College and University Blog
Resources, help, and insight for your college experience
Arizona Senate Bill 1070: Opening Eyes About Undocumented Students in the US
Over the last few days it’s become nearly impossible to flip on the TV or read the newspaper without mention of the state of Arizona and their Governor, Jan Lewis. April 23, 2010 was a controversial day in Arizona as Governor Lewis signed the Arizona Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) into law, making it a crime for illegal aliens to be in the country without the official registration documents required by federal law. Arizona police will be required to check a person’s immigration status if it is suspected that they are in the country illegally, and the state – as well as the rest of the country – is in an uproar. What does SB 1070 mean for college students in Arizona and the rest of the United States?
Texting, iPods, and Social Media: Are College Students Addicted?
It’s almost hard to remember the days before Google and iPods. Checking my e-mail is the last thing I do before I go to bed and the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning, and I feel a little lost if I accidentally forget my iPhone when I’m out because for some reason I feel compelled to let the world know where I’m eating dinner or what I’m buying at the store via Twitter. I even “talk” with my friends and relatives more on Facebook than I do in person. Am I addicted to technology, or is this just what the world has come to? The International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) at the University of Maryland tried to find out by having college students give up their TV, cell phones, MP3 players, and laptops for 24 hours.
Degree Mills: Make Sure Your Online College is Legitimate
When I was a kid, I remember seeing television commercials in which an actress named Sally Struthers promised the opportunity to train at home for an exciting new career in weeks. These days, bogus online colleges that claim to provide you with an authentic degree without stepping foot into a school are a new spin on this age-old gimmick.
LGBT-Friendly College Campuses
We’re living in an era in which teens are feeling comfortable enough to admit that they’re gay at younger ages than ever before, but discrimination based on sexual orientation is still widespread. Even on college campuses, which are supposedly places where young people can “find themselves” while being accepted by others.
Which Type of College is Right for You? Things to Consider
Whether you’re a teenager who is still in high school or a working parent in your forties, if you want to go to college you need to decide which school you want to attend. One of the important things you should take into consideration is the size of the school.
Community colleges are often praised because of their sense of community and their small class sizes, but large universities are usually considered exciting because they are so big it’s easy to make tons of friends or simply blend into the crowd. It depends on your needs and wants as well as how much money you want to spend on your education.
Three Year Bachelor's Degree Programs: Are They For Everyone?
The costs associated with attending college are continually on the rise, which means that “How can I save money while going to school?” is a frequently-asked question among college students. Applying for scholarships, choosing public universities over private schools, or starting out at community colleges with lower tuition rates are three common solutions, but other alternatives are out there. More and more young people have decided to push themselves a bit harder in order to earn their degree in three years instead of the typical four.
Classic Cooking for College: Recipe for Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This recipe is the first one that I have reached for through college, the first years of my marriage, and countless company potlucks. Now, I will share the recipe that will surely become a mainstay in your life!
Bullying: It Happens in College,Too
Bullying has been making big headlines over the last few months due to the bullying-induced suicide of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old high school student from South Hadley, Massachusetts. Prince, who immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 2009 with her mother and siblings, had been bullied and harassed for months by students at South Hadley High School. Prince decided that she’d had enough on January 14, 2010.
College Dining: New and Flavorful Options
College is all about getting out there and making your own decisions. Don’t overlook the importance of your dining decisions. There is no need to accept the status quo of the cafeteria!
Earth Day: How College Students Helped Make it Possible
Happy Earth Day! It’s a big one this year, but did you know that college students help spark its popularity?
Forty years ago today, the very first Earth Day sparked the beginning of what most consider to be the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated in the first-ever Earth Day activities on April 22, 1970 and thousands of colleges and universities across the country held protests against problems with the environment. Various groups held demonstrations against things like pollution, oil spills, polluting factories, pesticides, and extinction, and Earth Day activities have been a staple on college campuses ever since.
College Rejection Letters Can Open New Doors
Spring is in the air, and envelopes from colleges are in the mail. Anxiety levels begin to shoot through the roof as high school seniors across the country anxiously wait for responses from schools where they applied. Some students eagerly tear into the paperwork when it arrives and others are too scared to look, somehow assuming that they’ll have a greater chance of being accepted if Mom or Dad tears open the envelope, especially if it’s on the thin side. It’s time to learn the answer to that haunting question: “Did I get in?!”
Student Discounts: Save by Showing Your College ID
College is expensive, and being a broke college student is common but frustrating. Start taking advantage of that little piece of plastic you keep in your wallet and start saving big. That’s right: in addition to serving as your library card and your dining hall pass, your student ID can get you huge discounts on all different kinds of things!
College Resources: Take Advantage of It All!
Colleges are like little communities. They have their own landmarks, their own rules, and their own citizens. Colleges also have a giant selection of resources that are only available to those citizens, and as a student it’s a great idea to take advantage of every opportunity while you can. Most of the time, we look back with regret at what we didn’t do with our lives, not at what we did do. Here’s your chance to do more on campus than go to class. Use the resources that are there for your benefit!
Student Discounts Can Make Your Dreams of a Vacation Become a Reality
It’s heating up, and all anyone can seem to think of is vacation. Even students on a tight budget can plan a quality vacation. Read on to find out how!
The College Years: Top Ten Problems
You’ll probably wind up looking back on your college experience as the best years of your life, but college students really do face quite a bit of stress. In no particular order, here are 10 issues that most college students face, and I speak from experience: these “problems” seem absolutely horrible at the time, yet you’ll come to realize that they really weren’t that bad … once they’re over and done with, of course!
Asking for Letters of Recommendation
What is the most difficult part of college applications? Is it the endless stream of fearsome forms? Is it the intimidating essays, or even the frightful fees? For many students, it is the prospect of gathering letters of recommendation. Read on for a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” that will make the process go as smoothly as possible!
Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Programs Help Cut College Costs
The costs associated with attending college are rising while most parents’ paychecks are not. Some ambitious high school students are attempting to save money on their college tuition by getting core college classes out of the way before they even graduate from high school. Advanced Placement courses, generally called AP courses, are available in various subjects at most high schools. If a qualifying score is earned on the AP exam for each particular subject, the student is most likely eligible for college credit and will not need to take (and pay for) the class in college. Dual enrollment programs are another option in which high school students take college courses, typically at a local community college, before they begin attending a four-year university.
College Waiting Lists: Does Maybe Just Mean No?
Some high school students have had their heart set on attending a particular college since a very young age, so they fill out their college application and hope all goes well. The day the response envelope arrives in the mailbox is an exciting moment … did they get in? Yes? No?
Well … maybe.
If you’re placed on a college’s waiting list, you fall into that maybe category.
Several States Take on High School Course-Work Re-Vamp For Earlier Graduation
Beginning in 2011, 10-20 high schools in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont will implement a new course-work model, including board examinations, currently used in countries such as Denmark, England, Finland, France and Singapore that would allow high school students to graduate as early as their sophomore year.
Teach For America Gives College Graduates the Opportunity to Make a Difference
Teach For America is a non-profit organization that strives to eliminate educational inequity in the United States. It was started by Wendy Kopp in 1990 after she planned out the idea for her senior thesis at Princeton University in 1989.
Teach For America, or TFA, recruits new college graduates for two-year teaching positions around the country. Teach for America applicants are not required to be education majors. In fact, the group, or corps, as they are called, is comprised of graduates from all academic fields. They do not even need to be certified teachers.
Hazing: Rite of Passage or Just Plain Wrong?
Hazing is typically associated with fraternities and sororities, but the practice is common in organizations that have nothing to do with college: high school sports teams, street gangs, even military units or workplaces. It’s the initiation ritual that one must endure before being granted membership to a particular group. Hazing can take on many different forms, but it usually consists of some type of embarrassing or endangering activity that is supposed to prove one’s loyalty to the group. It might be violent and it might even include sexually oriented activities. It’s done to demonstrate the “power” and “control” that the older members supposedly have.
Job Interviews After College: Be Prepared and Dress For Success!
College is a time when the majority of young people juggle both school and work, but most of the time a college student holds down a part-time position that probably doesn’t require a Bachelor’s degree. As graduation approaches and life in the “real world” (whatever that is) becomes a scary reality, it’s time to start preparing for job interviews!
The Advantages of a Cohort Program
What is a Cohort program and how can it help you in your quest for a degree? Cohort programs are the wave of the future in education and can help make you path to a degree easier!
Unpaid Internships, Slave Labor or a Foot in the Door?
Considering the current economic climate, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that a rise in unpaid, and in most cases illegal internships, have increasingly emerged in recent years. Law makers and federal and local investigators have taken interest in unpaid internships, “convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws,” as the New York Times put it.
Time Management for College Students: Calendars Are Your Best Friend
Time management is a skill that most people don’t bother to learn until it’s too late. The busy schedule of a college student can seem almost overwhelming at times. It’s tough to meet deadlines and keep track of due dates, particularly if you’re a non-traditional college student that has a full-time job and a family in addition to a busy class schedule. College students that have managed to master their time management skills are a step ahead of the crowd because they get everything done punctually and have time to spare.
Alumni Associations: Why You Should Join Yours!
May is quickly approaching and that means if you’re a college senior, graduation is right around the corner! Once you are finished with college and have your degree, you should seriously consider joining your school’s alumni association. They’re a great way to keep in touch with your friends and classmates, and an excellent way to network with other alumni. Your school probably has an alumni relations office or an alumni association website. You may even receive information from your alumni association in the mail soon after you’ve graduated.
Campus Suicide: Send Silence Packing Spring Tour Kicks Off
Yesterday at James Madison University in Harrisburg, VA, more than 1,000 backpacks lay scattered over the campus lawn symbolizing the the staggering number of college students who take their own life each year.
Tuesday’s exhibit kicked off the first of many for the Send Silence Packing tour, a 10-city tour that will make its way across college campuses all over the U.S. this spring.
College Accreditation: Regional or National and Why It Matters
Online education gives people who would not otherwise be able to attend normal classes the opportunity to earn degrees, and online colleges and universities are becoming more common than ever. Despite their growing popularity, online schools have a bit of a suspicious stigma attached to them, and “Is the school accredited?” is frequently asked about online colleges. That’s an important question, but accreditation is something you should be concerned with whether you plan on attending a physical campus or taking classes though an online university.
Dangerous Drinking Occurring in Dorms
I recently read a novel by Barbara Delinsky titled Not My Daughter. The book is about a group of three small-town high school friends who make a pregnancy pact. One of the girls’ mothers is the local high school principal. When all three become pregnant, the small town is in an uproar. Residents begin blaming the girls and their parents, and threaten to force the principal out of her job. Everyone believes that their daughter would never get pregnant at such a young age.
This story reminds me of the way many parents want to believe that their child would never drink alcohol until reaching the age of twenty-one, but the truth is that many college students drink. Some students do not, but parties that involve underage drinking are extremely common on college campuses around the country- even if people want to deny it. Drinking is particularly prominent at colleges where Greek life (i.e. fraternities and sororities) are prominent and colleges with well-known athletic teams.
College Students Can be Depressed at Easter
Thanks to the abundance of information available online to warn potential tourists of “busy weeks” at various vacation destinations, I was able to see that the majority of colleges and universities take a one week Spring Break sometime between mid-February and late March. This means that many schools are in still session during the weeks before and after Easter, and students who attend school far from home may not be able to spend the holiday with their family.
Beware of Illegal Internships
An intern is a person – generally a student – who works in order to gain experience in a particular field. Internships are usually unpaid positions, but paid internships are common in the medical field. Internships are typically part-time and usually considered to be a great way for college students to gain familiarity with a potential career while they are still in school.
Apple iPad May End the Need for Textbooks
The day has arrived! Although the device was announced by Apple at an unveiling ceremony on January 27, 2010, the iPad was officially released in the United States this Saturday, April 3, 2010.
Massive crowds of Apple fans camped out overnight and lines wrapped around the buildings at Apple stores around the country as tech-savvy Americans all attempted to be among the first to get their hands on an iPad. Apple, a company that loves to toot its own horn, describes the iPad as “A magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price.” Sounds great, but … what is it?
Cheating College Students Only Cheat Themselves
Across the country and around the globe, overly cheerful college admissions counselors aim to make their school appear just as glossy as the pamphlets they distribute to potential students. If you’re a high school student who is visiting schools, you know what I’m talking about. Photos of smiling, laughing young people sitting under trees with a few books sitting on the grass beside them are placed with pictures of dorm rooms so sparkly clean that it looks like HGTV was there to decorate. Then, of course, there are those requisite shots of the new college graduates in their caps and gowns with their arms up in the air, pumping for victory to signal the end of their difficult journey.