Research Opportunities
Ralph Becker
The Importance of High School Research

Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.

The Importance of High School Research

Dartmouth

Tracking Admission’s Yields

Tracking Admission’s Yields

One metric for keeping score on the vibrancy of a college is its yield rate: the percent of students who have been accepted who do, in fact, attend. 

In 2014, Harvard edged out Brigham Young University by 0.1%, to enjoy the highest yield in the country. BYU, which has been the yield champion in several prior years, accepts slightly fewer than half of those who apply, has a 19:1 student/faculty ratio, and tuition and room and board under $13,000. Great education, great football, and access to the Wasatch National Forest enable it to get 80% of those accepted to come.

 

Go Midwest Young Man

Go Midwest Young Man
Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune in 1871 told RL Sanderson, a correspondent, to go West, ‘where men are wanted, and where employment is not bestowed as alms.’ Had Mr. Greeley been around today, and the question was finding solid educational opportunities, he might well have altered his direction to the Midwest.

Getting Oriented—the First Year Transition

Getting Oriented—the First Year Transition

While attending orientation might seem insignificant, it can influence the friends you make, the classes you select, and, most importantly, your attitude when the classes begin in the fall.  

A lot of students get apprehensive about attending orientations; they especially fear the awkwardness of meeting future classmates, upper classmen, or faculty. It is better to think of orientation as a stress-free introduction to a new institution and its numerous departments, clubs, and resources.

The Value of Collaborative Learning

The Value of Collaborative Learning

Learning is more effective when done collaboratively. In generations past there was a taboo about working in groups; school work was supposed to be done individually. Research from Richard Light of Harvard unequivocally indicates that students working collaboratively learn more effectively, and are far more likely to achieve their academic goals (such as graduating from college and attending graduate school). His study, which consisted of in-depth interviews with over 1,600 college students, found virtually all struggling students shared one key trait: they tended to study alone. Collaboration can be the difference between a lackluster performance and a fully engaged student.

School Year Plan—Why the Type of School Year Plan might be important to you

School Year Plan—Why the Type of School Year Plan might be important to you

“The Sizing up Survey” in the Fiske Guide to Colleges asks a number of preference questions to help students figure out good college matches: location, setting, size, cost, athletics, extracurricular, public vs. private, campus culture, academics, and ‘other factors.’ Unfortunately, in certain areas, especially ‘academics’, many students not only don’t have any answers, they don’t even have a clue what they’re looking for, nor do they have much time to contemplate what an ideal learning experience might be. One area to get a grasp of ‘academics,’ beyond whether the school has general education courses, a core curriculum, or distribution requirements, is to know how colleges divvy up their school year, and how these various divisions might jive with learning styles.

Maine-lining the Liberal Arts: Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin Colleges Considered

Maine-lining the Liberal Arts: Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin Colleges Considered

If Pomona College is a school of interest, then you should consider three comparable schools in Maine: Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby. The three share Pomona College’s size, liberal arts orientation, and strength of science and humanities curriculum, while maintaining their unique charm, programs, and historical roots.

Work Experience and the College Admissions Process

Work Experience and the College Admissions Process

“All work experience—even if it’s working in a convenience store—is life experience and involves responsibility. We value all of it…” Karl Furstenberg, Dartmouth College (How to Get Into the Top Colleges, Richard Montauk and Krista Klein, Prentice Hall, New York, p. 282)

If you have gained any kind of work experience over your high school years, broadcast it across all you applications proudly. Why wouldn’t you? Even if, as mentioned above, it is a menial job, it shows that you understand how to sell your service to others, have discipline, time management skills, a solid work ethic, and have learned something about the real world, working with people and solving—in some form or another—real world problems. Few schools discount such efforts; Dartmouth, we know, lauds them.

3+2 Dual Degree Program: Engineering (BS) and Liberal Arts (BA) Degrees

3+2 Dual Degree Program: Engineering (BS) and Liberal Arts (BA) Degrees

There are a number of paths for studying engineering. If you’re resolved to be an engineer then state engineering schools (Purdue, Virginia Tech, or Colorado School of Mines) are solid choices. If you’re a cerebral genius who solves Rubric cubes blindfolded in less than 15 seconds then MIT, Princeton, Columbia’s Fu School of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, or Harvey Mudd should be in your scope.  Even if you’re one of those rare birds who is torn between becoming the next great novelist while solving the mystery of Saturn’s rings, there are liberal arts colleges with very solid engineering programs (Lehigh University, Bucknell, Lafayette, or Swarthmore). There are even boutique engineering schools to accommodate the most discerning students: Franklin Olin School of Engineering, Cooper Union, and the Webb Institute (Naval Architectural Engineering), all tuition free, come to mind.  

College Rankings Considered

College Rankings Considered

There might not be enough corn and oil to satisfy demand, but there sure seems to be more than enough college ranking lists available to satisfy just about any taste. The most famous, of course, is the US News and World Report ranking. US News has turned ranking colleges into a major profit center for its magazine, with 2,000,000 subscribers, 9,000 newsstand buyers, and over 20,000 of its college guide book users. If you don’t like US News and World Report’s perspective on admissions competitiveness, then you can always turn to: Barron’s, The College Prowler, Princeton Review, Kiplinger, Ordo Ludus College Ranking (which is Latin for “school ranking”) –you can find a fairly comprehensive listing of the college ranking services in Wikipedia, not only in the US, but worldwide,--by going to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_and_university_rankings.

Dealing with the Costs of College

Dealing with the Costs of College

Tuitions are slated to rise over the next years as public schools feel the pressure of state government belt tightening, and private schools encounter a drop off of funds. One remedy might be to apply to the service academies , which will cover all your costs and pay you a monthly stipend, or attend tuition-free schools (with some, such as Deep Springs, actually picking up all costs) . Or, if you're lucky enough to gain admission to the most selective schools, you might find some incredible blue light specials: