High School Counselor Week

Higher ed sees 4.3% jump in state funding for FY2025
Higher Ed Dive – February 4, 2025
State funding for higher education in fiscal 2025 rose 4.3% year over year before inflation and by roughly a third from five years ago, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s annual Grapevine report. Excluding federal stimulus money, 41 states increased or held flat their higher ed funding, with seven of them raising it by 10% or more.

The Real Costs of ICE Raids at Schools – And What Educators Should Do
The 74 – February 4, 2025
President Donald Trump held true to campaign promises to overhaul the U.S. immigration system by signing 10 executive orders focused on immigration on his inauguration day. For educators, one of the most jarring shifts is that schools are no longer considered areas that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should largely avoid. Already, the threat of such raids has stoked community-wide fears, affecting undocumented family members and neighbors, citizens and residents working to resettle family members, and those whose legal status has just been revoked. Given all this, what can school leaders do? We offer the following suggestions:

What might happen if the Education Department were closed?
The Hechinger Report – February 4, 2025
By now, you know about the endless speculation on whether the incoming Trump administration might close the U.S. Department of Education. It remains just that: speculation. Congress would have to be involved, and even a Senate and House controlled by the same party as President Donald Trump would not necessarily go along with this idea. Still, the mere specter of shuttering an agency that commands more than $200 billion has led parents, students, teachers, policy experts and politicians to wonder about (and in some cases plan for) the possible effects on their children and communities. The Hechinger Report tried to answer some of the questions raised by the possible dismantling of the department, consulting experts and advocates on student loans, special education, financial aid, school lunch and beyond.

School Counselors by Choice
Harvard University Graduate School of Education – February 3, 2025
To celebrate National School Counseling Week, four school counselors — all graduates of HGSE’s Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Counseling Program — share what their careers mean to them and the students they serve every day.

Pulp fiction – or the art of writing university references
Times Higher Education – January 31, 2025
You wouldn’t immediately associate university counsellors with creative writing. Famous authors of fiction who were also university counsellors? No names spring to mind immediately. Yet when it comes to the reference-writing season, creativity comes to the fore. Constructing a profile of a student that highlights strengths while at the same time maintaining an honest relationship with the university requires all the skills of a Pulitzer winner. The key question to ask ourselves is: What is the purpose of the reference? From the school management’s point of view, it might be to ensure that students get headline offers from top universities. The student and parent perspectives are broadly similar to this, albeit on a much more personal level. Meanwhile, what the universities are hoping for is an honest assessment of the student’s suitability for their chosen course or university. So, how to balance these? Here are some points to consider:

“How to Cope When Your Kids Leave Home: Advice From a College Student”
MSN – February 4, 2025
When my parents and little brother finished moving me into my dorm, everyone took turns saying goodbye. My dad handed me a stack of paper, entitled ‘Things to Keep in Mind in College.’ What followed was at once thoughtful, honest, and excessive. Four years later, as I prepare to graduate from Vanderbilt University, I think daily of these two instances–of the letter and my father’s comment about the rest of my life beginning. Because, beyond the tips that alcohol is bad for me, boys can be mean, and school should be a priority, my dad seemed to say: I’m excited for you. My parents miss me–this I know–but they make great efforts to lead with support and enthusiasm as I navigate my independent life…

Students Pour Their Hearts Into College Admissions. Do Schools Care?
Forbes – February 4, 2025
The college application process is arguably one of the most significant financial investments anyone makes in their life. It’s also one of the biggest emotional investments. Students pour countless hours into searching for the right colleges and impressing schools with their essays, ultimately committing to a path that will shape their future. Yet many colleges struggle to provide personalized marketing and enrollment experiences that meet students’ expectations. Although colleges recognize the need for a more tailored approach, the volume of applicants to the number of admission officers makes it nearly impossible to achieve. This demands exploring new technologies and enrollment strategies to better serve students throughout one of their most important investments.

The Passion Project Industry: How College Admissions Activities Lists Killed Intellectual Wonder
Minding The Campus – February 3, 2025
On the Common Application, students are asked to report the activities they have participated in throughout their high school years—ranging from medaling in science Olympiads to caring for a sick relative. Yet what was once a brief resume has now become an exercise in neuroticism and a contest in sleeplessness, whereby students report outrageous activities such as founding a global 501(c)(3) or coding an app that gets noticed by Mark Zuckerberg. Many students will sink hours into half-baked projects created by their mothers or their college counselors instead of focusing on the most crucial aspect of their teenage years: intellectual and interpersonal development. It is our duty as adults to change the narrative.

How to Actually Get A Full-Ride Scholarship
The College Investor – February 3, 2025
A full-ride scholarship covers the full cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies and equipment. It can include college-specific awards, national programs from private scholarship providers, and athletic scholarships. While winning a full-ride scholarship is a prestigious accomplishment and significantly eases the cost of paying for college, it’s very elusive, with few students winning a full-ride each year. The good news is, there are steps you can take to improve your chances.

Trump administration reverses course on federal funding freeze
Higher Ed Dive – January 29, 2025
The Trump White House on Wednesday rescinded a memo issued two days earlier to freeze large swaths of federal funding — but made clear that the order stood for each agency to review if its grants, loans and other spending conflict with the new administration’s executive orders to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programming, ‘woke gender ideology’ and other activities. While some programs could still be flagged as being in conflict with revised grant criteria, the memo’s withdrawal nonetheless brought relief to widespread national concern that federally funded education programs could be hurt by a pause in cash flow.

Bosses are firing Gen Z grads just months after hiring them—here’s what they say needs to change
Forbes – January 28, 2025
After complaining for the better part of two years that Gen Z grads are difficult to work with, bosses are no longer all talk, no action: Now they’re rapidly firing young workers who aren’t up to scratch just months after hiring them. According to a report, six in 10 employers say they have already sacked some of the Gen Z workers they hired fresh out of college in recent months. Meanwhile, one in seven bosses have admitted that they may avoid hiring them altogether next year. So where is it going wrong for fresh-faced graduates?