Hi folks! I’m standing in for my colleague Ryan Hickey in putting up the link roundup this week, and here’s hoping I can leave you with some savory tidbits to tide you over until your Thanksgiving Day feast!
Because news about the higher education world is exactly like juicy, delicious, tender, moist turkey, slathered in warm, brown gravy, with a side of stuffing and sweet potatoes and…I’m going to go make myself a snack, be right back.
Right! So, for this link round up, I’ve put together a number of articles commenting on interesting trends in education that might have some relevance for you, particularly if you’re in the midst of the applications process. Plus, there’s a really funny video at the end, but you’re only allowed to eat your desserts once you’ve eaten the full meal.
Without further ado, then:
- Randall Collins at Salon.com says that “College is a scam!” (at least in the headline). The article is a little dense and thick, but it’s a very interesting take on the future of education and the issues of student debt. The gist of it: the increasing number of higher education degrees out there leads to educational inflation, which in turn might lead to a situation in which the government has to sustain endless education, effectively becoming “socialism in the guise of education.”
- On a video for the Huffington Post, specifically on Marlothomas.com, Erin Brockovich takes a question about whether to pursue a four-year education. An interesting perspective supporting junior colleges. But Erin Brockovich’s own experience is more than a bit divergent from the norm. While I’d think about what she says here, I wouldn’t take it as gospel truth.
- Another article from the Huffington Post, wherein Chuck Cohn talks about how to “make colleges say ‘yes’ to your application.” It has some advice for how to make yourself a more attractive candidate for the schools to which you apply. Suggestions include things like starting a blog, doing some research, starting a volunteer club, and more. Give it a read.
- A short article from the New York Times that calls out how 80% of the “people who enrolled in a MOOC from the University of Pennsylvania had already earned a bachelor’s degree.” Just an interesting point of reference for the future of MOOCs.
- Another New York Times piece by Jessica Gross about the history of the college application itself (including some sordid details), and an interview with an independent college counselor, Lee Bierer, from North Carolina. It’s not necessarily of obvious utility, but it’s certainly interesting, and you can glean some useful tips out of Lee Bierer’s words if nothing else.
- Here’s a piece from Brian Witte of US News and World Report about how to avoid running out of time while taking the SAT or ACT. It’s one of the primary hurdles of those standardized test, and Brian Witte provides some good tips.
- While this article isn’t explicitly about education, Naveen Jain’s words do have relevance to students applying to colleges. Using social media to build your own Internet image into a “brand” is a potential boon to your application chances, if you can do it well.
- On “Tell Me More” at NPR.org, here’s an interview between Michel Martin and Anthony Carnevale of The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce about whether or not the STEM education crisis is a myth.
- With all due respect to my colleague and Yale alumnus Ryan Hickey…here’s a hilarious video of Harvard students doing prank campus tours on Yale. (Forgive me, Ryan.)
