Maybe You Really Do Need Math 🎓🦅
Whether you like it or not
How is math like pickles? Kids tend to find both of them distasteful, but they become more appealing the older you get. But first the news…
COLLEGE NEWS
Endowed but unbowed: Recent revisions to the excise tax imposed on the earnings of college endowments will more than double the tax bill for schools like Princeton, Yale, and MIT. Other schools like Caltech and Amherst received better news, at least for now, in the form of lower rates. Schools without endowments
Hoosier hollows out humanities: Indiana’s public higher education institutions plan to eliminate or consolidate over 400 programs, roughly one-fifth of their degree offerings statewide. Apparently, most Indiana students major in Business anyway.
Go Mountain West, young man: Grand Canyon University is expediting its move to the Mountain West Conference, aiming for this fall rather than 2026. Apparently intimidated by that level of hustle, five current Mountain West schools announced their intention to join the Pac-12 in 2026.
BIG IDEA
According to Gallup’s latest study, 95% of Americans say math skills are very or somewhat important in their work life, and 43% say they wish they had learned more math skills in middle or high school.
In case you identify as a math–hater, 95% is a lot!
The Math Matters Study: The Value of Math in Work and Life surveyed over 5,000 U.S. adults, including nearly 3,000 workplace managers, and pulled out all kinds of complex emotions about math:
Nearly half of Americans (47%) have exclusively positive feelings about math, while about four in 10 (37%) have exclusively negative feelings.
75% of adults aged 65 and older say math is “very important” in their personal life, compared with just 37% of 18- to 24-year-olds.
Six in 10 Americans (62%) believe math should be prioritized more highly than other subjects in K-12 schools, including 14% who say it should receive the very highest priority.
Many managers (85%) wish their direct reports had stronger math skills.
Every step on the road to college involves math, even for Humanities majors. Take this fascinating Gallup survey as a sign that K-12 students don’t always share the priorities of their future selves. Learners who can overcome their math phobias and arithmetic indifference while in school have an opportunity to master skills that will matter to them later in life, all while locking in really high test scores!
NAME THAT SCHOOL
Think you know your colleges? Name this week’s institution of higher education. (Find the answer at the end of the newsletter.)
Founded in 1833 and one of the ten oldest colleges in the U.S. to still exist on its original campus
A global learning pioneer, it was among the first U.S. colleges to require study abroad for most students,
Every senior completes a Senior Integrated Project, which can be anything from original research to a play, a novel, or a business plan.
Every spring, the president randomly announces a Day of Gracious Living, canceling classes and encouraging students to enjoy nature, go to the beach, or just relax.
This school’s Theatre Arts Department and Festival Playhouse are nationally acclaimed.
APPLICATION ACTION STEPS
🎓 Explore a free SAT score report tool.
🎓 Check out how political changes are shaping higher ed.
🎓 Register for a free seminar on Mapping Music Careers and College Paths.
HOTLINE
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NAME THAT SCHOOL ANSWER
Kalamazoo College, a liberal arts school in Michigan, is known far and wide as K but earns a W for its reputation as a hidden gem of higher ed. Go Hornets!