Grades
What’s Happening to the Average GPA?
Are college students getting smarter?
If you looked at the grades they are “earning,” you might assume the answer is yes. The average GPA in college is 3.1. At private schools, the norm is a 3.3 GPA. In contrast, the typical college student had an average GPA of 2.52 in the 1950s.
In nearly every decade, the [...]
Are School Counselors the Weakest Link?
I heard from some high school counselors yesterday, who were furious with me. I wrote a post for my other college blog at CBSMoneyWatch about a new study that suggests that plenty of school counselors would flunk out if they were graded like their students.
In the Public Agenda survey, which was funded by the Bill [...]
Should You Take the SAT or ACT Test?
When deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT test, keep this in mind: the ACT AND SAT require different kinds of skills.
Some teens can significantly increase their scores just by picking the right standardized test to take. Here are reasons why the ACT or SAT might be better than the other:
Teens who do well [...]
Best and Worst Jobs in America and Other Posts
15 Best and Worst Jobs In America
In my most popular college blog post on CBSMoneyWatch this week, I wrote about a list of the 200 best and worst jobs based on much more than pay. When you see lists of the best and worst jobs in America, the creators are usually focusing on salaries. CareerCast.com [...]
Can This Teenager Win a College Scholarship?
I wanted to share with you an email that I received last night from a high school freshman, who spent her Christmas break stressing out:
Dear Lynn,
I am a freshman in high school, and I am enrolled in all advanced placement classes. For the first marking period, I received all B’s and one A+. My second [...]
The Great SAT and ACT Test Debate
If your teenager bombs on the SAT or ACT, you don’t need to despair.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts on my college blog, students can get into hundreds of schools even if they withhold their SAT or ACT test scores. See links below to some of these posts.
Today I want to draw your attention to [...]
How Many High School Students Are Ready for College?
Are high school students ready for college?
Many of them aren’t. According to ACT Inc., only 23% of recent high school graduates, who took the ACT test, were prepared for college.
When the ACT examined its latest crop of statistics, the test maker concluded that less than one in four high school graduates was academically prepared in [...]
Don’t Write Like a College Professor
Do you write like a college professor?
If you do, rid yourself of the habit. College graduates who write like their college professors could find their job search even harder. The business world favors employees who can write simple, declarative sentences.
In contrast, college professors are masters at obfuscation. They write stilted prose. They embrace words with [...]
The Price of High School Success
Last week I was talking to the college counselor at my son’s high school about research findings that suggest that Asian students face much greater odds in getting into Ivy League and other elite institutions.
During our conversation, the counselor took a hardback from his book-lined room and suggested I read it. School of Dreams: Making [...]
Finding the Best Colleges
What are the best colleges in America?
Not so fast with your answer. The best colleges aren’t always the ones that enjoy the biggest, shiniest name brands and monopolize the rankings.
So how do you find the colleges and universities that do a fantastic — if unheralded — job of educating students?
You’re going to have to dig [...]
