Archive for April, 2011
We certainly are. We know that we should be blogging great tips about college life today, but we can’t seem to focus on anything but those two crazy kids, otherwise now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But since we are, in fact, The CollegeBound Network, we won’t just write a blog for the sake of showing up in your Google search for “royal wedding.” Instead, we’ll give you Will and Kate with a college slant. So here goes: Kate Middleton met Prince William at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland.
Yep, there’s our college take on the royal wedding. We’ll go back to watching news coverage of the wedding now. See you Monday!
–The CollegeBound Network
April 29th, 2011
International students who attend Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada aren’t exactly feeling the love for the True North these days. What’s all the fuss about? Oh, just a 10% tuition hike for students who don’t have Canadian citizenship.
Yup, you read that right. A 10% “differential fee increase” for non-Canadian students who attend Dalhousie, which is IN ADDITION to the 3% increase that Canadian students will face (corrected from earlier version).
Disgruntled Dalhousie students (including those in the photo above) have taken to the social media universe to express their concerns. One online petition states that international students feel “abandoned and discriminated against by our own university.” One affected student actually reached out directly to me on Twitter with the following plea: “Consider letting the world know what a ‘reputable university’ and ‘leader’ in North America is doing to their Intl Students!”
In Dalhousie’s defense, the school is justifying the increase by saying that there will be improvements in services for international students. But those same students are calling out school administrators, saying that most of the changes that are proposed are “trivial and unspecific.” Hmm.
There will always be at least two sides to every story. But when it comes down to it, a 10% increase in tuition for ANY reason is rather hard to swallow. So if you are so inclined, please pledge your support for those international students at Dalhousie who are blogging, tweeting, and petitioning their way to lower that increase. Good luck!
–Barbara Bellesi
April 27th, 2011
Deciding on which college to attend is the first in a long line of decisions students must make before attending their first day of classes. One of the toughest decisions is picking a roommate. Many schools offer college roommate matching programs as well as give you the option to pick your own, but which is the right way to go?
Comfortable v. New
Chances are your natural choice would be to live with someone you already know because it’s comfortable, but living with someone new can be just as exciting. Consider the following:
- Don’t room with your best friend simply because they are your best friend. You have never had to live with them 24/7 before, and you may find out that you aren’t as compatible as you originally thought.
- Roommate matching systems can be great if you fill out the student questionnaires accurately.
- The point of college is to meet new people and try new things; living with someone from home may become a safety net that keeps you from exploring.
- Some schools offer online websites that allows students to connect prior to freshmen year, so they can then choose their own roommate by “meeting” them online.
- You can always ask for a new roommate if it turns out the one you picked or are given is not the best match.
Roommate Survival 101
Now that you’ve decided with whom you want to live, you actually have to figure out how to live with that person in oftentimes cramped quarters. Here are some survival tips:
- Do be honest about your habits upfront, even if it’s your best friend. Remind them about when you like to go to bed, study, etc., and be respectful of their preferences, too.
- If you’re rooming with someone you don’t know, try to meet them or talk to him or her before you move in, so that way your first day at school is a little less scary.
- Plan out who is bringing what and what you want your room to look like ahead of time. This will save overpacking and decorating frustrations when you move in.
- Establish rules about food, visiting hours, and sharing items in general, then be sure to stick to these rules.
- Communication is key; your roommate is not a mind reader.
- Always try to be a better roommate than what you would expect from someone else, and you’ll be just fine.
The first year at college is an exciting adventure, and part of this adventure will be shared with your roommate, so try to make your relationship with them the best it can be.
–Delaney Young
April 25th, 2011
Poor Hermione.
The beautiful, talented, and INTELLIGENT Emma Watson has decided to leave Brown University. No, it’s not because she’s rethinking her academic goals. It’s because–and this is why I love her–she wasn’t able to blend in properly with her classmates.
So often, we see celebrities who love to stand out in the crowd so much that they will do basically anything to get noticed. (Just consider the number of “private” videos that have been “leaked” to the press in recent years.) That’s why it’s refreshing when a world-famous celebrity like Watson takes pains to not only try to be like everybody else, but make the decision to remove herself from an uncomfortable situation.
What’s the uncomfortable situation? Well, it just goes to show you that even at an Ivy League school like Brown, students can act stupidly. Watson, who is known to be a frequent contributor to class discussions, has apparently heard snide remarks like “Three points for Gryffindor!” when her answers are correct.
Granted, hearing a barrage of lines from the Harry Potter movies does not equate to the cruelty that a growing number of students endure as the victims of bullying, but when all you want to do is get your degree and study to be something other than a student wizard, you can’t help but feel bad for Watson.
Rumor has it that she’s looked at NYU as a possible place to transfer. Good news is that Watson isn’t going to let her academic goals fall by the wayside; she’s just going to take some time to figure out a better campus fit for her.
–Barbara Bellesi
April 21st, 2011
California state schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA have long been known as highly selective universities, but it used to be that if you were a good student from California, you had a great chance of getting in to one of the nine UC campuses.
Apparently, this is not so anymore.
The LA Times reported yesterday that California state schools–not unlike others throughout the country–are beginning to feel the crunch when it comes to money. For decades, state colleges and universities have been viewed as “bargains” because they offer significantly lower tuition rates to in-state students. To solve their money problems, schools are now accepting more out-of-state students to reap the benefits of higher tuition rates.
Is that fair? Depends on what side of the state line you live. Incoming classes are stronger than ever at California state schools, now that they are making a point of recruiting equally strong students from out of state.
Are you a high school student who was rejected from a state school that you might have been accepted to in years past? Are you a student who might now be looking at those competitive state colleges in a new light? Leave a comment below.
–Barbara Bellesi
April 20th, 2011
With the last weeks of high school remaining, one big event worldwide – Earth Day — may have slipped your mind. But it’s happening Friday, and some colleges are giving students the opportunity to make a difference in the environment.
1. Your major? The earth!
More schools are joining institutions such as Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, Western New England College in Massachusetts, and Columbia University and Ithaca College in New York in offering a sustainability major. Western New England’s program, for example, prepares students for careers in communications, international development, marketing and promotion, and public administration. Ohio’s Miami University in March approved a sustainability “co-major,” which allows students to pair it with other majors, ranging from accounting to zoology. It’s also a trend in community colleges – Durham Technical Community College in North Carolina will offer students a new renewable energy diploma starting this fall.
2. Join others in caring for the environment
Female students at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC are going to doing some spring cleaning of the campus’ organic garden to celebrate Earth Day. At Sewanee: University of the South in Tennessee, there have been Earth Day-related activities all month on topics of interest to students, including how those trendy Nalgene bottles could be threatening the environment. Earth Day concerts include rapper Whiz Khalifa at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as part of the “Campus Consciousness” tour. If students at Albright College in Reading, PA, are spotted recycling, walking instead of driving, or drinking out of a reusable water bottle this week, they’ll get a ticket to enter into a raffle for a prize. At Misericordia University, based in Dallas, PA, its Cougars for Change organization works throughout the year to help raise environment awareness and find ways to save energy and reduce waste.
3. Learn in an old building
You may be going to school on a campus where tons of new buildings are being created for classrooms, libraries, and dorm space. But the College of Health Sciences Building and a residence hall for graduate schools at Misericordia University are in renovated downtown buildings. An old indoor pool at Alabama’s Birmingham-Southern College has become a museum – the Southern Environmental Center.
If caring for the environment means something to you, check into what the school you’re choosing is planning for Earth Day and what campus organizations focus on reducing, recycling, and reusing year-round. That way, you will know how to be part of those efforts when you arrive next fall!
–Lori Johnston
April 19th, 2011
Sad news from Boston this morning: a junior film student from Emerson College has died. Justin Amorratanasuchad, 21, was believed to have been working on a film project when he fell to his death from a building in the city’s South End neighborhood.
This horrible tragedy comes less than a week after Michele Dufault, a Yale senior, died in a lab accident while she was working on her thesis.
The Boston Marathon takes place today, normally making this college town an even more vibrant and exciting place to be. The finish line in Copley Square–where crowds of ecstatic people gather to congratulate the runners–is just blocks from the Emerson campus, where the mood will be much more somber.
Our thoughts are with Amorratanasuchad’s family and friends. May he rest in peace.
–The CollegeBound Network
April 18th, 2011
Fraternities and sororities are one of the most common ways for new students to get involved on a college campus. Many girls and guys alike dream of the day they can either fulfill a family tradition or start their own tradition by pledging to a Greek organization. Greek life is known for parties, the lifelong friendships it creates and the philanthropies that they support.
However, not all Greek life comes in a purely social form. Some fraternities and sororities are based on creating business connections, celebrating students’ academic achievements, or bringing certain similar groups of people together. One of the most overlooked, but most rewarding types of alternative Greek life, is the service fraternity or sorority.
Members of Alpha Phi Omega, Rho Rho Chapter at UC Irvine dig in to some community service.
Benefits of Service Fraternities
- They typically cost less than social Greek organizations.
- You still form lifelong friendships with your brothers or sisters, and there are still plenty of opportunities to have fun.
- These organizations can open many windows of opportunity to connect with important and influential people.
- These groups generally participate in all types of service.
- Most service organizations accept everyone into their brother or sisterhood.
- They are a way to gain valuable leadership skills, while giving back to the community.
Popular Service Fraternities
- Alpha Phi Omega (http://www.apo.org) is a coed national service fraternity. The fraternity was founded in 1925 and has over 350 chapters nationwide. The fraternity’s three cardinal principles are leadership, friendship and service.
- Epsilon Sigma Alpha (http://www.epsilonsigmaalpha.org/) is an international coed service sorority primarily composed of females. The sorority was founded in 1929 and has over 1000 chapters. The three main letters stand for education, service and association.
- Gamma Sigma Sigma (http://www.gammasigmasigma.org/) is a national coed service sorority primarily composed of females. The sorority was founded in 1952 and has over 70 chapters nationwide.
- Omega Phi Alpha (http://www.omegaphialpha.org/) is a coed national service sorority primarily composed of females. This sorority was derived from Alpha Phi Omega in 1967 and has 25 chapters nationwide. The three cardinal principles are leadership, friendship and service.
- Many local universities have also established their own Greek service organizations
Don’t forget to consider all your Greek life options at college!
–Delaney Young
April 14th, 2011
The Yale University community is a somber one today as they mourn the loss of one of their own.
Michele Dufault, a senior from Massachusetts, was working in the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory when she was killed in an apparent accident while using a large piece of machinery. Dufault’s death is even more devastating, as graduation was just around the corner for her and her classmates.
Our prayers and deepest sympathies are with Dufault’s family and friends. Rest in peace, Michele.
–The CollegeBound Network
April 13th, 2011
Incoming college freshman in Georgia got a shock recently when a popular scholarship program that had allowed any student with a 3.0 GPA to get free college tuition was drastically changed. Many students were relying on the HOPE scholarship, a program that was suffering financially, to attend a Georgia college or university – now they’re scrambling to figure out how to pay for college.
My family was able to benefit from the program, which began in 1993, when my smart sister, Heather, attended Georgia Tech, and I know they were glad to have that extra financial help. The program has helped more than 1 million students pay for college, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Georgia isn’t the only state with a college scholarship program. Other programs, which are funded by the lottery, are in states such as Florida and Tennessee.
In Georgia, the state scaled back the number of HOPE scholarship recipients, which raised the bar for students, making it tougher to get the full amount for tuition. Students who are the high school valedictorian or salutatorian will get a full scholarship, as well as those with at least a 3.7 GPA in high school and a 1200 on the SAT’s math and verbal sections. Students must keep a 3.3 GPA in college to keep renewing the scholarship money, but there’s no money for books and fees for anyone.
Students with a 3.0 GPA will get some scholarship money, but the amount could vary from year to year. The AJC reported that students this fall will get 90 percent of current tuition – and that doesn’t account for expected double-digit hikes in tuition on some campuses.
The changes reiterate that the most worthy students are going to benefit from the largest amounts of financial assistance. This time, being worthy doesn’t mean based on your financial background, your college essay, or your extracurricular activities. While those are factors that some scholarship programs weigh heavily, the changes to this Georgia scholarship program points out that you have to do your best in school.
The good news for Georgia students? Being the smartest and most successful students in the classroom come with rich rewards.
–Lori Johnston
April 12th, 2011
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