“Students should not be financially penalized for attending a low-cost school, and colleges and universities should not be punished for reducing their tuition costs,” says George Miller, chairman of the House education committee, in a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Currently, students attending more expensive schools receive larger Pell Grants than those attending less expensive schools.  The U.S. House of Representatives is looking to change that in attempt to make college more affordable for everyone.

If this bill passes, it could be very good for all those students out there not currently attending or planning to attend an Ivy League school.  In other words, pretty much every normal student.

“Today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists,” claims a new article found on CNN.com.

Do you feel this way?  Do you think you are too full of yourself?

Silly question.  How about this: Do you think you are a special person?

The article states that narcissism is rising due to sites like MySpace and YouTube that encourage posts and videos about you, that draw attention to who you are.

Is this narcissism?  If not, what would you call it?  What do you think is going on?

This article is concerned, as are some leaders.  They are worried about what this could lead to.

For instance, a senior at the University of Washington told the reporter, “I can see goals and ambitions getting in the way of other things like relationships.”

So, let’s ask you:

How important would you say it is to be financially well-off?

Who do you think is the most important person in your social group?

Did you find this post offensive?

Want to enact revenge on your teachers?  Now’s your chance.

Princeton University’s student government has created a website in which students can anonymously bash their professors, thereby warning future students.  Other schools are expected to follow suit.

This is being billed as an unprecedented way for students to let professors know what works and what doesn’t, and therefore what to change for future classes.  Many people are up in arms about this, saying if students have complaints they should say them to the professors’ faces.

Here’s the thing: Doesn’t this already exist?  Don’t many professors distribute evaluations at the end of the semester?  Anonymous evaluations where students can review the class without facing repercussions?

Just because this one is online, what’s the big deal?  RateMyProfessor.com has existed for years.

Nonetheless, if you’re upset with a class, you may soon have the chance to fight back.

Remember a few weeks back when we mentioned that Oklahoma Wesleyan University was auctioning a year of tuition as well as room and board (we apparently broke the story, as one StudentProspector employee informed me)?

Well, bidding has officially ended, and the lucky winner snagged a year of college for $18,699.99.  Bidding started at a penny and quickly rose, had technical issues, was reset, and had to rise again.  And rise it did, although it’s still less than the average cost, which is $19,920.  Additionally, financial aid is still available for the student, despite buying the tuition via an auction.

What do you think of this whole process?  Should other schools follow suit, or was it just a well done publicity stunt?

“A student is suing a Massachusetts university over what he says is an unfair grade in a philosophy course, saying it could kill his chances of entering law school,” says an article on CNN.com.

“Brian Marquis, 50, said Wednesday that he filed the lawsuit against the University of Massachusetts last week after receiving a ‘C’ instead of the ‘A minus’ he had expected.”

Here’s the best part: Marquis said, “Quite frankly, I find this utterly unacceptable.”

Unacceptable, huh?  Hmm, here’s a thought: do better in class.

Okay, that isn’t really fair.  The article goes on to say, “The [class’s] teaching assistant redrew the grading scale ‘to make grades more representative of student performance,’ which turned Marquis’s 92.1 percent points into 84 percent, which became a C, according to an e-mail by the teaching assistant.

Additionally, “At the university, an 84 percent score can produce a grade between ‘A minus’ to a ‘C’ depending on the professor’s preferences, according to the school newspaper, the Daily Collegian.”

So maybe it is a bum deal that he got a lower grade, but you have to admit this story is funny.  Hey, are you doing poorly in any of your classes?  Then sue the university!

When you graduate, will you stay in the same state as your college?  Have you even thought about that?

Boston was recently voted the smartest city in the US, partly because there are so many colleges in Boston, and because so many students who graduate from college in the city stay there, and make a home there.

To contrast, more than one in three Indiana natives who stay in state for school leave after graduation, according to a recent article on CNN.com.

To combat this, Governor Mitch Daniels wants to offer students money for sticking around.  As written in the CNN article, Daniels, “wants to offer $20,000 scholarships over four years. But there’s a catch — recipients who leave the state less than three years after graduation will be required to repay the money.”

Daniels would need $1 billion upfront, plus annual payments thereafter, and in order to afford that, he has proposed that Indiana outsource their lottery for the next 30 years.  Of that money, 60% would pay for the scholarships and 40% would be used to attract top faculty to the state’s colleges.

The governor believes that this play will, “help move Indiana’s job-strapped manufacturing economy to one strong in life sciences, staffed with homegrown talent.”  Others disagree, however, claiming that the best way to keep college graduates around is to offer them attractive jobs.

“The real issue is providing opportunities that young people want,” said a retired Indiana economist who believes that you can’t expect graduates to stay in the state if there aren’t any good jobs for them.

This is a classic catch-22 scenario: graduates aren’t staying in Indiana because there aren’t any good jobs, and there aren’t any good jobs because graduates aren’t staying in India.  Obviously this is a problem.  The question is, will Daniels’s plan fix it?  It’s certainly interesting, and certainly outside-the-box, but will it work?

The CNN article quotes a biomedical engineering student that offers interesting insight.  She says, “When you’re younger, three years — it’s not really that big of a deal to stay in state.”  I don’t know about you, but that sounds to me like she would stay in the state for three years in order to keep the money, and would then potentially move on to greener pastures, so would this plan really work, or just postpone the inevitable?

What do you think?  And if this happened in your state, what would you do?

“His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama has been named Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory University.”

That’s a blurb written on the home page of the Georgia school’s website, and CNN has confirmed it.  The Dalai Lama is adding college professor to his resume, right next to Nobel Peace Prize winner and Spiritual Leader.

Writes an article on CNN.com, “The Tibetan leader said in a university statement that he looks forward to offering his services to students and the community.”

The Dalai Lama himself added, “I firmly believe that education is an indispensable tool for the flourishing of human well-being and the creation of a just and peaceful society, and I am delighted to make a small contribution in this regard through this appointment.”

What do you think; would you like to be taught by the Dalai Lama?

High schools are starting to test for drugs and alcohol…three days after they’ve been consumed.

No lie.  CNN Education reports that there is a new test that can sense whether someone has consumed alcohol up to 80 hours after it sloshed down their throats.  The tests will be given randomly, and not only will parents of guilty students be notified, but the students will have to go through counseling.

Do you think this will spread to college campuses, where schools will test underage students?  Do you think it will deter binge drinking on campus?  Give us your thoughts.

Starting today, you, yes you, have the power to control television schedules.

Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but starting today, Nielsen Media Research, the company that quantifies TV ratings and therefore dictates what companies advertise on what programs and therefore what shows stay on the air, is factoring in college students.

They have never done this before, so student favorites like “America’s Next Top Model,” and “Family Guy,” as well as anything on ESPN or The Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim,” are expected to get huge boosts in ratings.

But here’s the question on advertisers’ minds: How much do college students pay attention to the television when it’s on.

This is a question only you can answer.  Are you paying strict attention to your favorite shows, or do you have the TV on in the background while you’re doing homework, updating your MySpace profile or doing any number of other things?

Your answer may very well keep your favorite shows on the air.

Yesterday we talked about the high cost of tuition, and how Princeton is capping that price.

“Oklahoma Wesleyan University, in Bartlesville, Okla., is putting a full year of tuition, room, and board up for auction on eBay, with the bidding starting at just a penny,” writes a Chronicle of Higher Education blogger.

Robert Myers, the executive vice president of the university, says this is an opportunity for anyone “who has ever wanted to either go to college or to send a friend or relative to college but couldn’t afford it.”

Hey, what are you waiting for? Go get on eBay and place a bid!