College Ranking Criteria

President Obama is considering a plan to rate colleges according to their value and affordability and to tie those ratings to the $150 billion in financial aid that the federal government provides each year.

College rankings according to “best value for money” would garner the attention of high school students and their parents who are concerned about finances.

In theory this sounds like a fantastic idea, but is it practical? How do you measure the value of a college? Is ‘value’ a function of cost, return on investment, student satisfaction, or graduate rates? Depending on how this process is defined and what values are considered most important, the results will differ significantly.

No one yet knows how the government plans to perform its evaluation. The plan is to compile the ratings by the start of the 2015-16 school year and to link those ratings to federal aid by 2018.

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The College Dilemma

A college degree once all but guaranteed a well-paying job and higher earnings than high school graduates. But fewer of these good jobs are now available thanks to the long-term economic changes and the effects of the last recession.

People with college and advanced degrees are working jobs that don’t require them, whether by choice or necessity. That in turn pushes people without college degrees out of those jobs.

The number of college graduates has grown much faster than the number of jobs that require high-level education skills. As more college graduates flood the market, supply outweighs demand and employers are able to offer lower wages.

Because college is so expensive, many students are facing a dilemma: If they go to college, they still might not get a job that requires a college degree, and they’ll be on the hook for big student loan payments. But if they don’t go to college, they might be pushed out of entry-level jobs by overqualified college graduates who can’t find other work.

Under the current economic climate high school graduates should not only be asking themselves if they can afford to go to college but also if they can afford not to?

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Online University Application Woes

The Common Application, which has been in use since the 1970s, enables a student to fill out a single application for multiple colleges. The number of schools accepting online applications has more than doubled in the last decade and includes nearly all of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. The company now processes well over one million applications a year.

This year’s application was designed and built from scratch, in an effort to make it simpler to use, with a newly standardized supplemental form that can be adapted to each college.

Unfortunately this new version of the online Common Application has been plagued by numerous malfunctions putting admissions offices weeks behind schedule and causing panic amongst thousands of students trying to meet early admission deadlines.

Problems became evident as soon as the application was released in August, the company has been frantically trying to fix the problems over the summer and fall and have indicated that the number of applications is up 20% over last year indicating that high school students were able to navigate the system successfully.

The recent problems mean that college admission offices will have to work overtime to go through applications, and some plan to take on temporary extra staff. But they say they still intend to send out acceptance and rejection notices on time in mid-December.

With the bugs being resolved, they expect the larger regular round of applications — usually submitted by January deadlines, with replies sent in the spring — to go more smoothly.

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UK To Test GPA Model

A pilot scheme to change the way students' degrees are graded will be tested by more than 20 UK universities.

Grades would be divided into 13 levels of classification, ranging from A+ to F, based on average point scores. The grade point average (GPA) model is already used by US institutions, said the Higher Education Academy (HEA) group, which is running the scheme.

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) which is running the project, will select 20 to 25 higher education providers in the UK to take part. Students would receive a traditional honours degree grade alongside the new mark. This new system could eventually replace the current way of classifying academic achievement.

The results of this pilot project, expected to be published in fall of 2014, could possibly lead to a uniform GPA system in the UK.

The new system would provide students with a more effective assessment and feedback of their work and would make it easier to compare degree grades on an international level.

A student awarded a first class degree under the current system would receive either an A+, A or A- under the GPA model.

The HEA has yet to identify which universities will be taking part in the study.

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Conditional Acceptance to Medical School

This fall, Georgia Regents University is offering students the opportunity to work on their bachelor's degree while also having conditional acceptance at medical school.

Students in this program must maintain a certain grade point average, achieve a satisfactory score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), complete research requirements, volunteer work and career shadowing and successfully complete an interview. If they can achieve all this they will be accepted into medical school after their fourth year.

These dual degree programs offer a bridge that enables students to pursue medical school sooner rather than later.

High school students who want to become doctors can target their college search on schools that offer baccalaureate-medical degree programs. Students should be prepared for a heavy workload, you have to be dedicated to the program and focused on achieving your goals. Conditional acceptance to medical school comes at a price. Students are required to meet a challenging set of standards by their junior year, such as having a grade point average of at least 3.4 and an MCAT score of 30. It’s a lot of hard work!

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Grad School Applicant Success

Many graduate school applicants have been out of college for several years and are concerned that their undergraduate academic record will affect their application especially if their GPA was 3.5 or lower. This need not be the case, however, as the experience gained since leaving college can do much to offset a lower GPA score.

Include examples of your life experiences from the following categories to help support your application to graduate school. Travel Experiences, Community Service, Employment Experience, Research & Writing, and Entrepreneurial Achievement.

So don’t let a lower grade point average hold you back from applying to graduate school!

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Students With High GPA Scores More Prone to Facebook Jealousy

New research suggests that students with high GPA scores may be more prone to feelings of romantic jealousy than those who are less studious.

Undergraduate students, who had a higher grade point average (GPA), were more likely to experience jealousy over misunderstandings on the social network among people in romantic relationships.

As one might expect, women had higher levels of Facebook jealousy than men. However men are more jealous of sexual infidelity and women more jealous of emotional infidelity.

The findings regarding GPA are preliminary, and the researchers still need to tease out the reason for the possible link, said study researcher Denise Friedman, an associate professor of psychology at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.

But it may be that people with high GPAs tend to have a personality type that makes them more prone to jealousy.

“Students with higher GPAs are often more conscientious, show greater self-control and tend to be more of a perfectionist,” Friedman said. “The perceived infidelity likely upsets their attempts at perfection across the board.”

The researchers plan to publish their findings in a peer-reviewed journal this summer. Some of the findings were presented at the Association for Psychology Science meeting in May.

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Advantages of Taking College Courses in High School

What are the advantages of taking college courses while you are still in high school?

High School students have the option of taking more advanced classes while they are still attending high school. These can be taken during the regular school year or taken at summer school, where students can earn college credits and free up time during their school year to take more electives.




Advanced Placement(AP) Classes are available in all core-curricular subjects and are offered on site as part of the regular high school day. Students are required to pay a fee for the standardized AP Test at the end of the course but if you do well you will receive a college credit for your hard work.

AP classes are assigned a course value that is 1 point higher than a regular high school class so they can go a long way to increasing your high school grade point average. Taking these advanced courses offers you the opportunity to experience more challenging college classes that require a higher level of thinking and problem solving skills. This introduction to college level learning gives you a competitive edge in the college admissions process.

The number one advantage of taking college level courses during high school is the reduced cost of a college education. Taking college classes while still in high school can decrease the cost of college because you will need to pay for fewer classes to graduate. Many colleges and universities use these advanced classes to determine who qualifies for a scholarship which you can apply towards tuition costs, books or living expenses. Finally, as these courses are held at your high school you do not have to pay out of pocket expenses to travel to the college campus to attend classes.

It is, therefore, a huge benefit for you to take AP classes in high school. It will put you on the right path to achieving all your education goals.

GPA Calculation

In high school and college your academic institution will calculate your cumulative grade point average as an indication of your overall academic performance in a program. In order to graduate you must have a GPA score that is higher than the minimum standard required for your specific program. If your GPA is high you may qualify to graduate with honors or be awarded other academic distinctions. Knowing your GPA throughout the program will help you stay on track to reach your goal. Use our GPA Calculator to monitor your GPA on a regular basis. If your GPA score is low you may need to study a bit harder, or use a tutor to give you some extra help. If you are doing well in your course you may want to strive harder to make sure you graduate with honors or win a specific academic award. The moral of the story? If you know where you are, and you know where you need to be, you can make the necessary adjustments to achieve your goals!

High School GPA, A College Perspective

You work hard throughout your high school years to earn a a good GPA but what does this mean?

A high school GPA is a cumulative grade point average based on a students full high school career. However, students apply for college prior to completing their senior year, before their final high school GPA score is known. Colleges, use grade point average to measure a students track record, assess their dedication to learning and predict the student’s ability to succeed at college level.

Colleges receive thousands of applications each year and they need a system to select those students who are most likely to succeed. In order to achieve this, they determine a minimum grade point average for acceptance at their institution. It is left up to the individual institutions to determine this threshold.

Any students who fall under the minimum grade point average for acceptance will be immediately eliminated from the candidate pool. It is important for high school students to know the minimum GPA score for their school of choice so that they don’t waste time and effort applying to a school whose minimum GPA acceptance threshold is significantly higher than their high school grade point average.

Your high school GPA does not tell the whole story however. Once the GPA is used to weed out applicants the college acceptance committees will look closely at the types of classes taken, individual grades, and other aspects of the college application such as essays, resumes, SAT and ACT scores to determine which students will be offered a place for the following academic year.

Colleges also use your high school GPA score to select those students who qualify for a scholarship.

It is clear, that students need to be aware of the important role their high school grade point average plays in the selection process by colleges and universities. Visit our high school GPA Calculator often to calculate your high school GPA and stay ahead of the competition!

What High School GPA Is Needed For Ivy League

Your goal after high school is to attend one of the eight prestigious Ivy League schools located in N.E. USA. When you apply to an Ivy League school you are competing with the best of the best from all over the USA and internationally too. Needless to say the admission process is highly competitive. You don’t need a perfect 4.0 GPA and 2400 on the SAT to get in, but it wouldn’t hurt.

The ideal candidate is a well rounded individual who has proven excellence and unusual achievement across a range of academic subjects and extracurricular activities.
Do you qualify…?
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