Here's an article from Kevin Carey of the New York Times about the latest college "return on investment" figures released by the U.S. Department of Education.

The new data tracks the cost of an education and average reported earnings ten years out.  What's important about the data is that it is not "self-reported" based on surveys, as is the approach used by PayScale.  Instead, the government was able to match data from the student financial aid system to federal tax returns, so an accurate picture of earnings across a far larger sample is in place.

What's interesting about the data isn't that elite institutions report higher earnings. What's interesting is that there are a significant number of institutions that the payoff is far less evident, including some well-known universities and liberal arts colleges.  

Click here for the article.

Here's an interesting article by Frank Bruni of the New York Times about how to measure the value of a college education.  Everyone knows which schools are the hardest to get into, but what are the factors about a college education that really impact "fulfillment?"

Bruni previews several interesting findings from the latest Gallup-Purdue study entitled Great Jobs, Great Lives.  60,000 college graduates were surveyed along five dimensions of satisfaction—relationships, health, community, economic situation and sense of purpose—with the goal of identifying whether or not where students attended school made a difference.

Long story short, the advantages for attending elite national universities and liberal arts colleges aren't that material.  Four factors that do make a difference include mentorship, job experience/internships, deep involvement in an campus organization/activity, and the amount of debt you incur post graduation.

Click here for the article.

The College Board announced earlier today that SAT scores from June 6th will be counted, despite a printing error that set 25 minute time limits on sections normally limited to 20 minutes.

After careful consideration, the College Board indicated that the two affected sections would not be scored, and that due to the design of the test, they would have no impact on the reliability of the results.

Bottom line: your SAT score will stand and you can expect to get the results on June 25th.

Click here for the announcement