I recently wrote about aiming for the stars when it comes to college admissions. The moral of that post was to go for the gold in spite of money worries when applying to schools. What does one do, though, when these schools neither solidly accept or decline one’s application? This dreaded purgatory is also known as: the waiting list. (more…)

More and more people are borrowing for their education. This can be a great option, or–as I’ve warned before–it can be a cross you’ll bear for the rest of your adult life. In addition to more people borrowing to pay for their degrees, more people are defaulting on their loans, with the default rate jumping from 5.2 percent to 6.9 percent in the past year. (more…)

I recently wrote a post on MBA programs overseas. One of the main points of the article focused on the growing distrust of US MBA programs because of the current economic situation. Critics of US programs cite a certain level of arrogance within our business schools. The schools are listening, and have started taking major steps to overhaul their programs, both in the short and long term. (more…)

A recent study showed that seven out of ten high school students say that the economy has affected which colleges they’ve applied to. While economic concerns are certainly valid, you shouldn’t sacrifice applying to your dream school simply because you might not be able to afford it. Financial aid is still available, you’ll just have to work harder to find it. (more…)

I went to an overcrowded high school. It was built for 1800 students; there were nearly 2300 of us. Classes were held in converted faculty lounges and the larger storage closets. Some higher level classes couldn’t be offered because there were too few of us to occupy the valuable room. Universities are cutting classes available and upping class sizes to compensate, leaving students to question the quality of education they’re paying for. (more…)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a very handy Web site for occupational info of all kinds, showed that there were only two industries that actually added jobs in January of this year: private education and health care. The February numbers are out, too, but they didn’t show growth in education, so we’re going to ignore those for now (incidently, health care continued to show growth–thanks to stimulus packages coming down the pike, it looks like health care is a solid career choice). Education is a big part of this country’s infrastructure, and improvements via stimulus packages have been getting some heavy coverage lately. (more…)

We’ve been seeing newspapers take a hit lately. It’s part of this whole adjustment to the Internet that we’re all still making. More people are getting their news online. It’s free. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s chic. With the economy the way it is lately, newspapers are also seeing a decline in ad revenue and cut budgets across the board. For the larger papers, this isn’t the best situation, but they have a bit of a cushion–not to mention a devoted readership. It’s the local papers that are taking the biggest hits, and newspapers put out by college students are no exception. (more…)

It’s really happening. I’ve been tracking it for a while, but the numbers are rolling in: students are flocking to green programs. Both online and on-campus, students are seeking out greener educations. While there are a few doubters around still, it’s become apparent that the planet needs a little bit more TLC. Let’s take a look at the push to go green. (more…)

People love rating things. I spend a lot of time outdoors putting various bits of gear through their paces, and when something impresses–or spooks–me, I review the product like a maniac. When it’s time to buy new gear, I tear through customer reviews, blogs, and discussion groups to find out all I can about the product I’m considering. I feel that these actions make a responsible consumer. Education is not cheap, no matter your route, and Unigo.com is letting people rate institutions of higher learning. It’s about time somebody organized this! (more…)

It’s been an interesting time for me lately. I’m thinking about the future, well, at least about my future. While I am rather excited to see how things will turn out for the country and the planet, I’ve been a bit less globally minded than that lately. Is it time for a new career? Is it time to go back to school? Whatever time it is, the questions have been keeping me up, so let’s think them out a little. (more…)