top of page

Open house

Mr. Holland goes over the AIG program with parents during an open house held for parents of rising sixth graders, spring 2013.

The qualities that colleges want

NC students last on the ACT

North Carolina’s high school class of 2013 scored last in the nation on the ACT, the test billed as the state’s new measure of college readiness.

 

North Carolina is one of only nine states that require every high school junior to take the ACT; in many states, it is taken only by students who plan to go to college. The results, released Wednesday by ACT Inc., show North Carolina scored lowest of all states in the average composite score across four subjects – English, reading, mathematics and science.

 

A year earlier, when only 20 percent of the class of 2012 took the ACT, North Carolina ranked above the national average.

 

The new scores for the class of 2013 show that only 17 percent of students met the ACT’s “college-ready” benchmarks in all four subjects.

Forty-three percent met the benchmark in English, while 33 percent met the goal in math and 31 percent in reading. The worst performance was in science, where only one-quarter of North Carolina students cleared the benchmark.


Source: The Charlotte Observer, Aug. 21, 2013

Where the jobs are ...

Many students are not graduating with the skills or background employers are looking for. This mismatch between what students are interested in doing, and what employers are willing to pay for, may be the biggest impediment to a rewarding career for the newest generation of American workers.

 

There are too many liberal arts graduates and not nearly enough science and engineering students. Your college major, of course, doesn't lock you into any given field, and many people do go on to get new training that makes them more appealing to employers.

But students with a ken for liberal arts—who often argue that expanding your mind is more important than learning technical knowledge—might want to reverse their thinking. Perhaps your investment in education should go toward learning things you can earn a living at, with intellectual stimulation coming later, when you can afford the indulgence. Otherwise, college can turn out to be a mighty expensive hobby.

 

Source: Rick Newman, U.S. News & World Report

“What is it that makes you unique, and how will you contribute to the life of our campus?” That’s what admission officers want to know, according to Earl Johnson, dean of admission at the University of Tulsa.

 

To gauge what students can bring to their campus, they look for these types of qualities:

 

  • Leadership

  • A willingness to take risks

  • Initiative

  • A sense of social responsibility

  • A commitment to service

  • Special talents or abilities

 

Overall, colleges want a mix of students to create a rich campus community. 

 

Source: The College Board

bottom of page