Monthly Archives: June 2017

College Admission

Good or Bad, Meme Groups Now Play a Larger Role in College Admission

Gone are the days where students had to wait until freshman orientation to connect with one another. Now students have connected online before they ever arrive on campus.

The latest of these online forums are Facebook meme groups and nearly every major college in America has one.

Students use the groups to bond, chat, and connect through a shared sense of humor showcased through a series of student-created memes specific to each college.

As the groups have grown, they’ve become about more than just connection. They’ve also begun to play a role in the admission process, Mic reported recently.

Continue reading Good or Bad, Meme Groups Now Play a Larger Role in College Admission →

NACAC News

#NACACreads: For-Profit Colleges Examined in ‘Lower Ed’

Tressie McMillan Cottom

How do students interpret the value of for-profit colleges?

You may be surprised. Tressie McMillan Cottom — author of Lower Ed — certainly was.

While the high cost of attending for-profit schools automatically triggers concerns about debt and default for many college counselors, price is often viewed in an entirely different light by students.

“I was stunned to learn that students used high price to indicate institutional quality,” she tweeted during a Monday #NACACreads discussion of her book. “That alone subverts almost everything we know!”

Continue reading #NACACreads: For-Profit Colleges Examined in ‘Lower Ed’ →

Access, College Admission, College Completion

Share Advice For First-Gen Students

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What should first-generation college students know before they head to campus?

A new social media campaign organized by Better Make Room is encouraging college counselors and others to share their wisdom on Twitter.

Contribute your own tips by using #AdviceForFirstGen and #BetterMakeRoom in your tweets.

Tips already submitted include:

  • Find a mentor.
  • Don’t forget to renew your FAFSA every year.
  • When stressed, stop and smell the roses.

Continue reading Share Advice For First-Gen Students →

NACAC News

#NACACreads: Join Us Monday to Discuss ‘Lower Ed’

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How do social inequalities shape access to education, and what can counselors and admission professionals do to help students navigate an increasingly complex array of postsecondary choices?

Discuss those questions and more on Monday during a #NACACreads discussion of Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy.

The chat will kick off on Twitter at 2 p.m. ET.

Author Tressie McMillan Cottom will participate in the hour-long discussion, and there will be plenty of opportunities for you to share your own thoughts about the book, as well as for-profit colleges.

Continue reading #NACACreads: Join Us Monday to Discuss ‘Lower Ed’ →

Financial Aid

DRT Now Available for Income-Driven Repayment Plan Applicants

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The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) is now available to student loan holders applying for an income-driven repayment plan, the Department of Education announced last week.

According to a press release, “new encryption protections” have been added to the tool. However, the DRT will remain out-of-service for FAFSA filers until Oct. 1.

Continue reading DRT Now Available for Income-Driven Repayment Plan Applicants →

College Completion, Uncategorized

Survey: Many Americans Would Change Their College Choices

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Although most American degree holders believe they received a quality education, more than a quarter say they would attend a different college if they had it all to do over, a new national poll shows.

A survey of 89,492 US adults by Gallup and the Strada Education Network found that 28 percent of respondents wish they would have selected a different institution. And given the chance, 36 percent would have chosen a different major.

Continue reading Survey: Many Americans Would Change Their College Choices →

College Admission

Rethinking the Transcript: High Schools Join New Consortium

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A group of private schools wants to remove letter grades from the college admission process.

Instead, members of the newly formed Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) would submit reports to universities outlining how well students demonstrate mastery of key academic concepts. Other qualities, such as creativity and persistence, could also be highlighted on the new transcript.

The model is inspired in part by competency-based education, a method where students progress through the curriculum based on their demonstration of knowledge and skills, rather than seat time. Consortium leaders say each member will have the freedom to determine which “performance areas” will be included on their school’s transcript.

NACAC research shows that grades matter most in college admission. But many counselors say the resulting pressure to attain perfect marks undermines student learning and development. Continue reading Rethinking the Transcript: High Schools Join New Consortium →

International Education

Studying in the UK: One US Student’s Perspective

Aiysha Whitfield

There are more than 17,000 US students pursuing college degrees in the UK, a number which has grown by 17 percent since 2009.

Many are attracted by the possibility of broadening their international experience without struggling with a language barrier. Others relish the chance of learning at world-famous institutions older than the United States itself.

For others, it may also be an opportunity to get back to one’s roots as it was for Aiysha Whitfield, a student from Portland, Oregon, who has just finished her combined bachelor’s degree in film studies and communication, media and culture at Oxford Brookes University (UK).
Continue reading Studying in the UK: One US Student’s Perspective →

NACAC News

Get Ready for #NACACreads with Tressie McMillan Cottom

Can you believe it’s already June? That means our next #NACACreads book club chat is just days away.

On June 12, we’ll discuss Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy.

The conversation will kick off at 2 p.m. ET on Twitter, and we’d love to have you join the chat!

Author Tressie McMillan Cottom will participate in the hour-long discussion, and there will be plenty of opportunities for you to share your own thoughts about the book, as well as for-profit colleges.

Continue reading Get Ready for #NACACreads with Tressie McMillan Cottom →