Photo by: KJ Mushung

Editorial: Rethinking College Admissions
By: Frank Bruni

Over recent years there’s been a steady escalation of concern about the admissions process at the most revered, selective American colleges. And little by little, those colleges have made tweaks.

But I get the thrilling sense that something bigger is about to give…

The report recommends less emphasis on standardized test scores, which largely correlate with family income.

It asks colleges to send a clear message that admissions officers won’t be impressed by more than a few Advanced Placement courses. Poorer high schools aren’t as likely to offer A.P. courses, and a heavy load of them is often cited as a culprit in sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression among students at richer schools.

To read the entire story, visit The New York Times.

To get into college, Harvard report advocates for kindness instead of overachieving
By: Lisa Heffernan and Jennifer Wallace

As your oldest child begins to fill out her college application, it is hard not to feel a rising panic. For the last four years she has thrown herself into her school work, taken AP classes, studied for the SAT, worked on the school paper, played on the field hockey team and tutored elementary school children.


Yet as she methodically records her activities on the application, it becomes clear that this was simply not enough. There are 10 looming blank spaces and although her days have been overflowing with homework, activities and volunteering, she has only five activities to report. There are 15 spaces to record the four AP classes she was so proud of taking.

You wonder who the kid is who can complete all of these blank spaces, and what has gone wrong that this is what applying to college now means.

A new report released today by Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, takes a major step in trying to change the college admissions process to make it more humane, less super-human.

To read the entire story, visit The Washington Post.

8 Colleges That Just Launched Big Tuition Discount Programs
By: Kerry Close

There might be big savings on the horizon for high school students looking for an affordable college education.

Out-of-control tuition costs are part of the reason behind a decline in enrollment at many colleges. In response, some schools are trying to boost their numbers by creating attractive deals to a wide range of students.

Tuition discounts at private colleges are at an all-time high, according to an August 2015 report. Over the years, the model has become one in which the “sticker price” of tuition is super high, yet few students pay full price because scholarships, grants and other forms of aid. Many have called for an end to such insane college pricing strategies, in which tuition is not all that different from the inflated, misleading “original” price that’s inevitably discounted at J.C. Penney.

For the most part, such pricing remains standard at colleges. The eight schools [mentioned], however, have recently begun trying to attract students by offering broad, easy-to-understand price breaks on tuition.

To read the entire story, visit Money.

By: NOVA Fortnightly Staff

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