A major study from Stanford University recently found socioeconomic status was no indication of a given school’s quality. The truly important measure for school effectiveness was the rate at which students were making improvements on test scores. The findings defy the typical assumptions about what makes a great public school. For many parents, judging a […]
HomeShare, a startup based in San Francisco, converts living rooms in above-market-rate buildings into bedrooms so tenants can save on rent. The company pockets a cut of the rent, like a finder’s fee. Each of HomeShare’s customers gets their own bedroom, a closet, and a private or shared bathroom. Prices start at $1,125 a month. […]
Widespread heating issues have forced multiple Baltimore schools to close, but some still force kids to attend. Students have been wrapping themselves in blankets and heavy coats to stay warm inside their classrooms. People are now donating to a GoFundMe campaign to supply local schools with heaters and outerwear. As winter temperatures continue to plummet, […]
Math is a cool way for us to understand the world we live in. And to that end Business Insider recently spoke with Steven Strogatz, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University. Strogatz specializes in areas of nonlinear dynamics and complex systems, and he is the author of the wonderful “Joy […]
Julie Lythcott-Haims is the opposite of a helicopter parent. A former dean of freshmen at Stanford, from 2002 to 2012, and the author of “How to Raise an Adult,” Lythcott-Haims has seen time and again that sheltered kids don’t make for capable adults. She has built a career on encouraging parents to take a more […]
Fender Play is a new online learning tool from the legendary American guitar company. I spent a month using it to improve my skills. It’s a great program of instruction, but it might not be for everybody. It is very affordable, however. The guitar isn’t an easy instrument to play, and unfortunately for a lot […]
With 2018 just around the corner, technology is already sweeping through classrooms as educators and developers create more and more products designed to enhance education. New technologies like AI, machine learning, and educational software aren’t just changing the field for students, they’re shaking up the role of educators, creating philosophical shifts in approaches to teaching, […]
Elon Musk formed Ad Astra School in 2015 after he became dissatisfied with schooling options for his kids. He’s remained tight-lipped about the school. A former SpaceX employee said Musk ran the school out of the company office in the beginning. Elon Musk’s secretive Ad Astra School formed in 2015. Since then, the SpaceX CEO […]
Early admissions decisions in the Ivy League are announced in December. The acceptance rate is far higher during the early admissions round in the winter than the regular decision announcements in the spring. College admissions offices say this is due to the strength of the applicant pool rather than an ease of acceptance. There’s a […]
Another year of early acceptance notifications, another year where the acceptance rates declined. That’s the story for the Ivy League classes of 2022, who received their acceptance, rejection, or deferral notes over the past week. Almost all eight schools in the competitive Ivy League reported declines in acceptance rates, meaning it’s the hardest year on […]
Harvard University professors constantly read and assign texts to their students. So they know a good book when they see one. With that in mind, Business Insider asked professors at Harvard to share the single book they think every student should read in 2018. The professors include Nobel laureates, scientists, economists, and Pulitzer Prize winners. […]
Almost 5 million student loans have gone unpaid for a significant amount of time. Federal and private loans are going into default, making it harder for loan holders to establish credit or buy cars and homes. The federal government is on the hook for the money if defaulters can’t pay. Approximately 4.6 million Americans have […]
In 2016, Sandy Hook Elementary reopened in a brand-new building. Designed by Svigals + Partners Architects, the campus is a high-tech security marvel. But it’s also beautifully designed in an effort give students a fun place to learn. Don’t let the wavy lines and colorful blinds fool you: When it comes to security, the new […]
From fidget spinners to feminism, 2017 was a year unlike any other. And although it’s hard to find a single word to sum up the entire year, there are certain words that popped up time and time again, shaping the way we talk about current events and enriching our conversations. Several dictionaries have crunched the […]
Microsoft’s dealmaker Peggy Johnson studied engineering in college due to a fluke. She was a business major but when she found herself running an errand to the engineering department she had a conversation there that changed her life. Thanks to that conversation she discovered engineering and has gone on to become a major force in […]
The $1.3 trillion student-loan market is a “bubble,” Goldman Sachs strategists said in a recent note. The banks believes the market for asset-backed securities refinanced by private lenders like SoFi “may offer relative value” compared to public student-loan securities. Asset-backed securities bundle pools of loans with similar risks that investors can profit from when former […]
As a Harvard dropout, Bill Gates wasn’t exactly a model student. But as the second-richest person on Earth — and someone who is heavily involved in efforts to alleviate poverty and health burdens for billions of people — he does know thing or two about finding success. The Microsoft cofounder has given students his fair […]
Times Higher Education ranks world universities annually. This year, Harvard was dethroned from the top spot. Oxford University and Cambridge University came in first and second. For the first time in 14 years, an American college didn’t crack the top two in a ranking of the best universities in the world, according to the Times […]
An Illinois bus company is being investigated after it posted what some have called a “racist” ad. The state’s Attorney General is looking into whether the ad, which said ‘you won’t feel like you’re in China’ on its buses, violated the law. The company’s initial apology criticized the University of Illinois’ enrollment choices. The Illinois’ […]
The United Nations has declared that the world is suffering from a “learning crisis.” Although students are physically going to school, a quarter of a billion aren’t learning anything. In a recent TED talk, Tunisian politician and education expert Amel Karboul offers ways to solve the crisis. In 2014, the United Nations put the state […]
The Department of Education is negotiating changes to regulations for for-profit colleges. The changes could hurt military veterans, a highly coveted subset of students for the industry. A funding loophole makes veterans highly profitable for for-profit colleges. The Department of Education began negotiations to change regulations related to the for-profit college industry in December, a […]
Silicon Valley is getting its first-ever public high school that lives on a corporate campus. Oracle spent $43 million to build and outfit a new school for Design Tech High School, an existing public charter school that serves 550 students. Employees of the enterprise-tech company will lead workshops and mentor students after the school opens […]
Former SpaceX employee Josh Boehm told Business Insider that interviewing with the company is intense. There are seven to eight face-to-face interviews. At any point in the process, if even one person doesn’t like the candidate, the interview stops and the applicant is sent home. It’s well established that working for Elon Musk at SpaceX […]
There are many simple words in the English language that are hard for foreign speakers to master. That’s because English words often have several different meanings and can be difficult to pronounce. English is a notoriously difficult language to learn, from its inconsistent pronunciation to the endless list of irregular verbs. For some people learning […]
A report from Georgetown University identified the best states to live if you haven’t received a college degree. The report looked at the percent of workers in a state without a degree and the median earnings for those workers. Arizona is the state with the greatest increase in well-paid service jobs between 1991 and 2015. […]
Town & Country estimated that wealthy families spend $1.7 million per child to get them into the Ivy League. Nursery school alone can run families more than $80,000. The analysis reveals the steep discrepancies in educational access between wealthy and low-income families. American families pay more to send their kids to college than anywhere else […]
An MSN poll found Republicans and Democrats have a lot of the same beliefs about college. But on the issue of whether college is worth the cost, there was a stark divide. 43% of Democrats believe college is worth it, compared to 28% of Republicans. American politics have grown more polarized than ever before. So […]
More students at University of California schools are experiencing food scarcity issues. 500 students at UC Berkeley applied for food stamps in 2017, compared to 111 last year. Students also supplement their meals by using a free food pantry at Berkeley. College students in California are turning to food stamps to afford their meals, CNBC […]
• Former NASA flight director Paul Hill told Business Insider about some common misconceptions about working for NASA. • He said the space program isn’t made up of super-geniuses who “don’t even need computers because they do all the math in their heads.” • The Texas A&M grad added NASA is made up of “normal […]
Reid Hoffman is the billionaire cofounder of LinkedIn and one of tech’s most influential investors. Instead of a business education, he pursued his master’s degree in philosophy. He told us that the analytical thinking skills he learned have made him a better investor and entrepreneur. When students begin graduate studies in philosophy, they’re typically looking […]
The Putney School, located in southern Vermont, is small and located on a dairy farm. The 238 students there must work on the farm and in other jobs to graduate. They don’t learn their grades until halfway through high school. Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and a Greylock Partners investor, always had an independent streak. […]
A letter from a principal to parents was uploaded to Reddit and has resonated with readers. The letter urges parents to worry less about test scores. The principal points to entrepreneurs, musicians, and athletes all have different strengths. Standardized testing has been called a motivation killer. The phrase “drill and kill” is often used to […]
A new kind of school crafted by the minds and wallets of Silicon Valley influencers is struggling to keep parents happy and students in seats. AltSchool shuttered more than half of the schools it’s opened since 2013. Parents of former and current students at AltSchool told Business Insider the startup treats their children like “guinea […]
If you want to be the CEO of a powerful company, choosing the right college major is an important place to start. We took a look at the leaders of the top 11 companies in this year’s Fortune 500, and by and large, they each majored in a field directly related to industry of their […]
Here are 12 everyday phrases you might be saying incorrectly: Incorrect: I could care less Correct: I couldn’t care less Incorrect: One in the same Correct: One and the same Incorrect: On accident Correct: By accident Incorrect: Wreck havoc Correct: Wreak havoc Incorrect: For all intensive purposes Correct: For all intents and purposes Incorrect: Should […]
Advances in machine learning now mean that doctors can take a photo and identify the disease or condition depicted. Apple is a fan of one specific app, VisualDx, that uses new machine learning software to assist with diagnosis on an iPhone. VisualDx has built a database of 32,000 high-quality medical images. Apple CEO Tim Cook […]
Flying offers the opportunity to disconnect from the internet — unless you pay for it — and turn your mind off from the constant barrage of phone notifications. Why not spend that time getting smarter on a topic you’ve always wanted to learn more about. With that in mind, Business Insider found seven smart books […]
Student loan debt continues to be a huge burden for many Americans. Graduates in the Northeast have more debt on average, while those in the Southwest had the least on average. Families in the Northeast tend to spend more on college than those in other parts of the country. Student loan debt continues to be […]
Ohio State University suspended 37 fraternities, pointing to hazing and alcohol violations. No sororities were suspended. Eleven fraternities had been under investigation since the start of the school year. The Ohio State University suspended 37 fraternities organizations from campus Thursday, citing instances of hazing and alcohol, WOSU Public Media reported. The suspension includes any social […]
English majors are surprisingly well-represented in US medical schools. They have a higher acceptance rate than applicants coming from science backgrounds. And it’s not necessarily the case that English easier than biology or chemistry. There’s a decent chance your doctor didn’t study biology, chemistry, or any other science when they first got to college. A […]
A 20-year-old Texas State University fraternity pledge died Monday. Texas State suspended all Greek organization activities. It is the fourth fraternity pledge to die in 2017. Texas State University on Tuesday suspended the activities of all Greek organizations following the death of a pledge — the second such death at a college fraternity in a […]
A 5.4 magnitude earthquake rocked South Korea, damaging school buildings. As a result, South Korea’s schools postponed the college entrance exams, which are highly competitive and essentially shut down the entire nation. After a magnitude 5.4 earthquake near Pohang, South Korea, shook the nation and damaged some school buildings, the country decided to postpone its […]
Ad Astra School was created in 2014 by Elon Musk. There are very few details about the school and no public website. Elon Musk hasn’t spoken publicly about the school since 2015. Elon Musk pulled his five kids out their prestigious school for gifted children school in 2014, and launched the secretive Ad Astra School. […]
Billionaire investor and LinkedIn cofounder credits part of his success to his unusual high school education in Vermont. At the Putney School, manual labor is taken as seriously as academic work. Hoffman struggled socially, but learned to approach life outside of traditional career paths. At the Putney School in Vermont, graduating students customize their diplomas, […]
Peter Thiel is offering a $10,000 fellowship to young entrepreneurs who drop out of college. While it’s tempting, Scott Galloway reveals why it is awful advice. Following is a transcription of the video. Scott Galloway. Professor of marketing, NYU Stern. Despite how outrageously expensive college is, it’s still a pretty good plan B. If a […]