High School Counselor Week

Weekly stories, facts, trends, and other information from around the country

 

September 22, 2022

Big Picture

Waiting for the traveling teacher: Remote rural schools need more hands-on help
The Hechinger Report – September 21, 2022
Students in these tiny schools get personal attention, but need exposure to higher education to compete for college and careers.

Why Some Teachers Don’t Want to Go ‘Back to Normal’
EdSurge – September 15, 2022
‘My school did not drive me out of education. My students did not drive me out of education,’ one teacher says. Instead, he left because the lack of support and the deep systemic flaws in education had finally become too much. He was tired of pretending things were back to their pre-pandemic ‘normal,’ and tired of pretending that ‘normal’ had been working for students in the first place.

One-time presidential pardon will not do much to alleviate student debt crisis, economists say. These changes may be a better solution
CNBC – September 19, 2022
President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan will only make a dent in many borrowers’ balances. But broader changes could help prevent people from falling into serious debt in the first place.

Columns and Blogs

Rigor of Coursework
Post – September 21, 2022
Counselors’ Corner with Patrick O’Connor, Ph.D.

Five ways to avoid that cringe-worthy essay
Post – September 21, 2022
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer

Check the Return on Investment (ROI) for Colleges and Academic Majors
Post – September 20, 2022
The College Solution with Lynn O’Shaughnessy

Counselors

Best Online Teen Counseling Programs for 2022
Healthline – September 20, 2022
Online counseling is making mental health treatment more accessible for some teens. Increased access to mental health treatment can help teens navigate some of the unique life circumstances that affect them — such as social media; bullying; and physical, social, and emotional changes. Read on to learn more about it, plus which services pass our criteria and the pros and cons of each.

Celebrating #WhyApply Day Together
Forbes – September 16, 2022
Currently, I serve as a College and Career Counselor at a public charter school in Washington, DC. It is my student’s hopes and dreams that are the driving force for my school’s participation in #WhyApply Day. The annual social media campaign is part of ACT’s American College Application Campaign (ACAC). As the name implies, it’s about encouraging more students to see themselves as college material, submit their applications, and plan for the future.

Youth mental health among important back-to-school subjects; resources available
Purdue University – September 14, 2022
With their new Back-to-School Toolkit, Mental Health America (MHA) recognizes that youth are having ‘all the feels’ as they enter the new school year. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) also has information available specific to stress associated with back to school, in their Fall 2022 Back to School Resources. And other organizations also have resources in place specifically to assist youth, teens and their families, including these:

Parents

High School Counselors: Why Some Of Us Bring Our Work Home With Us
SNC Parenting – September 19, 2022
High school counselors are often tasked with a lot of responsibilities. From meeting with students to creating schedules to coordinating with teachers and parents, counselors have a lot on their plate. This guide will help parents gain a better understanding of the school counselor’s role and importance to students.

Is Your Child Being Bullied? 6 Things to Say and Do
UW Medicine (WA) – September 14, 2022
While talking about bullying may feel uncomfortable, doing so can let your child know you support them and make it easier for them to seek help if they need it. Here’s how to start the conversation.

Admissions Process & Strategy

Applying to College as a Homeschool Student: What to Know
U.S. News & World Report – September 19, 2022
Given the nature of homeschooling, in which the specifics of curriculum, class time and assignments can vary widely from one family to another, it can be challenging for homeschooled students to demonstrate college readiness to admissions officers. Homeschooled students should provide context about their curriculum and avoid asking a parent to write a letter of recommendation.

AtomicMind Announces Virtual Help for College Applicants
Government Technology – September 14, 2022
An ed-tech company’s new platform aims to help college applicants with advice from writing coaches and former admissions staff, plus digital tools for virtual task management, communication and feedback.

Common App experiences sharp rise in minority applicants
Higher Ed Dive – September 20, 2022
The Common App has attempted to get more students using the platform and to streamline the application process. In part, it’s done so by trying to add more colleges to its ranks, including colleges that do not practice holistic admissions — those that only examine grades and test scores. Recent findings suggest that expanding and diversifying the Common App membership may have strengthened efforts to ensure a more equitable application process for a diverse population of college-aspiring students

The importance of a college education
The Utah Statesman – September 19, 2022
Generation Z students are one reason for decreases in enrollment, mainly because of financial concerns and finding cheaper alternatives at technical colleges. However, for those students who do graduate from a university, a 2016 Pew Research report found that 60% of workers with a bachelor’s have high job satisfaction as opposed to those with a high school degree, who report a 38% rate of job satisfaction. 

Financial Aid/Scholarships

Families With Assets Will Receive Less Financial Aid Next Year
Forbes – September 19, 2022
On October 1 this year, millions of students planning to start college in the fall of 2023 will begin filling in the FAFSA. Some of those students will receive less financial aid than they would have a few years ago. This is due to a glitch in how FAFSA counts assets when determining how much help a student gets paying for college.

Opinion: Let’s Change Financial Aid to Help Students Who Pay Their Own Way Through College
EdSurge – September 15, 2022
A student shares her struggle to afford college without money from her family or loan debt.

College Rankings

College Raptor College Rankings 2023
CollegeRaptor
College Raptor’s college rankings are based on a huge database of publicly-available data collected from a variety of sources. We aim to have our rankings cover the many aspects of what makes for a great college experience.

Forbes America’s Top Colleges
Forbes
Whether a school is in the Top 10 or near the bottom, the 500 schools on Forbes’ Top Colleges list showcase the finest in American education.

Niche 2023 Best Colleges in America
Niche
Explore college rankings based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of student and alumni reviews.

The Best 388 Colleges: 2023 Edition is here
The Princeton Review
Our latest edition brings together survey results from over 160,000 students across the country to find out what they love the most about these schools in everything from financial aid and career services to sustainability and quality of life.

U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2022-2023
U.S. News & World Report
Expert advice, rankings and data to help you navigate your education journey and find the best college for you.

Washington Monthly’s 2022 College Guide and Rankings
Washington Monthly (DC)
Welcome to the Washington Monthly’s annual College Guide and Rankings, where we rate schools based on what they do for the country. It’s our answer to U.S. News & World Report, which relies on crude and easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige.

World University Rankings 2022
Times Higher Education (THE)
The 2022 rankings include more than 1,600 universities across 99 countries and territories, making them the largest and most diverse to date, measuring an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook

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Hispanic & Latinx Scholarships

sponsored by Fastweb

National Hispanic Heritage Month – Scholarship Opportunities
College Scholarships for Hispanic and Latinx Students

The JED High School Journey

sponsored by JED High School

The JED High School Journey
Partnering with High Schools to Support Emotional Well-being and Prevent Suicide

Teen Health

Do later school start times make teens happier? California’s about to find out
The Guardian – US Edition – September 14, 2022
Several states are considering late start measures for teens which makes sense scientifically, but may cause logistical problems

Career & Technical Education

Shop class sometimes boosts college going, Massachusetts study finds
KQED (CA) – September 19, 2022
High school vocational programs have changed a lot over the past 20 years by both increasing their academic rigor and expanding career fields, from construction and cosmetology to information technology and healthcare. Federal legislation has encouraged these programs to prepare students not only for a career, but also for college.

College alternatives: Less expensive career paths
NewsNation – September 15, 2022
With the cost of education so high, many kids are simply shut out, or in debt for decades with student loans, but other routes are getting popular that are very lucrative.

As labor market struggles, are more students forgoing college?
Durango Herald (NM) – September 19, 2022
Schools put more emphasis on internships and ‘experiential learning’ as a way to test the workforce