What are colleges looking for in their applicants? Attend this workshop and find out how important GPA, test scores, and extracurricular activities are in the college application process. Tuesday, August 17th at 5:00 pm.
Location:
Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.
490 B Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
Learn what to expect from an interview-as well as how to ACE it! Tuesday, August 10th, at 2:00 pm
Location:
Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.
490 B Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
Making your BA Marketable: Learn how to capitalize the college education to help ensure a job at graduation.
Tuesday, August 24th at 5:00pm
Location:
Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.
490 B Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
10 Tips About College Major When we get to the question on the Common Application that asks students what their intended course of study is, more often than not they look at me blankly, with no idea how to answer. And that is probably exactly how it should be. With so many fields of study from which to choose, many of which they've had no exposure to, how can a typical 18 year old really know what they want to major in?
More important than the choice of major is how the college student approaches their academic experiences and what skills they gain. If the goal is to get a job upon graduation, most employers are looking for students with strong analytical skills, excellent communication skills, and the ability to self-manage. Students can acquire and develop these skills regardless of their major. And, if they are planning to follow a career that requires specific job-related skills, often those can be learned through internships.
I once heard a parent advise her daughter not to worry about which classes she was taking, but to be sure to sign up for those classes taught by the best professors at her university. She wanted her daughter to be excited about the process of learning, to see what it meant to be passionate about something, and to be taught well. What she learned was secondary to how she learned it.
While students start to feel pressure to declare their majors fairly early in their college careers, consider waiting, explore different classes, learn from the best teachers regardless of what their teaching, and be excited about the process. Possibilities exist that may never have been considered.
Study Finds No Link Between Social-Networking Sites and Academic Performance Every now and then an article comes along that is a real head-scratcher, and this piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education wins that honor today. A believer in "distracted attention is poor attention" I'm struggling to figure out how student's grades aren't impacted by spending increasing amounts of time on social media. I try not to be a ludite and, obviously, as a blogger I appreciate the benefits of social media, but I wonder what the study would reveal about students in upper level class, or for those with learning and attentional issues.
It's hard not to be drawn in to the siren call of facebook, twitter, or instant messaging. But isn't it nice to make a break from studying a real break?
Allison visits New England College, Colby-Sawyer College, and Dartmouth College.
Academic Outcomes of Study Abroad The students we have known who have taken advantage of the opportunities offered at their schools to study abroad have returned with a certain je ne sais quoi. A twinkle in their eye, an air of confidence, a better sense of themselves and what they want from their education all seem to be a part of it. Indeed, they returned changed, and changed for the better. This opportunity to learn how to live in a new culture, communicate in a foreign language, and tackle new challenges creates a unique opportunity for students to see what they are really capable of. When they return, more important than their verbal fluency, understanding of a new culture, or the richness of the new friends they have made is what they have learned about themselves. This study confirms that in addition to all those benefits, students return from their study abroad more focused on their studies.
Empty Nest 101 Maybe its the helicopter parent phenomenon, or maybe its that parents are more savvy consumers. Or perhaps it's because the price tag on a college education is soaring and parents want to know what their child is getting for their tuition dollars. But whatever the reason, college orientation programs designed for the parents of incoming freshman are gaining in popularity.
Study Shows Teens Benefit from a Later School Day As the parent of two teenagers, the news that, given an extra half hour of sleep in the morning makes high school aged students more alert and productive comes as no surprise to me. This study was conducted at St. George's School in Rhode Island last year and the researchers found that by starting the school day just 30 minutes later significantly reduced the number of students late to their first period classes and, in general, found students to be more actively and productively engaged in classroom activities.
Tenure, RIP: What the Vanishing Status Means for the Future of Education Facing finacial pressures, colleges and universities are increasingly turning to adjunct faculty to teach their classes. The downside may be that students' educational experiences will be compromised. And, with fewer tenured faculty, who will dare to be the voice of dissent on campus?
New Policies Accomodate Transgender Students Colleges are working to figure out how to best accomodate their transgendered students. While there seem to be no easy solutions, some colleges are instituting gender-neutral dormitories.
Why We're All WEIRD This article caught my attention. As a psychology major (from way back when) I can attest that the subjects I used for my senior thesis were, by and large, "weird".
A new set of rankings for colleges has just been have released. Payscale has compared the return on investment (ROI) for over 800 colleges and has posted the study on their website Average-cost-for-college-ROI. . With the high cost attending private colleges families are clearly questioning whether it's worth the investment. We are certianly hearing that more and more in our offices and understand as well as appreciate the appropriateness of the question. While useful as one of the factors in the college planning and selection process, this should not overshadow the importance of the best fit for the student. Being happy, successful and prepared to enter the world of work after college are relative to the individual. Just because a college has a great ROI, it doesn't mean it will for that one person. So while this is one indicator of success, it is just that one indicator. Other factors include student culture, professor access, class size, cocurricular opportunities, internships, and location to name a few.
Top 10 Strengths and Experiences Colleges Look for in High School Students Just as no two students look alike, neither do any two applications. Here's a list of the top strengths colleges look for in applicants, but it's important to highlight your unique skills and interests.
Finding Applicants Who Plagerize The most challenging piece of the common application for the vast majority of the college applicants we work with is the personal statement. They hem, they haw, they look at us plaintively for help, and they dread typing those 500 words. (Yes, the personal statement asks for "250 words, minimum, but 500 feels about right for most essays). So, this piece about the increasing incidences of plagerism admissions officers are finding is disheartening, but comes as no surprise. Using someone else's essay as your own certainly takes the pain out of the writing process.
I find that working with our clients on their personal statements is one of my favorite parts of the entire college process. It is an opportunity for the student to reflect on their lives, evaluate their accomplishments, consider their values, and take stock of what they have accomplished in their 17 years and consider where they are headed. However, getting students to clearly and succintly and to articulate these ideas is a challenge. Over the next few weeks we will be blogging about some of the strategies we use to help our clients move past their writer's block and will be giving some tips about how to write a powerful, revealing, compelling personal statement - in your own words.
7 Things You Need to Know About Sports Scholarships While being an athlete is certainly an asset to any college application, don't play sports just for the scholarship money, which is likely to be less than you expect. Play for the love of the game.
Experts Ponder the Future of the American University In reponse to the globalization of commerce and culture, increased accessibility of information, and changing demographics in developed countries colleges and universities are being forced to rethink their traditional models of education. The University of Phoenix is, in many ways, on the leading edge of some of these changes and it will be interesting to watch how other schools respond.
Distinctive Bacteria in Autistic Kids\' Guts Could Enable Urine Test for Autism Hopeful news for parents of autistic children. Being able to diagnose autism earlier means that treatment can start sooner. Studies show that the treatment for autism is most successful when started early.
4 Reasons why the library should affect your college choice I've always been a fan of libraries as a place to study, read quietly, and hang out with friends. But with the advent of Kindle and the ready availability of information on-line, schools and colleges are starting to question if and why they should devote space and capital resources to maintaining their libraries. Here are some compelling reasons why libraries are, and should remain, the hub of a school's campus and a place certainly worth checking out on a college tour.