Colleges are enrolling more students on the autism spectrum. However, one-third of the graduates with autism are not finding jobs. Here is how Rochester Institute of Technology is trying to change that with their Career Ready Bootcamp.
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Once a student has heard back from all their college applications, they have the opportunity to visit or revisit their top choices of the schools where they have been offered admission. Most colleges offer Accepted Students’ Days in April for students and their families. This allows students to get a more in depth look at their potential college, see other students who were accepted, speak to faculty from their major, and even speak to the financial aid office. Sometimes students will have the opportunity to sit in on classes to see what college academics would be like. Usually there is lunch offered along with student Q&A panels and some sort of entertainment from student clubs. The days are usually very upbeat and celebratory and well worth attending. Before a final decision is made for the student’s next 4 years, College Docs suggests you attend two or three Accepted Students’ Days.  College isn’t just about the academics. It’s also about the food! U.S News & World Report lists 12 universities that provide unique, nutritious dining options. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/colleges-that-offer-unique-healthy-dining-options  Headed to college as a freshman? U.S. News & World Report lists some of the potential pitfalls to avoid. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/dont-make-these-mistakes-as-a-college-freshman  Despite some progress made to date, girls are still underrepresented in STEM fields.
The current administration is striving to make student loan relief programs work for everyone. Efforts to revise IDR(Income-driven repayment plan) regulations will produce substantially more affordable monthly payments for millions of borrowers. Recent actions complement steps the administration has already taken within its first year to cancel more than $17 billion in debt for 725,000 borrowers in addition to extending the student loan payment pause, saving 41 million borrowers billions of dollars in payments each month. The Department has now approved approximately:
To protect students and taxpayers from predatory or low-value colleges, the Department has also restored the FSA Office of Enforcement and started efforts to strengthen key rules including borrower defense to repayment and gainful employment. The situation is continually updating so stay informed regarding these changes. For further information see the U.S. Department of Education and Federal Student Aid.  When planning for college sometimes the summer opportunities are forgotten. Students may want to beef up their transcripts to be more competitive at college application time. Maybe they are lacking in AP classes, or want to explore a possible area of interest to major in at college, or show some skills they haven't been able to demonstrate at their high school. Some students choose to get summer jobs to demonstrate responsibility and independence. In addition there are summer programs that offer students interesting classes to challenge them, sometimes for college credit. They may want to pursue music or theater in depth and work with professionals in the arts. Or become involved in business or political programs with internships and leadership councils. Other students want the chance to live on a college campus to see what it's like. Some colleges have their own summer offerings, both academic and recreational, for high school students or host teen programs that utilize their facilities. This can help students gain confidence in themselves, help them develop their college list, and offer chances for dialogues with peers and lifelong friendships. Unfortunately because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the programs over the last couple of summers have been canceled or offered only online. Virtual courses can be useful if in-person opportunities are not available. However there are some programs being offered at college campuses for the summer of 2022. Here’s links to several pre-college programs: Tufts University University of Chicago University of Wisconsin Drexel University Champlain College Loyola Marymount University Bard College at Simon’s Rock plus these programs: EXPLO Girls Who Code College Matchpoint  New and Noteworthy - SAT Going Digital Starting with the Connecticut School Day SAT this March 20223/4/2022
Collegeboard has announced that the SAT exam will move from the traditional paper and pencil format to a digital format. The format change is scheduled to roll out internationally next year and nationally in the U.S. in 2024. However, Connecticut will utilize the new digital version this March 23 - 25 and 29 - 30, 2022 for the Connecticut School Day SAT for current juniors in high school. The digital version will also shave an hour from the current version, bringing the reading, writing and math assessment from three hours to about two. Test-takers will be allowed to use their own laptops or tablets but they'll still have to sit for the test at a monitored testing site or in school, not at home. Calculators will be allowed on the entire Math section, and scores will be available in days, rather than weeks, still on the 400-1600 point-scale. They have designed the test software so that if there are battery or internet connectivity issues, the test will be saved and the student can return to it without losing their work. For a full description of what aspects of the new digital SAT will stay the same and what will be different, see Collegeboard's SAT Suite of Assessments https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital?SFMC_cid=EM669978-&rid=124890901 At one time essential for college applications, scores from admission tests like the SAT and rival ACT carry less weight today as colleges pay more attention to the sum of student achievements and activities throughout high school. There has also been criticism that the exams favor wealthy, white applicants and disadvantage minority and low-income students, and an increasing number of colleges have adopted test-optional policies in recent years, which let students decide whether to include scores with their applications. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the trend as testing sessions were canceled or inaccessible. However, the SAT and ACT are still deeply ingrained in the American high school experience. More than a dozen states require one of the exams to graduate, and prior to the pandemic 10 states plus Washington, D.C., had contracts with the College Board to offer the test during the school day for free to their students. Nearly 80% of bachelor’s degree-granting institutions are not requiring test scores from students applying for fall 2022, according to a December tally by the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a watchdog group that opposes standardized testing. The group, known as FairTest, said at least 1,400 of them have extended the policy through at least the fall 2023 admissions cycle.  |
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