Younger siblings who have seen their brothers and sisters throw up their arms in frustration at the Common Application will be relieved to know that they themselves will not have to face the same fate. The Common Application, currently accepted by more than 450 colleges and universities, is scheduled for an overhaul starting in the summer of 2013. If you are currently a sophomore in high school, then you will be using The Common App 4.0 when you are applying to colleges. Existing in paper form for many years, it is only recently that the Common App has tried to "catch up" to technology, even as smartphone and tablet usage has ...Read More About How The Common App Will Be Improved

While others are stuffing their mouths with food and watching football, you can schedule some time to work on your college applications. Spending time during the holidays to make progress on your applications will give you a significant advantage in the spring. You will be much less rushed and avoid the "last minute crunch" many applicants face. Below are some tips for working on your applications during the holidays, adapted from this New York Times article: 1. Plan, plan, plan If you know where you're trying to go, you're much more likely to get there. Set specific goals for your applications that you want to accomplish ...Read More About How To Use The Holidays To Work On College Applications

The government recently mandated that all colleges must include a net price calculator on their websites. However, many colleges easily found ways to hide theirs from students, according to an article in the US News & World Report. An accurate net price calculator is designed to give students and exact figure on what they will pay to attend (tuition plus room and board/additional fees subtracted by scholarships and financial aid). The government mandated these because many colleges were tricking prospective students into believing their schools were much more affordable than they actually were. Some colleges keep tuition ...Read More About How To Calculate Net Price Of College

The best way to prepare for college-level classes is to take the hardest classes you possibly can…every student, every teacher and every professor knows that. But, how to make classes more rigorous for all students has been the challenge, according to an article in the District Administration. Some schools just grade stricter and give students more homework. But, others actually restructure much of their curriculum. President Obama has vowed to increase the overall quality of education to help American students catch up with foreign students, who have recently outpaced them. In Obama’s education reform initiative, “Race to ...Read More About How To Prepare For College Classes

If you’re not proficient in algebra, then you’ll stand just about no chance with Calculus, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics or any other high school math class. Students must learn algebra first, and that’s why many educators believe it is the most important math class. For years, algebra was a high school freshman level class, and very few students took it before their freshman year. But, administrators eventually began pushing heavily for students to start algebra classes in the 8th grade or sooner, according to an article in the District Administration. And now administrators are pushing even harder for students to tak ...Read More About Why Algebra Skills Are Important