Finding a Budget-Friendly College or University By Using the New College Scorecard by the U.S. Department of Education

Today, the new college scorecard from the U.S. Department of Education made it's debut on a new website - https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/. This scorecard is meant to help parents and students discover the best and more affordable higher education opportunities for their families.

Also, the new College Scorecard tool was featured on the White House Blog and the Department of Education blog today - Under the Hood: Building a New College Scorecard with Students.

In addition to the New College Scorecard (Comprehensive and Updated Data on Higher Education Institutions), there are several additional resources for families to find the more affordable college with the best features (majors, minors, etc.) for their students. These resources (as featured on the Department of Education Blog) include the following:

Additional Customized Tools for Students

- Scholarmatch

- StartClass

- College Abacus

- Payscale

- InsideTrack

As higher education administrators, faculty, and staff, it is important to know the information that exists about our institutions that is available on the internet. Did you find anything interesting about your institution (or aspirant institutions in the data available via any of the websites listed above)?

Let us know!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
- Twitter/Instagram - @drjtedwards
- http://www.facebook.com/millennialprofessor/
- drjtedwards at gmail.com

Academic Travel on a Frugal Budget: Know Your Surroundings BEFORE You Leave Home!

Last December, I discovered that Google Maps provided EVERYONE on the internet with a picture of my house (thank God the leaves were raked)! This was something that I had to adjust to, but I see Google Maps as a definite blessing now. For instance, if I have an upcoming conference, I log on to Google Maps to see the area outside of the hotels and the adjacent eating establishments.

This helps me create a travel budget and to make a list of potential locations I would like to visit on my trip. When I visited Norfolk, VA for the Southern States Communication Conference, I discovered that there was a Schlotzsky's restaurant across the street. This restaurant provided me with a very cost effective option for lunch and dinner.

In addition to the street view feature of Google Maps, this website is also adding a college campus "sidewalk view" feature. This is exciting for my husband and I, because we visit the college campus library of each city we visit in Texas and Louisiana. Google gathers this "sidewalk view" information from cameras on bicycles powered by Google representatives.


Has Google visited the sidewalks of your campus?

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The Virtual Campus Tour - Student Interviews on College Click TV

With the help of an informative, yet innovative website - high school juniors, seniors, and their parents have the chance to "meet" students who attend the college or university they are considering. College Click TV enables future students to view the "best [residence halls], the school spirit, night life, Greek life, campus activities, and professors" by watching the streaming video interviews.

My take - Personally, I will recommend this website to students who attend the "College Prep Boot Camp" workshops. Most of these students come from low to middle income families, which may not be able to attend college viewing events.

Here is the Texas A&M University section of the website.

Here is the Boston College section of the website.

UT Austin is Pushing for Change in Texas' Top Ten Percent Law

It seems like things are changing around Texas. Our wonderful state is known for giving the top 10 percent of high school seniors automatic entry into almost any public higher education institutions in Texas. This basically means that these seniors can attend one of the top public institutions in Texas, the University of Texas at Austin.

This admission perk seems to be a burden for the UT Austin, because many high school seniors are choosing to attend this institution. In fact, according to Education Week, "81 percent of the Texas freshmen entering the university this fall gained admission through the so-called "top 10 percent rule."

As a result, The University of Texas at Austin's President wants to change the law that guarantees automatic entry to students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Read more about this potential law change here.... UT Pushing to Modify Top 10 Percent Rule.

Any food for thought?

Prospective College Students Encounter a Potential Facebook-Based Barrier

     High school students who are interested in attending a community college or four year university have another obstacle to overcome - their facebook/myspace profile. These "personal" profiles serve as open windows to a prospective college student's personal life.

    

     College admission counselors are logging on social networking websites like facebook.com and myspace.com to gain an in-depth look at the high school students who may attend their college or university. Read more information about this phenomenon here - "Admissions Officers Peek at Applicants' Facebook Profiles".