Posts Tagged ‘college search site’
Which 11 Colleges Have the Best Campus Food?
It’s like Christmas time for college rankings. I’ve been checking for reindeer footprints because it’s like Santa swung by my desk last night and dropped off all these great lists that I can share with you guys!
There are rankings on the most beautiful colleges, the least expensive, the best return on investment–the list of the lists goes on and on and on. But, the most important one I could possibly share with you at this moment in time (maybe it’s because I’m hungry), is the best colleges for food.
This specific list hails from the Daily Beast and was crafted by taking into account both on-and off-campus food experiences. Which means both the quality of food served in the dining hall as well as the food, including the percent that is local/organic food, as well as the number of restaurants per capita in the surrounding area were put into the calcuation.
With that, here are the 11 colleges and universities with the all-round best food:
Is good food key to a great college experience or just a plus? What’s your opinion? Leave a comment below.
25 Best Colleges of 2011
It’s what we’ve all be waiting for: the Forbes list of the best public and private colleges in the U.S.
The list was compiled with research from the Center for College Affordability & Productivity and takes into account the students’ point of view on what they want out of an education. The list is based on the quality of the education the schools provide, the experiences of the students and how much they achieve.
So low and behold, the 25 best colleges of 2011:
1. Williams College
Quick fact: Williams college has a 7-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.
2. Princeton University
Quick fact: Princeton is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution.
3. Amherst College
Quick fact: Amherst was classified “most selective” by U.S. News and World Report in their Best Colleges 2010 report.
4. United State Military Academy
Quick fact: The student body, or Corps of Cadets, numbers 4,400 and each year approximately 1000 cadets join the Long Gray Line as they graduate and are commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Quick fact: In the past 60 years, MIT’s educational disciplines have expanded beyond the physical sciences and engineering into fields like biology, cognitive science, economics, philosophy, linguistics, political science, and management.
6. Stanford University
Quick fact: The university’s assets include a US$12.6 billion endowment, the third largest of any academic institution.
7. Swarthmore College
Quick fact: The school was founded in 1864 by a committee of Quakers who were members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, New York Yearly Meeting and Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
8. Harvard University
Quick fact: Harvard has the largest financial endowment of any school in the world, standing at $26 billion as of September 2009.
9. Claremont McKenna College
Quick fact: Many of its first students were war veterans attending college on the G.I. Bill.
10. Yale University
Quick fact: Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five U.S. presidents.
11. United States Air Force Academy
Quick fact: It is the youngest of the five United States service academies, having graduated its first class in 1959.
12. Wellesley College
Quick fact: Wellesley College is a women’s liberal-arts college, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, that opened in 1875.
13. Columbia University
Quick fact: It was founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain, and is one of only three United States universities to have been founded under such authority.
14. Haverford College
Quick fact: It is the oldest college or university in the United States with Quaker origins.
15. Wesleyan University
Quick fact: Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that both emphasizes the provision of undergraduate instruction in the arts and sciences and also funds graduate research in many academic disciplines, granting PhD degrees primarily in the sciences and mathematics, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
16. Whitman College
Quick fact: Whitman is located in Walla Walla, Washington…which is kinda a neat name.
17. Pomona College
Quick fact: Although located in California, the founders of Pomona wanted to create a college in the same mold as small New England institutions.
18. Northwestern University
Quick fact: Northwestern is a founding member and remains the sole private institution in the Big Ten Conference.
19. California Institute of Technology
Quick fact: Caltech has six academic divisions with a strong emphasis on sciences and engineering.
20. University of Chicago
Quick fact: It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890.
21. Carleton College
Quick fact: The popular early computer game The Oregon Trail was created, and later further developed, by students at Carleton in 1971.
22. Harvey Mudd College
Quick fact: Harvey Mudd shares university resources such as libraries, dining halls, health services, and campus security, with the other institutions in the Claremont Colleges, including Pitzer College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, and Pomona College, but each college is independently managed by its own faculty, board of trustees, and college endowment and has its own separate admissions process.
23. Vassar College
Quick fact: Founded as a women’s college in 1861, it became coeducational in 1969.
24. Centre College
Quick fact: The campus is currently changing with some frequency: a new student residence, Pearl Hall, was completed in 2008; a new campus center opened in October 2009; and construction for a new science wing on Young Hall will be completed in 2010.
25. Rice College
Quick fact: The story of how Rice College was founded is laced with a murder. But there shouldn’t be any ghosts on campus…
Do these surprise you? What college is missing from this list? Leave a comment below!
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6 Tips for Your College Interview
Even though most colleges do not require that you have an interview, an interview can have a positive effect on your college application. Think of it as a super personal supplement to your paper application.
There are different types of college interviews. You might meet with an admissions officer on campus or an alumnus in your area. Whoever you wind up meeting with, an interview helps to demonstrate your interest in a school and what you can bring to campus.
Here are 6 tips to keep in mind during a college interview:
1. Be confident but not cavalier; Be humble but not self-conscious
Confidence is not the same as cocky, and humble is not the same as stilted. Know the difference before you head into an interview. The trick is to be comfortable in acknowledging your accomplishments and your strengths, but not too comfortable in self-congratulating yourself. Even if you’re a bit nervous going into the interview, try to feel and look comfortable while sitting down with your interviewer.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s too cocky to say and what works:
| Overly Confident | Overly Timid | Just Right |
| This is will be the most interesting interview you’ve ever had. | I’m sure you had plenty of other, more important things to do today. | It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for making time for this interview. |
| High school? I OWNED high school. | No one noticed me in high school. | I’m most proud of helping to raise $120,000 for Children’s Memorial over my four years. |
| YOUR COLLEGE NEEDS ME. | I’d love to go to this college, but you guys probably have so many other better applicants. | I would love to attend this college, and think I could really add to the community. |
2. Be specific
It’s easy to fall into vague and ambiguous conversation. So, instead, think of 4-5 specific accomplishments, facts about yourself or whatever it is that you want to say to the interviewer if it fits in appropriately. Having these in mind before your interview will make it easier to think of during the actual conversation.
3. Avoid reiterating your resume
If your interviewer has a copy of your resume or application, do not simply repeat its contents verbatim. It will not only make you look like a robot, but the point of the interview is to put some life into your application. Tell your interviewer something about yourself that’s not in your resume or application already.
4. Explain flaws in your application
An in-person interview is a great time to explain some of the discrepancies in your application. For example, if you had a tumultuous sophomore year because you’d just moved to a new school and you had trouble keeping up with your grades, let them know. Be careful of getting into woe-is-me zone. You do not want to give a sob story or explain all of your hardships. Just state a couple facts that explain a bad semester.
5. Know about the school
Just like a job interview, it would be a pity to get the interview, and then not know anything about the company. Have substantial knowledge about the school you’re interviewing for. This will let your interviewer know that you are seriously considering the school. Drop hints about a program the college offers that you’re passionate about or a special fact about campus that interests you.
6. Ask your own questions
Yes, the interview is about you, but showing interest in the person you’re talking to never hurt anybody. Whether it’s dry questions about the admissions process or questions about their experience at the university, asking your own questions demonstrates a deeper interest in the college than a person who’s just there to talk about themselves.
Have you had a college interview? Any tips? Leave a comment!
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10 Colleges and Universities with High Number of Non-Traditional Students
It’s challenging for any new student to get acclimated to college. But for non-traditional students, where the majority of the student body has come straight out of high school, it can be even harder. For that reason, it could be nice for non-traditional students to have friends to relate to who are also going back to school from other walks of life besides high school.
So, thanks to US News, we’ve got a list of the 10 colleges and universities with the most students over the age of 25.
1. Sonoma State University
Percentage of students 25 and over-88%
Cool fact-The Princeton Review named SSU one of 12 of the nation’s most “green” campuses.
2. Thomas Edison State College
Percentage of students 25 and over-88%
Cool fact-Thomas Edison State College is a considerably newer school as it was approved by the New Jersey Board of Education in December 1971, and established on July 1, 1972.
3.University of the Southwest
Percentage of students 25 and over-87%
Cool fact-The University of the Southwest hosts the Jack Maddox Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings guests from all areas of life to give informative and inspirational lectures. Past speakers include Jim Lovell, Robert Gates and P.J. O’Rourke.
4. American International College
Percentage of students 25 and over-84%
Cool fact-American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885 as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who sought to create an institution of higher learning that would provide the local French Protestant minority–who I happen to remember from European history are called Huguenots–with access to higher education. Over the years it evolved into a multicultural learning institution.
5. Golden Gate University
Percentage of students 25 and over-84%
Cool fact-Golden Gate University evolved out of the literary reading groups of the San Francisco Central YMCA. The YMCA Evening College was formally established in 1896 and became a full-fledged operation in 1901 with the creation of the parallel YMCA Evening Law College.
6. Mid-Continent University
Percentage of students 25 and over-84%
Cool fact-The university participates in several sports in the Division I Mid-East Region of the National Christian College Athletic Association, including in men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and coed cheerleading.
7. National-Louis University
Percentage of students 25 and over-83%
Cool fact-NLU has campuses in near Chicago, Illinois, as well as Wisconsin, Florida, and, any guesses? Nowy Sacz, Poland!
8. University of Maryland-University College
Percentage of students 25 and over-83%
Cool fact-UMUC offers face-to-face courses and support in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
9. Peirce College
Percentage of students 25 and over-82%
Cool fact-Peirce has specialized educational programs for those who wish to seek an accelerated education during the evening and weekend, earn their degree online, or earn their degree while at work.
10. Granite State College
Percentage of students 25 and over-80%
Cool fact-The average age at Granite State is 36!
Are you a non-traditional student or thinking about going back to school? Tell us what you think. Leave a comment!
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Cappex Myth Busters: 4 & 1/2 College Myths Debunked
If your idea of what college and university life is like happens to be based on your dad’s nostalgic and, most likely, exaggerated stories about the craziest toga party the dean ever had to break up or the hardest professor any student ever had, or the most elaborate prank ever that he and his pal “Tank” almost got expelled for–
Well, maybe you need a fresh source of information.
Today we’re giving you 4 and 1/2 college myths and debunking them so you can understand what college life is actually like–not 30 years ago–but today:
1. Big colleges are best if you haven’t chosen a major
Surprisingly, a bigger school doesn’t necessarily mean more options for your major. As long as you decide on a school that has a good selection of fields of study, you probably have the same flexibility in majors at a small school as you would at a big one–possibly even more. For instance, you might decide that you want to create your own major. At a big school, you might have to jump through a bunch of administration hoops to do want you want. At a small school, the administration is probably more personal and even eager to help you make the education you want.
2. College is 4 years. Period.
Yes, most college students graduate in four years. It’s kind of just the allotted time given to college students, but it’s a bit arbitrary. Depending on how long you want to stay in college, you can reasonably graduate before that four year mark or after. If you want to graduate in fewer than four years, it’s as easy as meeting with an adviser and scheduling your credits smartly so that you complete what you need in time. If you want to stay past the four year mark, it also makes sense to sit down with a college adviser to figure out when you should take which classes when, or what you can accomplish with the “extra” time.
3. You must go Greek immediately
A ton of incoming college freshman freak out because they want to go Greek–join a fraternity or sorority–but have barely even acclimated to college life yet. Too many students hurry into Greek like without really knowing what they even want out of college. The good news? You don’t have to rush until you’re certain you want to. There are houses that offer second semester rush, or, you can even just wait until you’re a sophomore to join. Do what you’re comfortable with!
4. Hazing is just part of the tradition!
Hazing may be a tradition in a house, but colleges and universities do not condone it. Too many times does a hazing activity go too far, as in it will cause serious harm to people, because nobody stands up to stupid or dangerous ideas. If you’re doing the hazing, and it goes public, you could get into serious trouble. We’re talking like actual trouble with police and legal things and lawyers and all that stuff.
4.5 College isn’t the real world
College is kind of a bubble considering how unique it is to have such a high concentration of young people trying to learn in one place. So yes, that can seem a little “unreal”. But it’s not like college campuses exist in magic fairy tale dimensions. College campuses are in real places where real people live and work and play. You don’t have to wait to make an impact or try living in the “real world” until after college–you’re in it now. Your campus may be different from where you want move after you graduate, but there’s no reason you can’t immerse yourself into the local culture or contribute to it. Even just getting a normal job off-campus can help you realize you’re in the real world.
Have an opinion or question? Leave a comment!
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