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This weekly email searches main media outlets finding stories that may be of interest to high school counselors, college admission officers and related organizations, with links to the original stories. It is published by de facto, inc., publishers of other e-newsletters.
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Big Picture

A Rare Solution: Making High School Graduates Ready for College
Washington Monthly - Aug 19, 2016
Stephanie Lewis and one of her students both cried when he graduated in the spring from South Pittsburg High School in Tennessee, where she teaches English.. ..
The “$500 million club” of colleges tends to be stingy with aid to low-income students
Hechinger Report - Aug 4, 2016
Call them the top four percent: elite private colleges and universities that together sit atop three-quarters of the higher education terrain’s endowment wealth. ....
As College Costs Soar, Critics Question Open Curriculum Courses
NPR.org  - Aug 18, 2016
College students heading back to campus may find some obscure course offerings such as: Zombies in Popular Media. Some argue every class has its merit; others worry they are a waste of time and money.....
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College Admissions Process/Strategies

Weigh the Pros, Cons of Attending a Women’s College in the 21st Century
US News  - Aug 24, 2016
When looking at schools, Kelly Alexander loved everything about Wellesley College – the faculty, campus, small classes and more – but she was apprehensive about one thing. "I kept saying to people, 'I just wish there were boys there,'" she says. But now, four years later, the 22-year-old recent graduate says she is an evangelist for women's colleges....
Don’t trust your friends’ advice on getting into college — and other tips from admissions experts
Washington Post  - Aug 11, 2016
It’s that time of year again when high school seniors have to seriously turn their attention to applying to college — at least those who intend to go to college and who haven’t already started obsessing on the process...
Do Colleges Care About Work Experience For College Admissions?
Huffington Post  - Aug 15, 2016
This is one of the top five questions we get at Synocate when we are helping students and parents through the college admissions process. Work experience means working at a local ice cream shop, doing paid or unpaid work at hospitals...
Why Colleges Don’t Want “Well-Rounded” Students
TIME - Aug 611, 2016
Instead, show them your corners and edges, this professional college adviser says. Q. How many extracurricular activities do I need on my college applications? Is there such a thing as too many? A. The extracurricular activity conundrum: If colleges ask about students’ extracurricular activities, then does a student need to have a certain number of them? ..
College Admissions: 6 Things To Do Before School Starts
GoLocalProv College Admissions  - Aug 15, 2016
The beginning of the school year is just around the corner. Rather than letting it creep up on you, take the bull by the horns and start strong. A little planning can make the difference between a great year and a mediocre one. Here are a few things I suggest college-bound students do now....
College Students Share Common App Tips, Tactics
US News  - Jul 25, 2016
College application season is always a busy time for high school students. Every school has its own specific set of application requirements, and every student has a different set of outside responsibilities. Balancing them all can be tough....
What to know about the college admission process
NJ.com  - Aug 8, 2016
It is time to think about returning to school, so in the homes of many rising high school seniors that can mean only one thing: Time to think about college applications. Some students preparing for college fill out the common application online, make a short list of colleges and universities to consider and then complete the process on each institution's website or through the common app. ...
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Essay

What No One Will Tell You About the New Common App Essay Prompts
TIME - Aug 611, 2016
The 2016-17 Common Application platform went live last week, and in the ensuing weeks you will undoubtedly read a lot about the Common App’s personal essay. You will read about essays that worked and didn’t work. You will read about what each prompt means, which prompts are better than others, and what admissions officers are looking for in these 650-word representations of each applicant....
3 Steps To Writing a Winning College Essay
The College Solution - Aug 6, 2016
After working with thousands of students from all over the world on writing the dreaded college application essay for the last eight years, I’ve finally been able to boil down the process to three simple steps. Yes, just three steps.....
One way to write a great college admissions essay? Tell your story out loud.
Washington Post - Aug 4, 2016
Carol Barash even talks like she’s writing a college application essay: The day before her father died, she said, he told her that education was changing: No longer were there few collegiate options for women, for Jewish people, for poor families. “You could go anywhere,” he told her....

Campus Visits

Make the Most of Your College Campus Tours With These 10 Tips
NBC News - Aug 17, 2016
Visiting colleges with your high school student can be an exciting first step into the next phase of their life — or it can be a logistical nightmare, full of wasted time and money. While the impulse might be to grab your kid, jump into the car and start touring schools, a bit of planning can go a long way toward making it a valuable trip. ..
3 Ways to Enhance a Virtual College Tour
US News - Aug 15, 2016
Visiting a college in person is the best way to experience its atmosphere. But if your time and money are in short supply, a virtual tour can be a useful way to explore whether a school will be a great fit for you.. ..
College Visits: Do They Really Matter For College Admissions?
Huffington Post - Aug 4, 2016
There is an entire industry around college visits, and usually the primary goal is to demonstrate interest to a university. In this article, we go in depth into data we have uncovered and analyzed based on years of research at Synocate.. ..
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Students with Disabilities

For High School Students with ADHD, is College the Best Next Step?
HSCW Contributer Blog  - Aug 21, 2016
The transition from high school to college can be challenging for any student. It can be particularly stressful for students affected by Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The good news is that students with ADHD are attending college in record numbers and achieving success. How do you help determine whether college is the next best step?..
High school students with learning disabilities get taste of college life in Leesburg program
Orlando Sentinel  - Aug 19, 2016
LEESBURG — An educational summer adventure at Beacon College in Leesburg brought together 34 high school students with learning disabilities to get a taste of what college life is all about...

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Counselors

HSCW Counselors' Corners
Post - Jun 30, 2016
College Readiness Checklist Fails to Make the Grade
While we’ve been away this summer, the School Superintendent’s Association (AASA) has released a series of National College and Career Readiness Indicators. These three checklists can be used to determine if students will succeed in their chosen postsecondary path of college or career, along with one checklist to determine if they are, according to the Website, ready for life.. .... More

E-Counseling 2.0: Can a new wave of virtual guidance help?
Hechinger Report - Aug 17, 2016
st December, when Amal Abdi found out she’d gotten into Yale early with a full scholarship, the first thing she did was call her parents, who had fled war-torn Somalia in the 1990s to start a new life in Columbus, Ohio. ....
How adding high school counselors saved Colorado more than $300 million
ChalkBeat Colorado - Jul 19, 2016
Money spent to bring in more middle school and high school counselors helped keep almost 1,000 at-risk students in Colorado schools and send more of them to college, a new report shows. ....
Schools adjust as counselors' role evolves
The Star Press - Aug 19, 2016
MUNCIE — It’s pretty clear that schools offer students more than just curriculum. Just look at the teacher who keeps a stash of granola bars in her desk drawer to fight distracting hunger pains. Or the principal who jumps into his own car to pick up students who can’t otherwise get there....
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Parents

The Sting of Saying Goodbye to your College Freshman
Tribune News Service - Aug 18, 2016
The first “letting go” is usually that tearful pre-school or kindergarten goodbye. Fast-forward 12+ years and now you’re saying goodbye to a college freshman. Karen Levin Coburn, author of “Letting Go” describes the transition to college as a “mixture of anticipation and anxiety, a sense of loneliness and freedom, fantasy and reality.”. ..
The Parents Guide to Insurance for College Students
Seattle Times - Aug 4, 2016
Saying the last goodbye in the dorm parking lot, you realize more than ever that you can’t protect your child from every risk. It’s time to let go. But back at home, you can assemble a strong financial safety net. Knowing what your current insurance will pay for — and whether you need to buy extra coverage — is a good first step.. ..
Goodbyes of summer: As teens leave for college, families feel jumble of emotions
Washington Post - Aug 21, 2016
When Victoria Dawson flew last week from Washington, D.C., to Boulder, Colo., to drop off her daughter Ellie for her freshman year of college, she and Ellie’s father saw it as a chance for some final quality time together. ..
3 Parenting Tips For Sending Your Child To College
Huffington Post - Aug 18, 2016
Last week, I dropped my youngest daughter off to college and still felt that familiar pang in my heart. The year before I was tearful as I hugged my daughter goodbye and as I left her dorm I glanced at another mom quietly weeping as she sat at the picnic table.”. ..
Should schools let parents bring lunch, homework to kids who forget them? This one doesn’t
Washington Post - Aug 19, 2016
Officials at Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock are serious about trying to get their students to take responsibility and learn to think for themselves. ..
They don't cost much, but they'll make a world of a difference.
TIME - Aug 17, 2016
The co-founders of the blog Grown & Flown know that shopping for dorm room items can be stressful and overwhelming. To help ease the stress of shopping, and to make sure that you buy your student what’s really important, ..
Archives - Parents
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SAT & ACTs

Elite colleges are ditching a major admissions requirement
US News - Aug 23, 2016
Conversations about SAT and ACT scores are ubiquitous among high school students applying to colleges. Increasingly, however, many colleges and universities have begun to eschew mandatory standardized test scores as requirements for their application processes.. ..
4 Ways Students Can Prepare for a Valuable PreACT Experience
US News - Jul 18, 2016
?Beginning in September 2016, the PreACT exam will be available to high school sophomores for the first time. Much like the PSAT, the PreACT offers a realistic glimpse of the ACT college entrance exam, which plays a critical role in college admissions and scholarship eligibility. ..
Archives - SATs & ACTs
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FinAid/Scholarships

Advice on applying for college scholarships and financial aid
Star-Telegram - Aug 24, 2016
While prospective students for next year's freshman class haven't made a decision on a college yet, the process to begin applying for financial aid is only weeks away. The date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – commonly known as the FAFSA, which many schools use to determine financial aid awards – is available three months earlier this year than in past years. ...
What You Need to Know About FAFSA Changes
US News - Aug 2, 2016
While prospective students for next year's freshman class haven't made a decision on a college yet, the process to begin applying for financial aid is only weeks away. The date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – commonly known as the FAFSA, which many schools use to determine financial aid awards – is available three months earlier this year than in past years. ...
Before You Take On Financial Aid, Read This
Forbes - Jul 26, 2016
Congratulations, you’re college bound! Now that you’ve been accepted to a school of your choice, how do you pay for it? While higher education is a great, even necessary, investment in your future, the cost of college can become a huge burden on you and your parents. ...
Is It Too Late to File a College Financial Aid Appeal for Fall Semester?
TIME - Aug 2, 2016
August has arrived, and with it comes the inevitable fall payment deadline from your college. In a perfect world, families would have a plan for paying for all eight (or more) semesters, not just the next one that’s due, says Shannon Vasconcelos, a college finance consultant with advising service College Coach...
New College Financial Aid Program Aims to Get Students Jobs, Not Debt
Yahoo Finance - Aug 16, 2016
The Obama administration is tackling two key problems in higher education today: Too many students go into debt to get a college degree, and too few land a job that puts their expensive education to use....
Archives - FinAid/Scholarships
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Career and Technical Education

A New Effort to Teach Low-Income Students Marketable Skills
The Atlantic - Aug 18, 2016
The Obama administration is rolling out an experimental plan that will allow employers and training programs to partner with accredited universities to teach students work-related skills. ....
New Strategies For Old-School Vocational Training
WBUR.org - OnPoint - Aug 8, 2016
ocational training is making a big comeback in American high schools. And it’s not just wood shop and auto repairs anymore....
The alternative higher education: trade school
Detroit Metro Times  - Aug 23, 2016
Graduating from high school brings about major changes, mostly concerning the future and what you will do with it. It can be a stressful and confusing time. Parents are most likely urging you to go to college ..
Archives - Career & Technical Education
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Student Athletes

Recruiting Tip: Nobody’s perfect
USA Today HSS  - Aug 15, 2016
Nobody is perfect, but the ideal recruit for a college coach is a student-athlete that maximizes his or her potential in the classroom, on the field, and off the field. You can’t be perfect in every area, but if you keep these thoughts in mind college coaches will be much more likely to reach out to you.. ..
Travel sports: Finding exposure for college recruiting
Battle Creek Enquirer  - Aug 16, 2016
Like so many high school student-athletes, Sidney Schiller wants to play her favorite sport in college. A 6-foot sophomore middle hitter for the Lakeview High School varsity volleyball team, she has already received interest from Division I programs ..
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South

Report: Texas public universities 'dropout factories'
Houston Chronicle - Aug 19, 2016
College students in Texas have just a 40 percent chance of graduating within six years, according to a recent report by a Washington think tank that calls Texas public universities "dropout factories.". ....
Texas official: Public colleges 'dropout factories' assertion only part of the story
Houston Chronicle - Aug 17, 2016
Texas public colleges are "dropout factories" where students have just a 40 percent chance at earning a degree within six years, according to a recent report that paints a stark picture of higher education in Texas and across the nation. ....
How Kentucky Schools Are Rejecting the ‘College Readiness’ Cookie Cutter
Patheos (blog) - Aug 2, 2016
Fueled by a mix of misguided cultural pressures and misaligned government incentives, college tuition has been rising for decades, outpacing general inflation by a wide margin. Yet despite the underlying problems, our politicians seem increasingly inclined to cement the status quo. ....
Florida Parents Sue State To Challenge Standardized Testing
WUSF News - Aug 12, 2016
A group of parents from across Florida, including several from Tampa Bay, filed a lawsuit this week challenging the state’s reading retention law for third-grade students. ....
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Teen Depression

More US Teens May Be Facing Depression: Here's Why
Live Science  - Aug 10, 2016
Across the U.S., there's been an uptick in the percentage of teens who are having episodes of depression, a new report finds. From 2013 to 2014, about one in nine teens in the United States had a major depressive episode, up from about one in 10 teens from 2012. ..
Can exercise help relieve teen depression?
Harvard Health Blog  - Aug 10, 2016
In recent years, the media has been awash with information on the health benefits of exercise. Exercise is known to boost mood in adults. But what about younger members of society? Based on recent, high quality survey data, we can estimate that about 11% of adolescents are depressed ..
 
 
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Contents

Big Pic
Process
Essay
Visits
Disabilty
Counsel
Parents
SATs & ACTs
FinAid
CTEd
Athletes
South
Depress

Sponsors

WIT
TeenLife
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