Phi Tau coeducational fraternity hosted a memorial service for member Stephanie Pignatiello '12, who died this summer, on Sunday afternoon at the Top of the Hop. A campus-wide email from the organization encouraged the College community to contribute photographs, poetry or other memorabilia for inclusion in a collage and to share stories aloud during the public service. Pignatiello committed suicide on in her off-campus home in Hanover on July 26.
A report released by the Council of Graduate Schools last week showed a 4-percent increase in American graduate school applications from fall 2010 to fall 2011, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. During the same year, however, enrollment fell by nearly 2 percent. While the percentage of enrolled women decreased by 2 percent and that of enrolled men decreased by 1 percent, the report showed a 1-percent growth of enrolled international students, and African-American students saw a 4-percent increase, according to The Chronicle. Limited available slots for students, budget cuts and growing debt have likely caused the overall decline, according to Council of Graduate Schools President Debra Steward. The report was based on an annual survey completed by 655 institutions, The Chronicle reported.
Statistics released on Friday by the U.S. Department of Education show that more than 5.9 million students who have taken out federally guaranteed loans defaulted in their first three years of payment, The New York Times reported. This figure represents 13.4 percent of students who received a total of $76 billion in federal loans last year. The report's estimates predict that in the next 20 years, the default rate for students who started repayment in 2009 will reach 17 percent. While the report's scope expanded from two to three years following instructions from Congress, the average student loan recipient defaults after four years, according to The Times. In 2014, the Department of Education will revoke federal financial aid eligibility from colleges that have default rates of 30 percent or more after three consecutive years, and schools will be required to submit a default management report to Congress, The Times reported.
