In this essay, the author describes how he came to realize, as his older friends head out for their first year of college, that they have a great air of adventure about them because they have laid down the old and are stretching out to grab on to the new. His older friends are stepping out and he is stepping into his new shoes, as a senior in high…

In this article, the author relates how a new Guyanese student's concerns about fitting in an elite school had made him recall his own experiences. When the author left for college about fourteen years ago, he had no idea what he was about to get into. He was fortunate enough to be admitted into a strong liberal arts college in upstate New York…

By definition, adolescence begins with the onset of puberty (often starting earlier now) and ends when adult responsibilities are assumed (often starting later). This is a very long period of enormous change and rapid growth, physically, socially, sexually, cognitively, emotionally, motivationally, and morally. Adolescents are moving from…

Asperger's syndrome (AS) is a neurological disorder included in the spectrum of autism disorders. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are said to exhibit characteristics that fall into a "triad of deficits" that include (a) communication, (b) socialization, and (c) interests and activities. For children and adolescents with Asperger's…

Social capital is a useful theory for understanding the experiences of working class, first-generation college students. Social capital is the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation. According to social capital theory, networks of relationships can aid students in managing an otherwise unfamiliar…

Adolescence is a time of change, transition and development. Students gain new knowledge, experiences and insights, and struggle to make sense of all the new information they accumulate. The self-authorship theory explains how students make meaning out of their worlds as they travel through adolescence. Not surprisingly, the college experience is…

Institutions of higher learning serve as a portal, through which opportunities for life, and potential for social evolution are intrinsically bound. The decision of who is allowed to pass through this portal is not only a defining moment for the individual student, but also a significant portent towards the fulfillment of social justice on which…

After the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the University of Michigan admission cases, which struck down racial preferences and quotas in Michigan's undergraduate and law school admission, several groups have challenged race-conscious admission, school placement policies and academic support programs. Even the federal government has challenged…

Two methods of showing the ability of high school grades (high school grade point averages) and SAT scores to predict cumulative grades in different types of college courses were evaluated in a sample of 26 colleges. Each college contributed data from three cohorts of entering freshmen, and each cohort was followed for at least four years.…

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which cognitive and non-cognitive measures predict academic success for conditionally-admitted students enrolled in a comprehensive public university. Stepwise multiple regression analyses reveal that one cognitive variable (high school grade point average) and two non-cognitive measures…

An estimated 1.1 million students were homeschooled in the United States in spring 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (2006). This figure represents a sizeable increase from the homeschooling rate of 1.7 percent--or 850,000 students--in 1999. With the popularity of homeschooling…

There is this little secret college-bound and first-year college students outwardly deny: They are scared sick about going off to college. In the authors' interviews with 175 college students throughout the United States for "Survival Secrets of College Students" (Barron's, 2007) students talked--sometimes painfully--about what they wished they…

According to the American Council on Education, more than 1 million community college students failed to receive financial aid for which they were likely eligible. This is a startling statistic. Given that financial aid is such a critical determinant of college-going and that academic counselors are among students' most important advocates,…

Access to American higher education is increasingly becoming a privilege for upper-class youth while low-socioeconomic status (SES) youth are increasingly marginalized and unable to compete in the college choice game. In order to increase parent involvement in college choice for low-SES African-American and Latino parents, a paradigm shift must…

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions founded primarily for the education of African Americans, although their charters were not exclusionary. In 1907, African Americans rarely had other options for higher education except a historically black college or university. In 2008, HBCUs are still predominantly African…