When Terry Walls of Springfield, Mo., decided to go back to college at age 52, he wanted to put to rest a family rumor. He had heard his mother was denied admission to Missouri State University, and he was pointed toward Meyer Library on the MSU campus for answers.

There, he discovered an eloquent letter typed on fragile, onion-skin paper and signed with his mother’s maiden name: Mary Jean Price. It was dated Oct. 2, 1950, and it was addressed to the university registrar:

“My Dear Mr. Thompson, I desire at this time to explain why I want to enter the college and why I believe my application should be granted. If denied admission, I must either abandon my ambition, or go elsewhere to obtain the same advantages which could be made available to me at home. My parents are not well-to-do … “

Friday, Walls is graduating from the same university that denied his mother admission because of the color of her skin.

‘The Colored Girl’

Missouri State University, previously called Southwest Missouri State College, was an all-white school in 1950. Price was the daughter of a black woman and a white man. She was the salutatorian of her graduating class.

“[The letter] brought tears to my eyes. It was unreal,” W……….. continues on NPR.

Attending an Ivy League college continues to hold enormous cachet, so much so that the schools can almost name their own prices. Harv……….. continues on San Francisco Chronicle.

NEW YORK (AP) Gap years are all the rage, and the rationales are many: Take a year off between high school and college to work, travel, learn a language or skill, or volunteer.

Gap years can be “excellent opportunities for students to mature, follow a passion, or scratch an itch they’ve got, and return a year later,” said Houston Dougharty, vice president of student affairs at Grinnell College in Iowa.

But Dougharty says there are pitfalls: “I’ve also seen cases where a student has taken a gap year and not used the time effectively, and found it has not helped them either in terms of maturing or developing skills or being more ready for college.”

Organized gap-year programs can also cost as much as a year of college. “Like other educational fashion trends out there, this one is being stoked by well-organized business interests masquerading as idealistic facilitators of a new mo……….. continues on WJTV.

Sam Helderop received an acceptance letter from Michigan’s Hope College this spring, but has no intention of going — at least not in the fall of 2012.

The college has allowed him to defer his admission, and Helderop will take a gap year to teach English with the DaLaa project in a remote village in Thailand, then backpack throughout Southeast Asia — “until my money runs out.”

“I always wanted to travel pretty much my entire life,” said Helderop, a graduating senior from Grand Rapids, Mich. “But after 18 years of the same old routine, going to school and sitting in class, I am not motivated enough right now to go through four years of college.”

“I feel like a gap year will narrow down what I want to study and do in my life,” he said. “To get my interest in education back again.”

Helderop’s mother is not happy about his plans to step off the academic ladder and do volunteer work.

But higher education experts say that giving students an opportunity to explore the real world helps them mature. And early research reveals that once they restart their academic studies, they actually perform better than those who go straight from high school to college.

An estimated 1.2 percent of first-time college freshmen take a g……….. continues on ABC News.

HYDERABAD: Aspirants to medical education in the state are facing difficulties as no private or no private minority medical college is� following government guidelines on filling the management quota seats with eligible meritorious students.

The C-category seats in private colleges and B-category seats in minority colleges should be filled according to state government guidelines and must collect the fee stipulated by the admission and fee regulatory committee.

The college managements have to issue a notification and candidates willing to pay the stipulated fee should only apply. The colleges should prepare a merit list on the basis of candidates’ marks in Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology in their 10+2 examination. The colleges should make admissions on the basis of merit list and the list must be approved by the NTR Health University.

According to guidelines, the managements shall not charge any capitation fee and there shall not be any profiteering.

Medical Courses Strivers and Parents Association president Nomula Jagadishwar says colleges are selling seats at a huge premium of anywhere between Rs 40 lakh and R……….. continues on IBNLive.com.

Five things you need to know about college admissions

I’ve addressed four of the five things high school students need to focus on during the college admissions process: the college search, the admissions tests required, your admissions options, and financial aid. This column will focus on the all-important admissions essay. How to pay for college is the major concern for most families. After that, the admissions essay causes the most angst and stress for students.

The key point of the essay is to show the admissions officers why you should be admitted to their school. My advice to students is to consider this scenario: After reading 31 essays, yours is the last one the admissions officer reads before calling it a day. Do you really think she is interested in how you won the big game on the last play or how you survived breaking up with your boyfriend? I’m afraid not.

So, what’s the best way to approach the essay? Here are seven helpful tips to get you started:

z Do not-and I repeat-do not wait until the last minute to write your essay. Most people – including high school students – do not do their best when they are under pressure. Careful planning and thought will pay off, so give yourself plenty of time to write your essay.</……….. continues on NorthJersey.com.