In the Midwest state of Michigan, one counselor may advise up to 750 students at a time about going to college.

The American School Counselor Association says it should be 250 to one.

“Some school counselors are probably in a spot where maybe they cannot provide the individual services ... getting the students exactly what they need,” says Terri Tchorzynski, who earned the American School Counselor of the Year award in 2017.

A study this year asked 22,087 Americans about their college experience and where people received advice about what to study and whether the advice was helpful.

Only 64 percent said “formal” sources of advice - such as school counselors, websites and print media - were helpful. More helpful were social networks, like friends and family, 83 percent said. Informal work-based sources, like bosses and co-workers, were the least used, said 20 percent.

Brandon Busteed said he was surprised by the results. Busteed is the executive director of education and workforce development at the Gallup research company, which conducted the poll.

“It’s a call to action on a number of fronts, certainly to think about how we improve the formal advising that happens in and outside of schools,” he told VOA. “But also to think about how we can ramp up the number of touch points between employers … and students.”

Johnny C. Taylor Jr. is the president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which supports historically black colleges and universities, across the United States. Taylor helped connect Gallup and the Strada Education network, a nonprofit organization that supports the growth of higher education within minority communities.

In addition to being overworked, Taylor says, school counselors focus on education and might be less informed about how to become a chemical engineer or graphic designer, for example.

Schools need to strengthen relationships with local employers and national professional organizations, Taylor says. These connections can help counselors help students know more about what and where to study to prepare them for careers. It also gives students chances to meet professionals and ask questions a counselor might not think about.

Taylor says this is especially important for poor and minority students. Both socially and professionally, they are typically less exposure to people with high skilled jobs.

“Many of them are first generation. And as first generation students, they simply don’t have engineers, doctors, lawyers in their families to give them this advice,” Taylor says.

“The result is that they make really, often times, poor … college-going decisions and ultimately have a certain level of regret about what schools they chose, what majors they chose when they did go to school, and, ultimately, what careers they found themselves in.”

Also, Taylor notes, school counselors should realistically speak with their advisees, noting difficulties in finding a job in some fields or the consequences of heavy student debt, he says.

Tchorzynski says she uses many tools to help her students. She makes regular presentations on financial aid, gives special tests to help students connect their characteristics with fields of study or career paths and directs students to websites that provide information on colleges and universities.

Tchorzynski, Busteed and Taylor all agree that students need to put time and effort into their search to result in the best outcomes. But students need help to head in the right direction.

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Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

WASHINGTON — 

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.