Keep Watching the Skies

Keep Watching the Skies
In case you’ve missed it, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy . In keeping with the FFW promotion of science, I have a couple inspiring news items. Recently, a 14-year-old girl discovered a supernova. She is the youngest person ever to do so. I thought that it was cool to see someone so excited about discovery and science. She really makes me want to pick up a telescope and look for myself. Click here to view the embedded video. Also this week, NASA launched a rocket to the

Calculating Potential

Calculating Potential
Setting really far over to the side the fact that I think everyone (even the humans I don’t particularly want to hang out, drink coffee, and chat about politics with) is entitled to an affordable college education, here’s a new take on calculating students loan factors. U.S. News and World Report has a piece [...]

Setting really far over to the side the fact that I think everyone (even the humans I don’t particularly want to hang out, drink coffee, and chat about politics with) is entitled to an affordable college education, here’s a new take on calculating students loan factors. U.S. News and World Report has a piece about the different tools available for students to use for figuring out their potential future earnings and what that might mean vis-á-vis paying back their student loans.

Included in the list of future-salary calculators is the soon-to-be-launched Human Capital Score. It’s in beta right now, and can therefore currently be accessed for free by anyone who’s interested. (Once it’s officially launched, I’m assuming it’ll cost you in some way, shape, or form). Unlike traditional FICO scores, the Human Capital Score figures out a given student’s future ability to pay back the money they borrowed for college using the student’s SAT scores, their high school GPA, their undergraduate major and their undergrad GPA.

It’s interesting in so far as HCS is utilizing a different set of variables when calculating student loan factors. However, while I do appreciate it when the system tries new and exciting approaches to measuring people’s potential, I still tend to take issue with the obsessive need to measure people in the first place, especially when it comes to deciding who deserves how much education based on test scores and possible future earnings. Again with the standardized test scores meaning more than they should and the in-it-for-the-potential-to-do-good careers getting shafted.

Sampling of Salary Calculators:

SalaryExpert.com
Salary Wizard
Glassdoor.com
PayScale.com
National Association of Colleges and Employers (usually free at college career centers)

Posted by Alexa Harrington

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USC basketball: Trojans hire Kevin O’Neill

USC basketball: Trojans hire Kevin O’Neill
USC has hired Kevin O’Neill to succeed Tim Floyd as men’s basketball coach. Here’s the school’s official announcement: LOS ANGELES–Kevin O’Neill, who has 13 years of collegiate and NBA head coaching experience, has been named the men’s basketball head coach at USC, Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett announced today (June 20). “We’re thrilled to have Kevin O’Neill as our men’s basketball coach,” said Garrett. “Kevin is the consummate coach. He knows his Xs and Os, he’s an excellent recru

Police raid Lawrence school superintendent's office

Police raid Lawrence school superintendent's office
State and local police searched the office of Lawrence school superintendent Wilfredo Laboy yesterday, in what was called an ongoing criminal investigation and the latest stain for the city’s schools. Investigators were at the office searching computers and paperwork, but officials would not identify Laboy as the target of the raid. Laboy was not in the office at the time ...