Unschooled Keira Driven to Prove Her Smarts

Oversubscribed schools aim to accommodate unusual schedules

(NEWSER) - College students are famous for burning the midnight oil; now, professors are joining them. A "handful of colleges" throughout the US are offering late-night classes for their students—particularly those with kids or late shifts at work, USA Today reports. Leading the way are community colleges where enrollment is outpacing capacity. The odd hours allow classes to use campus space that’s filled throughout the day. More»

College presidents predict big increase in education via the web

(NEWSER) - Online education will be booming over the next decade, according to a new Pew survey of college presidents. Some highlights, as noted by Today's Digital Life :

• Half of the presidents surveyed say most undergrads will take at least some classes online in 10 years, up from the current estimate of 15%.
• 62% say more than half of textbooks will be digital in 10 years.

And yes, they can bet they will flunk—with 'grade insurance'

(AP) - A new website is taking wagers from American college students who want to bet on their own grades. Just as Las Vegas sports books set odds on sporting events, Ultrinsic will pay top dollar for A's, a little less for the more likely outcome of a B average or better, and so on. Students can also wager they will fail a class by buying what Ultrinsic calls "grade insurance." The site is taking wagers from students at 36 colleges nationwide starting this month. More»

It's a four year—or more—waste of time, author says

(NEWSER) - College is a must if you want to have a real career, right? Nope, it’s “a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now,” writes James Altucher for DailyFinance.com . Here are his seven reasons you shouldn’t send your kids:

• It’ll cost more than you think: Thanks to the fact that more than 60% of college students will take more than 4 years to wear that cap and gown.
• It doesn’t matter, money-wise: Yes, the difference in income between a college grad and a non-grad is approximately $800,000 over a 45-year career. But if you invest the $200,000 likely college cost in bonds yielding 3%, over those 45 years plus the 4 spent in college, you’ll end up with $851,000.

Casting call for sequel includes ban on implants

(NEWSER) - Casting is under way for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and the requirements are strange indeed: "Must have real breasts. Do not submit if you have implants." In Los Angeles! No cheating, either—besides being required to know how to swim and dive, candidates will have to run during the bluntly named "show and tell day," reports the Sunday Times of London. More»