Despite stigmas that often surround community colleges, a new report from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation found that graduation rates of community college transfer students meet or exceed those of students who enroll at selective institutions as first-time freshman.
Community college transfer students also graduate at higher rates than students who transfer from other four-year colleges, according to the report.
More than 35,000 community college students transfer to selective colleges and universities each year and 75 percent of them graduate within six years. About 73 percent of students entering selective universities straight from high school graduate in that time frame, along with 61 percent of students who transfer from another four-year institution.
On average, community college transfer students earn their degree within two and a half years.
Parents don’t need to be tech-savvy to raise girls who are interested in STEM.
A recent poll found that parents’ proficiency with technology has only marginal effects on girls’ excitement about the subject.
“This survey shows that, contrary to popular belief, girls are interested in tech, and that they will seek out instruction regardless of their parents’ affinity with technology,” according to Tracey Welson-Rossman, founder and CEO of TechGirlz — a nonprofit organization that worked with Drexel University (PA) to conduct the survey. “It should reassure parents they can set their daughters on the path to a rewarding, empowering career in tech with support and encouragement, even if they do not understand the subject matter themselves.”
Many college fairs are held during the fall. They provide a great opportunity for high school students and their parents or guardians to talk with college admission representatives. At two annual college fairs I am familiar with, financial aid representatives have a booth and talk about local scholarship options. Unfortunately, their booths are not very busy while admission representatives have many students waiting to discuss admission requirements. Usually the reps whose colleges are the most competitive and have the most well-known names have the longest lines.
In many instances, top students wait in long lines for well-known colleges because they have been encouraged to apply. Student GPAs and test scores can assist with the admission process, but there is a catch. Because most of the students applying to these colleges will also have impressive academic backgrounds, the colleges may not offer a generous financial award package to each student. Every college does things differently.
Looking for summer reading suggestions for yourself or the students you serve?
NACAC member Brennan Barnard has released his annual compilation of book recommendations.
The full list — featuring titles suggested by college admission deans and counselors — appears on The Washington Post website. Some selections are related to education, while other titles are simply good reads.
Camp College organizers and members of MACAC’s Inclusion, Access, and Success Committee work together each year to support students. (MACAC photo)
It takes more than good grades and big dreams to get into college.
Students — especially those who are among the first in their families to pursue higher education — also need confidence as they approach the college search and selection process.
Camp College, an annual program offered each spring by the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling (MACAC), is designed with the latter goal in mind. The day-long camp helps underserved students plan for higher education and think through the steps needed to apply to colleges and seek out financial aid.
Dating and obtaining a driver’s license have long been American rites of passage, but a new study suggests that today’s teens seem less interested in meeting those milestones than prior generations.
A study published this week in the journal Child Development showed a sharp decline over the past decade in the percentage of adolescents who date or drive. The share of teens who have tried alcohol or held a paying job has also decreased.
Editor’s note: A version of this postwas originally published on Admitted in December 2015.
Families are complicated.
Many children split their time between two or more homes. Others live with grandparents.
So it’s no surprise that questions abound each year as students determine how to record parental tax information on the FAFSA.
An infographic from the US Department of Education — Who’s My Parent When I Fill Out the FAFSA — can help students (and counselors) through the application process.
