“Not on my sofa!” was one parent’s response at the prospect of their student’s gap year. Fair enough, yet under the right circumstances, could a gap year be a smart solution?
The Gap Year: ‘Not on my sofa!’
Category Archives: College Readiness
Study: High School Grades Best Predictors of College Completion
What is the best predictor of student success? According to a new study, it’s high school grade point averages.
The study, published recently in Educational Researcher, found that a student’s high school grade point average is five times stronger than their ACT scores at predicting college graduation.
Continue reading Study: High School Grades Best Predictors of College Completion
The College Counselor Who Left His Own Children Alone
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on Admitted in March 2019. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.
When it comes to dealing with the key moments of my daughter’s life, I’ve always had my hands full. The first one came when she was not even two years old. She decided it was time to climb up on the playscape all by herself, just like she’d seen her older brother do. It didn’t matter that her legs were about half as long, and the diaper she was wearing significantly limited her mobility. It was time, and that was that.
As she eyed the situation, I was about 20 feet away, clearing some brush, and holding a chainsaw, of all things. There was no way I could drop the chainsaw without her noticing it, and not even the slowest gait towards her would do anything but convince her I didn’t think this was a good idea. All I could do was stand there and watch, poised on the balls of my feet to spring the 20 feet in the event I needed to catch her. She didn’t exactly look like Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, but she made it up, in her own way, safe and sound.
Continue reading The College Counselor Who Left His Own Children Alone
#NACACreads: Listen to an Excerpt from Our Next Book
Our next #NACACreads Twitter chat is less than a month away!
On Dec. 11, author Tim Bono will join us for a discussion of his book, When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness.
Listen to an excerpt from the book and make plans to join us for an important discussion focused on student mental health and well-being. Bono is an assistant dean and lecturer in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis (MO) where thousands of students have taken his popular courses on the Psychology of Young Adulthood and the Science of Happiness.
Continue reading #NACACreads: Listen to an Excerpt from Our Next Book
Free Guide to Understanding Dyslexia Now Available
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences.
It’s also one of the most misunderstood.
KQED reporter Holly Korbey hopes to change that. Korbey has written extensively on the topic for NPR and recently released the MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia.
Continue reading Free Guide to Understanding Dyslexia Now Available
Report Shines Light on Rural Students
Nearly one in five US students — a total of 9.3 million — attend rural schools. But far too often, the needs of these students are overlooked in national discussions.
The leaders at the Rural School and Community Trust hope to change that. The group released its annual Why Rural Matters report today to shed light on the scope and status of rural education.
Chronic Illness and the College Search
Applying to schools and preparing for the college transition can be tough for any student. But for students dealing with a chronic illness, the process has added challenges.
The key to tackling those challenges? Planning ahead.
Teen Vogue recently published a list of advice to help students dealing with chronic illness clear those hurdles before heading off to college.
Michelle Obama Encourages Students to Reach Higher
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has released a special back-to-school message.
“The harder you work in your classes this year, the more opportunities you’ll have to go to college and get the education you need to be who you want to be and build the life you want to live,” Obama tells students in a video message released by Better Make Room. “And that matters not just for your future, but for the future of our country and our world.”
Continue reading Michelle Obama Encourages Students to Reach Higher
3 Ways to Make the Most out of College
Editor’s note: A version of this post was originally published on Admitted in December 2017. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.
Feeling stressed about the college application process? Take heart.
“There are plenty of great schools in this country, and what matters much more than how they are ranked is how you make use of their resources,” Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University (CT), writes in a column published by The Washington Post.
He continues: “When I talk to seniors and recent graduates from schools of all kinds and in various parts of the country, I find that it matters little how difficult it was to get admitted to that school and that it matters a great deal how hard they worked while attending it.”
Students Offer College Transition Tips
Heading off to college is a huge period of transition for students and BUILD Series, a live interview series in New York City, wants to help ease some of the anxiety around the freshman year experience.
Host Matt Forte recently interviewed three current college students at New York University — Wade Cushner, Nettie Jones, and Liz Schilling — about parent relationships in college, making new friends, dealing with roommates, and how to get through the transition.