US News shares its four rules of paying for college in a recession:
According to Inside Higher Ed, some educators are “encourag[ing] colleges to consider dropping the SAT or ACT as admissions requirements.” However, most colleges are actually giving more weight to these tests over time. For example, 47% of colleges gave test scores “considerable importance” in 1995, but that number rose to 59% in 2005.
Quick reminder: December 26 is the registration deadline for the SAT given on January 24.
The Mercury News reports that the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has found that “California’s vast system of inexpensive community colleges has earned the state the top ranking–and the only passing grade in the nation–in a new analysis of America’s college affordability.” At the same time, increasing tuition and budget cuts mean “that distinction may be short lived.”
StudentHacks.org offers some strategies for math tests, including:
The New York Times discusses a new trend: Americans getting their college degrees abroad. Besides offering a different experience, this path can be more affordable and more focused academically.
The Boston Globe reports that many students and parents are retooling their college plans amid lost jobs and plummeting savings. Public schools and “financial safety schools” are coming into the picture for many families.
Greenwich Time offers insight into how colleges look at applicants’ community service. For instance, “While a six-week stint doing unpaid work in an exotic locale may look good on paper…colleges are rarely impressed unless a student demonstrates that they have followed-up with a meaningful service at home.”
The New York Times reports that college is becoming increasingly unaffordable: “Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade.”
The Christian Science Monitor explores the issue of college debt. The article offers some questions to think about (”Can I afford this school without excessive borrowing? How long will it take to pay off that wonderful four-year experience at the campus of my dreams?”) and resources to turn to.