University System News:
www.wmbfnews.com
ABAC lends a helping hand to Tifton
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/38687121/abac-lends-a-helping-hand-to-tifton
By John Barron, Reporter
TIFTON, GA (WALB) – Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is hosting its first-ever day of service on August 14th from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. as a way to give back to the Tifton community. Students, faculty and staff will all be going into the community to lend a helping hand around the city. “Absolutely, this is more of a pilot year,” said Trent Hester, the ABAC resident’s life coordinator. “We are looking forward to some of the great things that we are going to do this year, but in the future, we are wanting to expand on this as well.” Hester said the ABAC Day of Service is to give back to the Tifton community. This is the first year that ABAC has decided to host the event, allowing students, faculty and staff the opportunity to give back to their community. “So as part of the ABAC mission, we really want our students to graduate and be ready to join a full community,” said Hester. “So, we want to engage our students in community service.”
www.wtoc.com
Broken pipe floods Victor Hall on Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern University
By WTOC Staff
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) – Savannah Fire responded to a water leak at a building on the Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern University. WTOC is told that crews had to remove water from the first and second floors of Victor Hall. Firefighters said an air conditioner water line on the building rooftop broke, flooded the building and triggered an alarm. Firefighters responded to the scene at about 6:23 a.m. Monday. According to a release from Savannah Fire, crews worked over an hour to safely remove water from both floors. Victor Hall is the admissions and financial aid office – among other things – for the Armstrong campus. The building is now closed and the following services have been relocated to these areas:
www.albanyherald.com
Connectivity key word for ASU-downtown trail element
State Board of Regents, Dougherty Commission fund ASU connector
By Carlton Fletcher
ALBANY — As he talked about the significance of the role Albany State University will play in development of the Flint River Trails, Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas noted how, over the years, tragedies involving ASU students being hit by vehicles while attempting to cross busy Oglethorpe Boulevard became all too common. Development of the trail element that will connect Albany State’s East Campus with downtown Albany is, Cohilas noted, a vital step in not only fostering the “college town” culture long sought by school and community officials but also in assuring the safety of college students at the university. “The safety of our students is one more reason this partnership with the city, the county, Albany State and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents is a win-win-win all around,” Cohilas said. ASU interim President Marion Fedrick and Regent Barbara Rivera Holmes, who is also the president of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, lauded the $1.75 million ASU-downtown connector project as vital to the continued growth of the university. “As we continue to make changes at Albany State University that will allow our students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world, it is vital that we continue the connectivity that allows our students to feel more like a part of this community, not just part of the college,” Fedrick said. Holmes said the Board of Regents agreed to donate a significant sum to the trail project to enhance the quality of life of ASU students. “For our students at Albany State and for the city of Albany, this is one more feather in our cap as we continue to work to grow and build a stronger community,” she said.
www.usnews.com
What Is a Good GRE Score for Graduate School Admissions?
Experts say what qualifies as a good GRE score depends on the grad school you want to attend.
By Ilana Kowarski, Reporter
Grad school hopefuls wondering how well they need to perform on the GRE exam should understand that programs have varied expectations for standardized tests, admissions experts say. Admissions officers suggest prospective students look up the GRE score ranges among admitted students at the schools they are considering and check if these schools have GRE score requirements.
…Guidelines for Setting Target GRE Scores
Melinda Maxwell, the director of graduate admissions at the University of North Georgia, says grad school hopefuls applying to her university should strive to achieve math and verbal scores that add up to a number between 310 and 315. “We’re looking for somebody who is probably at a minimum in the 300 to 305 range,” she says. “I would say, so that you are comfortably competitive for admission, to aim for [scores from] 310 to 315.” According to the Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit organization that designs and administers the GRE, the mean verbal reasoning score among all GRE test-takers between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2017 was 150.05. Meanwhile, the mean quantitative score was 152.80 and the mean analytical writing score was 3.5.
www.ajc.com
Georgia Tech to honor Andrew Young for his civil & human rights work
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Tech announced Tuesday it’s honoring Andrew Young for his decades of work to improve civil and human rights throughout the world. Young will receive the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. He will be honored during a series of events, scheduled for Sept. 13 at the Biltmore, in Georgia Tech’s Technology Square. Planned activities include a town hall discussion for students. Details about how to register will be provided closer to the event, Tech said in a news release.
www.athensceo.com
UGA Crop Geneticists Awarded $935,000 to Breed Softer Cotton and More Resilient Peanuts
Merritt Melancon
The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences plant breeders almost $1 million in grants this fiscal year to produce improved cotton and peanut varieties. These plant breeders have been tapped to make Georgia’s most profitable row crops more sustainable and productive.
Higher Education News:
www.myajc.com
Before you apply (or quit), how much does a college degree really cost?
By Rose Kennedy – For the AJC
This fall’s class of college freshman may have conquered algebra, but this is still a good equation to solve: If a student pays x to attend college, and a graduate makes y, how much did college really cost? If the October 2017 study released by the U.S. Department of Education is any indicator, a short answer for many is “too much.” The report predicted a looming student debt crisis. Published by the Brookings Institution, the report cited federal data indicating default rates continue to rise between 12 to 20 years after students begin repaying their loans and concluded nearly 40 percent of students who took out loans in 2004 may default by 2023. Today’s raw numbers are also imposing. Balanced against even the most popular jobs for 2018 college graduates or high-earning jobs that require only a couple years of junior college study, the base cost for college attendance is pricey. According to the College Board’s College Cost Calculator, for example, the average price of one year of private college is $42,224 in today’s dollars. Adjusted for a start date of five years for now (assuming about 5 percent annual increase), the cost of four years would be $232,271. But discerning potential students and their parents should rely on their own figures, according to Kiplinger, which noted that few students actually pay the “sticker price” published by most colleges, and financial aid letters don’t detail how college costs typically shift over four years of attendance.