HBCU graduates face barriers when applying to graduate programs

December 22, 2021

SPECTRUM NEWS — You can do everything right and still be denied acceptance into your dream school. Rejection can feel like a punch to the face. For some students wanting to continue their education, a high-ranking GPA and standout resume are not enough. Alina Connie finds power behind her paintbrushes. “It’s what keeps me creative. It’s what

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Omicron variant forces colleges to rethink COVID-19 plans

December 20, 2021

AP NEWS — Facing rising infections and a new COVID-19 variant, colleges across the U.S. have once again been thwarted in seeking a move to normalcy and are starting to require booster shots, extend mask mandates, limit social gatherings and, in some cases, revert to online classes. The threat of the omicron variant comes as a gut

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How colleges are responding to rising COVID-19 cases

December 20, 2021

INSIDE HIGHER ED — Middlebury moves all classes and final exams online; Cornell cancels all student gatherings; Penn calls off indoor social events; Tulane reinstates mask mandate; Rochester bans holiday parties; more colleges require booster shots. Colleges continue to respond to increases in the number of students getting coronavirus. Responses range from moving all classes and final exams

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Harvard University drops standardized test mandate for undergraduate programs

December 20, 2021

BLOOMBERG — Harvard College is dropping its requirement for SAT or ACT scores for future applicants as young as those currently in 8th grade. “Students who do not submit standardized test scores will not be disadvantaged in their application process,” William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at the Ivy League school, said Thursday in an

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Federal student loan payments set to resume in February 2022

December 20, 2021

YAHOO!NEWS — President Biden is set to allow payments on student loans to resume, just as expanded child tax credits end, potentially putting millions of Americans in a financial bind just as COVID-19 cases are rising. Democrats passed the expanded child tax credit as part of their pandemic relief bill in March, resulting in a $300 monthly

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How interest rate hikes will affect student loan borrowers

December 20, 2021

CNBC — The borrowing costs for student loans could get more expensive soon. With the economy recovering from the pandemic and inflation a growing concern, the Federal Reserve is looking at raising interest rates three times in 2022. Those increases will impact both federal and private student loan borrowers. Here’s what you need to know.

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More colleges remove loans from student aid packages to combat student debt

December 20, 2021

THE WASHINGTON POST — Ohio State University and Smith College are the latest institutions to try to spare another generation of undergraduates from shouldering an all-too-common burden: student debt. Starting next fall, the schools will take loans out of their financial packages and instead pour philanthropic dollars into more grant aid for undergraduates. The decision

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College professors support resolution on academic freedom

December 20, 2021

INSIDE HIGHER ED — Academe needs a tougher, more organized response to the wave of state legislation or governing board policies limiting the teaching of race and other so-called divisive concepts. That’s the thinking behind an effort to get as many faculty senates as possible to adopt a resolution called “Defending Academic Freedom to Teach About

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Sixth months after graduation, only half of 2020 college graduates were employed

December 20, 2021

CNBC — The college class of 2020 entered one of the most hostile labor markets in recent history. During the first year of the Covid pandemic, employment decreased across the country. By many measures, college graduates fared best during this period, but as time passes, research is capturing just how difficult conditions are for young workers. The

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Colleges move exams online, urge boosters as coronavirus cases rise and omicron fears grow

December 16, 2021

THE WASHINGTON POST — Colleges around the country are worrying about outbreaks of the coronavirus, leading some to pivot online and cancel events, and others to abruptly change rules on campus in the waning days of the fall semester. At Cornell University, where cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed and many more are

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