If Some is Good, More is Better: Why the Trend of One-And-Done College Athletes may be Fading

Today, Parade Magazine announced their selections for their annual High Boys Basketball All-American Team. According to  Parade, Jared Sullinger, the magazine’s 2010 Player of the Year will be headed to Ohio State next, likely to shore up an offense who will miss AP College Player of the Year, Evan Turner, as he is likely to bolt Ohio State for the glory of playing in NBA. Ohio State’s Evan Turner, Kentucky’s John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, are part of a growing class of exceptionally talented first-year players who otherwise would have made the jump after their senior years of high school to The Association (the nickname for the NBA). The only rule that stopped them from doing just that was one enacted in 2005 by current NBA commissioner David Stern. Concerned with the number of recruiters and agents making their way into high school gymnasiums, and the notion that many of [...]

The Optional College Essay: YouTube Videos

Ladies and Gentleman. Presenting potential members of the Tuft’s graduating class of 2014. Applicant 1 Applicant 2 Applicant 3 Two weeks ago, NPR ran a feature on their popular program “All Things Considered” looking at the rise of video submissions as part of the college application process. And these students were not applying to select film schools or large universities that have excellent film departments; they were applying to schools such as Tufts and William and Mary. With the rise of YouTube, high school students have an opportunity to showcase hidden talents, passions, or simply help admissions officers put a face with a name. A verbal essay full of creative juices, a silver bullet to sway over admissions officers who might be on the fence regarding a particular applicant, these YouTube videos would appear to help students make a great case for the talents they could bring to those selected [...]

Raising the Educational Bar

Setting the bar for American public education has been an ongoing topic in this country, and rightfully so. From the overused comparison to foreign countries that far exceed our math, science and language education to the overwhelming criticism about No Child Left Behind, this topic simply won’t go away. Last week, a group of state school superintendents, governors and educators jointly proposed the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), a new criteria for American K-12 public schooling in math and English, to include such requirements as literary analysis for 5th graders and a heavier focus on logic for 7th grade math. Today, the New York Times noted that CCSSI may bring about textbook rewrites, new training methods for teachers and a second look at how standardized tests operate in America, among other changes. However, the article notes that some states’ public education systems aren’t as bad as the rest of [...]

Community Colleges Part 3 — Critical to higher ed.

Today, the Los Angeles Times published an immensely informative opinion piece on the largely ignored importance of community colleges within higher education, using California’s 110 community college system as an example. The authors (Camille Esch and Christopher Cabaldon) point out that not only are community colleges critical to the success of the four-year university system, but that Governer Arnold Schwarzenegger must ensure that these schools receive at least some of the funds he plans to set aside for colleges by 2014. Here are some highlights of the big role community college plays in California alone: Nearly 3 million California students attend community college. Half of all Cal State students and 30% of UC students attended community college. Community colleges are California’s number one provider of workforce training (especially for jobs that require technical skills, but not necessarily a bachelor’s or higher degree). An increasing amount of low-income students, laid-off employees, [...]

Facebook Faux Pas: Protecting ourselves online

Facebook is one of those amazing feats of technology that does great things—but also opens up the possibility for situations like the one in Florida. So what are we to do?

Community Colleges Part 2 — A solution to budget cuts?

Everyone knows that public education has taken huge budget cuts in response to the recent state of the economy. As a result, public universities (read: the Cal States and UCs) can no longer accommodate the same huge numbers of students as before, while being forced to raise fees and tuition for existing students. Many students get put on waiting lists for public colleges or simply can’t afford the increased cost of attendance. Part of the reason many students choose to begin their college education at a two-year local school is to save on costs. Especially for students who are undecided about a field of study and aren’t yet ready to commit to a specific campus for four years, community college is a good choice to begin chipping away at those “general education” classes, such as Freshman Composition, Speech 101, Critical Thinking 101…. You get the picture. And while every college [...]

Community Colleges Part 1 — Speech & Debate

As BetterGrads will continue to produce college admissions and acceptance-related posts for those anxiously awaiting bulky packages from first-choice four-year schools, we will not fail to serve those prospective college students looking to further their education at a community college. This will be a series of posts, and I encourage readers to submit their comments and feedback regarding two-year schools. Let’s cut to the chase. Community college has a bad rap. While I could have a field day listing numerous stigmas and stereotypes about community colleges, I’d rather divulge the impressive accomplishments I’ve witnessed from my peers at two-year schools. While I bypassed community college (adding onto my ever-growing student loan…) I look back on the debt and general education classes and wonder if I wouldn’t have been the same–or better–getting those first two years out of the way at one of these underdog institutions. Perhaps next week’s post will [...]

For What it’s Worth: The Value of College

As Elizabeth mentioned, February is a month filled with opportunities for budding relationships (college acceptance letters) and heartbreak. (sigh…rejection letters). In some cases, these same letters may force some soon-to-be graduating high schools seniors to revisit a question they once confidently answered months before penning rough draft personal statements. What’s more, the answer to this question may not arrive after one discussion. The question is simple: “What’s the value of a college degree?” Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger attempted to answer that question. Below you will find excerpts from her December 2009 article as well as some great BetterGrads-inspired commentary. Finding work you love. College degrees can guide students’ career choices in subtler ways. Jason Wotman, 24, loves his work as a co-founder of Tailwaiters, a Great Neck, N.Y., startup that runs tailgate parties for clients at sporting events and concerts. “It’s mine, it’s [...]

Making the Grade

Once upon time, Pell Grants, federal loans from the government, were a great asset to help students pay for their college education. However, Kevin Carey, a policy director at Education Sector, a D.C.-based think tank argues that this is no longer the case. In a recent article, he claims Pell Grants are not as beneficial today, given the rising costs of tuition and the lack of any objective, universal statistics to evaluate how well colleges educate students.

“High School’s Last Test,” a response

Last week, we came across an op-ed piece in the New York Times about how “Race to the Top,” a new government-sponsored educational program, is challenging high schools to not only prepare students for college, but to boost college enrollment and success, as well. In other words, it’s putting the responsibility of “grade 13″ onto high school educators and admins. The letter was written by College Summit, a nonprofit organization we dig for it’s commitment to helping school districts and low-income areas increase their levels of college success. Although the New York Times didn’t publish this letter, we’ve made it available for comments here on our blog. Dear NYT letters editor, Re: “High School’s Last Test,” by J.B. Schramm and E. Kinney Zalesne (Op-Ed, Dec. 22: Race to the Top relies on a top-down structure, funneling in money to set curriculum and best practice standards below. If we are to [...]