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New Essay Topics for ApplyTexas 2013-2014

Application, Blog, Colleges, General, News, Students, Uncategorized

ApplyTexas Essay Prompts A, B and C (applicable to FR, TR and other app types)  Slated to replace current ApplyTexas essay choices A, B and C.  For inclusion in ApplyTexas applications for the 2014 cycle (opening 8/1/13)

 Essay A:

Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours.  Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience.

Essay B:

Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it.  Did it change you?  If so, how? 

Essay C:

Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities might help you achieve your goals.

Perspective on Student Debt

Blog, Colleges, Financial Aid, General, Information, News, Parents, Students

 and  of The Atlantic  supply an interesting take on the state of student debt as well as the value of a college education.  While “the cost of college has spiked 150 percent since 1995, compared with a 50 percent increase in the cost of other goods and services” and “outstanding student loans soared to nearly $1 trillion—a 300 percent jump since 2003” is the student debt level really a national crisis?  [read more]

Elite Colleges Offer Free Courses Online – MOOC

Blog, Colleges, General, Information, News, Parents, Students, Uncategorized

One of the latest trends in Higher Education is the use of MOOC “Massive Open Online Courses.”  The industry leaders, Coursera and edX, announced last week that they have almost doubled their course options by adding courses from some of the top institutions in the country.  “MOOCs have attracted millions of students and captured the public imagination over the past year, allowing people from all walks of life to learn from leading scholars at top-tier universities — free of charge”  writes TERENCE CHEA of the Associated Press.  At the same time he questions the effects of this movement on the degree seeking population.  [read more]

The Crisis in Higher Education

Blog, Colleges, General, Information, News, Parents, Students

Higher education is a broken system, a problem that threatens the economic health as well as democratic fabric of our nation, according to Ethan Miller, a senior at American University – a well-respected student activist and blogger for the Huffington Post.  “Higher education… has reached the climax of a decades-long transformation from a system of intellectual exploration and learning, where degrees were measurements of achievement and creative thought was valued and fostered to a system modeled after corporations, fraught with grade inflation and worthless degrees, focused on career paths and earning as much money as possible.”   Miller proposes that higher education should be about one thing: the relationship between professor and student with the intent of the pursuit of knowledge – food for thought when thinking about college prospects.  [read more]

Connection Between Student Debt and Teacher Shortage

Blog, Career, Colleges, General, News, Parents, Students

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating the connection between student loan debt and the teacher shortage, both projected and current, especially in the areas of math and science.  “The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that the United States will need over 425,000 new teachers by the end of this decade to make up for the wave of retiring baby boomers. Despite this challenge, compensation for public school teachers has not kept pace with the private sector— according to one study, starting public school teachers in 19 states earn less than $33,000 per year.”  With the average student loan debt approaching the $30,000 mark, considering a career in education is becoming more and more difficult.  [read more]

 

 

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/student-debt-and-schools/

Common FAFSA mistakes

Tags: , Blog, Colleges, General, News, Parents, Scholarships, Students

Financial Aid priority deadlines are fast-approaching at many colleges and universities across the country.  Frank Palmasani, writing for College Countdown, posted a useful article detailing the seven most common mistakes people make when filing the FAFSA form.  The most common mistakes include listing income in the wrong area, double listing income, listing non-required assets, waiting until the income tax forms have been filed, and not listing all dependents.  If you need help with the form, be sure to watch the video at the end of the article. [read more]