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May 2004

May 2004 full issue in PDF format

Orientation Focuses on Latino, First-Generation Families
As part of an effort to recruit students from Arizona’s Latino population, Arizona State University recently held its first new student orientation session designed specifically for first-generation students and their parents.

Latino Families Want Better, Earlier Financial Aid Sessions
A new survey conducted by the University of Southern California’s Tomas Rivera Policy Institute details how and when Latino families would like to learn about their college financial aid options.

Amid Student Visa Troubles, State Department Cable Offers Hope
By Sylvia Kless, senior international student advisor
A March 4 State Department cable to consulates and embassies worldwide may make admissions officials more hopeful that their international students will be able to obtain visas this year.

Real-World Skills Lure Top Engineering Students
Intellectually gifted, exceptionally driven students can become so focused on academic work that they leave little time for development in other important areas. Stereotypes notwithstanding, this can be more of a danger for students with a scientific bent. So Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, N.Y. recently created an honors college to develop academically talented students’ social and professional skills and to help the campus compete for top engineering students.

Wanted: Engineers
A recent study found that the number of high school seniors planning on entering engineering careers has dropped more than 35 percent in the past 10 years.

Parent Listservs Present Both Risks and Rewards
As more campuses search for ways to help parents help their children succeed in college (and for ways to show prospective parents that the campus considers them important), some are hosting parent listservs. Trinity University in Texas, for example, began a parents’ list three years ago and has discovered, through the experience, that the advantages generally outweigh the risks.

Newswire
Low-Income Students at Flagship Campuses; Slight Dip in Diversity, Big Jump in Cost; Slow Going Toward Diversity; Tightened Essay, Better Yield

Using an Online Award Calculator as a Recruiting Tool
Many campuses print the parameters and requirements of their merit scholarships, but not all have the interactive nature of Wilkes University’s online aid calculator.

Resources
Academic, Career, and Vocational Enrollment; Improving Disadvantaged Students’ Retention; Low-Income Adult Learners; Guide to Race-Neutral Alternatives; State Funding and Minority Students; Regional College Guides for Hispanic Students