Not an encouraging report from the Associated Press: The college class of 2012 is in for a rude welcome to the world of work. A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge. Young adults with bachelor's degrees are increasingly scraping by in lower-wage jobs — waiter or waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist, for example — and that's confounding their hopes a degree would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans. Read the rest. It proves why, as … [Read more...] about 1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed
Thriving at College
How One Couple Prepared Three Sons for Life After High School
Christianity Today has posted an interview I conducted with a set of parents about how they prepared their three sons for life after high school. (This interview was published alongside my article Keys for Success: Nurturing your child's talent, character, and passion for a smooth college transition.) Here's what I asked them: Did you assume your kids would go to college? How did you talk to your sons about what to expect at college? How did your sons display ambition in high school? How did you seek to shape their character? As they grew up, how did you seek to cultivate diligence … [Read more...] about How One Couple Prepared Three Sons for Life After High School
Pray for Jerry Bridges
After my Thriving at College interviews a few weeks ago with Focus on the Family (to be broadcast on May 14-15) I had the pleasure of spending time with Dr. Jerry Bridges, an outstanding author and long-time servant with the Navigators. This past Thursday Dr. Bridges underwent heart surgery to repair or replace his mitral valve. His daughter later sent this update to Desiring God ministries: We are rejoicing that Dad’s surgery has been successful! Two valves were repaired – the mitral valve and the tricuspid valve and all went well. He is in ICU and will be here for the next 24 hours to … [Read more...] about Pray for Jerry Bridges
CT Article: Preparing Teens for College
Christianity Today has posted the article I wrote for them on preparing teens for college. It appeared in their March 2012 issue. I divided the article into these sections: College: A Launching Pad into Adulthood Character Development: Drive and Discipline Exploring Academic Interests and Developing Passions Discovery of Talents Conclusions (In the print version, I had also a section called "Is College a Given?") Here's a snapshot from the Conclusions section: … [Read more...] about CT Article: Preparing Teens for College
Thriving at College – on Kindle for FREE
Crazy, but apparently true: If you are an Amazon prime member, and you own a Kindle, you can download my book for FREE. Check it out (then maybe buy a few to give out as graduation gifts). Update: Upon some investigation (I'm not an Amazon prime member), it seems this is not a promotion per se. It's that Thriving at College is now one of the thousands of titles currently included in the "Kindle Owner's Lending Library for Amazon Prime Members." … [Read more...] about Thriving at College – on Kindle for FREE
Parents Feel Less Able To Pay For College
In just the past five years, the percentage of parents who believe they would be able to help their children pay for their college education dropped from about one in two (49%) to one in four (25%). Meanwhile, college seniors who graduated with student loans in 2010 owed an average of $25,250 (another study suggested $22,900). Kayla Webley goes on to report that "Last week, the total amount of outstanding student debt reached a grim milestone, topping $1 trillion for the first time in history, and last year the total amount of student loans taken out topped $100 billion, also a first. … [Read more...] about Parents Feel Less Able To Pay For College