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

Opencourseware

Trends Among Top Colleges

Trends Among Top Colleges

When is enough ever enough? You might want to ask William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard, that very question. This year Harvard received over 35,000 applications for 1,700 offers. That is slightly over a 4.8% acceptance rate. By some estimates, 1 out of every 50 college-ready high school seniors sent an application to Harvard. Frankly, with Harvard’s aggressive financial aid package for any family making HHI under $180,000, and with its single essay supplement to the Common Application, the applicant pool might exceed 40,000 next year.

The Future of a Post-Secondary School System Currently Under Siege

The Future of a Post-Secondary School System Currently Under Siege

Guessing the future, even if the guess is well off the mark, kicks the brain into gear. Guessing at the future of post-secondary education, however, is more like getting the brain kicked into a very low gear. Current news is stark no matter where you look. Post-secondary enrollments continue to grow, costs continue to escalate, and demographics continue to change. Examining some of these criteria, and making projections from them, though inaccurate, just might prove useful in picturing the future of higher education and our place in it.

Researching Colleges

Researching Colleges

One part of the admissions process that is often a bit neglected, is doing the research on potential college fits. Many students, and their parents, pull together a preliminary list of colleges based mainly upon college ratings, rankings, reputations, and opinions; that's human nature. But there is more to the research process than graduating near the top of your class and immediately applying to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and then UCLA and UC Berkeley as your "safety schools". Today every applicant to a selective US college is facing stiff competition; most knowledgeable students and their families recognize this reality. Whether you believe it or not, even if you're the next Albert Einstein or Marie Curie, it's not a bad idea to research colleges of interest.