Posted on Wed, May 16, 2012
We've got the top 10 Graduation gifts that your college or high school grad wants this year. Chances are that you've racked your brain for the perfect gift, only to realize that there's no way of knowing what your new grad needs or wants!
The StudentAdvisor team searched all over for the best and most original graduation gifts. Most of these graduation gifts are perfect for any student who is looking to start their first year in college, in graduate school, or on the job.
Read the 10 Best Graduation Gift list...
Think we missed a great gift? Let us know by commenting or tweeting us @StudentAdvisor.
Posted on Mon, May 14, 2012
By Dr. Tara Keenan: For StudentAdvisor.com
Cache of Civilizations Under an Arch on Via della Lungara
I left New York at 34 because every bone in my body could feel that the window was closing. If my husband and I didn’t leave then, we would certainly remain stuck forever, twenty minutes from where we were born (in the same hospital, three months apart). At the time I worked as a community organizer and I taught at Fordham University but we needed change. So I quit and off we went to Rome, with no prospect of work and nowhere to live. For a couple of years I bounced around English language schools and by my third year, I found John Cabot University just under the Arch in Trastevere.
One of the first John Cabot events I attended as a composition instructor was a reading by Amara Lakhous from his book, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio. This unassuming little violet book sang to me with its sometimes witty and other times heart-wrenching stories of the lives of immigrants in the Esquilino neighborhood of Rome. And there was the author in front of us, talking about his writing process, his experience with language, and his life as an immigrant in Italy. At the end of his talk as he took his seat, I looked down, surprised at the pain radiating through my quads. I rubbed my legs and scanned the packed Aula Magna—there was Carlos from Texas and that nice student from Morocco I met earlier in the day, and the boy from Rome who helped me fix the computer during my last class. My legs began to cramp up. I rubbed harder. I had literally been sitting on the edge of my seat for the entire presentation and question period.
After Lakhous wound up I tripped through the little streets, across Piazza San Egidio, then through Piazza Santa Maria toward the park at Piazza San Cosimato. The way the moonlight hits the cobblestones never gets old but on that particular night, it was even newer than that. I passed Da Vittorio Pizzeria, as Whiskey, the golden retriever, regarded me from under the dinner table with his electric smile curling out from his under his nose. I kept on walking and waved at the Italian card store owner as he locked his door. He looked at me with eyes gleaming and bellowed: "Spillatrice!" "I punti!”"I fired back over my shoulder. About a year earlier I had walked in there looking for a stapler without knowing the word. Now every time I passed we went through this ritual. Tonight his laughter and the sound of his jingling keys were jewels in my ears. As I made my way up the hill toward Monteverde I replayed the night in my head. I looked back down the hill and at the piazza with its empty produce stalls gapped over the pavement like missing teeth in an aging smile. Tomorrow morning it would be bustling.
It had come, as I knew it would, as I gambled it would, when I left New York those three years earlier. I was finally where I needed to be. Mixing with exciting people, with ideas, passion, something to say! I was surrounded by students and professors from far and wide and while I could teach them, they could also teach me. It was this simple fact that set me on the edge of my seat and wrecked my quads that night. I was surrounded by a symphony of people, enveloping me with their harmonies. I was finally home.
Dr. Tara Keenan is a professor at John Cabot University
Posted on Fri, May 11, 2012
Danny Rivkin, a sophomore at Bard College at Simon's Rock, spent many summers working and vacationing on Catalina Island. When this innovative 18-year-old, learned that the students at Catalina High School desperatley needed SAT prep help Rivkin decided to make a difference in the under-served community.
Rivkin created an SAT Prep class that helped to change the lives of many Catalina Island students. One student in fact,
calculated that she received an additional $10,000 in financial aid as a result of her improved SAT scores.
Posted on Wed, May 09, 2012
Purvi S. Mody is one of our college advisors who always has excellent advice for high school 
graduates. Recently she was asked: I am graduating high school in a couple of months and am so lost about what to do next. I did not think that I could get into colleges so I did not apply. But now that graduation is coming up, I think I do want to go to college. Can I still get in?
Her answer surprised us but she quickly explained that some colleges are still accepting applications for the Fall. Mody goes on to explain that space is limited and the longer you wait, the fewer seats will be available.
However, if you are serious about applying to college, the first thing you need to do is...Read the complete answer with her advice for high school graduates who still want to attend college
Posted on Mon, May 07, 2012
By Dean Tsouvalas, Editor-in-Chief, StudentAdvisor
The University of Kentucky not only won the NCAA 2012 title but also ranked #7 in the Spring 2012 Top 100 Social Media Colleges list. To gain better insight into The University of Kentucky's social media winning formula, how the social media elements of their "see blue" admissions marketing campaign became a movement and how UK makes social media rule during the sports seasons, we spoke exclusively to Whitney Hale, social media guru at the University of Kentucky.
StudentAdvisor: Fresh off your win in the NCAA Final Four, how did the University of Kentucky’s social media play a part before, during and after March Madness?
Whitney Hale: Sports at the University of Kentucky, especially UK Men's Basketball, has had a special place in the heart of the UK community for more than a century. UK's social media accounts attempt to leverage that popular tradition as part of sharing the UK story. In the weeks leading up to the Final Four...Read the full interview "See Blue: Why University of Kentucky Dominates Social Media"
Posted on Fri, May 04, 2012
If you're on the fence about choosing a college to attend, there is a secret ingredient to making your decision that you use every day and may be overlooking. Dean Tsouvalas, Editor-in-Chief of StudentAdvisor, recently appeared on the NECN Morning Show to discuss how social media can help you decide on a college:
How can students use social media to their advantage when deciding on a college?
Almost all colleges across the country are using some form of social media. It's one of the best options that students can use when researching schools and making a final decision on the best fit for them.
What are some examples of how students can use social media in their college search?
You can monitor what schools are tweeting or chatting about; is it about crime or is it about a really great addition to the campus library? We've seen schools like Williams College set up designated Twitter chats their admitted students. But you don't just stop at browsing through the official school accounts. You can find a person who attends the school who is using social media and communicate with them about your last minute questions and concerns.
You can search Twitter or Tumblr to see what current students are talking about on campus. We've seen tons of high school students reach out to college students at the schools they're considering to ask them questions. More often than not they're willing to help!
For those who have already decided on a college, how can they use social media for that scary next step?
Colleges are doing a lot to help incoming students make connections on social media before they even get to campus. One of the biggest concerns among incoming freshman is who their roommate(s) will be. Social media offers a unique advantage to chat with your roommate online prior to starting school. At Saint Mary's College, one of the Top 100 Social Media Colleges, students used the entering class Facebook page to find potential roomies.
Posted on Tue, May 01, 2012
Today marks the third update to StudentAdvisor's Top 100 Social Media Colleges list. Harvard University (#1) has risen back to the top of the rankings displacing Johns Hopkins University (#2). Both schools have extraordinary social media communities and continue to innovate and execute their social media strategies exceptionally well. The biggest movers and shakers this time around? Full Sail University climbed 31 spots to secure the #19 position while M.I.T. bolted ahead 24 spots to claim #25.
Since the last update to our Top 100 Social Media Colleges list, so much has changed in the social media world! The use of image sharing social networks has exploded in popularity with Pinterest and Instagram. Google+ pages give colleges like Duke University the ability to answer questions live via video Hangouts.
Rising Stars in Higher Ed Social Media
Other notable movements include the University of Washington- Seattle landing a spot in the Top 10 and 13 colleges earning their first Top 100 placements. RISD, Caltech, Morehouse College, and St. John's University New York are just a few of the new additions to this list of colleges making big things happen with social media.
How Do We Do It?
StudentAdvisor's Top Social Media Colleges ranking compares more than 6,000 federally recognized colleges and universities and post-secondary schools in the United States in terms of their mastery of public social media methods, tools and websites. The top 100 of those schools are shown in the ranking list, which is regularly updated.
The StudentAdvisor research team continuously collects information on how active and effective each school is at engaging their audiences on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media tools, such as iTunes and podcasts. The ranking methodology also takes into account the size of each school's population, as well as other metrics, to gauge overall reach and effectiveness. The team then produces a strictly quantitative score for each school based on this information, and updates the findings regularly.
Posted on Thu, Apr 26, 2012
When graduation season rolls around, most people tend to think about young adults diving head first into the real world after receiving their diplomas. But what about those who chose to continue their education years after entering adulthood? Imagine being a great-grandmother about to earn your college degree!
This year, 71-year-old Ashford University student Savannah Jones will be earning her Bachelor's in social science with specialization in education. In 2009 after being out of school for decades, Savannah decided to take online courses: "Online learning was perfect for me; however, regardless of whether it's online or in a traditional university setting, you have to be self-motivated and determined," she said. Read more...
Posted on Wed, Apr 25, 2012
Talking about student loans is never a fun, but that isn't going to stop Jimmy Fallon from trying. Yesterday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jimmy Fallon and President Obama turned down the lights and crooned a plea to congress to lower student loan interest rates. The result? Some insightful points made over smooth beats provided by The Roots. Do you think they got the point across? Watch the video below and post what you think about this bizarre duet in the comments!
Posted on Tue, Apr 24, 2012
So the college acceptance letters have finally rolled in and you're still having trouble making your mind up about where to go? Maybe your first choice waitlisted or rejected you and you just can't figure out which of your backups will be the best college match.
May 1st is the deadline most colleges set for their accepted students to decide to enroll. Many students who are still on the fence entertain the idea of accepting more than one admissions offer just to have a little bit of extra decision time.
Unfortunately this isn't a great idea. Chances are you will be losing a good chunk of change for not being able to decide on one college before the deadline. Purvi S. Mody, owner of Insight Education, explains why. Read more...
