Category Archives: Value of College

Value of College

New Report Examines the Tribal College Experience

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The tribal college student experience is unique, and its value can often be overlooked.

A new report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCSSE) explores Native student experiences at tribal colleges and the challenges these students can face in earning a college degree.

“Tribal colleges are often overlooked in the field of higher education, but they shouldn’t be. They are creating important opportunities for their students,” Evelyn Waiwaiole, executive director of CCSSE, said in a news release.

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NACAC Video, Value of College

Watch: College Signing Day 2019 Q&A

May 1 is the deadline for students to accept an offer of admission at many institutions, celebrated as Decision Day or College Signing Day.

Reach Higher, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary, is encouraging schools and communities to host College Signing Day events to help build a college-going culture and to recognize students’ hard work.

NACAC host Crystal Newby talked with Reach Higher’s Eric Waldo about the Signing Day tradition and what it adds to the college admission process.

Continue reading Watch: College Signing Day 2019 Q&A →

Access, Value of College

Creating College-going Culture in Rural Communities

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The higher education community and businesses must work together to create a college-going culture in across rural America.

The Hechinger Report found that rural communities often face a mindset problem when it comes to higher education.

For generations, rural Americans were able to get good jobs with only a high school diploma. Now many of the jobs available require a more specialized skill set.

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Access, Value of College

Student-to-Student Advice for People of Marginalized Backgrounds

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There is no better advice that the advice from people who’ve been there.

Teen Vogue recently compiled a list of advice from students of marginalized backgrounds to other students in similar situations.

Their list of student advice discusses topics ranging from the need for a support system to practical advice on saving money on textbooks.

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College Admission, Value of College

A Reminder: The Work We Do Changes Lives

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Editor’s note:  This post was originally published on Admitted in August 2017. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

All of you see it every year.

A senior who graduated in May stops in before they head off to college. The smile is bright, but the eyes betray them; they are scared.

It’s easy for me to reassure them because, as old as I am, I remember how transformational the first week of college was. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college, and I grew up in a town of 13,000 in Illinois. I really had no idea what to expect. I was pretty scared.

It started in my second class. My professor said something, and I laughed out loud. He asked me what was so funny, and I told him that I had never ever thought about what he had just mentioned. He gave me a sly grin and became a lifelong mentor.

Continue reading A Reminder: The Work We Do Changes Lives →

Value of College

Survey: Most Americans Support Postsecondary Education

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Most Americans believe postsecondary education remains a valuable commodity for today’s young people, according to results from a new national survey.

“The vast majority of Americans (86 percent) feel that higher education after high school enhances job prospects,” according to a new report from Civis Analytics. “Most (89 percent) also think high school students should pursue an education program after graduation from high school.”

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Cost of College, Paying for College, Value of College

New Website Explores College Affordability

Cost of Education.Many of us working with students in the college search and selection process struggle to help families understand college affordability. While most students will not pay the full cost of attendance, many will use sticker price to eliminate colleges from their list before they have the chance to weigh financial aid packages and scholarship offers.

What are best practices in talking to students and families about financial aid, student debt, and fit and finances? How do we best explain longer-term benefits beyond financial gain, inherent in the value of higher education, to high school juniors and seniors? How do we address the value of borrowing for college?

Continue reading New Website Explores College Affordability →

Access, College Admission, Post-College Outcomes, Value of College

New Survey Measures Public Perceptions of Higher Ed

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A new national poll paints a troubling picture of how the public views college access.

In a survey of 1,600 US adults, more than half of all respondents disagreed with the notion that all Americans have a decent chance of getting into a good college.

The finding is part of a larger report released this morning by New America examining public perceptions and knowledge of higher education and economic mobility.

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Access, Advocacy, Cost of College, Financial Aid, Paying for College, Value of College

Students and Counselors Make the Case for a Streamlined FAFSA

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Educators, advocates, Hill staffers, and students gathered in Washington, DC, earlier this month to learn more about efforts by the National College Access Network (NCAN) to simplify the Federal Application for Free Student Aid (FAFSA).

The overarching goal of this new streamlined FAFSA is simple — stop making low-income students repeatedly prove that they are low-income. The NCAN report, Half the FASFA: Cutting the Red Tape to Postsecondary Aid, includes three potential pathways to shorten the FAFSA.

For example, on one track, once a student has confirmed that their family earns a means-tested benefit such as SNAP (food assistance) or TANF (cash assistance), they are automatically sent to the signature portion of the form.

Continue reading Students and Counselors Make the Case for a Streamlined FAFSA →