The U.S. is often considered a dropout nation. Graduating from high school is important for many reasons, including higher employment rates and taxable incomes for graduates. However, while high school graduation rates in the U.S. are rising, there’s much improvement to be made – especially among disadvantaged students. Have a look at the state-by-state comparison of graduation rates broken down by race, along with recommendations on how to improve these rates.
We’ve all seen movies about the college experience, ripe with parties, drinking and new experiences. The reality of it is, living with roommates isn’t always one big love-fest. How you get along with your roommates impacts your entire college experience, so follow these tips designed to help you coexist peacefully.
When more than one person shares a small space, it tends to become a matter of who left the thermostat up, why there’s a pile of dishes in the sink, and whose turn it is to clean the bathroom. Head off trouble by creating a chore list that clearly outlines who has each duty on any given day. Work together to come up with a fair list, so no one carries an unfair load.
Continue reading Off to college? Tips for getting along with roommates
There is nothing more tempting to your student after finishing junior year finals, than to close his laptop, stow his books and vow not to think about anything school-related until the last week of August rolls around. The bad news is, senior year takes a little more planning than students want it to and getting a head start can make the fall and spring less stressful and more enjoyable. The good news is, much of what your student might want to tackle can be fun — especially if she plans ahead. Here’s are three things to think about during the summer after junior year, along with three ways to hopefully make them a little more fun.
Continue reading Summer activities for next year’s high school seniors
Tonight’s #CollegeCash Chat was centered around available tech resources for the college-bound and their parents. Following is a short transcript of the questions and answers with all the links I provided. As a parent myself and a parent advocate I understand the frustration with the college admissions process. It’s my hope that you will find some tools here that will make the process easier.
Q. Is there a lot of technology out there that benefits students and parents when it comes to college?
Q. Are SmartPhones necessary for our kids leaving for college?
Today, I’m reviewing a book entitled “How to Make a Winning College Application Video Essay” by Max Kiefer and Rosa Wolfe. This book is written by parents for students: “We are a husband and wife writing and filmmaking team who have worked together so long that finishing each other’s written sentences is literally our stock in trade.”
In the beginning text in the book, they talk about the emergence of the video college application essay:
UTube officially arrived in 2009 when Tufts University invited applicants to submit an optional one-minute video. Tufts’ director of admissions, Lee Coffin, made this decision after being so impressed with a student video he famously remarked, “I thought, ‘If this kid applied to Tufts, I’d admit him in a minute, without anything else.’ ” With or without Tuft’s paradigm-changing decision, in the Internet age the college admissions video was inevitable. For a generation that has grown up swimming in social media, for whom images are a critical adjunct to communication, it’s hard to imagine that videos would not eventually become an element in the college sweepstakes. George Mason University, William and Mary, and St. Mary’s College have also begun inviting video submissions. More schools will surely follow. In any case, providing the colleges to which you apply with a DVD or a link to a short video essay won’t hurt. You don’t need to ask permission. If a college doesn’t want to look at your video, they simply won’t… but there’s every chance they will.
Continue reading How to Make a Winning College Application Video Essay
Studying abroad offers a wide range of benefits for university students on both an academic and personal level. The cultural experience alone is worth getting an education abroad, not to mention accruing a number of professional skills that would be more difficult to hone in your home country. The following offers a few of the many advantages you can obtain from attending an international school and getting your university education abroad.
Continue reading The benefits of getting your university education abroad
Getting a college education is difficult enough, so trying to do it while training at a high level is an incredibly daunting task. The enormous pressure to perform well at games can adversely affect studies and vice versa. Fortunately, the special needs of student athletes are recognized by schools and athletic commissions. Several benefits are provided to help them achieve their full potential both in sports and academics. These typically consist of the following:
If you have a child that is passionate about music, then it is good to know that there are really great career options for them later in life. Having an understanding of what these are can allow you to share them with your child to help them find the right path. There are a few career options worth looking at.
Skilled workers with a background in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are currently in high demand in the US. In fact, figures published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that STEM jobs will grow by 21.4% in the next decade. To put this in perspective, the average growth for all other jobs will be a modest 10.4% during the same period of time. BLS statistics also show that computer science graduates can expect to earn a median annual salary of $100,660. Here are some of the hot career options you can pursue with a computer science degree.
Continue reading Careers related to a computer science degree
While student dormitories are not exactly danger zones, students who reside in dormitories should observe safety measures to keep their property safe from thieves or accidents such as fire. For the most part, it only takes common sense to prevent potential accidents in student dormitories. For instance, you should not leave candles or hot cigarette butts burning inside your room. According to the National Fire protection Association (NFPA), the number of dormitory fires reported between 1980 and 2009 increased by 17% and on average, dorm fires destroy property worth about $20.9 million, cause 3 deaths, and 38 fire injuries every year. These statistics show the importance of taking fire safety seriously. Here are some dorm safety tips that you can take as an individual student to keep your dorm safe.