Inside Higher Ed reports that there is a recent increase in the number of higher education state systems offering direct admission to college. There is no application process in direct admissions. Students and/or counselors compile a portfolio of academic information including high school courses taken, GPA, test scores, areas of interest, as well as geographical preferences. The colleges then use these to decide whether to extend an admissions offer.  ​Proponents of the policy say it is an affordable way to combat declining enrollment and removes a barrier for students who might otherwi ..read more

Colleges are enrolling more students on the autism spectrum. However, one-third of the graduates with autism are not finding jobs. Here is how Rochester Institute of Technology is trying to change that with their Career Ready Bootcamp ..read more

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College isn’t just about the academics. It’s also about the food! U.S News & World Report lists 12 universities that provide unique, nutritious dining options. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/colleges-that-offer-unique-healthy-dining-options ..read more

Headed to college as a freshman? U.S. News & World Report lists some of the potential pitfalls to avoid.  ​ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/dont-make-these-mistakes-as-a-college-freshman ..read more

Despite some progress made to date, girls are still underrepresented in STEM fields.   Women hold just 28 percent of jobs in STEM fields in the U.S., according to the American Association of University Women. This disparity contributes to the wage gap and a variety of other inequalities, and the disparity starts long before women get to college. Global female enrollment is particularly low in certain fields. Just 3% of students joining information and communication technology (ICT) courses across the globe are women. That improves slightly to 5% for mathematics and statistics course ..read more

The current administration is striving to make student loan relief programs work for everyone. Efforts to revise IDR(Income-driven repayment plan) regulations will produce substantially more affordable monthly payments for millions of borrowers. Recent actions complement steps the administration has already taken within its first year to cancel more than $17 billion in debt for 725,000 borrowers in addition to extending the student loan payment pause, saving 41 million borrowers billions of dollars in payments each month. The Department has now approved approximately: $6.8 billion for more th ..read more

When planning for college sometimes the summer opportunities are forgotten. Students may want to beef up their transcripts to be more competitive at college application time. Maybe they are lacking in AP classes, or want to explore a possible area of interest to major in at college, or show some skills they haven't been able to demonstrate at their high school. Some students choose to get summer jobs to demonstrate responsibility and independence.  In addition there are summer programs that offer students interesting classes to challenge them, sometimes for college credit. They may want t ..read more

Collegeboard has announced that the SAT exam will move from the traditional paper and pencil format to a digital format. The format change is scheduled to roll out internationally next year and nationally in the U.S. in 2024. However, Connecticut will utilize the new digital version this March 23 - 25 and 29 - 30, 2022 for the Connecticut School Day SAT for current juniors in high school. ​ The digital version will also shave an hour from the current version, bringing the reading, writing and math assessment from three hours to about two. Test-takers will be allowed to use their own laptops or ..read more

Jeff Selingo, author of Who Gets in and Why, a Year Inside College Admissions, posted recently about how important relationships are to the higher education experience for college students. Many colleges historically have set up structures for students to get those relationships, such as living-and-learning communities, first year experiences, and assignment of mentors.  However, during the pandemic it has been difficult for students to access these connections due to online or hybrid learning as well as social distancing with cafeteria restrictions and campus activities being severely cu ..read more