It’s our turn to host the weekly Carnival of College Admissions started by Brian at Accepted to College.

This week’s Carnival is light on entries because the carnival ‘engine’ was out for the last couple of days. Hopefully, by the time you read this, it will be back up and you can submit entries for next week using this form.

Before the submittal form went down there were a few entries.

Tony Howell at Pimp Your Grades specializes in study tips. He presents a practical system for memorization in his post Students: Use the Link Memory System to Memorize Anything. This system promises “you’ll be able to memorize anything in half the time it takes you now, and retain it for as long as you want.” The technique sounds fun and promises to help students raise their test scores. Check it out!

David Cassell at selectcourses.com asks what education today is all about - is it good preparation for the practical world? In a fascinating posting Wax On…Wax Off he draws parallels between the way a master prepares a student in the world of martial arts and how education works.

College admissions affects more than students, families and schools. The enrollment in a region’s higher education system can affect Real Estate values. Over in Florida, Realtor Joe Manausa at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog discusses the financial impact of the Florida College Enrollment - Does “Prepaid” Matter? With 70,000 students in Tallahassee area colleges any drop in enrollment affects the local economy. Joe calls for the local community to debate the impact of the rise in demand for college places and how colleges are honoring the prepaid savings plan over 1 million State residents are enrolled in.

Continuing the financial theme, Ray writes in his Money Blue Book Finance Blog about the issue of Student Credit Cards and Credit Responsibility. He gives general guidelines for parents on how best to help students manage credit cards as well as listing some ’student-friendly’ cards to check out.

Last week’s Carnival host, Mark, at Great College Advice has a very well researched article on Visiting College Campuses: Observations by Professional Tour-Taker. He braved the weather in Minnesota (OK, it’s not as bad in April as mid-January!) and visited 5 colleges in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. He’s got some very practical advice for students and parents on the do’s and don’ts to make the most of a college tour. He concludes “Don’t be a passive recipient of the college’s party line. Investigate! Inquire!”

Finally, our own blog has the guest posting from Dr. Elayne Savage on A Psychologists advice for the parents of college applicants. She identifies the stress that parents living vicariously through their son’s or daughter’s achievements can cause in the already over-stressed world of college admissions.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of the Carnival of College Admissions. Once again, if the Carnival site is back up and running, submit your articles for next week’s event here.