do, if your early decision application is deferred. Grove includes sample letters, both good and bad, to the admissions office. Here are his tips in brief:
- Don’t panic
- Find out why you were deferred
- Update your information with midyear grades and any new accomplishments
- Send a new letter of recommendation
- Send supplemental materials if available
- Be polite
- Have a back-up
Register for February 6th ACT by January 5th
December 31st, 2009Remember to register by January 5th to take the ACT on February 6th. Late registration is also available through January 15th. You can sign up online at www.actstudent.org.
Results are available for the December 12th ACT
December 28th, 2009Results from the December 12th ACT are now available online at actstudent.org.