Tommy McGregor works with The Transmission, a ministry geared at helping parents and students with the transition to life after high school. It was a pleasure to speak with him this morning about how students can prepare to thrive at college. The Skype interview was part of a Senior Summit project that The Transmission will be releasing in a few weeks. Update: The Senior Summit, an online video summit about the transition to the challenges of college life, is now available as a free resource. … [Read more...] about Interview with Tommy McGregor (The Transmission)
Culture
Ben Sasse – The Vanishing American Adult
Do we really need another book about entitled millennials? Or about the helicopter parents who raise these precious darlings? Senator Ben Sasse’s The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis — and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance exceeds expectations. It challenges both parents and our culture, offering compelling and timely solutions. The Problem Sasse has no issue with adolescence. The problem is one of perpetual adolescence — an indefinite period in which youth are passive and aimless. Why is this so common? In part because teens today are used to an unprecedented … [Read more...] about Ben Sasse – The Vanishing American Adult
Must all Graduates Wander Aimlessly in Their Twenties?
Until recently, a bachelor’s degree was a sure ticket to social mobility and a promising career. But today’s graduates face unprecedented headwinds in the form of declining wages, ballooning student debt, and greater competition for fewer jobs. That’s the case journalist Jeff Selingo makes in an insightful new book, There is Life After College (HarperCollins). “The plight of today’s young adults,” writes Selingo, “is a result of a longer-term shift in the global workforce that is having an outsized impact on people in their twenties who have little work experience.” Selingo presents his … [Read more...] about Must all Graduates Wander Aimlessly in Their Twenties?
Only 11% of employers think graduating students have the skills that their businesses need
How can employers be simultaneously unhappy with the quality of recent graduates and more desirous of hiring people with greater amounts of formal education? Ryan Craig, founding Managing Director of University Ventures, writes: What we’re seeing from employers—the ultimate consumers of higher education—is the result of dissatisfaction with the current level of talent being produced by colleges and universities. Employers are dissatisfied and are flailing about for answers. For many employers, this means credential inflation—requiring certain degrees for jobs that previously didn’t require … [Read more...] about Only 11% of employers think graduating students have the skills that their businesses need
5 Suggestions for Getting a College Degree Without Going Broke
Though it may have gotten buried with the New Year's holiday, I had an article published in Fox News Opinion on how to get a college degree without going broke. I outlined five things every student can do. Here's the opening: The disappearance of low-skilled jobs and a rising earnings premium sparked a dramatic uptick in college enrollment over the past few decades. At first, students could afford it, graduating with minimal (if any) debt, and entering an expanding job market with rising wages. But now? Real median household income is down 6.5% from 2007-2014. Salaries for 25-34 year … [Read more...] about 5 Suggestions for Getting a College Degree Without Going Broke
Low-Income Americans’ Kids Can Go to College for Free
One of the reasons I wrote Beating the College Debt Trap is that it seemed to me that millions of Americans don't know how the whole paying for college thing works. The system is intimidating, confusing, and complicated, so they stay clear of it altogether. A July 2015 study from the Urban Institute confirms my suspicions. As the U.S. News & World Report summarized: "A new study details how college is surprisingly affordable for the lowest income Americans. Yet fewer than half of them enroll in college, and 12 percent of those who do enroll fail to apply for financial aid." Here's … [Read more...] about Low-Income Americans’ Kids Can Go to College for Free