In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

Student-Athletes: A Commitment Is Not an Acceptance

A recent post from Montgomery Educational Consulting provides helpful info on commitments in athletic recruiting. In a commitment, a student-athlete promises to attend a specific college and play for its team before he or she formally applies.

The post warns that making a commitment to a school does not guarantee admission; most coaches promise roster spots to far more athletes than they can accommodate. Click here to learn more.

College Grads Move in Packs

According to the New York Times, college grads have been congregating in certain U.S. cities while avoiding others. Click here to read more.

A Summer SAT Might Be Coming Soon

High schoolers enrolled in a gifted-students program at Amherst College will take the SAT this August 3, reports the New York Times.

Tuition for the program is $4,500.

Students outside the program will have to settle for the traditional SAT dates, all of which are scheduled during the school year.

The College Board—the company that writes the test—says the August 3 examination is an experiment “to evaluate the feasibility” of summer SATs. Click here to read more on the Times.

Summer Interns: Plan a Successful Exit from the Start

According to CollegeProwler.com, it’s crucial for student interns to “go out on a high note.”

They recently posted seven things you should do at the end of your internship to leave a positive impression and pave the way for a possible job at the company. These include the following:

• Offer to train the next intern.
• Prep for your exit interview and ask for feedback.
• Discuss your career goals (if you’d like to work at the company, say so).
• Give hand-written thank you notes.

Click here to read more about these and other strategies for a successful exit.

Beware of Hidden Fees in Campus Cards

According to the Huffington Post, as many as 900 colleges currently encourage their students to use “campus” debit cards to receive their financial aid.

Colleges like this arrangement because it outsources aid disbursement to the card provider. (With more students receiving financial aid than ever before, schools are often overwhelmed by the work of distributing aid.)

Unfortunately, these “campus” cards, while convenient, are often chock-full of fees for the students that use them. A recent Huffington Post article reports on the fees charged by Higher One, a popular card provider on U.S. campuses. These fees include . . .

• “$50 if an account is overdrawn,”
• “$10 per month if the student stops using his account for six months,”
• “$29 to $38 for overdrawing an account with a recurring bill payment,”
• “50 cents to use a PIN instead of a signature system at a retail store,” and
• “a $50 ‘lack of documentation fee’ for students who fail to submit certain paperwork.”

Such charges add to the cost of college, so make sure you read the fine print before signing up for a “campus” card. Also know that you are not required to get one—you can receive your aid the old-fashioned way: via direct deposit (or paper check).

Click here to read more on the Huffington Post.

STEM Summer Programs with Space Available

Many colleges offer special summer programs for high school students.

Lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, such programs allow students to dig deeper into a specific area of interest. They’re often a great way for students to learn and have fun while spending time on a college campus.

Several of this year’s summer programs are still taking students. A recent U.S. News article profiles STEM programs with space available at two great schools—Georgia Tech and Harrisburg University in Pennsylvania. Program topics include game design, robotics programming, nanotechnology, and mobile app development. Click here to read more.

Students interested in attending a summer program should contact colleges in their area ASAP about programs offered.

5/29 Is “College Savings Day”

All 50 states now sponsor higher education savings plans that allow residents to avoid paying taxes on the money they put away for college.

As these savings plans are frequently called 529 plans (after the relevant section of U.S. tax law), 5/29 was recently named “College Savings Day.”

What is “College Savings Day”? It’s a great day for prospective college students and their families to explore their money-saving options. A recent Huffington Post article provides some helpful information on 529 plans. Click here to check it out.

For more in-depth information on 529 plans, check out the book Paying for College Without Going Broke.

How Much Will Your Major Matter in the Job Market?

It’s often debated whether one should choose a college major based on its reputation among employers in the “real world.”

In 2008, a study by PayScale.com found that one’s choice of career is actually a much better predictor of lifetime earnings than one’s choice of major. This finding suggested that one’s major is not a badge that says what one can—and cannot—do in the real world. (The exception being those careers, such as architecture, that require a specific major.)

However, a recent article from Bloomberg argues that choice of major is perhaps more important now than it was prior to the recession of the previous decade. This is because only grads with specicalized skill sets—in fields such as computer science, engineering, and accounting—are enjoying plentiful entry-level opportunities in the current economic recovery.

According to Bloomberg, “37 percent of students who graduated between 2006 and 2011 wish that they had been more careful when choosing their major.” Click here to read more.

A Student’s View: The College Close to Home

Jennifer Angelo is a high school senior and a contributor to The Princeton Review’s IN blog.

At first, I didn't want to stay close to home for college. I saw myself in a new city, one in which I’d find new restaurants, new sights, and a whole new lifestyle. I only applied to one school in my home state.

When I finally made my college choice, however, I choose the school close to home. How did this happen? I eventually set aside the issue of location and asked myself a broader question: what can each school offer me? While location was a consideration when I composed my original list (I didn't apply to any schools in cities or neighborhoods that I didn’t like), my final decision was really about academic programs and campus vibe.

Of course, now that I’ve picked a college that happens to be less than an hour’s drive from my family’s house, I can see the benefits of staying close. For example, if I need some quiet time at home or a homemade meal, I can go home for a night. Additionally, I can go on outings with my family (I've already bought tickets to see a concert in November with my mom and my sister).

Next year, I'll be away at college, but I won't be too far away. I’ll have the “going away to college” experience but still be able to come home if I so desire. It feels like the perfect arrangement.

Why Study Time Has Declined

Survey data shows that, over the last 50 years, the average undergrad's out-of-class study time has dropped from about 24 to 15 hours per week.

A recent Washington Post article explores several possible reasons for this decline. These include the increased prevalence of off-campus jobs and the advent of technologies (e.g., the Internet) that make study time more efficient. Additionally, it addresses the possibility that college has simply become easier over the years.

Click here to check out the full article.