The Huffington Post released an article recently discussing the importance of the ever growing number of Latino students in America. In the article they touch on many things, including why it is important that more Latinos start earning their degree. I have included an excerpt of the article below and you can follow the provided link below to read the whole article.

Perez sees the dilemma his family faced as one confronting many Latino families. Especially during a rough economic times, the short-term gains of an immediate paycheck can often outweigh the longer-term benefits associated with a college degree. While unemployment rates for college graduates remain lower and starting salaries are higher than for those with only a high school diploma, rising amounts of student debt, combined with low graduation rates for many Hispanic students enrolled in college, are of concern to many weighing whether or not to make the investment.

The current statistics for young Latinos are particularly grim: Almost one in four school-aged American children is Latino, but a report released earlier this year by the White House showed those children achieve "the lowest education attainment levels" in the country. One out of every three will finish high school, and one out of every eight will graduate from college.

A recent Pew report found not only do Latinos have a significant high school dropout rate -- 18 percent -- they are also least likely to opt for the GED, which is a vital "second chance" credential when it comes to increasing college-going numbers. Only one in nine Latino dropouts will go on to earn a GED.  Continue reading...

Source: Huffington Post

DePaul University becomes the largest private university to not require ACT or SAT scores. Starting for the freshman class of 2012, students will be able to answer essay questions instead of submitting test scores. The essay questions will be used to determine if the student has the "noncognitive" traits to make them successful in college. Those traits include leadership, commitment to service and the ability to meet long-term goals. University officials hope that this new initiative will help draw more diverse applicants and students who are more likely to graduate.

"Admissions officers have often said that you can't measure heart," said Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president for enrollment management. "This, in some sense, is an attempt to measure that heart."

It will be interesting to see how this new policy helps or hurts them. Either way, this is a bold approach that opens the doors to a lot of high school students who didn't do well on their admissions tests. We will continue to follow this story and report back with any updates that DePaul releases. In the mean time, feel free to learn about the ACT and SAT tests in our Resource Center, or apply for our Scholarship giveaway.

Think you have researched all of the college scholarships that are out there? Think again, I bet you haven't seen some of these unusual, crazy and odd scholarships. Shout out to our friends at Dualmasters.org for compiling this list.

1. Frederick and Mary F. Beckley “Left-Handed” Scholarship: Are you left handed? Are you going to Juniata College? Are you at least a sophomore? Then you can qualify for this left-handed student’s only scholarship. 
2. Michigan Llama Association Scholarship: If your folks are alumni of the Michigan Llama Association, you can send an application in this scholarship worth $500, the cool thing is that is it renewable up to 3 times. All you have to do is write an essay about your family’s involvement with llamas.
3. Zolp Scholarship: Here are the three criteria for this scholarship: Is your last name Zolp? Are you Roman Catholic? Do you attend Loyola? If you meet these three requisites then you can a full-tuition scholarship as Loyola.
4. Van Valckenburg Memorial Scholarship: If anyone can Van Valckenburg can. Win a scholarship that is if you have that last name. In fact it is good for up to $1,000 towards tuition at any college.
5. Tall Clubs International Scholarship: Are you really tall? If so, you can take advantage of this “higher ed” scholarship. As long as you are at least 6′2″ and male, or at least 5′10″ and you are a female, then you can enter in for a $1,000 college scholarship.
6. Little People of America Scholarships: If you are a little person, you can qualify for this scholarship. Preference given to those who have a medically diagnosed form of dwarfism.
7. Billy Barty Foundation Scholarship: You can also apply for the $1,000 if you are shorter than 4′10″ and diagnosed with dwarfism.
8. National Gay Pilots Association Scholarship: If you are gay, and planning to study aviation, this scholarship might be for you. You do have to be active in the LGBT community.
9. American Nudist Research Library Scholarship: If you are a young nudist, looking for a little financial aid help, you can apply for this scholarship.
10. Gertrude J. Deppen Scholarship: Those attending Bucknell University, and who have lived in Mount Carmel for 10 years and graduated from the public high school, can get this scholarship. Oh, and you can’t be using narcotics, tobacco or intoxicating liquor.
11. NCTA Help Santa Find the Perfect Real Christmas Tree: If you are between the ages of six and 16, you can write an essay about finding a perfect Christmas tree, and get up to $10,000.
12. FBI Common Knowledge Scholarship: Do you happen to know a lot about the FBI? If so, you can enter this quiz contest and possibly win up to $250.
13. National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance Scholarship: The New England chapter of this organization offers a scholarship to students who are overweight.
14. Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Scholarship: If you are willing to study bagpipes from a world-famous instructor, majoring in the pipes, you can get $7,000 a year — and a discount on your kilts.
15. Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest: High school seniors can compete for scholarships of $1,500, $500, $300 and $200 for best ability to call ducks.
16. Coven of the Sacred Waters Scholarships: Do you have a talent for witchcraft? If so, you can apply for a $500 scholarship from the Coven of the Sacred Waters. You can also apply for a community service award — even if you aren’t a witch.
17. National Make It Yourself with Wool Scholarship: The American Sheep Industry Association offers a scholarship for those who make garments out of at least 60% wool.
18. The Kor Memorial Scholarship: This is a scholarship offered by the Klingon Language Institute for those who have the talent of tongue. No, you don’t have to speak Klingon; but you do have to be studying language.
19. Starfleet Academy Scholarships: The International Star Trek Fan Association’s Starfleet offers a number of scholarships, based on different talents, including engineering, medical, performing arts, writing and business.
20. Excellence in Predicting the Future Award: If you are good at figuring out what the market will do, you can join in this contest to see whether you can win $400 by accurately predicting the market and increasing your account.

To see the even more crazy, weird and odd scholarships, see the full list at http://www.dualmasters.org/. To apply for our free college scholarship please follow this link: http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm 

With a record number of students heading to college in America, we thought it would be cool to take a look at what the average college student could expect. This is a great breakdown of information ranging from tuition prices, drinking and the importance of social networking. It's crazy that 85% of college students are on facebook, but I guess that's not surprising. Also pretty interesting was that 1 and 10 admissions counselors look at a perspective students facebook page before deciding their fate. So make sure your social profiles aren't too crazy while you are going through the admissions process. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it is accurate?

There is always a debate on what the best cities are for college students. Well the fine people at AIER came up with a pretty good map of where the best towns are. If you are a high school student and are still undecided on where you want to go to school, then this map should help you out. If you are a current college student, let us know what you think about these ranking by leaving a comment below.

Please click to enlarge

 I came across an article recently discussing America's Most Expensive Colleges. In this article Forbes.com lays out the 10 most expensive schools in the country. It amazes me that America can be in the midst of a recession and these colleges can still recruit students to their campuses. For the amount it costs to go to some of these schools for a year, you could have paid for four years at other colleges. 

Here is a peek at the Top 10:

Courtesy of Sarah Lawrence College

Courtesy of Columbia University

Noah Sheldon/Bard College

Courtesy of Wesleyan University

 
Luis Anthony Munoz

Click here to see the rest of the Top 10 on Forbes.com. To find a college that may be more in your price range, visit our college search engine at AnyCollege.com.  

According to Bill Gates it is. Don't discount this college drop-out, he makes some really logical points in this article. He believes that you should get credit for the knowledge you gain no matter where you obtained it from.

“Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world,” Gates said at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA. “It will be better than any single university.”

Gates is a visionary, but I have a hard time believing that a Fortune 500 company is going to hire you because you have watched 100 online lectures in your free time from Harvard's web site. I also believe, for right or wrong, that it is going to be longer than 5 years before hiring managers view the knowledge you obtained from Wikipedia to be equal to a degree you could have earned elsewhere. But, the knowledge on the Internet seems nearly limitless, so I can see where Gates is coming from on this. Perhaps gates should put his thoughts into action and start Bill Gates Online University. He certainly has the means to do so.

This is a really good article and well worth the read. The full article can be found at TechCrunch. To find a school where you can obtain all the knowledge your heart desires, visit AnyCollege.com.