Top Earning College Majors
Education pays off in so many intangible ways that we tend to focus on the intellectual, social, and emotional benefits of the college experience. That said, looking for a return on a sizable investment is not a bad idea. While research consistently suggests that college graduates earn much more on average than those who do not earn 4-year degrees, those economic advantages are distributed unevenly; not every major sets a student up for immediate financial success after graduation. So which majors do? The HEA Group, which aggregates and analyzes federal higher education data, explored how much graduates earn depending on the college program they majored in. Here are their findings of the ten college majors where graduates earn the highest salaries: Alas, these are far from the most popular majors! Check out the full article for how well graduates with degrees in the most popular majors do right out of…
Top Timing Tips for Tests
Most standardized tests require maximum production in minimal time from those pushing for the best scores. In fact, the race against the clock adds an additional dimension of complexity to most exams. That’s why your test day preparations should always involve a watch. Three Steps to Making a Watch Work on Test Day Step 1. Find a watch; parents are perfect sources of functional if not fashionable wristwatches! Step 2. Wear a watch. Step 3. Use a watch… it doesn’t do much good if you don’t look at it! Analog or Digital? If my kids are representative of their generation, the ability to read an analog clock is gradually being relegated to the same dustbin of history where we find cobbling and calligraphy. Yet some argue that analog watches make keeping time easier: With an analog clock you can actually see where time has traveled and where it’s going…
Muhammad Ali Knows Test Prep
Muhammad Ali is remembered as one of the greatest boxers of his era or any other, and he never tired of reminding the world of his greatness. His enduring fame as an Olympic gold medalist, heavyweight champion, and civil rights leader afforded him a platform from which he shared more than just poetic boasts. Ali communicated the cost of greatness to the world in both words and deeds. Anyone preparing to pit themselves against a tremendous challenge or competitor can learn from his insights… He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. It’s not bragging if you can back it up. Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is…
Coping with the College Waitlist
It is no easy thing to be a high school senior waitlisted at his or her top choice college or university. Waiting lists create a tremendous amount of uncertainty. Some schools never need to go to their waiting lists to fulfill their desired enrollment numbers. Other colleges may invite a handful of hopefuls from a waitlist of several hundred students. Still others may invite a considerable number of waitlisted students to join the incoming class. Both strategically and emotionally, it can be difficult for students and parents to know how to handle waitlist situations! For the student motivated to attempt to change a waitlist situation into an offer of admission, here are some tips: Firstly, once included on the waitlist, the student should contact the college’s office of admission by phone and by email to express strong interest. If this is the top choice school, by all means say so!…
No, SUNY is Not Test Blind
The State University of New York Board of Trustees recently affirmed the SUNY admissions policy regarding optional submission of SAT and ACT scores, which has triggered a spate of inflammatory articles suggesting that SUNY has adopted the same testing policy as the University of California system. That is absolutely false. Test optional is definitely not the same as test blind or test free. For the sake of clarity, here is SUNY’s testing policy with relevant parts bolded: SUNY has temporarily [now permanently] suspended SAT/ACT testing requirements for students applying for admission to a SUNY bachelor’s degree-granting college. You may now decide whether or not to include your scores for admission consideration at each college to which you apply. If you believe your scores are an accurate representation of your ability, SUNY colleges can consider them along with all other materials in your application file. If you think your scores do…
Paean to the #2 Pencil
Did you know that March 30 is National Pencil Day? Why shouldn’t we celebrate the pencil? Anyone writing the history of education in America would be wise to include a long, loving chapter in praise of the writing implement synonymous with the SAT and ACT. Anywhere students huddle over a Scantron form, you will find #2 pencils and plenty of them… at least for now! The ubiquity of this unassuming tool belies the elegance and perfection of its form and function. How the basic wooden pencil became such a valuable and useful writing implement is reviewed in a brilliant article in Popular Mechanics, The Write Stuff How the Humble Pencil Conquered the World. This lavish account of the pencil’s origins and ascendancy reveals some fascinating facts: The word “pencil” is derived from pencillum, Latin for “a fine brush.” The crystalline carbon substance we know as graphite was first discovered under a…