High School Counselor Week

A pandemic test of teenage resilience
Hub (Johns Hopkins University) – March 20, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided some eye-opening lessons on how to improve teen wellbeing and there are reasons to be hopeful for the future, Johns Hopkins experts say

How much has COVID changed what and where college students want to study?
University Business – March 23, 2022
Artificial intelligence, digital marketing and cybersecurity are seeing increasingly high demand from students. In another sign that climate change is as influential as COVID, more students are choosing environmental economics and policy programs.

3 higher ed takeaways in Biden’s $88.3B education budget for fiscal 2023
Higher Ed Dive – March 28, 2022
New proposal would hike the maximum Pell Grant, spend more on minority-serving institutions and fund workforce development at community colleges.

A New Group of College Counseling Videos Arrives. Are They Any Good?
Post – March 30, 2022
Counselors’ Corner with Patrick O’Connor, Ph.D.

For Parents Only – Tips for you for Campus Visits
Post – March 31, 2022
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer

Children Describe Desperate Need for More Mental Health Professionals in Schools
CEA (CT Education Association) – March 24, 2022
It’s not just educators and parents advocating for more mental health professionals in schools—students see the need most of all.

Helping High School Students Who’ve Fallen Off the College Track
U.S. News & World Report – March 25, 2022
The crushing COVID-19 pandemic – its variants now disrupting a third consecutive school year – continues to push high school students off track for college enrollment. Here are some options for students who’ve fallen off the college track.

Students Lost Out on So Much More than Learning in the Pandemic & We’re Just Beginning to Understand the Impact
SheKnows – March 25, 2022
Now that schools across the country are open for in-person learning teachers, counselors, social workers, and therapists, are seeing exactly what was lost. One school counselor noticed three distinct impacts of pandemic living and learning on students once they returned in person. They are: social regression, lack of focus and struggle for independence.

An Unusual Way to Charge for College: Make It Voluntary
EdSurge – March 29, 2022
One liberal-arts college recently announced a radical new approach that does away with the idea of tuition altogether and instead counts on something else: gratitude. The idea: give students a college education for free and hope that they will pay it all back in donations in the course of their lifetimes.

Students Approach Admissions Strategically and Practically
Inside Higher Ed – March 21, 2022
Current admissions and enrollment decision making and desires involve common-sense thinking on location, price and flexibility throughout the process.

These are the country’s ‘dream’ colleges, but price remains the top concern
CNBC – March 27, 2022
Most of the colleges at the top of students’ wish lists are highly selective and have sky-high price tags, to boot. With National College Decision Day just weeks away, affordability remains the top concern.

Good news for college students: Pell Grants have gotten a boost
MarketWatch – March 28, 2022
College students could see their Pell Grant award go up by as much as $400 for the coming academic year, thanks to the federal spending bill signed into law March 15. There’s also an increase in funding for the federal work-study program and an expansion of eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Will Making the FAFSA More ‘Fun’ Help Get Pell Grants Into Students’ Pockets?
The 74 – March 24, 2022
Convincing students and parents to fill out the FAFSA can often be a losing battle – and completion rates are low in many states across the country. In Louisiana, state officials have gotten students excited about what seems like a tedious task by turning it into a competition among high schools.

College Enrollment Is Down, But Experts Say There Could Be Silver Lining
NCBC DFW (TX) – March 28, 2022
While the pandemic has affected enrollment, it has also accelerated the use of technology to broaden access and pathways for careers

Community college enrollment is down, but skilled-trades programs are booming
KNKX (WA) – March 28, 2022
Since the pandemic began, more than a million students have held off from going to college, opting to work instead. Two-year public schools have been among the hardest hit…Skilled-trades programs are the exception. Across the country, associate’s degree programs in fields like HVAC and automotive repair have seen enrollment numbers swell.

MIT will once again require applicants to take the SAT or ACT, bucking anti-test movement
CNN – March 29, 2022
Rejecting the idea that the tests hurt diversity, Dean of Admissions wrote, ‘Our research shows standardized tests help us better assess the academic preparedness of all applicants, and also help us identify socioeconomically disadvantaged students who lack access to advanced coursework or other enrichment opportunities that would otherwise demonstrate their readiness for MIT’

Students, staff react to SAT requirement being dropped for college admission
KSBY (CA) – March 24, 2022
The California State University system is dropping standardized testing requirements for admission. A school counselor at Nipomo High School says that dropping the SAT requirement for college is eliminating barriers that stand in the way of a college education