Archive for December, 2011
How did my true love ever guess that I wanted three French hens today?
Although I can do without the non-stop Christmas music on the radio, I am NOT ready to say goodbye to my favorite time of the year. And luckily, I don’t have to! After all, there are 12 days of Christmas, just like the song tells us. And as Shakespeare’s play tells us, Twelfth Night was a pretty fun party all those centuries ago.
I will stubbornly leave my Christmas tree and decorations out until January 5, the day that the 12 drummer drumming are due to arrive from my true love. Feel free to celebrate those 12 days right along with me, thanks to this college-themed version of that golden Christmas oldie. Merry Christmas!
The Twelve Days of a (College-Bound) Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….
One perfect college essay.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Two March Madness finalists.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Three-year undergrad programs.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Four-year college scholarships.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
FIVE OLYMPIC HOPEFULS.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Six frat boys a-scheming
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Seven days of parties
On the eight day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Eight hours of sleep.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Nine ways of paying (my tuition).
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Ten uses for ramen noodles.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
11 AM classes (more sleep!)
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Twelve hours in the library.
–Barbara Bellesi
December 27th, 2011
Yep, You-Know-Who’s making a list and checking it twice this week. It’s important to impress Santa by staying on the “nice” list when it comes to preparing for college. Avoid these actions that can get you a lump of coal in your stocking:
Naughty
• Procrastinating from applying for college.
• Failing to prepare for the SAT or ACT.
• Not retaking the SAT to improve your score, if necessary.
• Forgetting to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which can be submitted after Jan. 1, 2012.
• Blowing off senior year and letting your GPA slide.
• Turning off your mind during the holidays by not reading or following the news or ignoring assignments while out of school.
Nice
• Volunteering to help those in need, which can round out your application for college.
• Taking an extra AP class instead of an easy course for your final year in school.
• Graduating early and getting a head start at a community college before heading off to another school.
• Keeping up or even improving your GPA senior year to end high school on a strong note.
• Getting a part-time job to earn some money for college.
Santa not only sees you when you’re sleeping, but he also knows when you’re awake (sort of) and in school. So there’s still time this year or next year to give Santa a reason to say “ho, ho, ho” and to get your college future off to a merry start.
–Lori Johnston
December 21st, 2011
We’d like to wish all of our Jewish friends a very Happy Chanukah!
–The CollegeBound Network
December 20th, 2011
Exciting news out of Cambridge, MA today–the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is planning to offer open online certificate courses through its new e-learning venture, MITx.
Millions of students have already taken advantage of the free lectures and course materials offered through MIT’s OpenCourseWare, but the school is upping the ante big time by offering certificates of completion of the coursework–not to mention pouring “millions of dollars” into the initiative, said MIT’s provost L. Rafael Reif (as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education).
MIT was already a leader in the open-education movement a decade ago, but MITx is set to go far beyond simply posting videos and syllabi online. According to The Chronicle, although the first class has not yet been announced for the spring, the scope of the courses will be similar to those that attract hundreds of students to the on-campus lectures.
So does this mean you can earn an MIT certificate without moving to Cambridge? Not exactly. The certificate would be awarded under a different name, not MIT. But don’t let the lack of the MIT name lead you to believe that these classes are easy–hard work will be required of you, just like it is of the MIT students.
As of now, MIT does not have plans to offer online degree programs, but the increased breadth of open coursework is certainly indicative of the school’s interest in having a widespread audience for its curricula.
–Barbara Bellesi
December 19th, 2011
In college, finals time often is a caffeine-fueled, candy-hyped week, where students will wear anything, stay up all night, and study anywhere to get prepared for the end-of-the-semester exams.
We snapped shots of students attending the University of Georgia in Athens, from the start of finals week to the last night of tests this semester.
Studying at Starbucks
Athens has no shortage of coffeehouses, from chains like Starbucks to local ones, and they are packed during finals week because of the constant caffeine and cozy seats. It’s not surprising to see students coming in with PJs on, as they spread out with their laptops, textbooks, and other study materials, staying until the doors close.
In the Dorms
OK, so sometimes it’s easy for students to get lured from studying, even by making up games with a bag of party-sized M&Ms.
The mass of materials for just one class can be so much that some students need to spread it all out over their beds (but notice how they’re keeping organized, with red pens and green tabs so that crucial information is easy to access).
Study Rooms on Campus
During the height of finals week, on-campus study spaces are so crammed that classrooms are open to students
Sometimes working together with other students can help reduce the stress of tests. Prime places to study are glassed-in study rooms featuring huge wipeboards, Internet access, and doors to close off all the noise. Students can reserve them in some schools or get them on a first-come, first-serve basis, hunkering down in study rooms for hours.
Cramming on Floors and Hallways
It may seem uncomfortable, but for some students, the best spots are not cozy couches or seats, but the floors and wooden chairs where nothing else can distract them or make them think of sleep.
Goodbye to Finals Week
Look closely at this sign and you’ll see that the hangman phrase is written by students giddy that finals week is over. It says: No more studying!
–Lori Johnston
December 15th, 2011
Thursday is Bill of Rights Day and it’s a day for you to possibly get bills – dollar bills, that is – for college. Singers Ke$ha and Blake Shelton are among the celebrities involved in a Dec. 15 tweet-athon, in celebration of the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights and its First Amendment. Let’s hear it for free speech!
The “Free to Tweet” effort encourages students ages 14 to 22 to share on Twitter how they enjoy their right to free expression. The best student Tweets – using #freetotweet – will win one of 22 scholarships, for $5,000. That’s a total of $110,000 in scholarships, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Other singers – Brad Paisley, Frankie Ballard, Darius Rucker, Joe Nichols, John Oates, Wynonna Judd, Sarah Jarosz, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Elenowen, Jana Kramer, Joanna Smith, and The Civil Wars – will be joining in with their tweets.
To be part of the scholarship contest, your tweet can stand alone or be linked to original content on a website or another type of social media. A panel of educators and First Amendment experts will review the entries and choose the scholarship winners.
So celebrate Bill of Rights Day – created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 – by expressing yourself via social media and trying to win cash for school. We’ll be watching your tweets from @CollegeBoundNet!
–Lori Johnston
December 14th, 2011
Need a break from all those college or scholarship applications? Get in the holiday spirit by checking out our annual list of the coolest stuff, all with campus life in mind.
School Pride
Collegiate Beanbag Toss: Especially if you’re going to a school where tailgating before football games is a part of student life each fall, a beanbag toss game (also known as cornhole) is a must. Target is among the stores selling the games with school names and mascots on them; you can also find them offered by your potential school’s bookstore. $69-$99
Collegiate Wallet: One of the first thingscollege freshman was a faux-leather ID holder/keychain with my university’s logo on it. But the Pottery Barn Teen wallets are so much more stylish, with the logo and school colors stitched in needlepoint. $55.
Dorm Room Stuff
Door Organizer: In college, you’re going to be so busy that anything that can help you remember important items (like those keys!) is awesome. The Doorganizer from The Container Store is one of those items, staring you right in the face as it hangs from the door knob. It holds phones, keys, glasses, pens, flash drives, and other stuff that you need on a daily basis. $11.99.
Cool Tools: Show your independence by asking for some tools, even starting small with a hammer, screwdriver, and wrench set. But girls can still be cute, such as the Tools for Her set. $19.99.
Tech tools
Mophie Juice Pack Air: Here’s a common Facebook status update: “My battery died so don’t call me. Just FB me!” Don’t let your cell phone die and disconnect you from your friends and worried family. This iPhone case, available in red, black, and white, has a rechargeable battery. $79.95.
Pandigital Frame: Remember your high school friends – and have room for photos of new college friends, too – with a digital frame. There’s a ton on the market, but you’ll want to see how many images it stores (this one from Bed, Bath & Beyond can hold up to 4,000), the frame’s size, and if it comes with a remote (just in case you want to skip past any of those embarrassing photos). $59.99.
Traveling Around
KAVU Keeper: Look all laid back, but organized, with the five compartments in this slender bag to hold your cell phone, keys, and anything else you’re likely to lose while on campus or hanging out with friends. We love the pattern names, like Fireworks, Wallpaper Stripe, Licorice, and Arctic Bloom. $30.
Car Trunk Organizer & Cooler: If those busy weekend trips make it seem as if you are constantly living out of your car, you can get organized with this car trunk organizer. It may join the wooden bar you may have affixed in your car to hang up your clothes too. But this organizer also comes with a cooler, making you a popular person when on a road trip with friends. $49.95.
–Lori Johnston (Delaney Young contributed)
December 12th, 2011
Don’t you wish there were a Black Friday when it came to tuition and paying for college? You probably wouldn’t think twice about camping out to get discounted or free tuition or to get your books, dorm expenses, food, or other costs at a cheaper price.
We haven’t seen any colleges or universities giving Black Friday or holiday specials yet–in fact, it’s actually the opposite, with tuition at most schools on the rise. But federal financial aid is available, in the form of loans and grants that can ease the cost of college–not to mention make it a little easier to spend at holidays.
December’s the time to get started pursuing financial aid. Think of it like this: Working on your financial aid application now is just like planning ahead for that big Black Friday sale at Target, Best Buy, or Wal-Mart.
The chaos that is Black Friday.
So before you’re out of school for winter break, ask your guidance counselor for a copy of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, or you can pick one up at a local library or the financial aid office at a college in your town. Or just download the form. You can’t submit a FAFSA until after Jan. 1, but it’s a good idea to get a jump on that deadline by filling it out over your holiday break. Urge your parents to get a head start, too, by filing their taxes as soon as possible after Jan. 1; it will mean you can use the most accurate income info on the form (estimates can be used, if necessary) and make that priority deadline.
–Lori Johnston
December 8th, 2011
Here’s some news to made you smile on a Monday: President Obama met this morning with a small group of college and university administrators to discuss the soaring costs of higher education. Although this close-door meeting is considered an unusual one, not to mention a last-minute one, it couldn’t come at a better time, as student debt is quickly heading towards the $1 trillion threshold.
While the complete list of those invited to this meeting is unknown, Inside Higher Ed is reporting that the following colleges were being represented, and it’s quite a cross section: State University of New York, University of Texas System, University System of Maryland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, California State University at Long Beach, Ivy Tech Community College (Indiana), Carnegie Mellon University, Berea College, and Western Governors University.
It should be interesting to see what comes of this meeting, but for now, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. Join us today at 4pm ET for a Twitter chat on this and other hot topics in higher education.
–Barbara Bellesi
December 5th, 2011
