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

How College Works

The Importance of Internships

The Importance of Internships

Is there no one thing that contributes to a successful college experience?

About a year ago in the article Motivating College Students, I referenced a book by Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takucs, How College Works, which actually boiled down the successful college experience to one key element: someone needs to spark a student’s motivation.

The same type of searching applies to internships as well. Most of the time it is unclear  what type of internship one wants, with what type of people, in what kind of organization, and doing what type of jobs.

Best Advice for Selecting College Major

Best Advice for Selecting College Major
Professor Alan Roberts tells us in his The Thinking Students Guide to Colleges, 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education how best to select a major in college. An assistant professor in Political Science at Northwestern University, Professor Roberts knows how majors should be researched and compared, and how students might best select one. In all honesty, don’t head off to a research university without reading this book: its 161 pages brim with sagacious pragmatism.

Motivating College Students

Motivating College Students

Successful students are motivated and engaged students; unfortunately, on many campuses, motivation is lacking.

The book Academically Adrift cited a nationwide sampling of 2,300 students who took the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA): more than 45% found no improvement or declines in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over their undergraduate years.