Smart insights for the modern learner

AI-Written Financial Aid Appeals Are Backfiring — Here's What Actually Works

A hand-crafted financial aid appeal letter earned one student $40,000 more than an AI-generated version of the same letter — a warning that generic ChatGPT appeals are creating extra work for financial aid offices and smaller awards for students.

Read this issue

What we cover

Five pillars, one goal: helping you make confident decisions about your education.

Is it worth it?

Career & ROI

Return on investment, salary outcomes, and how a credential moves your career forward.

Paying for it

Financial Aid

FAFSA, scholarships, grants, loans, and employer benefits that make school affordable.

Making it work

Student Life

Balancing school with work and family, staying motivated, and finishing what you start.

Getting in

Admissions & Programs

Choosing programs, application strategy, and picking the right format for how you learn.

The bigger picture

Trends & Policy

The policy shifts and market trends reshaping higher education and what they mean for you.

Latest stories

View archive

Community Colleges Boosted Enrollment in Career-Track Programs by 27% in Three Years — Here's How

Ten community colleges added 20,000+ students to high-value career and transfer programs in three years — a new CCRC/Aspen Institute report details the playbook, and 54 more colleges are now running the same experiment.

9 in 10 College Students Are Already Using AI in Class — But Only 11% of Their Instructors Got Real Training on It

90% of college students use AI in class but only 11% of their instructors have received comprehensive training on it — a gap that leaves both sides guessing about rules, accuracy, and responsible use.

California Ditched Remedial Math — and 62,000 More Students Are Now Completing College-Level Courses

California community colleges now send 62,000 students per term through transfer-level math — more than double the pre-reform number — after ditching placement tests and remedial course sequences in favor of direct enrollment with corequisite support.

Race-Based Scholarships Are Shrinking — Here's What's Replacing Them

Diversity-tagged scholarships have fallen from 12% to 8% of a 33,000-scholarship database since 2023 — and legal pressure from the Trump administration and advocacy groups means more cuts are likely on the way.

Early Decision Now Fills the Majority of the Class at 40 Selective Schools — and the Odds Gap Is Widening

ED now fills 54% of Columbia's class, 60% of Duke's, and 68% of Middlebury's — meaning the 'regular decision' acceptance rate you see published is far lower than it looks once those seats are gone.

That Brown 'Cheating Chart' Is Really About How Grades Replaced Learning — And AI Just Made It Visible

82% of University of Pittsburgh students say AI use hurts their own learning — yet they use it anyway because grades, not learning, are what the system rewards.

63% of Americans Think Colleges Are Failing on Affordability — Even as Net Tuition Falls

63% of Americans say four-year colleges do a 'poor job' on affordability — but Lumina's VP says the real culprit is price opacity, not price itself.

Why IT Students Should Struggle More Before Turning to AI

Research from Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Oxford, and UCLA found that even brief AI use measurably reduces students' ability to persist and perform without it — a warning sign for any IT program that hasn't built 'struggle first' requirements into its curriculum.

10 Community Colleges Moved 20,000 Students Into Higher-Value Programs in 3 Years — Here's How

10 community colleges shifted 20,000+ students into higher-value programs in three years — proof that where you enroll within a community college matters as much as whether you enroll.

Where the Real Scholarship Money Is: Pell Grants, $55K Awards, and the Programs Most Students Miss

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation awards up to $55,000 per year — $220,000 total — to low-income undergrads — and that's just one of several programs most students have never heard of.

Students from 28 States Are Underrepresented at Elite Colleges — and That's Actually an Advantage

Students from Mississippi, West Virginia, and 26 other states are enrolled at elite colleges at less than half their expected population share — meaning a strong applicant from those states faces far less competition than an identical applicant from Connecticut or New Jersey.

7 Million SAVE Plan Borrowers Have 90 Days Starting July 1 to Pick a New Repayment Plan

7 million SAVE Plan borrowers have a 90-day window starting July 1, 2026 to choose a new repayment plan — miss the deadline and the Department of Education picks one for you.

38% of Students Graduate With Zero Student Loan Debt — Here's What They Do Differently

38% of college students graduate with no student loan debt — and NPSAS data reveals the specific financial and enrollment choices that separate them from the borrowing majority.

Red State Lawmakers Are Now Deciding What Classes You Must Take to Graduate

At least 12 states with DEI bans are now targeting gen ed requirements to push diversity courses out of public university graduation checklists — and the Manhattan Institute has published a blueprint for how to do it.

An AI Tool Called Einstein Is Logging Into Canvas and Doing Students' Homework — Here's What Colleges Are Doing About It

An AI agent called Einstein offered to attend class, write papers, and submit homework for students without their professors knowing — and no major LMS has a reliable way to stop it.

Class of 2026 Grads Want More Than a Paycheck — They Want a Career Ladder

1 in 5 new grads feel overqualified for their current job — NACE's 17,000-student survey shows the class of 2026 is treating their first job as a launchpad, not a landing spot.

Chicago College Covers Full Tuition for Single Parents — Here's How the Program Works

Chicago's Generations College awarded nearly 90 full-tuition scholarships to single parents this year — the program covers up to $3,500 per semester after Pell Grant aid and has boosted student retention by more than 20 percent.

Federal Grad Loan Caps Hit July 1 — and Private Lenders Won't Save Everyone

Nearly 4 in 10 grad students who need private loans to cover new federal borrowing caps have subprime or no credit — meaning they may not qualify for private loans at all when limits kick in July 1.

Columbia Grad Student Faces Deportation for Pro-Palestinian Speech — With No Criminal Charges

Columbia grad student Mohsen Mahdawi faces deportation solely for pro-Palestinian speech — no criminal charges filed — as the ACLU argues the government's legal basis has already been found likely unconstitutional by multiple federal courts.

You're Not Behind After Graduation — You're Just Quieter Than the People Making Noise

A 2025 Frontiers in Psychology study links passive social media use to spiked anxiety during uncertain transitions — which is exactly why your post-graduation feed feels like evidence you're failing when it isn't.

Gen Z Uses AI Daily But Thinks It's Bad for Society — What That Means for Your Job Search

Only 6% of Gen Z students say they don't use AI — down from 36% in 2024 — even as nearly 7 in 10 believe it will do more harm than good to society.

NYU's Admit Rate Hit 9.1% — and Three of Its Colleges Are Now Harder to Get Into Than Yale

NYU's Stern School now admits roughly 3% of applicants — and the university has quietly rebuilt its entire admissions rubric to prioritize essays and recommendations over class rank and test scores.

Wisconsin's 30-Year Minority Retention Grant Is Gone — And Similar Scholarships Could Be Next

Wisconsin's Supreme Court unanimously killed a 30-year-old minority student grant program — and the court's taxpayer-standing ruling could put similar race-based scholarships across the state in legal jeopardy.

Stanford and Princeton Just Abandoned Their Honor Codes — Here's What That Means for You

85% of students have used generative AI on coursework — and Stanford and Princeton both scrapped student-enforced honor codes this spring in direct response.

Why You're Really Procrastinating (It's Not Laziness)

Procrastination can be a psychological refuge — Flinders University psychologist Dr. Gareth Furber explains why 'I'm a procrastinator' can feel safer to your nervous system than submitting work and finding out where you actually stand.

Goldman Sachs Says AI Is Erasing 16,000 Jobs a Month — Here's Why Some Companies Are Pushing Back

Goldman Sachs estimates AI is wiping out 16,000 jobs per month — and MIT Sloan argues companies that don't slash entry-level roles may hold the long-term competitive edge.

Yale's Admissions Numbers, 2021–2026: What Five Years of Data Actually Show

Yale's admit rate dropped to a record 3.7% for the Class of 2028, then rebounded to 4.59% for Class of 2029 after testing returned and applications fell 12.6% — and starting in 2026-27, families earning under $200,000 pay no tuition.

July 1 Student Loan Deadline: What Every Borrower Must Do Before the Rules Change

7 million SAVE plan borrowers have 90 days from July 1 to pick a new repayment plan — or the government picks for them, likely at a higher monthly cost.

DHS Is About to End 'Duration of Status' — What That Means If You're an International Student

The White House just cleared a DHS rule that would cap international students' U.S. stay at four years — finalization is imminent and could require extension filings for anyone in a program that runs longer.

Whitman College Caps Tuition at 10% of Your Family's Income — and Covers It Fully If You Earn Under $100K

Whitman College caps tuition at 10% of family income, with full tuition coverage for households earning $100K or less — the Washington liberal arts school's new 10% Promise takes effect for the 2026–27 academic year.

Your Loan Servicer Is Calling — What SAVE Borrowers Need to Know Before July 1

Loan servicers are robocalling SAVE plan borrowers about a July 1 repayment switch — if you've gotten one of these calls, action may be required before the deadline.

Why You Feel Lonely This Summer (Even When You're Texting Everyone)

57% of college students report feeling lonely, per a 2024 Active Minds survey of 44,000 — and summer makes it worse because campus infrastructure, not willpower, is what makes friendship easy.

55% of Students Think AI Skills Matter More Than Their Degree — But Only 31% Say Their School Offers Relevant Training

Only 31% of college students say their school offers professional AI training — yet 55% believe AI skills will matter more to their career than their degree itself.

Columbia Becomes Last Ivy to Drop Test-Optional — SAT/ACT Required Starting Fall 2027

Columbia University will require SAT or ACT scores starting fall 2027 — making it the final Ivy League school to end its test-optional policy after a multiyear faculty review.

AI Is Cutting Entry-Level Jobs — and the Skill-Building That Comes With Them

74% of employers have no plan to replace the career-building experience lost when AI takes over entry-level tasks — and 58% already fear a senior leadership shortage within five years as a result.

Eight WPI Students Died by Suicide in Four Years. Their Parents Are Demanding a $100 Million Response.

Eight WPI students died by suicide in four years, prompting grieving parents to demand a $100 million university-led mental health task force — and the resignation of the school's president.

Free Tuition, $250/Month Housing, and Single-Parent Scholarships: 3 Schools Tackling Basic Needs Head-On

42% of Pell recipients face food insecurity — three colleges are responding with programs ranging from $250/month stable housing in NYC to a first-dollar free tuition model in Texas that lets students use grant money for rent and food instead.

MBA Grads Averaged $77K in Student Debt — Here Are 7 Ways to Borrow Less

New federal rules effective July 1, 2026 eliminate Grad PLUS Loans for new MBA borrowers and cap lifetime graduate federal borrowing at $100,000 — making scholarships, employer tuition benefits, and part-time enrollment more critical than ever.

Columbia Makes SAT/ACT Mandatory Again — The Last Ivy to Drop Test-Optional

Columbia University will require SAT/ACT scores starting August 2027 — making it the last Ivy League school to reinstate standardized testing after going test-optional during COVID.

College Possible's AI Adviser Is Now Inside Common App — and One Coach Can Now Handle 250 Students

College Possible's AI adviser Coach Possible is now embedded in Common App — one coach can now support 250 students (up from 60) by handling routine questions so advisers can focus on high-need cases.