For parents of high school juniors and seniors, the prospect of sending their proverbial babies out into the real world may seem daunting. Never fear, Thesis sat down with General Academic’s College Admissions Prep Counselor Annekah Hall, former Assistant Director of Admissions for Claremont Graduate University, to answer some ofRead More

HISD’s annual Ivy Plus event – to be held at Reagan High School on Monday, October 6, from 5pm to 8pm – is a great opportunity for high school students to learn more about their prospective colleges. The major highlight of Ivy Plus is a college expo featuring some ofRead More

Busy students are just now getting back into the swing of things with the new school year underway. As many high schoolers are making plans for how to tackle their core subjects, the thought of tedious college preparation looms in the minds of students and parents alike. One of theRead More

University of Texas at Austin Present Bill Powers has agreed to step down next year, ending a years-long struggle between him and the UT-system’s governor-appointed Board of Regents. Powers offered to resign next June 2 after UT system’s Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa threatened to force him out during a July 4Read More

The University of Texas-Austin is on the national forefront of efforts to improve college completion rates of entering students from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds. The scope of UT’s program is outlined in a long-form article by Paul Tough in the June 8 issue of the New York Times Magazine A briefRead More

On Monday, President Obama signed a new executive order intended to ease debt burdens for 5 million students. The centerpiece of the initiative will allow students to cap their monthly payment of Federal direct student loans to 10 percent of their annual income under a program called “Pay As YouRead More

When is the best time to start saving for college? If you have a child, the answer is now, or perhaps yesterday. Due to many factors including increasing capital spending, expanding administration and the withdrawal of state funding from public universities over the last 20 years, tuition is increasing atRead More

Sequestration cuts from the Budget Control Act of 2011 will continue to bite students and parents borrowing to pay for college, according to a report from Clare McCann at Forbes Magazine. The Federal Department for Education announced today that student loan origination fees will slightly increase for all loans takenRead More

Update: This article describes the graduation requirements applicable to students graduating in 2017 or before. For more information on the new Foundation High School graduation requirements, which are applicable to all students matriculating after 2014 and available on an opt-in basis to students graduating in 2015-2017, see our comprehensive guideRead More

Were you able to maximize your education tax breaks this year? Sure …. Uh, actually I don’t know. All these terms like “deductions” and “non-refundable credit” kinda scare me. That’s OK – the tax code can be pretty intimidating – just like finding financial aid for college.  However, the basicRead More

Before we explore portions of the need-based financial aid universe, I need to make sure you did your homework. Did you fill out your FAFSA form, like we told you to here? Yep. Now what? Generally speaking, there are three types of need-based student aid: grants work-study loans Grants areRead More

For parents with students looking to enroll in college this fall, one elephant in the room is affording massive tuition bills. Despite ever spiraling cost, there is still considerable aid available to students and parents, both through government and private sources. The first step toward tapping these sources of financialRead More

Last month, Rice University reported that its total applications for its incoming freshman class had reached an all-time record of 17,715 – which represents an increase of 15 percent over 2013. The number of applications has roughly doubled since 2007, the college reported in a press release. Rice is seekingRead More

Students decide to attend colleges for a number of reasons. Maybe a group of high school friends all want to go to the same school. Perhaps location is the determining factor: either wanting to be closer or farther away from home. With students applying to more schools that ever before,Read More

Last August I interviewed for a one-year visiting professor position at Texas A&M’s political science department.[1] The position involved teaching three courses each term in introductory American Politics and Texas politics. The courses were large lectures, with 300 students apiece without teaching assistants. The lacks of TAs surprised me, becauseRead More

On a frigid February 26th morning, Dr. Frederick Chang, a former research director at the National Security Agency and current SMU professor, gave a talk on cybersecurity to a small group of SMU alumni. While the crowd may have expected an informative lecture on how cybersecurity works, the talk wasRead More