December 31, 2014: Education News We're Reading This Week

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December 31, 2014—Here are the best articles from education news this week.

As of January 1, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, will be available online. Those applying for aid for fall 2015 should examine this article published in The New York Times, which provides a good introduction to the process.

You can also take a look at the U.S. Department of Education’s guide, which includes seven things you must know before filling out the application.

Fox News Latino discusses how some universities—including the University of California, Riverside; the University of South Florida; and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte—are successfully serving low-income and Hispanic students. The article states that in 2012 white students were seven percent more likely to graduate on time than Latino students.

With the new year approaching, many are taking the time to review education news from throughout 2014. Here is The Huffington Post’s “best and worst,” which covers campus safety, student-athletes, White House initiatives, and MOOCs.

Larry Ferlazzo provides his annual list of predictions for education in 2015 in this piece in The Washington Post. Needless to say, legislation and presidential campaigns may greatly affect our nation’s schools in the coming year.

Public school students are at a disadvantage when it comes to college advising writes The New York Times, simply based on the numbers game. Take a look at Midwood High School in New York, where two counselors struggle to provide adequate services for the school’s 766 students.

TIME notes that Catholic University charges the highest net price in the country for low-income students, a common trend in parochial colleges. The D.C. institution admits to dissuading lower-income students from attending, both to improve its prestige and avoid burdening those families with debt.

President Mildred Garcia of California State University, Fullerton, expresses the need to help low-income students understand the value of each college course they are taking. She explains in Fox News that understanding the difficult life of a manual laborer helped her understand the value of a degree as a first-generation college goer.

eCampus News has compiled a list of the top five must-watch TED talks that deal with technology and higher education.

Here is an excerpt of a new book by education researchers David Berliner and Gene Glass, which includes eight education myths that need to be debunked for the sake of educators and their students.

The Washington Post provides a sneak peek at financial offers made by Franklin & Marshall College, a private school in Pennsylvania. Factors considered include parental adjusted gross income, home equity, and estimated family contribution.