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

Science Study at the Small College

Science Study at the Small College

If you’re a serious science student, one who might want to someday get a PhD, teach, research, become a member of the National Academy of Sciences, or vie for a Nobel Prize, it might best serve your interests to attend a major research university, such as UCLA, USC, Stanford, Northwestern, Yale, or Duke.

Small liberal arts colleges just don’t have the resources available to do meaningful research. Don’t, though, feel too confident in this belief. Just review the resources available to undergraduates at, say, Hamilton College’s Taylor Science Center and the list is enough to dispel the resource limitation concern.

The Stay on the Wait List Letter

The Stay on the Wait List Letter

To most students one of the most seemingly useless tasks is writing a letter to a school asking to be placed on its wait list.   

Most students consider an assignment to the wait list virtually a rejection, but like many things in the college admissions world, it depends on the circumstances surrounding the wait list.

 

Tuition Free German Universities

Tuition Free German Universities

About five years ago I was invited to dinner with a family whose daughter went to Wilson high school. The parents  wanted to find the best educational value for their daughter and I recommended work study colleges, service academies, and Canadian and UK universities. Many months later I ran into the mother shopping and asked where her daughter ended up going to school: “Germany,” she answered.

 

Berkeley Now Accepting Two Recommendations

Berkeley Now Accepting Two Recommendations

UC Berkeley announced that it will begin accepting two recommendation letters from its freshmen applicants beginning this fall.

UC Berkeley undergraduate admissions has not welcomed recommendations since it opened its doors in 1868, yet admission criteria to the UCs (and Berkeley) have been in the throes of change over the last years.

 

The English Major

The English Major

No matter how one might feel about the utility of the English major, it remains to this day the ninth most popular major among the 50 majors recognized by the Department of Education.

What accounts for its popularity might be difficult to determine because the major itself can differ widely school to school, or even within the same school.

Changes to the Common Application 2015

Changes to the Common Application 2015

For this coming admissions season, the nonprofit Common Application is under a new interim CEO, Paul Mott, and he is intent on eliminating “pointless friction.”

Consequently, the Common Application is reaching out to its applicants and its college members with a more hassle-free and productive application.

 

Post Baccalaureate Medical Options

Post Baccalaureate Medical Options

Should you, after graduating from college, hear the call of medicine, regardless of whether your transcript contains a generous dose of premed classes or not, all is not lost. You still might address your medical aspirations by joining a Post Baccalaureate Premedical Program (PB).

The list of programs, there are several hundred, can be found on the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) site, and span the universe of making a career change, enhancing your academic record (improving your GPA), or being part of a group underrepresented in medicine, or economically or educationally disadvantaged.

Update on the New PSAT

Update on the New PSAT

On March 24th the College Board (CB) released a sample of its new PSAT ,along with a detailed answer key, on its website. The new, redesigned PSAT will premiere October 14th and is the first taste of the revamped SAT scheduled to be administered on 5 March 2016. 

The PSAT, which will continue to be used as the National Merit Scholarship Qualification Test (NMSQT) by junior test takers, is a departure from the PSAT of 2014.

The ROTC Option

The ROTC Option

If you have contemplated applying to a service academy such as West Point or Annapolis, or if you are applying to one of them, you might want to also consider applying for an ROTC scholarship at one of the more than 1100 colleges that are part of the ROTC program.

The Reserved Officer Training Corp (ROTC) originated with the National Defense Act of 1916.  Each branch has its own unique requirements, service obligations, and availability. If you wish to get a better sense of the workings of the various programs, take a look at the ‘Guide to Understanding ROTC Programs here.

Social Media, its Tools, and the College Selection Process

Social Media, its Tools, and the College Selection Process

For the millennial generation, social media is virtually a birthright; over two thirds use social media to gain a sense of which colleges to apply to, and around a third, once accepted, use social media to narrow down their list to a solid match.

Many use social media to ‘demonstrate interest,’ one of the top seven factors affecting admissions according to NACAC’s Admission Decision Survey. Using social media they might like a campus on Facebook, or follow it on Twitter. As time passes and more information is garnered about favorite campuses students can build an ever more detailed and complete profile of the features and benefits favored institutions provide.