East West College Counseling LLP

11/11/2025

Tech layoffs tracked at this site:

A complete list of all the known layoffs in tech, from Big Tech to startups, broken down by month throughout 2024 and 2025.

11/11/2025

Vanderbilt University Expands With New York Campus The New York Times (11/4, Otterman) reported that the 13 Collegiate Gothic buildings and leafy quad of “the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church” in New York City are to become “a satellite campus of Vanderbilt University, the elite academic institution based in Nashville.” In September, Vanderbilt “finalized a $44 million, 99-year-lease” with the General Theological Seminary, announcing that it will use the campus “for two academic programs: a residential program for about 100 undergraduates for a semester of their junior or senior years, and a graduate program offering a Master of Science in business and technology.” On Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents approved the plan, allowing operations to begin by next fall. The seminary will maintain a presence through a hybrid Master of Divinity program. The program’s 55 students take “mostly online courses, but under the Vanderbilt lease agreement, they will still be allowed to live on campus for six weeks a year.”
General Theological Seminary had 222 students in 1990.

Vanderbilt University has announced that the New York State attorney general has granted the approval necessary to close on the lease of its new campus in New York City. The approval is an important milestone in the agreement between Vanderbilt and the General Theological Seminary that enables Vande...

11/11/2025

Michigan State University Revises Co-Ed Bathroom Policy At Honors Dorm Fox News (11/5, Mion) reports that Michigan State University (MSU) has “partially reversed course on its decision to make all community bathrooms in its honors dorm co-ed, following complaints from students and parents.” Last week, the university installed new signs at Campbell Hall “to label some bathrooms by gender, a shift that came after a formal complaint and survey results showing unease among residents about a $37.1 million renovation that turned all 20 community bathrooms into unisex facilities.” Parents were not informed prior to the change, leading at least one student to seek alternative facilities. MSU said it “moved to unisex community bathrooms at Campbell Hall to adapt to a future shift in student populations.” MSU spokesperson Kat Cooper stated, “Following review of the survey data, the decision was made to provide options for students.” Some MSU Board of Trustees members supported the decision, with Trustee Dennis Denno saying, “It’s important for our students to feel comfortable and to have options.”

Michigan State University reversed its co-ed bathroom policy at Campbell Hall after students said they were not comfortable with the unisex facilities.

11/11/2025

(NOT UT!) University Of Austin Receives $100M Donation For Permanent Free Tuition The Texas Tribune (11/5, Priest) reports that billionaire Jeff Yass has donated $100 million to the University of Austin “to offer free tuition permanently to students who enroll.” The private university, “founded by critics of traditional higher education,” announced the donation last month but identified Yass as the donor in a Wednesday release. Yass, co-founder of the Pennsylvania-based trading firm Susquehanna International Group, stated, “Only condition is the school never takes government money.” The University of Austin, which launched in 2021, offers a liberal studies degree and plans to grow its enrollment. The donation “launches a $300 million campaign to ensure its students can prepare for careers without taking on debt.” The university, which “offers automatic admission to applicants who meet high standardized test score thresholds,” said it has “already received $50 million from Yass, with the rest expected to arrive over the next four years.” Bloomberg (11/5, Maglione, Massa, Subscription Publication) reports that although the university “doesn’t charge tuition, it estimates students will have to pay around $24,000 a year to cover costs including fees, housing and meals.”

Yass, a school voucher supporter and an influential figure in Texas politics, said the only condition for the gift was for the school not to receive government funding.

11/11/2025

"UCSD is perhaps the first major public university in the country to require all undergraduate students to take a class on climate change to earn their degree. The requirement, which rolled out with first-year students last fall, came about because UCSD leaders believe students won’t be prepared for the workforce if they don’t understand climate change. Around the globe, global warming is already causing severe droughts, water scarcity, fires, rising sea levels, flooding, storms and declining biodiversity; leaders at UCSD argue every job will be affected."

University of California, San Diego, requires all students to learn about climate change, while other schools have added environmental sustainability requirements.

10/30/2025

Innovation with Heart: A Backpack That Becomes a Bed!
A German startup has created a backpack that unfolds into a warm, insulated bed—with solar-powered lights and phone charging. ⚡
It’s not a full home, but it gives people experiencing homelessness a safe, warm space, a little privacy, and a chance to recharge literally and figuratively.
Small ideas, big impact. Imagine handing this to someone who has been told “no” all day—the relief, the warmth, the hope it’s priceless.
Read more: https://astronomynews.site/?p=154

10/30/2025

This from Jason Wei, currently at Meta Superintelligence Labs, formerly at OpenAI. Makes choosing a major very difficult without a crystal ball.

10/26/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DomWagWYk/Fixing college admissions is a collective action problem that begins with each of us, willing to be the ones who take a step back to bring a sense of joy and discovery again to what’s next after high school.
How might we do that? Like with the current movement with phones and social media in schools, we need to take specific actions.
Here are some ideas we might consider. Let me know which ones you like or others you think might work:
1️⃣ Stop bragging. Skip the window stickers and lawn flags. College should be about your student’s fit and future—not your family’s status symbol.
2️⃣ Eliminate the “Class of” Instagram pages. Celebrate privately if you want, but those public pages often fuel comparison and stress. Share your student’s news in ways that feel authentic, not performative.
3️⃣ Research 2–3 schools NOT in the top 50. Dig deeper in the rankings. You’ll find incredible teaching, belonging, and outcomes just outside the prestige bubble.
4️⃣ Visit your safety schools first. Start where admission is likely and set a positive benchmark. You might be surprised which campuses feel the most like home.

Fixing college admissions is a collective action problem that begins with each of us, willing to be the ones who take a step back to bring a sense of joy and discovery again to what’s next after high school.

How might we do that? Like with the current movement with phones and social media in schools, we need to take specific actions.

Here are some ideas we might consider. Let me know which ones you like or others you think might work:

1️⃣ Stop bragging. Skip the window stickers and lawn flags. College should be about your student’s fit and future—not your family’s status symbol.

2️⃣ Eliminate the “Class of” Instagram pages. Celebrate privately if you want, but those public pages often fuel comparison and stress. Share your student’s news in ways that feel authentic, not performative.

3️⃣ Research 2–3 schools NOT in the top 50. Dig deeper in the rankings. You’ll find incredible teaching, belonging, and outcomes just outside the prestige bubble.

4️⃣ Visit your safety schools first. Start where admission is likely and set a positive benchmark. You might be surprised which campuses feel the most like home.

10/23/2025

City Journal's methodology:

We selected 100 schools that are highly touted by other ranking systems, widely known to the American public, and/or of high regional importance.

10/23/2025

Manhattan Institute's rankings:

10/23/2025

"The Manhattan Institute’s City Journal looked at 100 colleges, assessing them on qualities that many students and families are concerned about, including free speech, the school’s approach to politics on campus, and students’ professional success after graduation. Schools that have demonstrated ideological pluralism among the faculty received higher marks. Same for a vibrant and inclusive campus social life. Student tolerance for controversial speakers was another plus.
What do students think of their teachers? Do liberal arts schools present students with a core curriculum that expects them to master foundational subjects like economics, a foreign language, composition and natural sciences? Does the university require a U.S. history or government course to graduate? Schools received negative marks for a DEI focus that “elevates activism over academic inquiry.”

On those criteria, a new set of universities rose to the top. The University of Florida, University of Texas at Austin and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill capture the top three spots thanks to specific programs that have elevated civic discourse and top-flight academic programs. Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech are close behind. Even the top schools received only three or four stars out of five, however, leaving plenty of room for improvement."

A new college ranking considers such factors as free speech on campus and alumni success.

09/03/2025

U Miami football coach is in the lead: $20M /yr salary