American college enrollments are falling, even as they are increasing in comparable countries. One culprit could be the cost: while college graduates earn more, the debt they accumulate often wipes out much of that advantage. Paul Tough investigates for The New York Times Magazine. (September 2023) …
Leave a commentThe University of Kentucky has spent $805,000 a day for the past decade on upgrades to its campus, and now has one of the highest tuitions in the country, despite serving a lower-income state. Melissa Korn, Andrea Fuller and Jennifer S. Forsyth report for The Wall Street Journal. (August 2023) [[ ]] …
Leave a commentEvery year, most American college students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It determines how much need-based assistance you can receive and is also important for many scholarships, grants and other opportunities. Now, the format is being simplified, as Cheryl Winokur Munk of The Wall Street Journal explains. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentIn the Chronicle of Higher Education, Maggie Hicks writes that ChatGPT frequently invents sources, causing headaches for librarians asked to find them, and getting students in trouble when they don’t learn how to track down information themselves. With scholars willing to cut corners to get papers published faster, academia could fall prey to a “complicated web of lies,” as one researcher put it. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentThe U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down race-based affirmative action, but colleges have struggled to implement the ban. The new guidelines stress that affirmative action is now illegal but that there are other ways for schools to diversify their student bodies. Read the explainer from Liam Knox of Inside Higher Ed. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentWith just a week before Washington runs out of money to keep the federal government fully operating, warring factions within the Republican Party in the U.S. Congress on Sunday showed no signs of coming together to pass a stopgap funding bill. Congress so far has failed to finish any of the 12 regular spending bills to fund federal agency programs in the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy will push an ambitious plan this week to win approval of four large bills, including military and homeland security funding, that he hopes would demonstrate enoughmore
Leave a commentMost students looking to study in the United States are already familiar with prospects for financial aid, but there are some lesser-known scholarships available. The Times of India has compiled a listing of scholarships — many offered by individual schools — that can benefit students from other countries. (August 2023). …
Leave a commentA longshot candidate for governor in the U.S. state of Missouri and his supporters describe his use of a flamethrower at a recent “Freedom Fest” event outside St. Louis as no big deal. They said it was a fun moment for fellow Republicans who attended, and that no one talked about burning books as he torched a pile of cardboard boxes. But after the video gained attention on social media, State Sen. Bill Eigel said he would burn books he found objectionable, and that he’d do it on the lawn outside the governor’s mansion. He later said it was allmore
Leave a commentTwo years after the Taliban took Kabul, Karin Fischer of the Chronicle of Higher Education profiles a group of Afghan women at the University of Delaware who fled Kabul. After learning English, mastering U.S. cultural norms and surviving the trauma of separation from their families, these students are now mentoring other new arrivals. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentThe United States is the only Western nation among the world’s 50 most conflict-ridden countries, according to new research that measures political violence around the globe. The U.S. ranking is driven by rising levels of political violence and a proliferation of far-right groups in the country in recent years, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED. ACLED, a data collection, analysis and crisis mapping nonprofit based in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, gathers data for more than 240 countries and territories around the world. In the 12 months to early September, it recorded more thanmore
Leave a commentAfter School Africa takes a look at student loans and international students. “Normally, many people do not like the idea of loans, and it is not the first option in the minds of many people,” the article notes. “However, student loans can be the only option for some students who want to actualize their goals.” Read about the various types of student loans, and their potential risks, here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentA student from Indonesia writes about his path to studying for an MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Among his suggestions: apply to a range of schools and craft a compelling personal essay. Read more here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentInternational students have many things to learn about the U.S. when they arrive on American campuses. U.S. News & World Report delves into a less-common topic: academic integrity. The magazine explores basic expectations at many U.S. schools, including how to use quotes and citations in papers, how to avoid plagiarism and navigating artificial intelligence pitfalls. Read the full story here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentA surge in inquiries from China for overseas study tours to the U.S. suggests that parents of children from primary to high school are willing to pay the big money so their offspring can have an American classroom experience during their summer vacations. Yvonne Shi, director of Offer Education Consulting in El Monte, California, said study tours offer children authentic American courses, the experience of living with American families or in school dormitories, a variety of extracurricular activities, English classes and visits to schools where they could enroll full time. Shi told VOA Mandarin that this year, despite the simmeringmore
Leave a commentThe Senate on Wednesday confirmed Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, putting him in place to succeed Gen. Mark Milley when he retires at the end of the month. Brown’s confirmation on an 83-11 vote, months after President Joe Biden nominated him for the post, comes as Democrats try to maneuver around holds placed on hundreds of nominations by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Senate is also expected to confirm Gen. Randy George to be Army Chief of Staff and Gen. Eric Smith as commandant ofmore
Leave a commentThe CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law a year ago and promised billions of dollars in funding for science at U.S. colleges and universities. However, Congress is already falling short of the funding targets called for by the legislation, instead focusing on investments in America’s semiconductor industry. Katherine Knott explains the situation for Inside Higher Ed. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentIn the Financial Express, Indian students take a look at money matters for international students in the U.S. Here are the details on credit cards, currency and more. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentMartha Mulally, a biotechnology professor in Canada, urges each of her students to make a friend in the course. She noticed that students seemed disengaged and lonely, not knowing how to interact with each other after years of virtual instruction during the pandemic. So, she insists they work together outside of class in groups of their choice: not just because it’s good for them, but also because it’s good for their learning. “The reality is that science is a team sport,” Mulally says. Beckie Supiano profiles some of the unlikely, and heartwarming, friendships students have made in her report formore
Leave a commentThe Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper at Northwestern University, has advice for international students bound for the U.S. The tips include: Familiarizing yourself with the restrictions that come with an F-1 visa holder. Tapping on-campus resources like the Office of International Students for support. Read the full story here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentPrograms focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) are popular among foreign students looking to study in the U.S. After School Africa takes a look at some of the reasons why these paths are popular and gives a rundown of study options. Read more here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentTelangana Today, an Indian news outlet, has a rundown on the immunizations international students must receive to study in the U.S. “Vaccination is mandatory for students of all levels, including undergraduates, graduates, and doctoral candidates, regardless of their residential status,” the story notes. Get the full list here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentIndian news outlet Telangana Today has some tips on how international students can acclimate to life in the United States. They include: Attending welcome-week events organized by the university. Taking advantage of support services offered by the school’s international student office. Joining clubs and organizations. Read the full article here. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentU.S. states differ in education levels, college faculty pay, student enrollments, and more. This tool from the Chronicle of Higher Education lets you quickly compare them. (August 2023) …
Leave a commentHanoi and Washington have announced an upgrade in bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the top designation in Vietnam’s diplomatic hierarchy. A U.S. strategy of noninterference into Vietnam’s domestic politics has been crucial to Hanoi agreeing to the deal, experts say, but activists and rights groups are frustrated by the lack of focus on human rights as the crackdown on civil society worsens in the Southeast Asian country. U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Hanoi on Sunday to meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. That afternoon, Trong and Biden announced they had agreed to a comprehensive strategic partnershipmore
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