The crazy surge in med school applicants has finally triggered several new medical schools to come into being. Apparently there was a dry spell during the 80s and the 90s. Now is the time for every new and terrified college grad to take a good look around, figure out which professionals manage to avoid being laid off (garbage collectors and doctors), and decide whether to get a job now (not the best plan, I heard even 7-Eleven isn’t hiring) or kill some time in medical school while the economy works itself out.
It seems there is an actual shortage of physicians in this country, as well as a shortage of medical school spots. Starting up a few more medical schools seems like a viable option. But let’s not go overboard. Printing more money doesn’t save anyone from an economic crisis (have we learned nothing from all this higher education?).
I’m all for more doctors, especially if it means more people to help who are worth a lot less money (we can’t pay all the doctors six figures…I hope). But my spidey senses are tingling about the less-than established medical schools letting everyone in and churning out Twinkie-shaped doctors. Oh, well. I’m sure America’s lawsuit fettish will finally pay off and the physicians educated at MD mills will soon be weeded out.
Wait! Here comes the optimism (better late than never). The new medical schools will be less fraught with tradition, status, and red tape and they will work hard to teach their med students well. These new and excellent doctors will go on to stellar residencies and splendiferous careers in medicine. Babies will smile and Baby Boomers will be cured of their age-related ills. The soundtrack will rock and the montage will be poetic.
Prospective college students who have remained unaware of the fact that January 23rd’s SAT results are up at CollegeBoard.org are waaaaaay too relaxed. Or possibly relaxed just enough…
Good news for FAFSA applicants: the 2010 version will be easier to apply for. The form is simplified and is no longer written in a language incomprehensible to even students with 4.0 GPAs and off-the-charts SAT scores. As an added bonus, volunteers will be available to help parents and students fill those suckers out.
While the total amount of grants and scholarships likely to be handed out this year won’t be anywhere near enough to meet most students’ needs, at least it will be easier to apply for aid. The online version of the notoriously headache-producing Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is the scholarship application used by the federal government and most states, charities, and colleges, has been streamlined and simplified. Even better: There is a growing network of volunteers who will help anyone fill out the FAFSA free of charge.
Volunteer financial aid experts will be stationed at more than 800 YMCAs, churches, colleges, schools, community centers, and other locations around the country in January and February for College Goal Sunday events. The aim of the nonprofit events: to help students and parents get their aid applications in on time. Originally, College Goal Sunday events were held the Sunday after the Super Bowl. The program has grown so much in the past few years that many states now have several events on various days throughout January and February, says Marcia Weston, director of the program, which is funded by the Lumina Foundation and operated by the YMCA. Some states, such as California, use a different name for their volunteer event. But the College Goal Sunday website lists the times and places for events in 47 states plus the District of Columbia. Some sites will also provide transportation, she says. More…
While high school juniors and seniors are in full-on panic mode because the college application and acceptance process is hitting the fan in earnest for both groups of students, I’m hopeful everyone can manage to remember that college is not a life or death situation. Every adult involved in the life of an upperclassman tends to make it seem as though it is, but I promise you it’s not.
Breathe, people, and read this post in the NY Times education blog, Mom U. Regular columnist, Caren Osten Gerzberg, had her daughter write the post. Nicole is a high school junior and makes some excellent points with regard to the college admissions process and how it relates to the grand scheme of things.
Seriously, you are a single, unimportant speck in the universe. No one actually gives a rat’s ass which institution of higher learning chooses you for matriculation. And in ten years, neither will you. Perspective is a priceless tool.
1. Observe yourself.
2. Become familiar with your internal guidance system (IGS).
3. Use your imagination.
4. Look for your cultural match.
5. Take one step at a time.
6. Use your team.
7. Confront your fears as you go.
8. Maintain your privacy.
9. Don’t take college admissions advice from your friends…ever.
10. Be proud of who you are.
The little nuggets are worth the 3 minutes it’ll take you to read the post. Even preschoolers know to prepare before battle.
High school juniors: It is time. You and your parentals have probably been working toward this moment since preschool. The college application process of doom is about to begin. Hurl if you must, then pull it together and start thinking about which colleges you might want to apply to.
Maybe avoid doing what I did. I plunked my little self down in the high school counselor’s office and answered her “Which major?” question. She had gallons of information about the plethora of schools available to me. I waved them all away impatiently and asked for the helpful grid the California State University system sends out. Printed helpfully upon it is a list of every degree offered, with a dot next to the campus(es) that can deliver the goods.
I wanted simple: In-state tuition; close but not to close; far but not too far; no big-name schools; and I wanted my decision to mostly be based on academics, not on a school’s reputation for politics or parties. Three schools had my program: Long Beach (too SoCal), San Francisco (too close to my Machiavellian grandparents), and Fresno (perfect).
Sadly, not quite, as it turned out. The one drawback to Fresno State is that it’s in Fresno. Yes, Fresno did produce the Fresno Poets, and I’ll admit to the importance of that. But aside from a handful of people who can write interestingly, one has to dig deep to find culture. Also, I would generally advise against living in a place where the dust kicked up by farm machinery on the 80 million raisin-grape vineyards contains mold spores that can kill you. I like an exciting life as much as the next girl, but dying from dust is just dumb.
My attempt at simplicity, frugality and pure academic focus was noble. That being said, if I had it to do again, I would have chosen a school based mostly on academics, but also upon location. Because you don’t just study while away at college, you have to live there, too. If I had considered that, there’s a chance I may not have fled.
Aaah, the vomitous stench of thousands of high school students grubbing their way through the college application process. It smells in no way like “vick-tree,” it’s really more of a fully-dilated, hyper-aware, fight or flight, big bad stinkfest.
Everyone calm down and watch this: The heads of eight admissions departments explain what they go through when reviewing the piles of applications they receive from high school students hoping to be granted acceptance into their institution of higher education. The counselors sound human (it’s better when they’re not borg-like aliens) and like they actually give a rat’s ass that crushable young humans are waiting with barfy, bated breath for an answer.
The take-home message is to be you. Don’t create a false version of yourself that you imagine will be the exact student your dream school is looking for. Try to keep in mind the coolest college application essay ever; everything totally worked out for that guy.
You can watch the full broadcast below, or go here for a list of the highlights. Jordan Goldman, the twenty-something founder and CEO of Unigo.com, moderates the discussion.
I don’t care how smart you are or how well you may have done on your SATs, filling out the FAFSA forms still sucks. It’s like some ancient test of strength and intelligence wherein one must conquer a labyrinthian pile of questions whose answers serve only to bring up more questions while pushing a ginormous rock up a hill and trying to avoid a pissed-off mythical creature that’s hell-bent on having you for lunch. And as a sweet bonus, if anything is answered incorrectly, no financial aid for you, pal.
Please take a moment to thank your god(s) that this excellent list of FAFSA resources exists for any and all questions that will inevitably arise when soul-having mortals attempt to fill out bureaucracy-saturated forms of doom.
Kay M. McClenney, whose day job involves being the director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement, is a contributing writer for the NY Times blog, The Choice, which focuses on college admissions advice. Dr. McClenney just posted part 5 of a week-long series answering readers’ questions about community college.
