College

Improving Community College Retention Rates

With Indiana’s college-going rate at a historic low, Ivy Tech Community College is piloting a new program to keep students on campus by making sure they have 10 specific habits. The program — called Ivy Achieves – aims to ensure that once students go to college, they complete their degrees. Retention is top of mind for those in higher education, especially coming out of the pandemic, said Dean McCurdy, provost for Ivy Tech Community College.…

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College Students Post-COVID Struggle in These Areas

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…

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How Shop Class Can Boost College Enrollment

College isn’t for everyone, many argue. But what is the alternative? An old idea is to train kids in a trade in high school via shop class. However, high school trade programs have had a deservedly bad reputation as a “dumping ground” for low-income students, providing a subpar education and failing to prepare young adults for the modern world. These classes are also bound up with a shameful racial history. When schools were forced to…

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Best Jobs for College Students

For many people, college is one of life’s most transformative, meaningful, and memorable periods. It’s an important time to expand your worldview, strengthen your confidence and sense of purpose, and develop your professional skill set. It can also be a great time to add valuable, real-world job experience to your resume. Though many of your days and nights in college will be crammed with studying and socializing, many college students today manage to find slivers…

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College Board Changes in AP Classes

College Board is preparing several new AP classes, including Pre-Calculus for the 2023-24 academic year, and African-American Studies for the following year. The Pre-Calculus AP class is designed to replace standard pre-calc classes in schools, rather than serving as an additional, Honors-like program. Other new AP classes in development include Anatomy & Physiology and Business Principles (an AP course focused on economics and entrepreneurship). The development of digital options for AP classes is also picking…

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More Information on the Digital SAT

With the announcement of the new digital SAT, College Board has left some key details out, especially regarding how the exam will be scored. The typical message has been somewhat dismissive, assuring us that the scoring is handled by their finely tuned algorithm and that it’s complicated. Through analysis of the new SAT’s scoring, it was found that each test question is weighted, with some questions having a greater impact on scores than others do.…

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Best Extracurriculars for College Apps

While different schools put different stock in extracurriculars, almost every college considers them when deciding which students to admit. For example, the University of South Florida ranks extracurricular activities just behind grades, difficulty of coursework, and standardized test scores in terms of importance. The right high school activities can make a big difference during the admissions process. According to a study by California State University, Sacramento, extracurricular activities are positively correlated with attendance, GPA, test…

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Scholarships in MA You May Not Know About

Scholarship opportunities in the state of Massachusetts are available across a range of academic disciplines and vocational outcomes. There are grants and scholarships for those applicants whose needs are based on financial factors. There are also funds available for those with outstanding grades or test scores. Follow any of the links below to continue exploring the many possibilities behind Massachusetts scholarships. GFWC Massachusetts Scholarships The Massachusetts chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs offers…

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5 Ways to Engage Introverts in the Classroom

It may be a misconception regarding personality traits that the more verbal, outgoing classroom extroverts maintain superior classroom or academic ability. While introverts are not at a cognitive deficit when compared to extroverts, the personality type may pose obstacles for instructors who value regular classroom engagement. Here are five brief ways that instructors may be able to better support the personalities and enhance engagement of student introverts in the classroom setting. 1. Build in peer-support…

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6 Tips for Students Transferring Colleges

It’s essential for students to like and be a good fit for the school they attend. No matter where students find themselves in their college journeys, they may need help navigating the search and application process to ensure students end up at an institution where they can truly thrive. Nearly a quarter of American college students who start at one four-year institution will transfer to a different one to finish their degree. So, if you’re…

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