Grading Standards

At Buffalo Grove High School, a score of 90 will earn you an A, but in Virginia's Fairfax County you'll need a solid score of 94 to get the same grade. Even passing a class is arduous, requiring a 64 rather than a 60.

According to The Washington Post, this strict grading policy will be abandoned by The Fairfax County School Board in order to please parents that find it a hindrance. You can read about it here.

There's no doubt students will be pleased with the change in Fairfax. Chances for college admission and scholarships are sure to be increased.

More Joining the Military

A lot more Americans are joining the military these days as the number of available jobs diminishes across the nation. They are enticed by a steady paycheck, benefits, and training. The intensified violence in Iraq also contributes to this occurrence.

But what does this have to do with college?

Well, service members who spend at least three years on active duty can attend any public college at government expense or use the payment for tuition at a private university. Although no data exists yet, there's a strong link between increased education benefits and new enlistments.

Some AP Exams to End

These days, a ton of high school students are taking Advanced Placement classes in order to do well on the exams. According to The New York Times, students took more than 2.6 million exams in 37 subjects last year. If they get a good score, students can receive college credit.

AP United States history and English literature programs are the most popular among high school students, however, very few participate in the AP Italian, French literature, Latin literature, and computer science AB exams. Since it takes a lot of money to keep an AP program running, these four subjects will be dropped.

AP Italian is not even available in Buffalo Grove High School, but if it was I’m sure many students would have taken it. With the economic situation that we’re in right now, though, not enough money was funded to keep it going. It’s too bad because AP Italian exams started only four years ago.

Inventions on Campus

If you’re planning on inventing something while in college, then be prepared to know that the school can take your idea and patent it. Most universities own inventions created by students using a significant amount of their resources.

This policy may benefit those who don’t have access to venture capital money or the expertise to claim exclusive rights to the invention. Plus, students can concentrate on finishing school by handing over the work to the university.

The expense and hassle of students doing it themselves, however, may be worth if if they don't want their invention to be controlled by a certain company.

Saving for College

The economic recession is predicted to end at the conclusion of 2009, which means that a lot of students saving for college this year will have a dilemma. Investing money, especially if the student is just a few years from enrollment, is going to be nearly impossible with all the other financial payments that have to be made.

Fortunately, there are a lot of choices out there that can help you save for college.

Parents aren’t the only ones who should be taking part in the investment, though. Kids in high school can get a head start and save right now. I’m hoping to find a job soon so that I can regulate my own cash and learn how to spend wisely. Right now is a good time to start!

SAT Changes Policy

As a junior, taking the ACT/SAT is really important. There’s also a lot of stress involved and money spent in order to prepare for them. Well, I was happy to come upon this article in The New York Times about a new policy called Score Choice that will give juniors taking the SAT the option of choosing which scores to send to college. You can read about it here.

I like this new policy because I want to put my best foot forward and send in a good test score without having to reveal the bad ones.

But some highly selective colleges are refusing Score Choice, and the policy is stirring heated debate among high school counselors and college admissions officials.