Making the Most of Your College Years

Congratulations to the class of 2014! You’ve just started what many consider to be the best four years of your life – your undergraduate college years. While we hope that you will make your academic work the focus of your experience, be sure to take full advantage of all that your college has to offer, both within and beyond the walls of your classroom buildings.

We wish all of you the best of ... more >>

Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home

A friend called me a few weeks ago to report that she had just finished buying all the pieces she needed for a layette. “For whom?” I inquired, anxiously, knowing that her youngest child was 12. “For Ben, of course” was the reply. I couldn’t help but laugh – Ben is 18 years old and headed off to college this week. In just the way she had prepared for his arrival into ... more >>

America's Best Colleges

According to a new report by Forbes, Williams is the college that best meets students needs. Having just visited Williams last month, I can tell you that the campus is stunning, the facilities are state-of-the-art, the faculty are very impressive, and their Tutorials Program, based loosely on the tutorial style teaching at Oxford and Cambridge, make this a top-notch place to live and learn. It seems like a no-brainer to encouage students to apply here. ... more >>

Hearing the right notes from a job candidate

With the rising price tag on college education and the tightening job market, parents are increasingly concerned about whether or not their son or daughter will be able to get a job upon graduation. Fair enough – with four-year tuition bills approaching the quarter of a million dollar mark, it’s not unreasonable for parents to hope that their child will have the skills they need to land “a good job.” However, ... more >>

Getting in to med school without hard sciences

Mount Sinai medical school accepts a small percentage of applicants who have not taken organic chemistry, physics, or the dreaded MCATS each year, finding that those who majored in the humanities as undergrads actually make more sensitive doctors. It’s too soon to know if more medical schools will head in this direction, but given the wide range of skills and expertise demanded of doctors, it’s nice to know that they’re not all ... more >>

7 Signs of Successful Study Abroad Programs

No question – more colleges are offering more study abroad opportunities. Some colleges are even requiring it. However, if you’re serious about taking advantage of this tremendous opportunity, be sure to spend some time in the Study Abroad Office asking these hard questions. The more you know, the more successful and rewarding your experience abroad will be.

Backpacks amoung the breifcases

Some students thrive on the noise and excitement of urban life and are excited about the many unique opportunities of living in a city. However, for some, being a college student in New York places them in a strange nether-world between “tourist” and “resident” and the thrill of being a self-sufficient, independent urbanite is muted by the effort it takes to take buses to classes, figure out what to wear, and learn how to fit in. ... more >>

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 ... more >>

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 ... more >>

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 ... more >>