Educated People Less Likely to Die of Cancer

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.

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama will announce a plan today to pump $12 billion into community colleges over the next 10 years, USA Today reports. Most of the money—$9 billion—would reward programs that bolster graduation rates, or help graduates find local jobs. Another $2.5 billion would help seed renovation projects, hoping to spur $10 billion worth of spending. The last $500 million would be used to create free online courses. More»

Downturn has colleges looking for ways to save students time, money

(NEWSER) - A growing number of colleges are looking at ways to cram 4-year degree courses into 3 to help students combat tough times, the Washington Post reports. More than half of teens have changed their college plans because of the economy, according to a recent survey, and many in the world of higher education believe the time has come to rejig the centuries-old 4-year model to help students save time and money. More»

Gift will slow loss of good teachers to richer, private schools

(NEWSER) - UC Berkeley will announce a $113 million gift today, which the school will use to create 100 new endowed chairs—hopefully slowing the emigration of professors to the juicier paychecks offered by private universities. The gift is unusual in that it will go straight to ordinary activities rather than building a new building or program. More»