Students with few resources rarely apply to top colleges. Even when they have the academic and extracurricular merits to be admitted to institutions like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, these students usually opt for less selective universities. Many ignore that top colleges are actively seeking outstanding candidates regardless of their economic background. What’s more, a great number of colleges offers generous financial aid to make sure every student can afford to attend. This book is the definitive resource to help high-achieving, low-income students access the best possible college. The author draws from her extensive experience in education to provide advice on important aspects of the path to college such as pursuing a strong high school curriculum, preparing for standardized exams, complementing learning at school, developing leadership, and finding expert help and role models—all through affordable strategies. In the book, the author also guides students through the college application and selection processes, as well as the steps to obtain enough financial aid. From the very first page, the author sheds light on her own journey to college through deeply personal vignettes, demonstrating by example that students with few resources can reach and succeed at the top universities in the United States.

The extraordinary story of how Georgia State University tore up the rulebook for educating lower-income students "Georgia State . . . has been reimagined—amid a moral awakening and a raft of data-driven experimentation—as one of the South's more innovative engines of social mobility." —The New York Times Won’t Lose This Dream is the inspiring story of a public university that has blazed an extraordinary trail for lower-income and first-generation students in downtown Atlanta, the birthplace of the civil rights movement. Over the past decade Georgia State University has upended the conventional wisdom that large numbers of students are doomed to fail simply because of their economic background or the color of their skin. Instead, it has harnessed the power of big data to identify and remove the obstacles that previously stopped them from graduating and completely transformed their prospects. A student from a mediocre high school working two jobs to make ends meet is now no less likely to succeed than a child of wealth and privilege—an earth-shaking achievement that is reverberating across every college campus in the country. With unique access to the key players and drawing on his skills as an investigative reporter, Andrew Gumbel delivers a thrilling, blow-by-blow account of a long battle to determine whether universities exist for their students or vice versa. The story is told through the visionary leaders who overcame fierce resistance to tear up the rules of their own institution and through the many remarkable students whose resilience and determination, often against daunting odds, inspired the work at every stage. Their success shows how the promise of social advancement through talent and hard work, the essence of the American dream, can be rekindled even in an age of deep inequalities and divisive politics.

Get a good education without massive debt, and enter a field that's actually hiring In coming years, millions of great jobs will be opening up in growth areas like advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, health care, information technology, and sustainable energy. These jobs can pay as well as, or much better than, the average income for four-year college graduates. They generally offer high levels of day-to-day satisfaction. And the path to all of them begins in the community colleges. In The Community College Career Track, Tom Snyder gives young people and their parents, as well as mid-life career changers, a practical, inspiring guide to taking that path and completing it successfully. The old model of a bachelor's degree leading to a good job and career has broken down for large numbers of young people, many of whom graduate college only to work in a career that doesn't require a degree. Meanwhile, millions of productive American white collar and blue-collar workers have been laid off and need retraining for second careers. This book helps you find a new way forward. Offers insights on how to save money over a lifetime through an affordable college education that provides high-paying jobs Author Tom Snyder is the president of Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana's statewide community college system and the largest singly accredited community college system in the country Author Tom Snyder has confronted the education-jobs mismatch from both sides, first as a highly successful business executive and now as an award-winning educator. Follow his efficient, affordable, and rewarding path to a great career and a satisfying life.

Stand Out Get into a Dream School, written by a Stanford admissions insider, reveals the secrets that lead students to be admitted into the college of their dreams. Students and parents are flummoxed with the question of why one student with the same grades and test scores gets in while another does not. For the first time, a Stanford admissions insider, Rachel Collins, reveals the secrets that leads students to be admitted. In the five easy steps revealed in Stand Out Get into a Dream School, Rachel explains exactly what students need to do to ensure their success. The formula laid out in Stand Out Get into a Dream School provides students an easy path to admission while also providing parents ways in which to help make their child’s dream a reality. Within its pages, parents learn how to help their child identify strategies, engage their child’s passion, and help their child get admitted to at least one dream school. The college admissions landscape has changed, and Rachel Collins is here to help students and parents navigate it.

Palmer advises parents and professionals how to prepare the student for the transition from school and home life to a new environment and educational challenge, and how to support them through potential problems such as academic pressure, living away from home, social integration and appropriate levels of participation in college.

To get the most out of your college education, you need to choose your classes wisely -- and increasingly, that means choosing STEM. Today's job seekers should have at least a basic understanding of trigonometry and other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 1.3 million job openings in math and computer-related fields by 2022. The purpose of this book is not to push you into a STEM career; it is simply to provide you with information and perspective, as well as a few questions that, if answered honestly, will help you plot out an educational and career pathway that will help you achieve your dreams.