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

Rhodes Scholars

The Block Plan and Colorado College

The Block Plan and Colorado College

To many college applicants there must be something illicit about the block plan, especially as it is practiced by Colorado College.

The Block plan, which was incorporated into Colorado College’s curriculum in 1970, allows a student to take one course at a time. Each block is 3.5 weeks, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Wednesday four weeks later. Then there is a 4.5 day block-break, so students can decompress after the intensity of the immersion and go skiing near Pike’s Peak, rafting on the Colorado River, or visiting the four corners to study the Anasazi Indian remnants. 

Getting on the Rhode (or Fulbright) to Undergraduate Greatness

Getting on the Rhode (or Fulbright) to Undergraduate Greatness

A stellar undergraduate performance shows a solid work ethic and a propensity to learn. Add to the mix, a Fulbright or Rhodes scholarship and you are among the most elite undergraduates in the country. Only 865 Fulbright Scholarships (to graduating seniors from US campuses—all told there are 8,000 Fulbright awards granted each year) and a mere 32 Rhodes Scholarships were awarded this past year. Aiming to be a recipient of either one is an excellent way to bolster your undergraduate experience. Even falling short will end in excellence—and that, after all, is the intention of your college years.

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.