During the 2022-23 school year, nearly 2.5 million high school students took college classes, simultaneously earning high school and college credits. That’s up from 1.5 million students in the fall of 2021 and roughly 300,000 students in the early 2000s. Figures released last week show that dual enrollment grew another 7 percent in the fall of 2024 from a year earlier, even as the number of traditional college freshmen fell. Alongside this meteoric rise of…
Communities around the country had been experimenting with free community college programs since 2005, usually with private funding, but Tennessee was the first to make it a statewide policy, and it inspired 36 states to follow suit. This year, Massachusetts was the most recent to make community college free. But as free-tuition programs have multiplied, so have questions and doubts. Are low-income students benefiting? Is free tuition leading to more college graduates? Unfortunately, we have…
Your student has participated in their school’s music program since sixth grade, is now taking private lessons, consistently makes the all-state band, and attends a selective music program each summer in Michigan. Oh, and they know every Beethoven symphony inside and out. If this describes your student, a music career could very well be in their future, but before that future can become reality, musical assessment, reflection, and preparation are needed. As they begin their…
Your summer vacation is the perfect time for college prep and to explore potential careers. All summers in high school are important, especially the summers after sophomore and junior year. Check out these ideas for summer activities that will make admissions officers take notice. 1. Start your SAT or ACT test prep. Summer is a great time to explore the ACT vs SAT , practice for the PSAT , or ramp up your study schedule.…
Student years are critical for your growth as a leader, being a time of opportunities where you can explore yourself by joining various clubs, sports, student politics, and community events. Participating in extracurricular activities is a great way to grow leadership skills like communication, problem-solving, organization, and strategic thinking. Here are five extracurricular activities that will show leadership on college applications. 1. Volunteering. Volunteering is a great way to show leadership skills because you’ll meet…
In some cases, extracurricular activities matter as much as a students’ academic record. This is often the case for students who intend to study art in college. While admissions committees want to see that you’re a committed student who takes their courses seriously, your talent, portfolio, and dedication to art activities will also be crucial to the admission committee’s decision. That’s because your experience as an artist is often a better indication of how you’ll…
A distinct post-pandemic pattern is emerging across the nation’s schools: test scores and attendance are down, yet more students are earning high school diplomas. A new report from Washington, D.C., suggests bleak futures for many of these high school graduates, given the declining rate of college attendance and completion. The numbers are stark in a March 2023 report by the D.C. Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization. Almost half the students in the district –…
The challenge of college can be an eye opening experience for even the brightest student, but many high schoolers are finding they don’t know basic college skills like how to manage time or prepare for a test. These are skills they missed while attending high school during the pandemic while taking classes virtually for more than a year, rarely having homework, and most tests being open book. These struggles can hit college students hard in…
High school graduation rates dipped in at least 20 states after the first full school year disrupted by the pandemic, suggesting the coronavirus may have ended nearly two decades of nationwide progress toward getting more students diplomas. The drops came despite at least some states and educators loosening standards to help struggling students. The results, according to data obtained from 26 states and analyzed by Chalkbeat, are the latest concerning trend in American education, which…
If you ask the average person what they learned about poetry in school, they might remember suffering through a few 17th-century English poets, but poetry in the classroom doesn’t have to be stuffy. Modern poetry can give students a chance to be creative, break the rules, and express themselves. In a fun and open environment, students can think of poetry as an art class with words. They can get creative with language, rhyme, and meter;…
