"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."   John Adams, December, 1770

FTC CONSUMER ALERT
"Ouch! Students Getting Stung Trying to Find $$$ for College"
The FTC cautions parents and students to listen and look for these signs of financial aid and scholarship scams:

"The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back."

"You can't get this information anywhere else."

"I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship."

"We'll do all the work."

"The scholarship will cost you some money."

"You've been selected" by a "national foundation" to receive a scholarship- or "You're a finalist" in a contest you never entered. For more information or to file a complaint visit www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP

REALITY CHECK from the College Connection Newsletter
"One of the best predictors of college success is taking rigorous high school classes. Getting good grades in lower-level classes will not prepare students for college-level work. Your senior year matters! The courses that students take in their senior year will often determine the school(s) they are accepted to, the classes they are able to take in college, and how well prepared they are for those classes."

From: insidehighered.com 8/10/05
"EARNING THE AP NAME" - Excerpts from David Epstein's article

The College Board will soon require teachers to submit course materials before they can call their classes "Advanced Placement."

More than 15,000 high schools offer AP courses, an increase of 36 percent in the last decade.

Beginning in June 2006, each year, teachers will have to submit sample tests and assignments, as well as a course syllabus. Textbooks will have to be chosen from a list approved by the College Board. Some courses will be chosen at random to have a College Board observer sit in.

The University of Pennsylvania decided it will scale back the amount of AP credit it gives incoming freshmen, beginning in June 2006. Dennis DeTurck, dean of Penn's College of Arts and Sciences, said that the intellectual atmosphere of the college classroom cannot be created en masse in high schools. He added that AP courses are tied indelibly to exams, which, he said, is not the path to the optimum intellectual experience.

THE COMMON APPLICATION
Twenty-three additional colleges/universities have been added to the Common Application. They are:

Cazenovia College Clarkson University Converse College Findlay University Illinois Wesleyan U Iona College John Carroll U La Roche College Mount Saint Vincent Naropa University New College of Florida New Jersey, the College of

Northland College Notre Dame C (MD) Presbyterian C Prescott College Rider University Saint Mary's College San Diego, U of Santa Fe, College of Seton Hill U Southern New Hampshire U Villanova University

NEW PROGRAMS: Business Intelligence, Game Design, Patents

Bellevue Community College, in Washington State, is starting associate degree and certificate programs this fall in business intelligence, which focuses on identifying, acquiring and reporting data needed for various business decisions.

Michigan State University is offering a specialization in game design and development, starting in the fall. The program will be open to students majoring in telecommunication, information studies, media, computer science, or art.

Webster University is starting master of arts program in patent agency this fall. The program will prepare students for taking the patent bar exam.

RECORD LOW ACCEPTANCES
This year Harvard University admitted a record-low 9.1 percent of undergraduate applicants. Princeton, Stanford, and Yale Universities each admitted less than one in eight applicants.

In the CPS ARCHIVES:

August 2005 Newsletter
July 2005 Newsletter
June 2005 Newsletter

Given the nature of the admissions process and the selectivity of many educational institutions, we cannot guarantee admission to any institution.