By Mike Stone
For StudentAdvisor.com
Looking to enhance your creativity while gaining a competitive edge for a job? Are you hoping to save money on tuition and study halfway around the world? Well, get lost! You may be surprised to learn that a college study abroad program can make this all possible! But with so many options out there, how are you supposed to know which one will the best fit?
Beginning Your Study Abroad Search: Questions to Ask
Here are three questions to ask your school's study abroad office to help you find the perfect money-saving program match:
1. Does financial aid extend to study abroad programs? If so, does it cover only my school's program, or does it extend to 3rd party programs?
2. Am I required to pay my home school's full tuition for study abroad? If you can take a leave of absence, consider enrolling at a foreign university for a semester and paying them directly. That's the cheapest way to study abroad.
3. Am I allowed to pursue any program, or is there a list of pre-approved accredited programs? The last thing you want is to return from abroad to find that none of your course credits transfer.
As you find answers to these questions, visit Abroad101.com to start researching away!
Below are some of the most popular programs that receive high ratings for cost of living, along with their application deadlines for Fall enrollment. Be sure to read insider student reviews and learn more about these incredible study abroad opportunities.
Program - Application Deadlines
CEA - Buenos Aires - 05/06/2011
IES - Beijing - 05/13/2011
AIFS - Prague - 05/15/2011
CAPA - Sydney - 06/01/2011
API - Florence - 06/01/2011
ISA - Granada - 06/01/2011
Mike Stone is a co-found of Abroad101 Mike Stone, co-founder of Abroad101, a study abroad review site. Mike is a graduate of Tufts University with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Communications and Media Studies. He has studied abroad in Talloires, France as well as Melbourne, Australia, and helped teach and administer a Tufts study abroad program in France.
Thank you to everyone who wrote a review of their college for the first ever StudentAdvisor $24,000 Scholarship All-Nighter! We've read many extraordinary reviews and learned a great deal about your schools. Thank you for your insight and for sharing your stories with us.
Please visit the StudentAdvisor Facebook Page for even more cool interviews and videos.
By Dean Tsouvalas
StudentAdvisor Editor-in-Chief
Winners announced every hour 5 minutes past the hour LIVE!
Earlier this month we launched a $24,000 college review scholarship contest to celebrate College Decision Month. Our goal was to help college students and alumni pay for their education. Why? Because college is expensive! Who couldn't use some extra cash? We also wanted to help college-bound students decide where to go with school reviews from real students. After all, that May 1st deadline to get those deposits in to their college of choice is just days away!
But the contest is far from over - today the StudentAdvisor team will be awarding the 24 most helpful college reviews $1,000 each hour for 24 hours! Not only that, but we're also going to be staying up all night reading your reviews because there's still time for you to get those college reviews in for a chance to win!
Reviews still being accepted until 4/27 @ Noon ET
The deadline for scholarship eligible reviews is April 27th at noon ET. If you haven't already done your review it's definitely time to stop putting it off and review your college if you want to win!
How to find out if your review won
Today at noon ET the StudentAdvisor team will be announcing our first winner in our College Decision Month scholarship contest. We'll be staying up all night to announce one winner, every hour for 24 hours until that $24,000 runs out! Be sure to check the @StudentAdvisor Twitter feed and our Decision Month Scholarhips page every hour starting at noon ET to find out if you won $1,000 for your college review!
And now it's time for the StudentAdvisor team to up our caffeine intake and get ready to award the most helpful college reviews!
Good luck!
Dean
By Purvi S. Mody
For StudentAdvisor.com
When my son was born just a little over one year ago, one of the first thoughts I had was, “How will we ever afford to send him to college?” I started running rough calculations and realized that we would need to put aside almost $15,000 per year taking into account a 5% growth rate and accounting for modest increases in the cost of attending a four-year college. This simplistic calculation did not account for the fact that we would have so many expenses with a newborn including daycare or the fact that we would like to have more than one child.
As a professional in the college admissions and financial aid industry, I often advise parents to start saving for college as early as possible. I see the stress that the rising cost of an undergraduate degree can induce for even the most financially fit families. Not many people have the luxury of being able to dole out $30,000 to $60,000 per year easily. I know that we cannot afford to wait until our son is a high school student to start thinking about how to save for a college education.
So I started to do my research and this is what I learned:
1. Plan for retirement first.
You can always borrow money for college, but you cannot borrow for retirement. Get your financial house in order for you and your spouse first. If you have the resources, maximize your IRA and retirement account contributions.
2. Have life insurance.
I believe it is best to plan for the “just in case”. Get life insurance that will protect your spouse and help pay for living and education expenses. If you are young and healthy, the yearly cost of insurance is worth the peace of mind. The rule of thumb is to get life insurance worth ten times your annual income.
3. Don’t put money under the proverbial mattress.
If you are saving, put money in tax-free accounts designed specifically for education. Coverdell accounts allow families to contribute up to $2,000 per year. The money is not tax-deductible, but the investment grows tax-free so distributions are not taxed. And this money can often be used for educational expenses for elementary, middle or high school. Also consider a 529 Plan. Like Coverdell accounts, 529 Plans allow families to save money and the distributions are not taxed. Most plans are state plans run by financial institutions. Your state may even give you a tax break if you invest in that state’s plan. There are no limits on contribution amounts, but this money can only be used for college expenses.
These are great plans for families that are trying to catch up on saving for college. While these plans offer you the same growth opportunities as other investment vehicles, one downside is that these accounts are considered the property of the beneficiary for financial aid purposes. And they will lower the financial aid packages your child receives from colleges. This sounds like a negative, but this most likely means fewer loans down the road.
4. Don’t tie up your money too soon.
If you invest your money in the education accounts described above, that money can only be used for qualified education expenses. Pulling the money out for other purposes will also mean paying a hefty fine and possibly taxes on the growth. If you want to save without committing, look into CDs or savings accounts. The returns are low and you will get taxed, but the money is yours to use for whatever you need. And if you are a little more risk tolerant, invest in the market.
5. Don’t underscore the value of student loans.
I am a strong believer in children having a stake in their education. I paid my way through college and graduate school. I once calculated one class was costing me $200 per session. That alone was incentive to study harder. My clients often tell me how fast kids grow up. And while I am not quite ready for my little one to head to college just yet, I do know that when he is ready we will be financially prepared.
Purvi S. Mody is co-owner of Insight Education, an educational consulting firm that helps students throughout the country and internationally to achieve their educational goals. Get in touch with her via email at purvi@insight-education.net or follow her on Twitter @InsightEduc.
By James Fisher
For StudentAdvisor.com
Never really at a loss for critics, the world of higher education seems especially embattled these days. The shelves fairly groan with titles suggesting serious problems with the system. We see, for example, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses and Crisis on Campus: A Bold Plan for Reforming Our Colleges and Universities. Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus pull out all the stops with a title blending sarcasm with a clarion call to action: Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids—And What We Can Do About It?
Just this month, The New York Times got in line with these critics to ask some hard questions of our nation’s undergraduate business programs. The account ladled out some stern accusations for all involved in the b-school enterprise:
- Many students lack motivation and therefore just aren’t working hard enough. Some “are skating through B-school” while others compensate by cunningly cultivating access to networks and recruiters that yield a reliable path to post-degree employment
- Professors are dumbing-down courses and giving higher grades in the benighted hope of better student evaluations. Accounting and finance are the least offenders, while management and marketing (my discipline) are the worst.
- Writing and reasoning skills are getting short shrift, while there is likely too much emphasis on group projects and the spoon-feeding of pre-fabricated PowerPoint lectures.
- Administrators are complicit in the erosion of standards as they cynically rely on B-school as the university’s cash-cow (itself a business term). The article notes that business degrees now account for over 20%, or more than 325,000, or all bachelor’s degrees awarded annually in the US.
So is picking a business major really that bad?
Well, if you expect me to bite the hand that feeds me, you will be disappointed (although you can find a couple of my putative colleagues who do just that in the Times article). You can dismiss my apologia here as hopelessly biased, but on the other hand, I have had over 25-years of teaching experience and about 5-years as a b-school student myself.
I will admit to some truth in the portrait drawn by the critics. Students should deepen their engagement and broaden their participation in the intellectual life of the school. Faculty, for their part, ought to strive to find the ideal mix of rigor and passion and adapt as necessary to the changing contours of business and economic life as well as the exciting prospects for new teaching approaches. Others have called education the “impossible profession” and the enduring challenge can itself provide the restless energy and prospect for transformation that attends the pursuit of learning.
But some truths are only half-truths. Here another side to the b-school story:
- The business community: Individuals, companies and professions are relentlessly supportive of our b-schools and our students. They share of their time, treasure and rich experience. Oh yeah, they also like to hire our students.
- Group work: The Times article pilloried some schools for their reliance on group assignments. It’s true b-schools have a lot of group work—in some instance maybe too much. But of this we are pretty sure: most great learning happens in groups and great doings are similarly collaborative. Embrace it.
- Case studies: These are a staple of the business school curriculum. The best ones are masterpieces of indirection. Students learn inductively from them in a more permanent way. These cases continue to instruct as student go forth from the classroom. Let me tell you a story…
- Diversity: Academics sometimes can foster a narrow conception of intelligence or talent. The study of business will broaden this narrow notion. An old chestnut circulated in b-schools is that the A-students will likely work for the C-students. [My colleagues at the law school have their equivalent: A-students become professors, B-students become judges and C-students become rich.] Business communities with their strict accounting of profits and losses have repeatedly demonstrated that success reflects a diversity of talent much more than any singular conception of ability. More generally diversity generates creativity and innovation and on these business truly depends.
In conclusion, let me offer a tip, a little inside-information on which you may wish to trade. Business school, like much of life, will most likely be different than you expect. Accounting may be harder, statistics easier, and that much-sought-after internship might turn out to be of questionable value.
Some things will disappoint, but others will surpass your expectations. If business suits your inclinations and desires, I’m quite sure more than a few things will amaze and delight. Most of the value and worth of an undergraduate business education will, however, revolve around matters you can powerfully influence, if not completely control. As a business school student, you will need to familiarize yourself with two business principles necessary for success: be alert to opportunity and do not shrink from the prospect of risk or failure.
Nothing in life gets accomplished with a liberal tolerance for failure. You might learn that in business school.
James Fisher is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business.
By Laura Vann
For StudentAdvisor.com
The college search can be a painful process – especially when you’re sifting through thousands of options (and that’s just in the United States). Where do you start? Well, my advice is to first narrow it down by asking yourself these questions:
- Do you like big or small class sizes?
- Do you prefer warm or cold weather?
- What are your favorite hobbies?
- What do you want to study?
- What do you want to do when you grow up?
Although it’s not a be-all, end-all list, hopefully it will help you focus your search and find your best college match – at least by size, geographic region and major.
If I had all the answers – or better yet an electronic questionnaire you could fill out with your interests, likes and dislikes that would produce a list of universities that are right for you – I would be the best higher education PR person in the biz.
But having been a student at a small university and now a PR person for one, here 7 signs that a small college might be the answer:
1. You like the idea of talking with your professors (not teaching assistants) after class.
If you thrive in small classes with individualized attention and accessible professors, a small university is probably a safe bet. At Lynn University (a small private college located in Boca Raton, FL that I’m a proud employee and two-time alum of) the student-teacher ratio is 16:1. That almost guarantees that your professor will know you by name in the first week – you’re never just a number here.
2. You want to walk through campus and see familiar faces.
Going to a small school is kind of like living in a small town with a close, tight-knit family. Everybody knows everybody.
3. You prefer to have multiple classes with the same people.
Once you get into your major and specialization, you’ll start having classes with many of the same people because only so many people are in the advanced classes. Why is this a benefit? Well, you have the opportunity to make really close friends that you study, live and hang out with. Plus, you’ll know which people have similar study habits and work ethics – making teaming up for group projects a breeze!
4. You enjoy being close to everything.
Some universities are literally small cities, but not a small college. Everything is close by, and you won’t have to hustle from one class to the other – this is especially helpful when you want to spend a few extra minutes talking with your professor after class. Lynn, for example, has a 123-acre campus. You can get anywhere on foot in just 10 minutes.
5. You love always having a good parking spot.
Parking is always a problem on university campuses, but at most small colleges it’s a lot easier than at large ones. Students literally have to take shuttles from one parking lot to another or walk over a mile just to get to class. Although I hear students at Lynn complain about a five-minute walk from the “North Lot” to get to class, they really don’t have much to complain about if they put it into perspective. Another benefit of most small colleges is freshmen get to bring their cars!
6. You wish to participate (and run) campus activities – even as a freshman.
At small universities, you don’t have to wait to be an upperclassman to obtain a leadership role. You can chair major events like Relay for Life, campaign for a position on the Student Government Association and even start your own campus group, produce your own radio show or write for the student newspaper. You can literally do this the first day you walk onto campus as a freshman. The options are endless!
7. You're worried about the availability of scholarships, grants and loans.
A major concern for students that know a small private college is the perfect fit for them, is how will they pay for it. Well, I’m here to tell you that a private college education is more affordable than you might think. In fact, at Lynn, more than 62% of students receive some form of financial aid, including scholarships, grants and loans that help their college dreams become a reality. When it comes to smaller schools the competition for limited financial aid resources is significantly less.
Laura Vann, public relations specialist at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL. She is a 2008 and 2010 Lynn alum, a well traveled blogger on My Life in Madrid and Knight Writer, an Augusta, GA. native and a 20-something, making her a Gen-Yer like most current and prospective college students. Please contact Laura at lvann@lynn.edu with any questions related to the blog.
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By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
With everyone and their brother saying that college was the best 4 (or 5) years of their life you might feel a little pressure about making the most of your time there. Especially if you're a college-bound high school senior. I'm sure this time of year you're all pysched to be graduating high school, but have you given much thought about your college game plan? After all, getting into college is half the battle - the other half is what you're going to do when you get there!
So if you're a bit overwhelmed about the road ahead of you here are a few things to keep in mind:
Get to really know your professors.
Professors will hold office hours outside of class for students to get extra help. Even if you don't need extra help, it's good to stop by once in awhile to see what they're working on or just have a talk about current events. Professors are a wealth of information and can be the ones to help you out later in your college career or even post-college in the form of recommendations for internships, jobs, or grad school.
They can also let you know who's hiring when it comes time to get that diploma and move on. Getting social with your professors makes college much more interesting than just showing up to class and doing assignments.
Participate in student groups.
Extra-curricular activities aren't just something you used to get into college. Pretty much any campus has numerous student organizations for you to get involved with and meet people. Also, most schools will make it very easy to start your own student group if you're motivated enough to get something off the ground.
Aside from the great potential to grow your social circle, student groups offer countless leadership opportunities for you to learn skills and gain experience you wouldn't normally get inside the classroom. When I was at Northeastern University I was heavily involved with the school's radio station, WRBB. There I learned the ins and outs of radio broadcasting and got to learn a ton about the Boston music scene.
Whether it's intramural sports, a faith based group, community service groups, a hobby group, a student publication, a music group... Find something you're passionate about and get involved!
Do an internship (or two, or three).
Internships and co-op programs are a great way to get on the job experience while you're still in school and start building your resume beyond burger flipper or grocery cart jockey. You'll also start establishing more professional connections which are invaluable when it comes developing your career. Don't forget to checok out the StudentAdvisor Guide to Internships!
Consider doing a study abroad program.
The one regret about my college experience was that I didn't get a chance to do a semester abroad. Study abroad programs offer those who don't get to travel much a chance to immerse in a completely different culture and earn credit for school. If you're doing language classes it's a great way to build your conversational skills.
Visit your friends at other colleges.
This one sounds a little odd, but hear me out. First, it's important, especially if you go to a very rural college, to get out of your campus "bubble" once in awhile. Seeing how things are done differently at other colleges is a fantastic way to spark innovation for ways you can help make your own campus better.
Visiting other campuses while you're in college will also give you a different perspective on your own school as well - did you really choose the school that's the best fit for you? Also, if you're a commuter student at your own school it gives you the opportunity to experience on-campus life, even if it's just for a weekend.
Do you have any suggestions for new college students on how to get the most out of undergrad life? Share them in the comments!
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Saff
Around the world the University of Notre Dame community is known as The Fighting Irish, but these days you might as well call them The Blogging Irish. At this Top 100 Social Media College the school invites faculty and students to participate in its university sponsored blog network and provides excellent resources for newbie bloggers to get started.
Notre Dame's support for faculty and students producing their own content through school sponsored blogs is only the beginning of their ongoing support to socially grow the school's online presence and community. Sharing content socially is even integrated into some classes. In ND's Migration & Identity in The New Ireland course students are required to blog, comment and tweet. The school even offers a go-to Social Media policy guide that covers FERPA and copyright regulations in addition to best practices. So not only are they giving their students a platform, they're making sure all the Fighting Irish are doing social media right.
Speaking of doing social media right, Notre Dame has a highly organized official YouTube channel with separate playlists for Academics, Faith and Service, Admissions, Student Life, and Research initiatives. Check out the videos that make up their "What Would You Fight For?" list and you'll find out just how much passion ND's students and faculty have for making the world a better place:
If you're a fan of Notre Dame athletics (and who isn't?), you can get real-time info on all your favorite Fighting Irish teams on the @UND_com. Over 9,000 follow the account for up to the minute game time updates, scores, and sports trivia. In addition to posting sports related news and highlights, the Notre Dame official Facebook page provides a constant stream of status updates on everything from research opportunities for undergrads to on campus event listings via the Facebook events app.
For the University of Notre Dame, a college with over a 150 years of history behind it, the transition from offline to online communication seems natural. When you're school that has such a strong community bond, Tweeting, Sharing, and Liking are easy. Visit any Notre Dame social media presence and right away you'll learn what school pride is all about.
By Aubree Smith
For StudentAdvisor.com
As college-bound students across the country digest acceptance, rejection, and waitlist letters, the focus for the next wave of prospective students and their families is on the beginning of the hunt: the college search. And this wave of high school juniors and seniors are scouring the Internet from their laptops, iPad2’s, and Android phones to compare – arguably more acutely than ever – all that schools have to offer online. One trend that is picking up substantial steam is schools that offer virtual campus tours, and companies like YourCampus360 are leading the way.
The Benefits for Prospective Students and Families
Students and their families are always encouraged to visit campuses in person, as there is no true substitute, but in the case of families who want to learn more about a school early on and throughout the process of their college search, many schools are now providing YourCampus360 online walking tours. These tours are also an excellent option for international students and in the case of families who are not able to visit every school on their list. Not only is cutting-edge technology bringing a stunning level of reality to virtual tours, but visitors are able to take the tours from anywhere and at any time.
Visitors can take a guided, 3-D tour of campus and explore each building and feature. They can also view videos, photos and interactive 360-degreee panoramas. This is an excellent opportunity for visitors to formulate questions for the school, and they are able to make inquiries and apply online directly from the virtual tours.
How to Access These Tours
Tour access varies depending on the school, but many schools such as Syracuse University and Stony Brook University have adapted to an increasingly mobile audience and have made their campus available across all platforms: via their EDU websites, Facebook Pages, iPhone/iPad/iTouch, and Android phones.
Aubree Smith is a member of the YourCampus360 team, a group of New York City-based experts in higher education marketing technology. YourCampus360 leads the industry in creating virtual experiences that connect schools with prospective students across all of the most popular platforms: EDU websites, mobile devices, Facebook, YouTube, and more.
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
Friday already? Time for another round up of the biggest stories in college news. In this edition of This Week in College News we'll tackle the BCS, networking with billionaires, and the next wave in discrimination against tobacco smokers. Have no clue what's going on? Go forth!
Want to talk about the future of PR with one of the richest men in the world? Warren Buffett is running a video contest for college students. The prize? Lunch in New York City with the world famous billionaire investor - talk about networking!
When it comes to the way the BCS is run, not many people are happy campers. This time around it's a group of 21 economists and legal professors taking aim at college football's big dance. The group recently sent a letter to the US Assistant Attorney General stating,"The BCS shields preferred schools from competition by erecting barriers to competitive post season entry, provides favored schools with fixed benefits, and harms consumers of post season college football."
For many students this month their time waiting outside by the mailbox in hopes of getting that big acceptance envelope will come to an end. Some students will end up having to figure out how to decide on a college after getting wait-listed. But for one Tacoma, Washington high school senior getting wait-listed at Harvard, her dream college, wasn't going to crush her spirits. Instead, she decided to turn to her piano and take her frustrations out with a hilarious YouTube video.
More Colleges Considering Campus-wide Smoking Bans
As if the rising cost of cigarettes wasn't enough to deter college students from smoking, more colleges across the country are moving to completely ban all smoking from campus. Last week at UMass Amherst the Faculty Senate voted in favor of a campus-wide smoking ban. This week Bemidji State and St. Cloud State are moving forward with policies to ban smoking from their campuses.
Is Your College Review Worth $1,000?
Excitement is heating up at the StudentAdvisor office over our $24,000 Scholarships All-Nighter. This week Boston morning radio DJ Kennedy of Mix 104.1's Karson & Kennedy stopped by to learn more about our contest for College Decision Month. We're still accepting entries for the best college reviews! We've even started a hall of fame wall with quotes from some of our favorite reviews.
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
Take a glance at the bio section on the official Twitter page of Carnegie Mellon University and you'll immediately understand the secret to their success in social media: "Researchers, students and alumni do the hard work. We just get to talk about it." There's certainly no shortage of remarkable events to talk about at this top ranked research university located in the heart of Pittsburgh, PA. The way the school's professors and students are willing to support one another by sharing their hard work through social media has played a huge part in their placement at the #4 slot on StudentAdvisor's Top 100 Social Media Colleges.
The school can lay claim to one of the most engaging official college Twitter presences. @CarnegieMellon keeps followers in the loop with real-time updates about incredible research findings in addition to events on campus and around Pittsburgh. They even give alumni a reason to stay in touch by publicizing job openings targeted to CMU grads.
The social frenzy doesn't just stop with Twitter. Visit the school's social media dashboard and you'll be treated to a shared school Google calendar, public transit info, the latest YouTube videos, and handy search engines and links for what to do on and off campus. To make it easier to find all the official social media accounts the school offers a super handy social media directory page.
Thinking about heading to CMU for your MBA? Polk through the Tepper School of Business Facebook Page to see what their grad students are up to. Want to see what Tartan life looks like? Browse the school's official Flickr pool where campus shutterbugs from all departments post their best shots. Just got accepted? Hop on over to the official CMU Class of 2015 where you can ask a current student all your burning questions before you move into that freshman dorm. Whatever you're interested in at Carnegie Mellon there's no shortage in online communities for you to visit.
If you're more of a visual learner, check out Carnegie Mellon's official YouTube channel to check out the different initiatives that are part of the school's Inspire Innovation Campaign. Videos highlight different students and professors engaged in projects such as the Disney Research Lab, reducing carbon emissions, and understanding thought prediction.
Jeopardy fans can find out how CMU professors from the Language Technologies Institute in the School of Computer Science collaborated with IBM to develop Watson, the super computer that beat all-time champ Ken Jennings. You can even catch full lectures and panels on the Carnegie Mellon iTunes U page.
By Megan C. Kenslea
For StudentAdvisor.com
Late one Saturday night in early September of 2010, I broke down crying. Sitting on my bed, I sobbed for what seemed like hours, inconsolable and convinced that I would never be happy at Boston University, where I had started days earlier.
While many freshmen in college experience a similar bout of homesickness, I was not a freshman. This fall, during my junior year of college, I transferred from the University of Delaware to Boston University, leaving behind friends and a routine I was comfortable with for something entirely new. While I had many reasons for transferring, that night the only thing I could think about was how lonely I felt just then, away from all of my friends.
Now, as my first year at Boston University comes to an end, I have a strong group of friends here whom I rely on and spend most of my time with. However, it wasn’t easy starting over—something that I hadn’t planned for.
I had expected that the transition from Delaware to B.U. would have been as easy as my transition from high school to college was, but as a transfer student, it was much more difficult to meet people and make friends. While all freshman are in the same boat coming into college, it is harder to navigate the waters of a new school as an upperclassman, when friendships are already formed.
Each student’s transfer experience is different, but there are several steps that any transfer student can take to make the process easier.
1. Live on campus.
If your school provides housing for transfer students, take advantage of it. I was placed in a double with another transfer student, and although we didn’t become close friends, she was a huge support in the beginning of the year when we were both still adjusting to school and meeting people. Even if you aren’t very similar (or, in our case, complete opposites), you can find common interests. Having someone to eat dinner with, go out at night with, or just talk to when you’re having a rough day makes the process instantly easier.
2. Reach out to acquaintances.
Although none of my close friends from high school went to B.U., I knew several people and got in touch with them individually the summer before the semester started. In the fall, a friend from high school invited me to his birthday party and I started having weekly dinners with a friend from Delaware who had transferred to B.U. during our freshman year. Through them, I started to meet more people, and build a network of friends
3. Get involved.
I can’t stress this enough. At Delaware, I was on the Model U.N. travel team, and when I got to B.U., the first thing I joined was the International Affairs Association, the umbrella organization for B.U.’s Model U.N. travel team. In addition to joining the travel team, I also signed up to staff an event on campus. I went to weekly meetings and stayed after to talk to people, and I slowly started to make more friends. One girl that I met invited me to hang out with her outside of the club, and through her I met an entirely different group of friends.
Joining clubs isn’t the only way to get involved. Some people join sororities, others join intramural sports teams, and others got on-campus jobs. There is no one right way to transfer, but, like all college experiences, you get what you put into it.
Megan Kenslea is a junior at Boston University pursuing dual degrees in Journalism and Economics.
By Jennifer Cohen
For StudentAdvisor.com
It’s SAT season again. Most high school juniors are planning to take the test for the first time in May or June. You’ve signed up for a prep course, filled your Amazon shopping cart with books and committed to getting yourself ready. You’re headed in the right direction, but those steps aren’t enough. Really, you’re not even close.
Here are a common mistakes in getting ready for the test:
1. Signing up for an SAT class is not enough.
You’ve got to actually GO to class, and when you’re there, you’ve got to actually PAY ATTENTION. I spend a lot of time on Twitter, and a lot of you are tweeting from your SAT classes about how boring it is, how’d you rather be playing video games, and how the instructor wears ugly ties. It should be obvious that simply being in the presence of an SAT book won’t help you on test day.
2. Thinking that paying attention in SAT class is enough.
Listening in class and taking notes is a great start, but it will only get you so far. Sure, strategies are important, and brushing up on the rules for special triangles is helpful. But the most important part of an SAT prep course is the work you do outside of class. You must do the assigned homework, and you must work as many practice questions as possible before test day. You won’t make great gains without doing the work.
3. Not going beyond assigned SAT Prep Class assignments.
You’re starting to hate me aren’t you?! The College Board has tons of free preparation materials, and you should take advantage of them. Sign up for the daily practice question email, and download the student bulletins and practice tests.
4. Not using your course instructor as a resource.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even “stupid” ones. You’re paying for his or her time, remember? I can count on one hand the number of times students actually asked me questions about the homework. If you don’t understand something now, you won’t get it on test day either, and that’s points down the drain. If you’re afraid of speaking up in class, send an email to the instructor.
5. Not actually signing up to take the test.
Signing up for a prep class doesn’t mean you’re registered to take it! It’s important to register early so you can get a desirable test center (and avoid late registration fees). An hour or more commute on test day will only hurt you. May, June and October are heavy administration dates, so go to the College Board’s website now. If registration isn’t open yet for your desired date, there’s an email reminder service to job your memory.
Now get to work - there's less than a month until the May 7th test date! Good luck!
Jennifer Cohen is President and Chief Word-Nerd of Word-Nerd.com, an SAT vocabulary tutorial website. She is a primary contributor to The Fat Envelope blog, and aspires to bring sanity back to the college admissions process. She is also an experienced SAT and PSAT tutor. You can find Word-Nerd on Facebook and Twitter.
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
You'll be hard pressed to find a more storied inter-state college rivalry than the one between University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Michagan State University On paper they have a lot in common. These two world-class public institutions of higher learning with student populations in the 40,000's are often considered part of the "public ivies". Like most Big Ten schools they both have more school spirit than you can shake a stick at. But what do the students really think about there schools?
With college decision month in full swing we wanted to see what these feuding Wolverines and Spartans had to say in their college reviews. If you're considering earning your degree in the Great Lakes state you should check out how these colleges compare:
The Good:
University of Michigan students said...
- "U of M is in a great location surrounded by an excellent community. There are plenty of student activities and fantastic food! The football games are always a lot of fun to go to and tailgating..."
- "The Ann Arbor area is fantastic. It is big enough and diverse enough that you can find whatever you are looking for. Would definitely go again."
- "The campus life was amazing with such rich educational and sports traditions."
Michigan State students said...
- "Some of the honors programs and residential colleges have absolutely brilliant young men and women who go onto the top graduate and professional programs in the country."
- "Michigan State is booming with energy; I see students playing intramural sports, relaxing under a shady tree, riding bikes to class, listening to iPods, or walking with their friends. There are countless things to do here, and it just makes the college experience so much better."
- "The school has a very high intake of students (more than 50,000) and one of the largest international student programs (more than 5000) in the USA. So one gets to meet all sort of interesting people with a lot of learning opportunities."
The Bad:
University of Michigan students said...
- "The campus is a bit spread out, which can be unfortunate in the winter. The maintenance isn't great about salting the side walks, so getting to class can be treacherous."
- "The worst thing about going to this college was the areas weather. I am from California i was not used to the Michigan snow."
- "Poor dorm food, outdated residence halls, and no parking - anywhere!"
Michigan State students said...
- "The size of the University takes some getting-used-to and the party atmosphere can sometimes get a little out of hand."
- "The housing department seems over worked and the capacity of university apartments do not match the students intake. This results in a long waiting list and sometimes costlier out of campus accommodations."
- "You can get lost in the crowd if you let the size overwhelm you."
Want to know more? Check out how Michigan vs Michigan State compare side by side for tuition, male-to-female ratio, admitted student test scores and more! Just visit our compare colleges page.
Photo: Campus Den
By Purvi S. Mody
For StudentAdvisor.com
Over the next few weeks, official college results will become public and much discussion about the difficulty of getting into college will ensue. Each year seems more competitive than the last when it comes to reviewing the college admissions statistics. The quality of applicants seems to be rising to superstar levels. And debates around the fairness of admitting more international, low-income, and disadvantaged students will occur.
Current high school seniors now have the enormous task of choosing the right school. But high school juniors and their parents are now just in the nascent stages of planning for college. I hope this article will bring a little peace of mind to all families.
The reality is that admissions to the country’s most selective universities are exactly that – selective. I don’t really think it is a surprise that six of the eight Ivy League schools have acceptance rates in the single digits. But when was it ever “easy” to get into Harvard? Cornell accepted almost 18% of its applicants, and Columbia accepted 22 more students than it did last year. UCLA continued to lead the nation in number of applications received with more than 61,000, yet it accepted more than 15,000 students. Its acceptance rate climbed up 2.5.% in a year when most schools are quoting significant drops.
The hype will focus on the most well-known schools. But there are more than 2,000 four-year colleges in the US alone. Some are still accepting applications for the Fall! This is good news for students that might have overreached when applying in the Fall and are still looking for options for next year. This is also important for families of Juniors to know. If you are open-minded and think beyond brand, the opportunities are potentially unlimited. But what do the numbers really mean?
The number of high school students graduating is not going up.
The number of graduates applying to college is. And students are applying to more and more schools each year. I imagine that trend will continue next year.
More international students are applying to colleges in the US.
And while many international students used to only apply to the most prestigious schools, that is no longer the case. These students see value in a degree from the United States and are now applying to a range of schools. Schools that are particularly strong in engineering, business, and the sciences are the most popular.
The number of minority students continues to increase.
More students from diverse backgrounds are applying to four-year programs as outreach and financial aid programs are becoming more effective.
There is no substitute for strong grades.
This year, more than any other year, has proven that GPA is king. So Juniors – keep those grades up and create a college list that is ambitious yet realistic based on your grades.
Being involved in extra-currucilar activities is crucial.
Being involved in your community through service, sports, clubs, music, or simply hobbies shows who you are outside of academics. This is very important to colleges because it demonstrates what you will contribute to the campus community. But this involvement should not come at the sacrifice of academics.
Test scores, while important, cannot completely off-set a lower GPA.
Balance your tests and the time you spend on them. The SAT tends to get overemphasized in certain geographies. But remember that a high SAT score means nothing if the rest of your application is just mediocre.
Letters of recommendations from your teachers and counselor should not be taken lightly.
Make sure you are building strong relationships with school faculty and administrators now. They are real people so treat them as such – with respect. Complaining about every minor thing will not bode well for you down the road.
Whether you are a high school student or a parent, remember one thing: Where you go to college only determines the exact opportunities available to you. If you did not get into you desired schools this year because you just did not have the muster for it, take this as a lesson and work hard over the next four years. And if you did get into your dream school, whichever school that might be, don’t get complacent. You will have to continue to work hard to pursue your long term goals.
College admissions statistics will always seem bleak, but those numbers should not define your destiny.
Purvi S. Mody is co-owner of Insight Education, an educational consulting firm that helps students throughout the country and internationally to achieve their educational goals. Get in touch with her via email at purvi@insight-education.net or follow her on Twitter @InsightEduc.
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
It's time for another round up of the week's most notable college stories making headlines. Today's edition of This Week in College News brings us big theft, campus petting zoos, conjoining Terrapins, and a slew of Canadian universities recruiting American students. Have no idea what we're talking about? Then read on!
A huge black eye for the Vassar College community as an embezzlement investigation involving a former construction manager and his wife unravels. Arthur and Jennifer Fisher allegedly funneled money from the Poughkeepsie college to a bank account for a fake construction company for construction project work that was never done.
If you've ever walked in a room full of law students you know that you can't breathe without inhaling the stress fumes. But for students at Yale Law School they're on cloud nine after their pet therapy class. That's right - law school just got a whole lot more warm and fuzzy.
A major debate is heating up in The Old Line state on the proposal to merge University of Maryland's historic Baltimore campus with its flagship College Park campus. The campuses have been considered separate schools since 1970, but reuniting them may relieve some budget woes.
According to a recent story in the Burlington Free Press, Canadian Universities are beginning to set up college fairs looking to sway Vermont high school students into getting their degrees up North. The report indicates that even with the international student tuition applied that the cost of attending school in Canada is significantly less than attending a private or out-of-state college in the US.
On April 26th, StudentAdvisor will host the $24,000 Scholarships All-Nighter for the best college reviews. Didn't write yours yet? What are you waiting for? Your college review could win $1,000!
Here are some of the latest reviews:
Photo: Vivian Chen
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Is your college review worth $1,000?
Write your college review on StudentAdvisor.
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By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
What would you do with an extra $1,000 for school? Put it towards text books? Student loans? A study abroad trip? Well, that's for you to figure out! This month StudentAdvisor is awarding $24,000 in scholarship money for the best college reviews! April is College Decision Month and high school seniors across the country have to decide where they will earn their college degree. What if you could help the students that are stuck on the fence make up their minds? Whether you're currently in college or an alum thinking about going back - your college review could help thousands of students and win you some cash!
All you have to do is write a review on your college between April 1st and April 26th. Then, be sure to check out the StudentAdvisor homepage April 26th for our $24,000 Scholarships All-Nighter. One winner will be announced every hour for 24 hours to win a $1,000 - that's $24,000 in 24 hours!
Don't forget that quality counts. The StudentAdvisor team will only pick the best reviews, so don't be shy! Be funny, be passionate, be insightful, or be inspiring! Whether you loved or hated your college you have the floor to tell future students the kind of stuff they can't find out from the school brochure. So what are you waiting for? Go write that review!
For more information on rules and entering visit
The College Decision Month Scholarships Page
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
Founded in 1802, The United States Military Academy at West Point has gained a reputation for being one of the toughest educational institutions in the world to get into. And why shouldn't they be selective? They're responsible for training America's top military officers. Affectionately known as "The Long Grey Line", West Point's alumni include 2 presidents, 3 foreign heads of state, 18 astronauts, and a whole slew of notable generals including Robert E. Lee, Douglas MacArthur, and Norman Schwarzkopf. It comes as no surprise that the history department declares "Much of the history we teach was made by people we taught," as their unofficial motto.
However with the reputation for churning out military officers the general public has many misconceptions about daily life at the USMA. There's much, much more to cadet life than push ups in the mud and marching in formation. Care to find out? Well, fortunately for you West Point does an incredible job documenting the different aspects of student life through social media. Their Facebook page is the perfect place to start. Peruse their Facebook photo galleries and you'll get a glimpse of what really goes on at one of the world's top military academies.
West Point's official Facebook Page community boasts over 20,000 with daily updates, and ongoing dialogues between current students, alumni, and parents. For prospective students this makes it easier to get real insights on student life at the school. Additionally many West Point student groups and athletic organizations maintain active official Pages. Whether you're keeping with the latest news in Army Football or keeping tabs on the English Department's Shakespeare Workshop - the Black Knights on Facebook are ready and willing to keep you in the loop.
Think military academy students don't get to have fun? Look no further than the West Point Band's web series Quintette 7. Check out their wonderfully slap stick videos on their frequently updated Band West Point YouTube channel. These musically inclined Cadets take a good hard laugh at the rigors of marching band life at a military academy. Watch this episode on what happens when the Quintette runs late to a parade:
Like many of StudentAdvisor's Top 100 Media Colleges, West Point makes it easy to find all their official social media presences on the web (and there are many) in one easy location. Whether you're thinking about applying, a current student, a parent, or faculty you can keep up with everything going on at the USMA by visiting the West Point in Social Media Page.
View the full Top 100 Social Media Colleges list.
By Laura Snyder
For StudentAdvisor.com
Many high school students are waiting by the mailbox these days. Some will get happy news, others will be disappointed. And a few will be asked to continue the wait.
"Kids who find themselves on wait lists are undeniably dealing with anxiety and are in the dark, with someone else in control of their future,” acknowledges Bill Vanderbilt, vice president for admissions at Hope College in Holland, Mich. “Everyone in admissions understands that, and yet everyone is at the mercy of kids who have already been admitted and made deposits. We're playing a 'wait and see' to see if there's any melt from that pool, which is when we would turn to the wait-list to fill out the class."
Fortunately, there are a few things wait-listed students can do in the meantime.
Not all wait lists are created equal, so find out what your status really is. “Some schools have a really fair and equitable system, some are looking for underrepresented groups or regions,” says Daniel Green, associate vice president for enrollment at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. “Some schools are using ability to pay as a criterion for coming off the wait list once a seat opens up.”
“Ask the admissions office about your chances,” says Regina Schawaroch, director of undergraduate admissions at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “They should be able to say how many students are accepted from the waitlist and under what circumstances.” You should also ask when the list will be reviewed and what you might do to increase your chances of receiving admission.
Stay in touch with the college. “If a student is wait-listed, it’s important for them to let the college know if they are highly interested,” says Brenda Poggendorf, vice president for enrollment at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. “Send updated grades, scores and other academic information. It is also helpful to the college to know that the student wants to be there and will come if they are accepted. Calling or visiting the campus is important.”
“We don’t like nags,” reminds Deborah Stieffel, vice president for enrollment management at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. “But when we know that someone really wants us, and we have the opportunity to take someone from the waitlist, if all else is equal, we’ll look at those who have conveyed their strong desire to attend.”
Show your enthusiasm for the college, she suggests, by knowing about its programs and extra-curricular activities and being able to explain why you’re a match for the school.
If you think your grades or scores are to blame for your status, try to repair or explain them. “We don’t want excuses,” says David Kogler, associate director of admissions at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. “But we want to know that the student has grown and will be able to do well when they confront the next big challenge. A wait-listed student can help themselves by acknowledging the mistakes or challenges in the past and how they have adapted.”
Of course, expressing too much interest will have the opposite effect. “Some mistakes are to call daily, speak with legislators, complete housing forms or ask parents to pull donations,” says Green.
But admissions officials agree that often the smartest thing to do is reconsider your second choices.
“Be realistic,” says Stieffel. “Make sure you send a deposit to another school at which you could be happy.”
“If your first-choice college wait listed you, that means unfortunately you were not their first choice,” says Green. “There are so many excellent colleges and universities that offer just suburb educational opportunities. Time to get a new first choice.”
Purvi S. Mody
For StudentAdvisor.com
In the next month as high school seniors await their final college acceptances, parents will be eagerly awaiting the accompanying financial aid award letters. More often than not, families believe that they should be awarded more aid than offered. If you receive an award letter that truly will not give you the financial ability to send your child to a given college, it may be worth your time to file an appeal.
How to figure out if it's worth filing a financial aid appeal...
If your family makes more than $150,000 Adjusted Gross Income, the chance of receiving need-based aid (except loans) is very low. If there are factors not taken into consideration in the AGI calculation that significantly lower the amount of money you take home, address them in the appeal. Credit card debt and car payments will not sway a college.
Your primary home and retirement accounts are usually protected from the financial aid calculations, but all other assets are fair game. Even though your investment accounts may be down, colleges consider them as available for funding your child's education. Money saved in your child's name is money colleges assume can be used toward costs, so think about all of the family assets.
How to get more financial aid
If after taking the above into consideration, you still believe that you are eligible for more aid, follow the steps below:
1. Review the documents that you submitted for financial aid consideration -- FAFSA, CSS Profile, tax returns, and college financial aid forms -- for accuracy. Were the income or assets reported lower because you used estimates rather than real numbers? Have the numbers changed significantly because of a loss of income or other unexpected events?
2. Think about the unreported expenses that lower your ability to pay for college. These expenses include caring for an aging parent is not claimed as a dependent, anticipated medical expenses not covered by insurance, or costs associated with seeking employment.
3. Draft up a letter with bullet points with why you need additional aid.
4. Call the college's financial aid office before you send the letter. Discuss the situation with the letter in front of you so you don't miss any points. Changes in aid will not be made over the phone, but the aid officer will probably be able to give an assessment of whether your aid package will change.
5. Unless you applied Early Decision, don't be afraid to show scholarships that your child received from other comparable colleges.
6. Send documentation to back up your claims. The numbers will need to be verified.
7. Remember that additional aid may come in the form of student or parent loans.
Grants are usually reserved for families for whom a college education would otherwise be impossible. Make sure that your child is also applying for scholarships.
When deciding on which college to send your child, the costs should certainly be considered. Financial aid offices are usually willing -- within reason -- to make college costs manageable. If you have unusual or complex financial circumstances, you may want to involve your accountant or financial advisor in the discussions.
Last thing — don't wait to start these conversations. By May 1, your child must notify the college that he or she will be attending and you want to put the financial aid conversations behind you by then.
Purvi S. Mody is co-owner of Insight Education, an educational consulting firm that helps students throughout the country and internationally to achieve their educational goals. Get in touch with her via email at purvi@insight-education.net or follow her on Twitter @InsightEduc.
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
When your school has 34 Nobel laureates and counting, you wouldn't expect it to be lacking in the innovation department. For Johns Hopkins University, social media is just another space for them to revolutionize. This much acclaimed private university in Baltimore, Maryland is often credited for making great strides in pioneering both the modern research university and modern medicine. Today they're pioneering exciting new ways for institutions of higher learning to make the most of social media.
Hopkins Interactive is a social media Web site designed to enable prospective and admitted students to Johns Hopkins to connect with the JHU by offering open, uncensored information about student life on campus and in Baltimore. Through blogs, message boards, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, an Insider's Guide publication, and an ever-growing list of other projects, you can get the real scoop on student life.
For a univeristy that's been ranked first in total science, medical and engineering R&D spending by the National Science Foundation for 31 years in a row you could get the impression that there's no room to have a sense of humor. Oh, but you're wrong. So very wrong. Rather than staying stiff lipped, Hopkins students and staff embrace their school's reputation in the form of a delightfully silly Gilbert & Sullivan parody video on their main YouTube channel:
When not setting YouTube ablaze with send ups of 19th Century opera you can keep track of all the remarkable stories that make Johns Hopkins a leader in scientific development on Twitter. In the past few weeks much of their feed was focused around reporting the status of the MESSENGER Mission, a project their Applied Physics Lab collaborated on with N.A.S.A and Carnegie Mellon to launch the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. If you're more of a history buff, you're in luck. The Hopkins Archives utilizes Flickr albums so the entire world can get a glimpse at pieces from their collection of rare books and manuscripts.
Want to know all the ways to connect with Johns Hopkins? Like most schools in StudentAdvisor's Top 100 Social Media Colleges list they maintain an official social media directory that makes it easy to get in touch with admissions, academic departments, sports teams, campus groups and more.
View the full Top 100 Social Media Colleges list.