Taking The Next Step - In The News

July 3, 2010

International Program Catches On in U.S. Schools

CUMBERLAND, Me. — SAT, ACT, A.P. ... I.B.?

The alphabet soup of college admissions is getting more complicated as the International Baccalaureate, or I.B., grows in popularity as an alternative to the better-known Advanced Placement program.

The College Board’s A.P. program, which offers a long menu of single-subject courses, is still by far the most common option for giving students a head start on college work, and a potential edge in admissions.

The lesser-known I.B., a two-year curriculum developed in the 1960s at an international school in Switzerland, first took hold in the United States in private schools. But it is now offered in more than 700 American high schools — more than 90 percent of them public schools — and almost 200 more have begun the long certification process.

Read the complete article at this link: IB

June 13, 2010

If at first you don't succeed .... may not work with SATs

by Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Why don't most students' SAT scores dramatically improve the more times they take the test?

A. They don't study hard enough.

B. Their parents don't enroll them in fancy test-prep classes.

C. Most kids who take the SAT twice simply do not see large improvements in their scores.

See the answer and read the full article: SouthCoastToday

March 31, 2010

Stanford Admitting Record 7.2% Sets New Normal for Ivy League

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. colleges that have been hard to get into are getting even harder.

Duke University offered admission this year to 3,972, or 15 percent of aspirants, down from 18 percent last year, after applications soared, according to Duke officials. Stanford University admitted 2,300 -- or 7.2 percent, the least ever -- said Shawn Abbott, admission director. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology saw its admittance drop below 10 percent for the first time, said Stuart Schmill, admissions dean.

Read the complete article at this link: Stanford

March 24, 2010

Before They Were Titans, Moguls and Newsmakers, These People Were...Rejected

Few events arouse more teenage angst than the springtime arrival of college rejection letters. With next fall's college freshman class expected to approach a record 2.9 million students, hundreds of thousands of applicants will soon be receiving the dreaded letters.

Teenagers who face rejection will be joining good company, including Nobel laureates, billionaire philanthropists, university presidents, constitutional scholars, best-selling authors and other leaders of business, media and the arts who once received college or graduate-school rejection letters of their own.

Read the complete article at this link: Rejected

January 14, 2010

A first for Harvard

Applications to Harvard surpass historic 30,000 mark

For the first time in Harvard’s history, more than 30,000 students have applied for undergraduate admission. Applications have doubled since 1994, and about half of the increase has come since the University implemented a series of financial aid initiatives over the past five years to ensure that a Harvard College education remains accessible and affordable to talented students from all economic backgrounds.

Read the complete article by clicking here: Harvard

Making College 'Relevant'
by Kate Zernike
Published: January 3, 2010

Does Service Learning Really Help?
by Stephanie Strom
Published: January 3, 2010

Taking the Magic Out of College
By Lauren Edelson
Published: December 5, 2009

Helping Teenagers Find Their Dreams - October 24, 2009