Posts Tagged ‘tips for college’
What Students Can Learn from Steve Jobs’ Legacy
The passing of Apple co-founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs, sheds light on the unquestionable impact he’s had on how people see the world–he basically handed it to us at our fingertips.
He was a game-changer, an innovator, a risk-taker, and a genius, and there’s a lot that students can learn from his legacy:
1. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life
Jobs said it best in his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University:
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Find something you love to do, that you’re passionate about, and get good at it. It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race. Live your life.
2. Stay hungry
As you work your way through high school, onto college, and graduate into the real world, do not lose what drove you in the first place. If you lose motivation, whether it’s while writing your dissertation or working your 9-5, get back to the marrow of it. What gets your wheels moving?
3. Simplify
Much of the beauty of Apple products is in their simplicity.
That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end, because once you get there, you can move mountains. - Business Week, 1998
This applies to so much as a student–essays, scheduling, studying.
4. Keep your standards unexpectedly high
Challenge people’s notions of what they can expect from you.
Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
Whether it’s your after school job, the extra time you spend on the track, or the details you include in a research paper, surprise people of what you’re capable of working for.
5. Stay foolish
The way you see the world might not be the mainstream, but maybe they just haven’t tried on your glasses yet.
It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.
What have you learned from Steve Jobs’ legacy?
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Pros and Cons of Following Your High School Sweetheart to College
Here’s a story my mom told me:
Bobby and Betty Ann were THE COUPLE. Like, all of CutiePatootieville just thought that they were the bee’s knees and would be together forever. Senior year of high school was flying by, and Bobby and Betty had to decide what their next move would be.
See, Bobby wanted to be an astronaut. And there was only one school in the entire nation that offered a bachelors in astronaut.
Betty Ann wanted to be a crocodile hunter–don’t let the polka-dot purple dress or the rosy red cheeks fool you–Betty was a beast when it came to Australian wetlands. But, there was only one school in the entire nation that offered that degree and it was NOT the same school that offered Bobby’s dream.
So the couple compromised and went to State where they were both so unfulfilled that they broke up, individually wound up in prison for robbing banks (what a crazy coincidence!), and to this day dream about space and crocodiles–just look at their tattoos!
Anywho, that’s a true story. People warn against following your high school sweetheart to college all the time, and people ignore it alll the time.
So, I thought it’d be the best idea ever to draw out the pros and cons of this situation. If you have others, please leave a comment in the field below!
Pros
Something familiar
Going off to college is akin to moving into an alien civilization on Mars. There are new maps to figure out, new people to remember, a totally new academic language to translate…I can go on forever. Having your dude/dudette there to commiserate with you and/or hold your hand while growing accustom to the Martian culture can be very helpful in your transition.
He/She can introduce you to knew people
“Betty, meet Betty. Isn’t that funny? You two have the same name! You’ll probably wind up being best friends!”
Sometimes having your Bobby introduce you to a couple people winds up being so much easier than actually doing the bulk of the work yourself!
Avoid the long distance relationship
Sure, Skype is amazing. But, when you need that shoulder to cry on, you will destroy your computer if you get too much salty water on it.
College advice
If your boyfriend/girlfriend has already gone to college a year ahead of you, then they are basically a gold mine of information. Use them!!!
Getting to be with your boyfriend/girlfriend
Self-explanatory
Cons
Living in their shadow
Getting to college after your boyfriend/girlfriend has been there a school year often means that you’ll be following them around like a puppy dog for an undisclosed amount of time. Unless you’re comfortable constantly standing behind your boyfriend/girlfriend’s shoulder nodding your head as if you’re included in the conversation with his friend that you’re actually not included in, then be weary of a life in the shadows.
Not making decisions based on your needs
Following your sweetheart to college illustrates how much you are willing to sacrifice for that person. It could lead to making choices that actually hurt your goals and dreams.
Straying from academics
If you follow your sweetheart to college, they obviously take a priority in your life. Maybe even ahead of why you’re at college in the first place.
Stalled independence
Being in a relationship from high school to college with the same person can stunt your growth as an individual. A little single life where you make your own decisions for your future will make you stronger to stand on your own.
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10 Colleges with the Best Health Services
With all the excitement of your college search, it’s difficult to have the foresight that you might wind up under the weather a few times during your college career.
Without your usual network of chicken soup providers not around you, getting to know your university’s health services before you’re actually in dire need, is a smart idea. Take a visit to the university’s student health services facility so you can, for one thing, know where exactly it’s located on campus, and also how it works.
Here’s a list, according to the Princeton Review, of the top ten colleges with the best health services:
1. University of California – Los Angeles
Quick fact: Located near Hollywood, the UCLA campus has been featured in countless films including Legally Blonde, Old School, The Nutty Professor, Erin Brockovich, and American Pie 2.
2. Whitman College
Quick fact: Whitman College is located in Walla Walla, Washington, which is kinda super really fun to say.
3. West Point
Quick fact: The entire central campus is a national landmark and home to tons of historic sites, buildings, and monuments.
4. University of Texas Austin
Quick fact: Austin has the largest urban bat population in America. So watch out for vampires [insert spooky noises].
5. Pennsylvania State University
Quick fact: The university’s total enrollment in 2009-10 was approximately 94,300 across its 24 campuses.
6. Georgia Institute of Technology
Quick fact: The educational institution was founded in 1885 as the Georgia School of Technology as part of Reconstruction plans to build an industrial economy in the post-Civil War Southern United States.
7. University of Pittsburgh
Quick fact: Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, Pitt is among a select group of universities and colleges established in the 18th century in the United States.
8. Susquehanna University
Quick fact: Nearly 20 percent of the undergraduate student population is active in Greek life on campus.
9. University of Georgia
Quick fact: As a member of the Southeastern Conference, the University of Georgia Bulldogs have won thirty-seven national championships and 130 conference championships.
10. University of Florida
Quick fact: The university is the sixth largest single-campus university in the United States by student population.
Do college students pay enough attention to their health? What’s your opinion? Leave a comment below!
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The Pros and Cons of Universities Banning Freshman Rush
Sometimes, fraternities and sororities on campus are seen as important aspects of campus culture. Other times, they’re selective clubs that promote negative activities on campus.
Recently, two major universities took action to deal with what they perceived were the problems with Greek life on their college campuses. The University of South Carolina put a freeze on fraternity rush. The decision came after a student drank so much at a fraternity recruitment party that he became unresponsive and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
At Princeton University, officials recently banned students from participating in freshman rush beginning in fall 2012. The decision was made because of the school’s beliefs that social and residential life should revolve around the residential colleges, eating clubs, and shared experiences of the undergraduates living and dining on campus. Other officials at the school find that fraternities and sororities contribue to a sense of social exclusivity and privilege among students.
Are there more negatives to Greek life than positives? Here some pros and cons:
Pros to Greek life
- friendship–it’s an easy way to meet some of your best friends for life
- academics–often times a big purpose of the fraternity/sorority community is to encourage and develop high scholastic achievement among its members
- social life–planned mixers, parties, etc.
- community service opportunities
- networking–the Kappa Fig Newton could connect you with your dream job
Cons to Greek life
- dues — Greek life gets expensive!
- stigma–unfortunately, people tend to stereotype people in the Greek system
- drama–living with a small community of boys/girls can become a bit much, and a little misunderstanding could lead to a big fall out
- hazing–it’s technically not allowed, but depending where you go, it still happens
Do you agree with these university officials on their stances against Greek life? Share your opinion by leaving a comment below!
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5 Reasons to Relish in High School Before College
Being a teenager means wanting the next best thing–the newest Apple product, that new Ed Hardy shirt, those Uggs, a Razor scooter, a laser disk player, a MySpace account–and some of those things you wind up regretting.
Look, I basically sold my soul to my parents for three months to earn enough allowance to buy Jurassic Park on laser disk, so I understand what it’s like to want the next best thing with all your heart.
I especially understand when the next best thing is college, which means freedom, no parents, new friends, no more social cliques, and getting to be a grown up.
So let me play devil’s advocate with you because it’s likely you’re going to ignore your parents’ pleas to you to “not grow up too fast.” But hey, don’t grow up too fast. Sure high school can seem lame because everyone’s telling you what to do and you’re just like, so over it. But, let me try to convince you why you shouldn’t let yourself get too over it too quickly.
5 reasons to relish high school while you can:
1. Your friends
Chances are, you’ve made some of your best friends in high school, or even just that one in a million person who also prefers mustard over ketchup 100% of the time. Our high school years are essential in forming who we become largely because of the friendships you make. So even if you’re not popular, or you feel too popular, whatever your angst-y angle on the situation is, your high school friends are special because they’re going with you on this weird roller-coaster of adolescence that nobody else will ever quite understand. So don’t be too rushed to say goodbye to them.
2. The guidance
You’re probably sick and tired of people telling you what to do, but if you can just spin it a little and think of what every teacher, parent, or counselor is saying as suggestions that you can take or leave at the door, it might be little easier to swallow. The thing you need to grasp is that you’re not an adult, as mature as you may be. And being in high school is a unique opportunity to be around adults who have had experience in life who can guide you. Your high school is a community that is literally built to help you succeed. Get the most out of its resources and your relationships before your pop a wheelie out of there.
3. The extra-curricular activities
High school, of all places, is the place to learn how to be involved in something, to grow with a team of people, and to eventually take on leadership positions. Whether it’s sports, DECA, debate, theater, choir, student council, volunteer, or anything else, your high school activities give you the opportunity to be passionate about something and to also expand yourself as well-rounded person.
4. The fleetingness
Blink and it’s over. You’re in your mid-40s wishing you could just be back in those high school halls, high-fiving your pals as you pass them in J-Hall, stopping to chat with your crush of that moment, and leaving for biology with the delightful and exciting sense of butterflies in your stomach. High school, in retrospect, is super fun. You’re just with a bunch of your peers all day learning about things you never knew before. But yeah, then it’s gone.
5. The preparation
I know I’ve been a bit sentimental about this whole relish your high school years thing, and it’s not like I wish I was back in high school or anything–I mean, I totally do–there’s a badminton rival I’d really like to meet face-to-face with again–but here’s a non-sentimental point. High school prepares you for college. If you’re all “I’m just so over this!” and you decide to graduate high school early, for the wrong reasons, you won’t be as prepared for college as you could’ve been.
So yes, it’s okay to delete your MySpace account, but just enjoy the days you have left in high school.
Are you “over” high school? Or do you think students take high school for granted? Leave a comment below.
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10 Biggest Bookworm Colleges
There are ton of moving parts that go into a college search, and one of the most important things to figure out when you’re choosing a college is how you’d fit in to the college culture.
The Princeton Review recently published which colleges and universities had the most studious student bodies. So if you think you’re a bookworm who would fit in with the other kids at the library, check out these ten most studious schools:
1. Harvey Mudd College
Fun fact: Students at Harvey Mudd are encouraged to take classes for academic credit at the other four Claremont colleges-Pitzer College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Pomona College, Claremont Graduate College and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences.
2. MIT
Fun fact: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States.
3. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Fun fact: The College currently awards the half-tuition Olin Scholarship to each admitted student.
4. Harvard University
Fun fact: Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.
5. Princeton University
Fun fact: Princeton has been associated with 33 Nobel Laureates, 17 National Medal of Science winners, and three National Humanities Medal winners.
6. United States Military Academy, West Point
Fun fact: Candidates for admission must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a congressman.
7. Davidson College
Fun fact: Both the town and college were named after Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, a Revolutionary War commander.
8. Haverford College
Fun fact: Although the College no longer has a formal religious affiliation, the Quaker philosophy still influences campus life such as its Honor Code, which allows for students to schedule their own final exams.
9. University of Chicago
Fun fact: The University of Chicago is said to look the most like the fictional magic school Hogwarts.
10. California Institute of Technology
Fun fact: Caltech has a strong tradition of practical jokes and pranks, but similarly to Haverford, student life is governed by an honor code which allows faculty to assign take-home examinations.
Would you want to go to one of these “bookish” schools? Leave a comment!
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Friday College Town Hall
In Friday College Town Hall, we post a question about college, and you leave an answer in the comment field.
Today’s question:
1 in 4 college students drink to get drunk at least once a week. Is this just today’s college culture, or should we be concerned about the academic, social, or health impact?
Leave your answer in the comments below or tweet at @Cappex to chime in (we’ll post your answer below)!
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What the Debt Ceiling Legislation Means for Your College Education
This has been the summer of the debt crisis and a seemingly never-ending debate on raising the debt ceiling. Even if you didn’t really quite understand–or care to understand–the impact of the resulting bill signed by President Obama earlier this week, one of the biggest public concerns throughout the debate was how it would harm access to higher education. So was the future of college and graduate education harmed or protected?
Nothing is ever completely black or white, but here are some details of what the legislation will do:
Overall, the legislation will couple an increase in the government’s borrowing cap with more than $2 trillion in budget cuts over the coming decade, including cuts to federal education spending. So, do you want good news or bad news first?
If you chose “bad news,” skip to the section that says “bad news.” For “good news,” keep reading.
Good news:
Despite the nail biting induced by fear that the Pell Grant program would encounter extremely deep cuts, the program was salvaged. Need a reminder of what the Pell Grant program is? Basically Pell Grants are designated to students from low-income families. They are grants for college that do not have to be repaid. According to the U.S. Despartment of Education, more than 19 million undergraduate students are expected to be awarded Pell Grants in the upcoming academic year. That’s a lot of students and a lot of education.
Instead of harmful cuts to the program, as was expected, the Pell Grants progam will receive $17 billion in funding at no additional cost to taxpayers.
Which leads us to the bad news:
If the Pell Grant program is safe, and at no additional cost to the taxpayers, where does the $17 billion come from? No, not a money tree. Those don’t exist yet (I’m currently working on it in the secret laboratory in my basement). With a money tree out of the picture, money has to be cut from elsewhere. In this case, saving the Pell Grant program came at the cost of government-subsidized loans for graduate and professional students. The loans will be eliminated in July 2012, which means that graduate students would have to pay interest on their loans while still in school. On top of that, the rate reduction on student loan interest for on-time payments will be eliminated.
Together, these two changes are expected to generate $22 billion in savings, with $17 billion allocated for Pell Grants and the remaining $5 billion helping to reduce the deficit.
Nobody was expecting a win-win situation to come out of the legislation, but it will definitely be interesting to see how pitting undergraduate education against graduate and professional education will work in the long run.
Is this good news or bad news? Share your opinion by leaving a comment below.
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5 Worst Mistakes of a College Freshman
Freshman year of college is big transition year. You’re basically taking off from where you spent most of your life and pioneering to a strange wilderness with new people and a new culture.
It’s also just a really great and exciting time, so we have some tips to help keep you from making the five worst mistakes a freshman can make in college:
1. Making all your decisions based on your group
When you first get to college, making friends is kind of like that pick-up football game in the beginning of Little Giants–as you meet people from orientation, your dorm, classes, the cafeteria, you continually add them to your posse until what started off as just you and your roommate morph into one unicellular amoeba. Soon, you’re not making decisions based on what you want to do or what’s best for you, but what the group decides upon. This type of decision making is the worst kind. You wind up compromising on what you really want. So yes, make friends. But, don’t let big group decision-making keep you from doing things, like, joining a club, or meeting up with friends outside your group, or even studying for class.
2. Managing your free time poorly
Acquiring free time is a power that goes to some college freshmen heads. They take the power for granted, use it unwisely; completely waste it watching reruns of Law & Order from noon till nightfall. Managing your free time is key to having a successful college career. Don’t let the free time power go to your head. The force free time is with you. Use it wisely.
3. Trying to save money by not buying textbooks
There once was girl of college age who took her studies seriously but found herself stressed out about money. Instead of deciding to skip out on things like custom-made Halloween costumes, fine dining or miscellaneous and unnecessary cute kitchen utensils, she decided that it was her books that needed to go.
“Why spend $100 on a physics book if I don’t even think physics is a great as that leather bomber jacket in the window,” she rationalized.
Perhaps she was right. After all, that leather jacket was pretty great. So, our heroine looked super stylish, the week before her huge, 70% of her total grade physics final, but, she was unfashionably late getting to the library and the last of the textbooks on the shelves were checked out.
A sad, sad story. Very preventable. If you’re short on cash, cut back elsewhere, not on your education.
4. Looking for help in the wrong places
As a college student, you’re bound to get confused or frustrated with schoolwork. That’s totally normal. The mistake that freshmen make with this issue is that they wind up looking for help in the wrong places. Like say, the Internet. Trust us, the Internet is great for things like college search and scholarship matching, but if you’re having trouble with homework or a concept from class, the best resource you have is your professor or teacher’s assistant or other classmates or the library or tutoring center or the student resource center or basically anything your school can offer! It might take a little extra effort to work around your professor’s office hours, but in the end, it will save you time.
5. Going back home too frequently
Is your mom’s meatloaf really that good? Not to offend your mom, but I’m sure you can find something comparable on your college campus. Visiting home can be relaxing and familiar, but the more you’re away from campus, the less relaxing and familiar campus will get for you. College life might be weird and uncomfortable at first, and Pete who lives across the hall from you might in fact really be pirate like you thought, but if you take too much time away from campus it will never become home. And you might miss Pete’s parrot say your name aloud.
Did we catch them all? What mistakes should college freshman be aware of? Leave a comment!
Comments: 6 Comments »
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