High School Counselor Week

College Students Expect $80,000 Starting Salaries — The Real Number Is $24,000 Less
The College Investor – May 5, 2026
The $80,000 expectation isn’t just optimistic – it’s also the number students appear to be using when deciding how much student loan debt to take on. When the paycheck comes in 30% smaller than planned, the repayment math collapses. And even when students are told the real $56,153 average – they just don’t think it applies to them. 59% believe they personally deserve above-average pay because they work harder than their peers, and 51% say they deserve more because they’re smarter. About 48% expect to skip entry-level roles entirely.

Universities face funding threat as lawmakers target schools with ties to adversarial nations
Fox News – May 2, 2026
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is moving to crack down on foreign influence in American education by targeting universities’ financial ties to adversarial nations. The package would ban federal funding to colleges that operate “branch” campuses in adversarial countries or accept research funding for sensitive fields like artificial intelligence, biotech and quantum computing.

Education is not a ‘professional degree,’ Education Department says
K-12 Dive – April 30, 2026
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday released final regulations excluding graduate education programs from its definition of “professional degrees,” making them ineligible for higher federal student loan caps. Professionals, educators and associations from a wide range of fields — from nursing and physical therapy to landscape architecture and accounting — protested their exclusion. Many argued their fields require graduate-level degrees and licensure, and can be costly to attain. In response, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Educatio alled for Congress to step in and establish a student loan eligibility policy that would help sustain the educator pipeline. ““The nation continues to face persistent educator shortages, and this decision is likely to reduce the pipeline of qualified teachers, school counselors, principals, and other education professionals.”

Is Decision Day a Good Thing?
Post – May 6, 2026
Counselors’ Corner with Patrick O’Connor, Ph.D.

Now is the time for juniors to ask for letters of recommendation
Post – May 6, 2026
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer

Listening to Teens Can Save Lives
Psychology Today – May 4, 2026
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Sponsored by Mental Health America, the 2026 theme is “More Good Days, Together.” National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is recognized on May 7. The MHA Action Guide offers many helpful ideas, but one stands out for its impact and accessibility: listening. Both research and experience consistently show that listening with genuine interest and without judgment can be a powerful protective factor for youth. Yet meaningful listening does not always come easily. Here are some strategies to help.

Online, on purpose: Building the next generation of school counselors
Ohio Today – April 14, 2026
When the first cohort graduates from the Patton College of Education’s online Master’s in School Counseling (MSC) program in May, the new alumni can be confident that they’re meeting an essential need: districts across the country are facing a shortage of school counselors. The MSC allows students to access training in a fully online format, increasing accessibility and providing more opportunities to earn the qualification. In-person programs are often not viable for those in full-time employment such as teachers. But the online program fits the needs of full-time working professionals who are interested in transitioning into working with students as school counselors. It has begun to attract students from states like Colorado, North Carolina, and Florida, and OHIO Online is working to implement systems to support students in other states.

College admissions anxiety is at an all-time high, but this expert says families need a different perspective
FOX 2 KTUV – May 3, 2026
For many students and their families, the college admissions process has become one of the most stressful experiences of adolescence — and a college advisor says much of that anxiety is self-inflicted.

 

 

Why starting college prep early gives students a real admissions edge
My Central Jersey – May 3, 2026
Time is the greatest advantage future college-bound students can give themselves. The qualities and achievements colleges value most cannot be built during senior year alone. They take years of steady effort. Here are six strategies students can use to strengthen their college applications.

Decision Day: 5 Truths Every College-Bound Student Needs To Hear
The College Investor – May 1, 2026
Millions of high school seniors are about to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. Before you commit, here are five truths worth hearing. These have been seen and experienced over 15+ years of both working with young adults, and seeing careers progress over time.

State Based Non-Profit Student Loan Lenders
The College Investor – May 4, 2026
Did you know there are state-based non-profit lenders that sometimes provide the lowest student loan rates? It’s true – but there aren’t many, and the best rates are typically reserved for borrowers in that state. These are still private student loans, but as non-profits they may offer better rates or incentives compared to traditional private student loan lenders.

U.S. citizen students face an agonizing choice: Affording college or protecting parents from deportation
The Hechinger Report – May 1, 2026
The FAFSA, is required for anyone applying for federal financial aid, and for many low-income students it is the only possible route to affording a college degree. The Education Department is not supposed to share student information with agencies responsible for immigration enforcement. But now that the federal government has been disregarding longstanding norms on data sharing, numerous students from mixed-status families — those where a child is a U.S. citizen but a parent is not — aren’t applying for federal financial aid, even though they’re eligible.

10 Least Expensive Colleges In 2026: Six Charge $0 Tuition
The College Investor – April 29, 2026
There are still genuinely cheap places to earn a four-year degree. Some are tuition-free. Others charge $1,000 a year for in-state students. Below is an updated list of the 10 cheapest U.S. colleges by published in-state tuition for the 2025-26 academic year, plus what you should know before you apply.