Textbooks, ACT funding and $1,000-per-hour tutoring

Which Colleges Do Students Pick? Parchment, a company that enables the electronic submission of grade transcripts and other college admission materials, compiled college choices from 104,119 students who have applied for admission since the 2012-2013 academic year. The data show what economists call “revealed preference” — how students chose when admitted to two or more schools. (The New York Times)

Meet The Guy Who Makes $1,000 An Hour Tutoring Kids Of Fortune 500 CEOs Over Skype By cashing in on the anxieties — and disposable income — of an elite clientele, Anthony Green is capitalizing on a system that is clearly skewed in favor of those students who already have a tremendous advantage. Far from helping to foster a meritocracy, as many of us would like to believe, colleges that base their admissions on standardized testing just as easily reinforce the inequality of American society. (Business Insider)

Growing number of states fund ACT college admission testing for 11th-grade students These statewide programs, begun in Illinois and Colorado in 2001, have helped the ACT surpass the College Board’s SAT in recent years to become the nation’s most widely used admission exam. State officials say the test-everyone policy nudges many students onto the college track who otherwise could have been overlooked. (The Washington Post)

A Tough Lesson for College Textbook Publishers As More College Students Opt for Used or Free Books, Companies Are Forced to Revamp Business Models (The Wall Street Journal)

Graduates face tough transition to adulthood Three years ago, sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa found that college students learn little while in school. Their book, Academically Adrift, shocked the academy and provoked angry responses. Their sequel, Aspiring Adults Adrift, follows the same students after graduation and concludes that schools focus on social life rather than academics, and that levies a high tariff on young adults. (The Hechinger Report)

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