Notes in the Margins: Night owls, prediction tools and summer work

Night owls' poor sleep habits can hurt grades Students who are night owls have worse grades in high school and the beginning years of college, research has shown. (USA Today)

UNC Makes Risky Online Bet The University of North Carolina's business school has launched an online M.B.A. program that will offer the same core curriculum as its regular full-time program -- the first online program of its kind from a top-20 U.S. business school. Other universities, including Indiana University, Northeastern University and Howard University, offer or will soon offer online M.B.A. degrees. (The Wall Street Journal)

When a Part-Time Job Is Your Extracurricular Activity A prominent dean of admissions reassures applicants that some of the best personal essays she's read involve work in fast-food restaurants. (The New York Times)

Prediction Tools Gauge College Admissions Chances Programs use basic information including test scores, addresses, and extracurricular activities to determine a student's likelihood of getting into a particular college. (US News & World Report)

Affordable colleges: What can universities do to keep costs down? ‘Affordable colleges’ can mean different things depending on the vantage point. For chief financial officers at schools, affordable colleges could mean heavier teaching loads and rising tuition. (The Christian Science Monitor)

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