High School Counselor Week

Colleges Protesting ‘U.S. News’ Rankings Say They’re Doing It for Low-Income Students. Do They Mean It?
The Chronicle of Higher Education – March 1, 2023
The U.S. News revolt of 2022-23 has reached the undergraduate lists. Colorado College, ranked among the top 30 liberal-arts colleges, announced on Monday that it would stop cooperating with the magazine. It’s among the first institutions to withdraw from the undergraduate rankings in the current wave of protests. The college’s decision underscores a paradox in the movement against U.S. News & World Report.

Do Active-Shooter Drills in Schools Do More Harm Than Good?
EdSurge – February 28, 2023
A study published in the journal Nature in 2021 analyzed millions of social media posts by students before and after active-shooter drills and found that anxiety, stress and depression increased by 39 to 42 percent following the drills. The research did find benefits of the activities as well, with a significant boost in feelings of solidarity with classmates and civic engagement. But some groups are now questioning whether the benefits are worth the psychological downsides to students.

U.S. Education Department Increases Oversight of How Colleges Work With Outside Companies
EdSurge – February 23, 2023
The DOE made its move to strengthen oversight of revenue-sharing agreements between colleges and companies that help operate online courses — in steps that could have a big impact in the edtech sector, as well as for the many students enrolled in online degree programs. Colleges have long been banned by federal rules from giving out bonuses or commissions for student recruitment. But since guidance by the government issued in 2011, Online Program Managers (OPMs) have operated under an exception to those rules. One question is whether that exception has been too lax.

Don’t catch “Senioritis”
Post – March 1, 2023
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer

Advocacy Is Missing in College Applications
Inside Higher Ed – February 2, 2023
Early spring means college acceptances and rejections will begin to flood in, and students along with their parents will be left celebrating or questioning the letters they receive. We’ve all had these conversations, and we know how they go. ‘How did X student get in?’ It’s a question I am constantly asked by parents who want to understand what made X student unique or interesting enough to earn an offer from a selective university. And before I get a chance to answer, they often rattle off a litany of things they think might be ‘the thing’ that put the student over the top. But no one ever says, ‘The high school counselor must have called the admissions office and advocated on behalf of that particular student’—but maybe they should.

Exploring HBCUs with Black Students: One Counselor’s Self-Designed Tour
ACCIS AdmitAll Blog – February 27, 2023
This article was recently written by ACCIS member, Jamon Pulliam, for the Viewpoint School magazine. Jamon’s hope is that counselors will take inspiration and plan similar tours for their students. In the wee hours on September 7, a bus sat in the Lower/Middle School lot for another school trip, but this trip felt different. Where off to this time? The School’s first-ever Historically Black Colleges/Universities tour. We greeted Black-identifying juniors and seniors joining us as they prepared to embark on the trip of a lifetime. As a proud HBCU graduate, I have worked to increase the visibility of HBCUs starting with initiatives like taking students to the Black College Expo in downtown Los Angeles. Therefore, this HBCU tour was a huge opportunity and a step in the right direction to allow Viewpoint students to see these institutions for themselves.

State-funded program providing EMT training to high school students to meet increasing need
February 28, 2023—News 5 Cleveland (OH)
As local paramedics struggle to recruit staff, they have help coming in from Mentor High School students, thanks to a state-funded program.

Let’s pay more attention to colleges that educate the vast majority of Americans
The Hechinger Report – February 28, 2023
There are about 2,800 four-year public and nonprofit private colleges and universities in the United States. Yet as we await the Supreme Court’s decision on the use of affirmative action in college admissions, the nation’s gaze is once again narrowed to the most elite and selective 100 institutions: the so-called top 5 percent. It’s time to worry less about the elites and more about schools that are helping all kinds of students

The 10 worst-paying college majors, five years after graduation
CNBC – February 25, 2023
College graduates who studied liberal arts or education aren’t likely to make a lot of money in their careers, but a degree in theology results in the lowest payout of all majors right after college, new data reveals. Here’s a look at how much graduates with the lowest-paying majors earn early in their careers:

Can ChatGPT Write Your College Essays?
LogicPrep – February 28, 2023
Well, technically, yes. ChatGPT can write you a passable, grammatically and structurally perfect essay. But if there’s one lesson I hope you take away from this, it’s that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. And despite some headlines that claim the opposite, you can write a way better essay than ChatGPT can.

Find College Scholarships Related to Your Hobbies
U.S. News & World Report – February 27, 2023
From gaming to knitting, there’s a scholarship for almost every interest. Even if an interest is more specific, unusual or personal, there’s likely a scholarship available. The more niche a scholarship is, the better the chance a student has of receiving it…

Best Scholarship Websites: Top 5 College Application Aids, According To Experts
StudyFinds – February 25, 2023
we did the work for you to make college app season just a tiny bit less stressful. We consulted expert reviews and opinions to put together the list of the best scholarship websites of 2023. Have a website you recommend? Leave a comment below.

3 strategies can get you more financial aid for college
CNBC – February 27, 2023
It’s not too late for families struggling to afford college next year to apply for financial assistance or ask the college financial aid office for more money. Here’s how to craft your approach.