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8 Tips for New College Freshmen or How to Survive Your First Day of College

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

College is different than high school in so many ways – which is precisely why you are out there looking for all the advice regarding that first day that you can get! Hopefully you get your school year started off with a bang by attending Welcome Week and Orientation – but, either way, here’s a few college tips to help with the transition to college!

You aren't going to successfully transition to college overnight -- give yourself time to get used to college life!

iJammin / Ben Grantham

It’s a Matter of Time: Give yourself time to get used to college, well, everything! The last time school was such a totally new experience, your mom held your hand as she walked you in the doors at Kindergarten. It might be tempting to get involved in every club and organization under the sun but you won’t have time to do it all! Limit yourself to a few that really make you happy – and leave a little time to just do nothing, too.

History of Rock n’ Roll: Maintain your GPA (and keep your merit scholarship) by not taking every incredibly difficult class under the sun! It’s okay to have a fluff or totally unusual college class in there, in fact, it’s a good idea! College professors like doling out papers, group projects, and homework – that fluff class might give you a break from the avalanche of work while getting your elective courses done and out of the way!

A New Beginning: College is a fresh start. Why not try something you’ve never tried before but that always looked or sounded kind of fun? Be the person you’ve always wanted to be! If there’s a big old game of Zombies versus Humans or hide and seek at your college campus, why not join in? You never know if you will like something until you actually try it!

Explore your campus: Don’t just spend all your time trudging from this cool college class to that one to the cafeteria to your dorm – get out there and do some exploring! Big campus or small, each one always has a few tucked away little nooks or scenic pathways. Go on a little walk and relax – it’s okay to take a break, you know!

Night Owl: Don’t feel like you have to stay out all night. Yes, there can be parties at college but failing out of school because you don’t know when to say when – well, that’s just disappointing! There are plenty of other ways to unwind and break up the studying/homework routine. That’s what all those student groups, clubs, and organizations are for! Get involved in college life – join something that you can be proud of!

Remember these? Make hitting the books a priority -- you've spent the last four years getting to this point, don't blow it!

Horia Varlan / Horia Varlan

No Pain, No Gain: You’ve heard about it. You’ve thought about it. Now, we’re telling you: the Freshman Fifteen doesn’t have to be true for you. Forget the convenience foods, fast foods, and middle of the night snacking. When your energy is lagging, grab a piece of fruit, bring a refillable bottle to avoid sugary soft drinks, and you’ll be fine!

Book It: Get to know your college library! Not only does it provide the perfect (quiet) environment for studying, but most college and university libraries go far beyond the usual books and magazines. Many have laptops and other gadgets available to borrow – so if your computer goes bad, you’ve got options!

Writing Labs: Don’t just hand that paper in without handing it over to an on-campus writing lab for a proofread! Sure, it means you have to plan ahead in order to get that paper done but the simple act of having someone go over what you’ve written checking for errors might help you keep from missing out on easy points.

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Sustainable Architecture at Portland State University

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Whether you are a soon-to-be architecture major, sustainability fan, or generally just interested in the latest use of technology by colleges and universities, you’ve got to watch the recently released Architecture at Portland State University video on YouTube.

Portland State University students are answering the question, “What will the school of the future be?” These social and sustainable architecture Portland State University students listened to local elementary school kids big ideas and, while the slide running through the classroom design is out, going green is definitely very, very in! As the video shows, it doesn’t have to be impersonal – it’s okay to make it your own.

It’s a fun look into the many ways that colleges not only evolve their sustainability and going green effort but also how they reach out into the community to make a difference in the lives of others. If green issues are important to you, take a look into how your colleges and universities of choice are working on campus sustainability – or, perhaps, you can be the one to step up and create a student group that works towards making the college campus of your choosing a brighter, greener place! Watch Architecture at Portland State University on YouTube or below.

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Pondering a PreCollege Summer Program? Get the Facts

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

My College Guide has talked about pre-college summer programs more than just a little bit – but this time we caught up with three institution-offered summer pre-college program representatives! Please welcome Jeff Harris, Executive Director of Junior Statesmen Foundation; David Lowitz, Director of Marketing at National Student Leadership Conference; and Bob Musiker, Executive Director of Summer Discovery, who took time out of a very busy season to answer our pre-college program questions!

Is your suitcase going places? Why NOT try a pre-college summer program?

jek in the box {is traveling} / jessica wilson

Why a pre-college program?  Why not just hang out at the beach or the mall all summer?  Why spend part of your summer learning?
Jeff Harris: Programs like JSA Summer School give serious students the best of both worlds – an academic experience that keeps their mind active during the summer and a social experience where they have fun, meet new friends and create good memories that last a lifetime.

David Lowitz: A pre-college summer program like the National Student Leadership Conference is a great opportunity for students to take advantage of non-traditional learning opportunities that wouldn’t normally be available to them during the regular school year. At the NSLC, students can meet and interact with their peers from all over the world, build essential leadership skills, and experience living on a college campus.

Bob Musiker: Pre-college programs such as Summer Discovery tremendously help students make a positive transition from high school to college living. Students learn to succeed at college level work, manage their time without their parents around, live cooperatively with roommates, meet peers from all over the USA and the world, and learn more about the college admissions process. And like real college, it’s not all work. There’s lots of sports, recreation, cultural and fun evening activities and weekend road trips included in the program. We also get to hang on the beach in just about every program!

Hit the road, Jack! Precollege programs can add pizzazz to your summer!

mollypop

Do you believe that any high school student can benefit from this program?  Why?
Jeff Harris: A chance to take a college-level course on a university campus is invaluable for any high school student.  Students leave our program with new study skills, enhanced time management strategies and a new sense of personal responsibility.  Not only does this give them a leg up on other students during their freshman year in college, it helps them excel academically in their remaining high school years.

David Lowitz: Absolutely! One of the great things about the National Student Leadership Conference is that we offer programs in over 14 different academic and career areas. No matter what profession they are interested in, students can find a program to fit their interests. We even offer an intensive leadership development program for students who just want to focus on their leadership skills.

Bob Musiker: Summer Discovery teaches valuable skills in academics and skill building, socialization, time management, tolerance and diversity. This summer students are attending our programs from 41 states and 39 countries. You can also explore fields you may be interested in pursuing in college and enroll in courses you are genuinely interested in.

What makes a pre-college program different from the traditional high school setting?
Jeff Harris: The learning atmosphere and environment are completely different from a traditional high school setting. When every student in a class is motivated and engaged by the subject matter, the energy created in the classroom follows the students and professors back to the dorms and dining hall. Students who immerse themselves in the subject matter with new friends wind up exploring topics much more deeply and in interesting and often unexpected ways.

David Lowitz: Many pre-college programs offer students experiences that wouldn’t normally be available in a traditional high school curriculum. At the National Student Leadership Conference, students gain a real feel for a day-in-the-life of their chosen profession. For example, students in our Medicine & Health Care program have lectures from surgeons, learn surgical knot-tying, practice suturing and taking patient histories, and work with current medical students. They even get a chance to go behind-the-scenes at hospitals, medical schools and research centers to gain a better understanding of the practice of medicine.

Really, aren't you tired of doing nothing? Think "pre-college" instead!

jek in the box {is traveling} / jessica wilson

Bob Musiker: First, students can take courses for college credit, many that are not found in typical high school curricula: Robotics, Psychology, Sociology, Law, Medical Careers, Leadership, Foreign Languages such as Chinese or Italian, Television Production, Fashion Design, Art History, and valuable Internships. Students also have access to the University computer system and libraries, world-class athletic and recreational facilities and live on-campus in an official university residence hall.

Do you have any advice for a student thinking about participating in a pre-college program like yours?
Jeff Harris: Make sure to walk in with an open mind. A lot of your assumptions will be challenged and you’ll learn that stereotypes don’t hold true.  The students who get the most out of the program are ones who treat every new challenge at the program as a learning opportunity.  From absorbing and analyzing classroom lessons to understanding students from different backgrounds to figuring out how to do your own laundry, every aspect of the program can be enriching if the student is open to learning new things.

David Lowitz: Do your homework. Talk to former participants in the program. Ask to see a full sample schedule so you know what kinds of activities you will be participating in. Think about what type of program and setting you will excel in. Some programs focus on large group lectures and with several hundred participants. Other programs may be smaller and spend more time in small-group workshops. Some programs may be more academic while others may be more experiential. Finding the program that most appeals your interests is incredibly important.

Pre-college summer programs could be your ticket into college!

abbey*christine / Abbey Hambright

Bob Musiker: If you want to feel comfortable about going to and applying for college, a residential pre-college program like Summer Discovery is right for you. You can explore over 300 courses in topics that genuinely interest you, meet with college admissions officers and visit many colleges large and small.

Any parting thoughts?
Jeff Harris: Our students have broad interests – music, science, drama, foreign languages – but are unified in understanding the importance of civic engagement and their desire to gain the skills and knowledge needed to get involved and make a difference in their community, the nation and the world.

Bob Musiker: Learning can be genuinely fun, let Summer Discovery show you how!

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Posted in College Classes, College Life, Preparing for College, Summer Programs | 2 Comments »

Nichols College Professional Development Seminar: Preparation for Life After College

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

In the rush of preparing for college and reading all the available help on the subject (like, oh, My College Guide perhaps?), it’s comforting to know that there are also ways to prepare for what comes after college, you know, after graduating college and the after-college job search begins!  The Professional Development Seminar (PDS) at Nichols College is just that program. My College Guide got in touch with Dawn Sherman, Assistant Dean of Special Academic Programs at Nichols College, to hear the details!

Nichols College students in the Professional Development Seminar

Courtesy of Nichols College

What is the Professional Development Seminar?
The Professional Development Seminar (PDS) Program is a series of 4 one-credit courses in career and professional development. The courses were developed based on student developmental models…we tried to match students’ needs and developmental stage with appropriate skill development, over the 4 years. Our program closely aligns with Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) student development model. The focus of the program is to teach the skills necessary for our students to find success in the job search process and in their professional careers.

Why do you feel this is a necessary program?  What will a student “get” from this experience?
Most colleges and universities educate their students in the academics but then leave the student to their own devices to find employment. At Nichols College, we believe an education consists of outstanding academic instruction and learning, coupled with skill development in finding a position and succeeding in a career. For instance, resume writing instruction begins in the sophomore PDS course and is repeated in the junior and senior courses. By the time the student uses the resume to apply for a professional position, it has been reviewed and graded at least 6 times by a trained PDS faculty member.

Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts also helps students with what comes after college!

Svadilfari / Sean

Additionally, interviewing skills are introduced in the sophomore course and most of the junior courses focuses on this topic. In the junior course each student is required to participate in a mock interview in front of the class, assuming the role of both an interviewer and an interviewee over the course of several weeks. The student not only learns from participating but also from watching and critiquing almost 20 other interviews.

What are some of the topics covered in the program?
We alter the curriculum every semester in order to stay current with the demands of the workplace. For instance in the last five years we have added: how to apply online at a company website, using Facebook and LinkedIn for networking, multiculturalism and globalism, behavioral interviewing techniques, and more.

Additionally, our students create a professional portfolio beginning in the sophomore course and continue the process through the senior course. They add to it each year and it is graded by their professor. We then train the students how to use this portfolio in an interview.

Are there guest speakers or hands-on projects in the Professional Development Seminar?
Yes, we use guest speakers (alumni, area business leaders, college recruiters, and faculty) in classroom presentations and for the Sophomore and Senior Choice programs. The Choice Programs are a series of special workshops and presentations that the students attend in lieu of one (sophomore course) or three (senior PDS) class meetings.

For the topic of interviewing skills in the junior year, one faculty member brought in an FBI Special Agent who interrogates suspected terrorists to describe what he looks for in both word usage and body language during an interview. Another faculty member brought in a Vice President of Human Resources to discuss what he looks for in applicants, and to describe his do’s and don’ts of interviewing.

Nichols College students listen in during the Professional Development Seminar

Courtesy of Nichols College

Sophomores must attend the Academic Fair – an event much like a career fair where faculty and seniors from each major “man” a table with information about their major. Sophomores transverse the room and spend time speaking with the faculty and seniors about various majors/minors, internships, and employment opportunities. The students have overall found this event very successful in helping them to decide on a major, a minor or a second major.

Who teaches these courses?
The courses are taught by full-time faculty, administrators, and adjunct faculty. Most college academic majors and departments are represented on the PDS faculty. Thus, this program serves to unite the college over a common goal – of teaching students the professional skills they need to be successful in the “real world”. The challenge is to provide comprehensive, ongoing training for faculty in order to deliver the curriculum consistently across sections and courses.

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Rent Textbooks: College Made Cheaper

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Save your pennies for Ramen Noodles -- rent textbooks: college cheaper!

1Happysnapper (photography) / Nina

At My College Guide, we know you are probably overwhelmed not just by the price of college, but of all the college extras, like dorm necessities and textbooks. Do you want to cut down on the cost of college?

The newest trend towards reducing college cost (besides buying used textbooks) is to rent your textbooks. Seriously, it’s all the rage. My College Guide has made it easy with our handy list of websites that are renting textbooks online.

Renting textbooks makes the price a little more reasonable and, honestly, no matter how interesting your professor made the class, chances are that when it’s over…you won’t even touch (let alone read) that textbook ever again.

Rather than have it sit around collecting dust under your bed or take up valuable closet space – you can send it back! Do your research (buyer beware), compare costs, and you might be able to rent textbooks for cheap, saving yourself money that can go towards the important things, like Ramen Noodles and iTunes downloads. Just don’t wait until the last minute — give your rented college textbooks a chance to be shipped to you in plenty of time!

BookRenter College Book Renter
BookSwim eCampus
Campus Book Rentals Skoobit
CengageBrain Textbook Revolt
Chegg Textbook Stop

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Posted in College Classes, College Life | 1 Comment »

College Summer Reading Lists from College and University Libraries

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Between One Book One Twitter and pre-college summer programs, you’ve got a few things to keep you busy — but why not take a look at summer college reading lists? These college bound reading lists will give you a better idea of the intellectual mind-set waiting for you at college – and, simply put, these are good books! My College Guide got in touch with college librarians to get their top picks for summer.

The Louis Round Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina.

Ian Lamont

But first, let’s take a peek at a summer library reading program or two at the college level. Unlike the summer reading programs you enjoyed when you were a kid, you won’t be getting stickers, candy, or other prizes for finishing a book, but there will be plenty of great books to choose from! Bates College, for example, puts together yearly reviews of books based on staff and faculty suggestions.

The University of California Berkeley creates an annual themed reading list. The 2010 theme, Education Matters, includes titles like Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi and Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas. You can also take a look at the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions Reading List or Swarthmore Colleges Summer Reading List for even more recommendations.

The Boise State University Albertsons Library assistant professor, Memo Cordova, shares that the campus has a “1st Year Read” (now called “Campus Read“) book selection each year, with incoming freshmen receiving a free copy of that year’s selection.” How cool is that?

Widener Library at Harvard University -- check out the summer institute on college admissions reading list!

benuski

“This year,” said Mr. Cordova, “it was Ann Patchett’s Run . Last year, it was Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. This year’s selection [Fall 2010] is William Kamkwamba’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.” Right from the start, incoming college students share something in common!

The fantastic librarians at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill University Library sent along a list of their personal favorite books you most likely haven’t read in high school – but that you might want to borrow and read sometime before college welcome week! Their list includes:

Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale
Rachel Carson Silent Spring
Junot Díaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Anne Fadiman The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Neil Gaiman The Sandman
Atul Gawande Complications, Better
Tracy Kidder Mountains Beyond Mountains, Homecoming
Thomas Kuhn The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Gabriel Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude
David Foster Wallace Consider the Lobster

The Robert W Woodruff Library that serves Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College, and Spelman College, promptly shared this list of good reads, too! Their summer reading suggestions include:

Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart
Saul Bellow Seize the Day
Edward Bellamy Looking Backward: 2000-1887
Kate Chopin The Awakening
Michael Dorris A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
Laura Esquivel Like Water for Chocolate
Sinclair Lewis Main Street
Toni Morrison Sula
Chaim Potok The Chosen
Richard Wright Native Son

That should keep you busy for the rest of the summer! Many colleges and universities have special college reading lists – hop on the library website to find more. That leaves just one question: what’s your favorite book?

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Read All About It: Johns Hopkins University Blogs It All

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Does anything else provide such instant access to college life like the college blog? Plenty of colleges and universities are seeing the potential (remember our 101 College Blogs to Put You in the College Mood article?) but My College Guide is pretty sure that no has yet handled it quite like Johns Hopkins University. We got connected to Daniel Creasy, Associate Director, at Johns Hopkins University to get the whole story!

Johns Hopkins University is completely immersed in social media: Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, and PLENTY of blogs!

seanfraga / Sean Fraga

How did this large scale blog community begin?
I began working for the Hopkins Undergraduate Admissions Office in August 2003, and from the onset Hopkins Interactive was a pet project of mine. My Dean allowed me a lot of leeway in creating the site and recruiting the students. After a year of research, I spent much of the second year recruiting the first bloggers and working collaboratively with them to design the site. Finally in December 2005 we launched Hopkins Interactive and have been expanding the endeavor every since.

How do Johns Hopkins U students get involved?
Members of the Student Admissions Advisory Board (SAAB), the students behind Hopkins Interactive, are selected from a pool of applicants at the start of every academic year. The application is made available late in the summer and is advertised mainly to newly enrolling freshmen, as the upperclassmen on the board are typically returning members. We interview each applicant during the week of new student orientation and make our decisions by the beginning of classes. Traditionally, we select 6-8 new members each year, and the overall group size ranges from 20-23 students.

How do you choose your student bloggers?  What do you look for?
In the selection process we try to make a balanced group, so we look for diversity of background and talents, creativity in their writing abilities (sample blogs are part of the application), personality, and dedication to the promotion of Hopkins. Since the board does more than just blog, creativity, personality, and an innovative mindset are factors more than just how one writes. Last year we had about 50 applications.

Johns Hopkins University lets you really see inside: student blogger style!

Wysz / Michael Wyszomierski

What can a prospective student take away from these blogs that they couldn’t get otherwise?
Before launching Hopkins Interactive, I had a number of conversations with my colleagues and current students about what our goals should be in providing blogs and more significantly providing prospective students direct, uncensored access to current students. There are a lot of misconceptions about Johns Hopkins as an undergraduate institution and some that truly frustrate current students. Presenting “the real Hopkins” through the blogs and other social media endeavors has allowed us to dispel many of those myths and connect a new group of prospective students to the university.

Any particular blogs college bound students should make it a point to look at to get a better feel for Johns Hopkins University?
Expanding from just offering an Admissions blog and a number of current student blogs, to now offering blogs written by alumni, parents, faculty, and staff has really made me proud. I know of very few other University blog programs as extensive as Hopkins. I also am impressed about how we have expanded to so many other social media programs, providing prospective students with a variety of ways to connect with our current students.

Johns Hopkins University tells it like it is.

Knile

Spill it!  Do you have a favorite?
In my opinion the great success of Hopkins Interactive has to be our Academics Blog. I know of no other University that has such a site. Pretty simple, the Academic Blog contains student-written entries about every academic major and minor offered at Hopkins. These blogs provide an up-close look at the experiences that real students have had at Johns Hopkins. Within the blogs, one will read about students who have changed or added majors, taken classes completely unrelated to their major, fulfilled multiple majors and minors, and otherwise explored their academic curiosities while at Hopkins.

I also often reference our Guest Blog as one of our other great successes. The mission of the Guest Blog is to feature the story of a different Johns Hopkins undergraduate each week. In over four years we have had nearly 180 entries written by approximately 150 different students.

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Admissions, College Applications, College Campus, College Classes, College Life, Fun Stuff, Housing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Great Books Colleges: What It Means and Who It’s For

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Do you live and breathe books?  Does the thought of a traditional college setting not feel like the right fit for you?  You, my friend, might want to take a look at a Great Books program.  We spoke to Jon Daly, the Director of Admissions at Thomas Aquinas College, in Santa Paula, California, and Cecilia Corrigan, the assistant Director of Admissions at St. John’s College (which has locations in Annapolis, Maryland and Santa Fe New Mexico).

There are no textbooks here; our students read almost exclusively from the seminal works of Western civilization. Through all four years and in every course — from philosophy, theology, math, and science to language, music, literature, and history — they study the greatest written works in those disciplines, both ancient and modern...

ANiceCupofTea / Jan

Great Books, or classic books, replace textbooks, discussion replaces lectures, and all that is required is a love of and respect for the written word.  No majors, no minors, and no electives – nothing gets in between you and the current book, whatever classic that may be.

What kind of student would benefit from a great books program?
Thomas Aquinas: Students who love to read, who want to develop the skills of critical thinking, who want to explore the full range of academic disciplines, and who long to search for truth and real understanding would benefit from our great books program. The program challenges students to a disciplined scholarship in the arts and sciences that is indispensable for critical judgment and genuine wisdom.

Instead of attending lectures, Thomas Aquinas College students gather around tables for careful inquiry in small tutorials, seminars, and laboratories. They engage in conversation with their peers under the guidance of a full-time teaching faculty member, which enables them to become highly engaged in their own learning. The Socratic Method, as this form of learning is called, nurtures habits of independent thought. Students learn to think clearly, analyzing positions in terms of their component parts and underlying assumptions, and they learn to articulate their thoughts in a logical manner, offering support for their conclusions.

St John’s College: Great Books programs are designed for students who are often referred to as Renaissance men and women: students who enjoy making thematic connections between disparate categories of study benefit from a historical approach to math, science, literature, theology and political science. Students who believe that the world has much to offer appreciate seeing it portrayed through many diverse perspectives.

When you re-read a classic you do not see in the book more than you did before. You see more in you than there was before. Clifton Fadiman St John's College Randall Hall

Larry Miller / Larry Miller

What do you think makes the great books program a good choice?
Thomas Aquinas: One mark of our program’s success is the variety of professions and careers graduates enter. Nearly half of our alumni attend graduate and professional schools in a wide array of disciplines; among them, philosophy, theology, law, and the sciences are most often chosen.  This versatility stems not only from the great books, but also from the way in which the great books are taught here.

St John’s College: A great books program is a good choice because, in order to feel like a thoughtful, confident participant in one’s own life, it is essential that one know how to navigate through the bombarding conjunctions of instinct and reason. Through the analysis of great books , students gradually learn when to be flexible and when to be insistent, how to distinguish the essential from the superficial, and how to extend the consequences of a given point of view beyond what has been made explicit by an author or a classmate.

Any advice for students considering attending a Great Books College?
Thomas Aquinas: Any student considering Thomas Aquinas College should come visit the campus and/or attend the College’s Great Books Summer Program. Two weeks long, the Summer Program introduces participants to a selection of the Great Books. They attend classes twice daily, and these are run in just the same fashion as the College’s regular classes.

St John’s College: Try to think about what you want out of a college. What is important to you? How do you want to be different after four years? Visit the colleges you are interested in and try to picture yourself there.

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Union University: Unique Common Foundations Class

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

If you want to really learn, expand your mind, and try on a few new ideas for size – there is no better place than college.  But if you’ve been reading My College Guide for the last few months, you’ve probably already figured that out!  You’ll have the chance to sample a wide variety of courses, from the downright unusual college classes (even Twilight or Harry Potter classes) to the kind that cover a lot of ground with a little fun thrown in, too – like the inter-disciplinary Common Foundations course at Union University!

Union University Common Foundations Program

Courtesy of Union University

We got in touch with Common Foundations’ creator (and one of the  instructors): Dr. Taylor Worley.  It’s not every day that we stumble across a class that includes a weekend sight-seeing trip to New York City!

Students in Common Foundations wrap their heads around seminar topics that range from “Icons and Medieval Imagination” to “Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground” the Spirituality of Blues.  Successful completion of this college class yields the credit equivalent of two college classes!

What does the Common Foundations program offer that a student just can’t find anywhere else?
Common Foundations is a unique platform to explore traditional subjects in a new way.  We teach both the New Testament Survey course and the Arts in the Western Civilization course alongside each other and provide a seminar for their integration.  In addition to the integrative seminar, the class will receive hands on experience engaging the arts through a class trip to New York City and the representative cultural landmarks of that city.  In addition to the course trip, students actually receive 6 hours of course credit, which is the equivalent of two classes.

Union University and the Common Foundations Program -- in progress!

Courtesy of Union University

Can a student who is less than artsy benefit from this course?
Most definitely: this program is designed to engage a host of intellectual curiosities that are not limited to an interest in the traditional forms of high art. These include topics as diverse as worship places and spaces, popular music, and cross-cultural expressions of…art.

Besides all the studying, students hang out in New York City exploring places like The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Chelsea Art District, Socrates in the City, Central Park, Time Square – and taking in a Broadway musical (just to name a few)!  Common Foundations sounds like a unique way to put into practice the things you have learned and, really, who can say “no” to New York?

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Winter at Westminster: A “Cool” Study Abroad Alternative

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Like the sound of “study abroad” but aren’t sure about the whole “abroad” part of it?  My College Guide presents to you Winter at Westminster at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.  This has to be one of the most unusual study abroad alternatives My College Guide has seen so far — for starters, it takes full advantage of the conveniently located Wasatch Mountain range.

Winter at Westminster: part of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah's alternative study abroad program.

Courtesy of Westminster College SLC

So maybe the last thing on your mind right now is cold, snow-filled Winter – but when that blazing sun and heat disappears — you’ll definitely want to turn back to this one!  Winter at Westminster sounds like a good fit for snow-loving, ski-wearing,snowboarding daredevils.

As with any typical study abroad program, it doesn’t matter what college you regularly attend (you can be from anywhere) – you simply have to apply as a full-time visiting student!  But it just wouldn’t be college if there wasn’t some work involved!  W@W students do have a full course load Monday through Thursday – but Friday and Saturday?  That’s reserved for fun!

Johanna Daley, the Associate Director of Communications at Westminster College, spells it out: “In addition to their academic schedule they participate in Winter at Westminster activities and events (back country skiing/snowboarding, yurt camping, avalanche training, guest lectures, bobsledding, and more) and are given passes to the Canyons and Snowbird or Alta [snow resorts].  Many also take advantage of the internship program and get internships in the winter sports industry.”

She says that, “The program is for any college student with a love of skiing and/or snowboarding. They don’t need to be advanced, but they need to have a reasonable amount of experience on the snow…and a novice would not be able to participate in all the activities (like back country days).”

Ever wanted to try yurt camping? Winter at Westminster students have!

Courtesy of Westminster College SLC

Westminster College is also partnered with the US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and is the official educator!  Daley elaborated, “About 37 of their (USSA) athletes are Westminster students and 14 of them competed in the 2010 Olympics.”

One Westminster College SLC freshman student, Bryon Wilson, even snagged a bronze medal in Men’s Freestyle Moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Want more?  Check out the Winter at Westminster online video contest entries, the W@W Blog, or the Winter at Westminster Facebook Page for an insider’s view.  While My College Guide may not understand all of the W@W jargon, like Gloobs, Noodlers, and SPORS, one thing is for sure – this might just be a college snow-lover’s dream come true!

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