Posts filed under 'General'
You’ve visited the campus and you’ve interviewed with an admissions counselor. You’ve even sat in on a class and spent the night in one of the dorms. But if you are still looking for a way to get a real glimpse of where you’ll be spending the next four years, pick up a newspaper—the campus newspaper, that is.
College newspapers have long been a hotbed of controversy for students, professors, and administrators. Depending on the level of campus involvement, the publications can range from a monthly volume to a daily issue with online updates. In general, colleges and universities that have strong journalism programs also have good campus publications. However, even more of a prerequisite is having an active student population that has something to say on a regular basis. Consider the Harvard Crimson, a media giant that is read not only by students, but residents of Cambridge and surrounding neighborhoods, thanks to its news coverage.
Why should you read campus newspapers? Because in addition to their news stories, they are full of opinions. Those opinions come from people who will be your future classmates and friends on campus. Do you agree with most of what they are saying? Then perhaps you have succeeded in choosing a campus that is right for you. Do you find yourself getting hot under the collar when you read the articles? It could mean that you are in for some interesting class discussions when you get to campus. But before you write off a campus as being ill-suited to your point of view, be aware that some large campuses have different publications with different staffs of conservative and liberal students—as well as those in between the two extremes. For example, Boston College publishes both the conservative The Observer and the more liberal The Heights, both of which combine to give a better snapshot of what matters to students.
College newspapers hand down some weighty opinions and have been known to drag their own students through the mud in some cases. You may recall the 2006 Harvard scandal in which it was discovered that then-sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan lifted passages from novels of her favorite authors to fill the pages of her own novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. The Crimson reported on it every step of the way, and it wasn’t pretty.
Most colleges and universities will have a link to their newspapers on their website, although some schools have websites that function fully and separately from the college site. Here’s a handful of some top college newspapers from across the country. Happy reading!
Washington Square News, New York University
The Daily Northwestern, Northwestern University
The Daily Collegian, Penn State
The Alligator, University of Florida
The Daily Bruin, UCLA
The Daily Orange, Syracuse University
Iowa State Daily, Iowa State University
The Daily, University of Washington
The Daily Texan, University of Texas at Austin
The Daily Tar Heel, University of North Carolina
–Barbara Bellesi
December 28th, 2009
Christmas is just a few days away, and if you are applying to college, the holiday break might be the much-needed reprieve that you’ve been waiting for. Or is it?
I distinctly remember editing my college essay by the glow of my family’s Christmas tree. Crunching on candy canes as I leafed through college viewbooks. Sipping hot chocolate as I discussed college options with my parents. Come to think of it, Christmas during my senior year of high school was less merry and a lot more hectic.
The good news is that if you are a little crazed during the holiday break, you are in very good company. There are many seniors with visions of college acceptances dancing in their heads this season, and they aren’t just enrolled at your high school, either. If you have a Twitter account, you’ll notice that there are many tweets about college in the stream these days. From rants about the SAT to musings about campus life, it’s all happening on Twitter.
Heard of a show called “Entourage”? Ari Gold, a high-powered Hollywood agent played by Jeremy Piven, has a favorite catch phrase for when stress gets the better of his peeps: “Let’s hug it out.” But when stress gets the better of your tweeps, there’s only one thing to do: Let’s TWEET it out.
So how do you find Twitter users who are in the same boat as you? Log onto an easy-to-use Twitter platform, like Tweetdeck, and do a search for something like “college applications” or “taking the SAT.” (You get the idea.) Within seconds, your screen will be filled with tweets from college-bound students from around the country. So dive in. “Meet” some new people. Kvetch about rewriting your college essay—again. Talk smack about application deadlines. You’ll be surprised how many sympathetic ears you’ll find.
Check out some of these recent tweets (Twitter handles withheld):
I had another dream. This time it told me what I needed to write about on my college applications. And, I think I’m actually going to do it.
filling out college and scholarship applications kind of suckkk. It’s a never ending pile of whatever. 
… and i gotta do extra essays for my college applications!!!! what a bore!!
Complaining to yourself is no fun. But when you vent to others—even if they are thousands of miles away—it makes you feel a lot better to know that you are in the same boat as a lot of people. And don’t worry—you’ll get through it.
Follow us on Twitter @CollegeBoundNet. Tweet us–we’re really good listeners.
–Barbara Bellesi
December 22nd, 2009
It has long been said that education is a recession-proof industry. No matter how badly the economy is tanking, college always remains a priority for students, particularly those who have been laid off from their jobs and are looking for ways to add new skills to their resume. Therefore, it’s no surprise that colleges and universities are seeing applications pour in at the same rate or better than those received last year.
What is a surprise, however, is the fact that early decision applications are still coming in to admissions offices in droves. Early decision applicants are bound to that particular school should they be accepted, and in better economic times, applying early decision was a great way for students to wrap up their college plans early on in senior year. However, in a harsher economy, early decision means that students will be strapped to schools that have a $50,000+ price tag per year.
The New York Times recently reported on early decision college applications, noting that there were some A-list schools that received even more early decision applications than last year. For colleges that did see a drop in early applicants, the margin was still not as big as would be expected during a recession.
So why are high school students still applying early admission? Probably because the idea of getting rejected by their top-choice college is scarier than having to shoulder the burden of a six-figure student loan. And while merit scholarships will always be awarded to the best and brightest incoming freshmen, colleges know that early admission applicants will be on campus in the fall—scholarship or no scholarship.
Are you a senior who has applied for early admission for the 2010-2011 semester? Submit a comment below and let us know the thought process behind your decision. You can also find us on Twitter at @CollegeBoundNet.
–Barbara Bellesi
December 17th, 2009
Many of us have been fortunate enough to learn from a teacher who inspired us to work hard and succeed (my high school French teacher comes to mind). Hollywood is certainly no stranger to the inspiring-teacher storyline. Still, these big-screen teachers remind us of the power of educators to help us change our lives for the better. Here’s a roundup of our favorite movie teachers:
1. Hilary Swank, Freedom Writers
In the grand tradition of films about inner-city high school students and the teachers who inspire them, Freedom Writers chronicles a true-life story that reduces me to tears. Maybe I’m a sap, but I love tales of teachers who invest themselves in kids that everyone else has written off. They remind me that no one is beyond redemption.
2. Megan Follows, Anne of Avonlea
When the headstrong Anne Shirley takes a teaching post at an upscale all-girls’ finishing school, she’s determined to forge past the prejudices of the snobby community. She accomplishes it through her trademark spunkiness, mischievousness, and downright stubbornness. Who doesn’t cheer when the underdog comes out on top?
3. Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society
No top-teacher roundup would be complete without a nod to the Captain himself. When the unconventional instructor teaches a group of repressed prep school boys how to read poetry and become their own men, women swoon. Carpe diem, baby.
4. Twink Caplan, Clueless
In this loose interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Miss Geist is one of those impassioned teachers who motivate her rich, self-absorbed students to get involved in meaningful community service. When the erstwhile dowdy teacher finds love (and inspires her sweetie to go easier on the students), I want to cheer. Nice teachers don’t always finish last.
5. Kevin Kline, The Emperor’s Club
It’s Dead Poets Society at first glance – the elite all-boys’ prep school, the dedicated teacher, the demanding father – but on closer inspection, we see an educator who faces major ethical dilemmas and doesn’t always take the high road. There’s something especially moving about a flawed teacher who still makes a major impact.
6. Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
I love singing along to this flick about a former nightclub singer who agrees to teach music to save a struggling parochial school from closing its doors. Helping her students discover their voices, Whoopi coaches them all the way to the state choir championship. If the students’ renditions of “Joyful, Joyful” and “Oh Happy Day” don’t make you stand up and sing, I don’t know what will.
7. Jon Voight, Conrack
It’s the 1970s, and a young white teacher has the gall to insist that a group of black kids (tykes through teens) be treated as intelligent, valued human beings. (No one had previously taken the time to tell them what country they live in or how to add two and two.) The real-life radical teacher transforms his students into informed citizens who can maintain proper hygiene, swim to survive, and discover the world around them.
8. Charles Xavier, X-Men
The legendary comic book figure starts Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters to teach mutants how to explore and control their powers. His goal is to bring about peace between mutants and humans and protect society from antagonistic mutants like Magneto. Helping students embrace their uniqueness and bring peace on Earth? That’s what I call an amazing teacher.
9. Michael Vartan, Never Been Kissed
A hot English teacher who plays hockey in the classroom and hangs out at his students’ favorite clubs gets automatic cool points. And when he demonstrates his willingness to give a deserving student a second chance, he wins our hearts forever.
10. Christine Lahti, Gross Anatomy
She’s a no-nonsense med school professor who’s got a good reason for insisting that her students see past the diagnosis to the hurting patient. If she can get through to one cocky med student in particular, she should win Teacher of the Year. I wish some of the doctors I’ve visited would take a lesson from this flick.
Who’s your favorite high school teacher or college professor in the movies?
–Robyn Tellefsen
November 23rd, 2009
While it’s fun to keep up with certain celebrities and read about the hijinks of others, what college-bound students really need are role models who give them a little more than just a photogenic smile on a glitzy red carpet.
And in the case of Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump, you get a lot more.
Say what you will about Donald Trump’s hair, but you’ve got to hand it to him—he raises his children to be hard-working individuals who do not take their fortunes for granted. In fact, he also taught them not to assume that there was a job waiting for them in his own enterprise just because they were his kids; the next generation of the Trump Corporation had to earn their degree just like anyone else in his company.
Just like their dear old dad, Donald Jr. and Ivanka are graduates of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, arguably one of the best business programs in the country. Eric is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he majored in finance and management and also had a minor in psychology. After graduation, all three had great jobs waiting for them in Dad’s company, but if you’ve ever watched an episode of “The Apprentice,” you’ll know that they’ll have to continue to prove themselves in order to stay on the payroll.
It’s kind of nice to know that there are celebrities out there that people can still emulate without getting arrested. Even with Ivanka’s fair share of red carpet poses, I can’t help but wonder how many of those parties she’s had to leave early because she has work the next day.
–Barbara Bellesi
November 2nd, 2009
Shakira is one of The CollegeBound Network’s favorite celebrities, and not just because we hear that her upcoming CD She Wolf is muy caliente.
We already knew that Shakira enrolled in a history class at UCLA during a break from her 2007 Oral Fixation tour, but the story of the Colombian singing sensation’s stint on campus is resurfacing in the press now that her new CD drops next month. Some might call it old news, but we call it awesome any time a celebrity goes back to school instead of using their downtime to rack up DUIs or cavort with other people’s spouses. (Allegedly).
When Shakira was at UCLA, she claims that she threw her hair back in a hat, went by her middle name Isabel, and wasn’t recognized by anyone. The class must have been really interesting, because I find it hard to believe that Shakira wouldn’t have turned heads, even when incognito.
Sigh. Why can’t more celebrities be like Shakira and use their free time in a productive way?
–Barbara Bellesi
October 26th, 2009
If you are in the midst of a college search, you’ve probably got about a half million facts and figures running through your head. Some people might be founts of information when it comes to sports stats, but you instead are able to recite on command a host of enrollment figures, average SAT scores, and admission rates.
One figure that you might have come across in your careful research is the student-faculty ratio. A very important figure on any campus and a source of pride for many colleges and universities, the student-faculty ratio is a good indicator of what your academic life will be life at the school of your choice—that is, if you know how to look at it correctly.
The student-faculty ratio should not be confused with class size, but unfortunately, many students do just that. Rather, a student-faculty ratio is an equation of how many students are on campus in relation to how many faculty members there are at a given time. For example, if a college says that they have a 12-1 student-faculty ratio, this means that for every 12 students on campus, there is currently one faculty member. However, this does NOT mean that all of your classes will have 12 students in them. Large universities that boast low student-faculty ratios are particularly confusing, since chances are good that you will walk into a lecture hall for an intro class and be greeted by a hundred other students.
There’s no doubt that a low student-faculty ratio is desirable. A low ratio means that a college or university is working diligently to ensure that there is enough faculty on hand to teach both required courses and higher-level electives in their programs and that class size, particularly as you get further into your major, is kept at a minimum.
But again, the ratio can be misleading. Colleges often count part-time adjuncts into the mix, and at many colleges, adjuncts comprise a large number—if not the majority–of the faculty. This is nothing against part-time faculty, of course, but when you research a college, it’s important to remember to consider how many tenured faculty are on campus. Since adjuncts are often paid meager salaries and are not eligible for tenure, colleges look to them to fill in the gaps for low-level classes, leaving the published and more experienced profs to teach the upper-level curriculum.
However misleading, the student-faculty ratio is still the best figure for quantifying academic life, as average class size can be even more confusing. After all, it is possible to be one of 200 in a lecture hall and then one of only 10 in an advanced seminar; between these two numbers, the average class size is 105, which is not true!
While schools large and small like to flaunt their low student-faculty ratios, beware of the schools that don’t make this info readily available—it could mean a high ratio. While a high student-faculty ratio isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, it is something that should weigh in on your decision, since this could mean a shortage of classes each semester or, worst-case scenario, a possible termination of smaller, less popular academic programs.
Learning about a school’s facts and figures are a great way to get a snapshot of what campus life is like, but—and we know you’ve heard this before—there’s nothing better than seeing it for yourself. When you call to schedule a campus visit, ask about sitting in on a freshmen class to see what it’s like for yourself before you make your final college decision.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 26th, 2009
I was surprised the other day to see a college student I know pull out a stack of index cards and flip through them while studying for a big test. She and her friends constantly text and communicate via Facebook, but when it comes to taking notes and marking important passages in a textbook, they seem to turn to traditional paper instead of technology.
That observation fits with what The Associated Press reported when Amazon.com gave university students Kindle devices this fall. The Kindles, which had been uploaded with digital textbooks –pricier than books –were tested by more than 200 college students.
Some students reported problems typing notes using the small keys. Although there’s the ability to highlight passages or bookmark pages, some students told the AP that they had trouble sorting through the many bookmarks.
One positive: Students said the portable Kindle allowed them to study more often.
If you are pursuing a career in technology, your future could involve creating tech-savvy tools that assist students in learning and studying.
Some of my friends in college or who work at colleges say the drawbacks are the lack of color and difficulty with graphics or reading PDF documents that professors may provide students. They and the students interviewed by the AP also said they didn’t want to lose the ability to scribble notes in margins.
In an electronic world, index cards and notebooks still have a place – for now.
–Lori Johnston
October 21st, 2009
Good news for those of you looking to become a teacher in the next few years: the Department of Education will be looking to hire an estimated 1.7 million new educators by the year 2017.
It’s nice to see encouraging employment numbers in the midst of a recession, isn’t it?
What is less encouraging is the reason for the teacher shortage. Not only are baby boomers retiring from the classroom in droves, but new teachers are also being driven away from the profession by low salaries. There’s no doubt that when it come to professional careers, teachers are at the lower end of the payscale, but ask any veteran teacher why they continue, and they’ll tell you that their interaction with the students is what keeps them coming back year after year despite a paltry paycheck.
A new website, MyTeacherMyHero, has been launched to honor teachers for a job tremendously well done and to educate those who are thinking of becoming teachers. The site features videos of individuals expressing their thanks for a special teacher who has been an inspiration in their lives. MyTeacherMyHero is sponsored by MAT@USC, the very first Master of Arts in Teaching program that is solely online and is offered through the prestigious University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Anyone can upload a video, but the first round of videos features some pretty big names from various industries. Craig Newmark, the brains behind Craigslist, is one video to check out, as well as the ones starring musician Sean Paul, HBO President Sue Naegle, and Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford.
I’m thinking of posting a video message for my all-time favorite English teacher, Eileen Finn. While she couldn’t possibly predict when she taught me in 7th grade that I’d be a blogger, she did encourage my writing, and for that, I’m very thankful.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 19th, 2009
Students could be getting the shaft in health care reform.
The bill approved earlier this week by the Senate Finance Committee has some people, including the American College Health Association, worried that it leaves out college-sponsored student health insurance plans. The ACHA says the bill’s language is unclear and ambiguous about how the college-sponsored plans should be treated.
The group has asked Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the committee’s chairman, to make clear that nothing in the proposed legislation is intended to preclude or inhibit the continuance of those student health insurance plans and that colleges will retain the ability to mandate comprehensive coverage levels for their students.
If not, it says 9 million college students could be impacted.
Some college students I know are dealing with the swine flu, seasonal flu, or other illnesses that threaten to keep them away from classes or add to the stress of writing papers and studying for exams. Some experiencing sickness at school for the first time have the extra frustration of figuring out if they have insurance, what it covers, and where they can seek treatment.
While we wait to see what happens with health care reform and the impact on students, go ahead and investigate what your insurance situation is like now, or what you may need to do if entering college next year.
• Check if your school offers insurance plans for students at subsidized rates. Data shows that 71 percent of four-year private schools and 82 percent of four-year public institutions offer student insurance plans, according to a March 2008 Government Accountability Office report. You may already be paying for insurance, but take a look at the plan before you seek treatment from a doctor that may not be covered and incur a big expense. Those plans typically cover treatment at a university health center.
• Ask if you are covered as a dependent under your parents’ health plan.
You may have certain requirements to fulfill, in terms of credit hours. And the plan may not cover certain physicians in the town in which you are attending school.
• See if your employer offers health insurance. This could depend on the number of hours you work or your time on the job, but it could be a smart option to get affordable coverage.
College and university students comprise about 10-12 percent of the nation’s 45.7 million uninsured U.S. residents, according to a report by Aetna Student Health using GAO data. About 37 percent of uninsured young adults were carrying medical debt, as of 2007 data.
There’s enough financial pressure during college to have to worry about mammoth doctor’s and hospital bills as well. We’ll have to see what changes health care reform brings about, but there are ways to pursue getting coverage until then.
–Lori Johnston
October 15th, 2009
Next Posts
Previous Posts
