Posts Tagged ‘college class’

Interdisciplinary and Real World Experience: Rhode Island School of Design

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

My College Guide has told you time and time again that when it comes to choosing a college, it’s about the right fit for you. How will your college of choice prepare you for your future career and life in the real world? No matter what your career aspirations may be, you can find a school that will complement.

Check out this unusual college class from RISD, the Rhode Island School of Design. Students didn’t just attend a course sponsored by gaming giant Hasbro, they also created their own game! This is interdisciplinary college coursework at its finest. Not only did these RISD students get a chance to try something different and think outside the box, dabbling in different branches of design, but they have something to add to their resume – and a heap of real world experience thrown in!

Visit the college campus at schools you are interested in. Ask your questions and see how your dream college will prepare you for life! Watch RISD and Hasbro Explore Game Play on YouTube or below.

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges.

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Posted in Choosing a Major, College Campus, College Classes, College Life, College Search | No Comments »

Where in the World are High Point University Students

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

The short answer? Everywhere! Study abroad or study away, students at High Point University are going places. From Italy to India to right here in the United States, High Point University students are here, there, and everywhere! My College Guide spoke with Dr. Kelly Norton, the director of experiential learning, as part of our study abroad series.

They not only have learned their particular field abroad, but also they have learned the elements of good citizenship.

Courtesy of High Point University

You have study abroad and study away programs? What’s the difference?
Study abroad is what students traditionally think of when they consider spending a semester or a summer away from High Point University, international programs at institutions in a country of interest that can provide training in students’ fields of study.

Study away is a newer concept at HPU, where students spend a semester or summer away from HPU but don’t leave the U.S. For example, Kevin, a junior, is spending the Spring 2011 semester in an outdoor education and leadership program in Wyoming in connection with the NOLS program. He is majoring in Human Relations with career aspirations that include working in the outdoor industry. Since outdoor education programs are scarce, he is taking full advantage of the opportunity to personalize his degree program at HPU.

High Point University seems to really believe that study abroad/study away is an important part of the whole education process. Why is that?
Americans were once able to work for decades without using a language other than English and without interacting with other countries and cultures. However, intercultural communication and global thinking have become essential skills for graduates in any professional field. With this shift, higher education institutions must respond by providing the means for learning and practicing these skills.

We would be doing our students a disservice if we didn’t encourage them to stretch themselves in these contexts, to challenge their ways of thinking, and to prove to themselves and others that they can succeed in a global society. These emphases are in line with other character-building lessons, including generosity, joy, stewardship, and customer service, that High Point University models.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” (Marcel Proust)

Courtesy of High Point University

HPU doesn’t just talk the talk – you’ve got quite a lot of study abroad programs in place! What’s going on in 2011?
High Point University offers a number of study opportunities for students, depending on their varied interests and needs. Opportunities fall into two categories: independent programs and short-term, faculty-led programs.HPU offers 20 full-semester programs and a dozen summer programs in 16 countries.

Independent programs are a great chance for students who want to have an intense, enriching experience with a lot of challenge and less support than our other options. Our most popular programs are Bond University (Queensland, Australia), American University of Rome (Italy), and Oxford Brookes University (England, UK). The more recent additions include programs in Czech Republic, Fiji, and South Africa.

Short-term, faculty-led programs, which we call HPU Unleashed! study programs, are courses that typically have a traditional classroom component and a travel component. HPU Unleashed! programs are planned, taught, and led by full-time HPU faculty members with help from Experiential Learning staff. Some courses are taught during the spring semester with a post-semester travel experience in May, while others are taught entirely in the May term or Summer Session.

Exciting HPU Unleashed! study programs for 2011 include:
Politics and Policy Inside the Beltway (Washington, D.C.)
Cutting-edge Exercise Physiology (Colorado)
Human Behavior across Cultures (Germany, France, and Italy)
Planet Girth: The Cultures of Health and Fitness (Sweden)
Mayan Heritage, Traditions, and Customs (Guatemala)
Modern Spain (Spain)
Shakespeare in Performance (Staunton, VA, and England, UK).

For the first time, HPU will offer fall Unleashed! options as well. Faculty from the School of Business and the Modern Foreign Language department will lead students to various cities in India to explore Business in the Hub of Globalization.

Study abroad program at High Point University

Courtesy of High Point University

When can a High Point University student typically have studying abroad as an option?
Students can participate in HPU Unleashed! and independent summer study programs as early as the end of their freshman year. Some exceptions exist in that foreign language majors and minors may have language skills that are best served by study abroad programs in their sophomore year. Students in certain majors must study abroad during sophomore year due to the scheduling of sequential courses. In short, we try to create opportunities so all students have a program that meets their interests, needs, and financial limitations.

Is it necessary to know a foreign language before studying abroad?
Many of HPU’s study abroad programs are hosted in non-English-speaking countries. However, we try to find opportunities for students who are learning the language as well as students who want to study courses in English.

For example, Italian language courses have been incredibly popular since they were added to the curriculum, yet we find that students who study in Italy are interested in our art program in Florence (Studio Art Centers International), but then who wouldn’t want to study art in Florence! Or they want to experience a part of their family’s ancestry by learning more about their Italian culture. While studying in Rome, one student met her 92-year-old aunt and many cousins for the first time. She credits High Point University for making it possible for her to share such an incredible experience with family that she might not otherwise have met.

What are some of the trips that High Point University students have gone on in the past?
Students go some phenomenal places (and of course I live vicariously through them all). Independent trips have taken students island-hopping through Greece, on multi-city programs in China, and mountaineering through Patagonia.

they return talking about the academic experience and the eye-opening experiences they had in matters related to governance, service, or education.

Courtesy of High Point University

Is this something that translates out of college? How does a study abroad experience look to employers? What value does this sort of experience provide?
Employers want to see that students have the ability to communicate with coworkers and clients from a variety of backgrounds. Study abroad opportunities provide that type of context. So many interview questions for professional positions or for graduate schools can be based on study abroad experiences.

Anything else that our college-bound readers should know?
Students interested in High Point University should believe the hype! HPU provides incredible opportunities in a number of areas for students learn about their chosen fields of study and learn about themselves. It is often the latter that helps students discover and fulfill their own definitions of success.

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

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Posted in College Life, Study Abroad | No Comments »

PREFACE Program: University of South Carolina Upstate Promises First Year Success

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

From One Book One Twitter to the Common Experience Program at Texas State University San Marcos, My College Guide has listed the benefits of these programs before: to build a sense of community, to make new friends and get to know faculty, as well as getting to know your college campus! The PREFACE Program at the University of South Carolina Upstate puts a spin on the common book program by also combing college classes! We spoke to Dr. Esther Godfrey, assistant professor of English and coordinator of the PREFACE project, with special thanks to Tammy Whaley for her assistance.

Student interaction with faculty at the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Courtesy of the University of South Carolina Upstate

Okay, so what is the Preface program?
The PREFACE program is a co-curricular common book program that involves Composition 101 and University 101 classes during the student’s first year.

How did the Preface program come about?
The PREFACE program began in 2003 under the direction of Brenda Davenport as an effort to enhance the first-year experience at USC Upstate and to support general education learning objectives. Over the past seven years, the program has grown from a small project largely based in the English department to a university-wide, semester long effort that draws nationally recognized speakers to campus (Ron Rash, Barbara Ehrenreich) and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration.

Did we see that first year USC Upstate students don’t just read the same book, they also participate in events, too?
This fall, all first-year students at Upstate read Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , the story of the poor black woman whose cells were used to develop the HeLa cell line—a line that has been essential to cancer research, the development of the polio vaccine, and even space travel. The Immortal Life was selected because it raised questions of race, class, and gender that would likely appeal to our student body. Committee members also considered the book’s ability to bring in other departments on campus as part of the conversation about the book. Committee members also noted the quality of Skloot’s writing and research.

Students at the University of South Carolina Upstate

Courtesy of the University of South Carolina Upstate

Students engage the text in both their Composition 101 and their University 101 classes. Students are also required to attend two of a number of co-curricular events throughout the fall semester. Several of the events involve professors from other departments on campus, including history, biology, and nursing as well as community leaders.

Event topics ranged from lectures on issues related to the book (The US Public Study at Tuskegee; Medical Ethics; Race and Health Disparities; Cancer Research) to game shows to volunteer opportunities to a student-led conference. There is no separate budget for the PREFACE program, but select events are funded case-by-case through Student Affairs.

In addition to attending the cultural events, all students in Composition 101 are required to write cultural responses about these events, and to write textual analyses of the PREFACE text.

Do you have any favorite past events?
The game show (modeled after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) has been a consistent favorite in years past. Faculty lectures and the author visit are also very popular events.

0509uscupstate_-368

Courtesy of the University of South Carolina Upstate

What are topics that Preface students have covered in the past?
Topics have included the environment, class, and race. For 2011, Upstate plans to participate in a national conversation about September 11th as part of the ten-year anniversary of the tragedy.

Why do you believe this program can help a student successfully make the transition to college?
Studies show that common book programs help students form relationships among their peers during their first-year and can be an excellent opportunity to engage in academic discourse across multiple disciplines.

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

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Respect My Authority: Interdisciplinary South Park Class at McDaniel College

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Need another reason why college is different from high school? In college,  you can find a class for just about any subject – including South Park! Such is the case at McDaniel College where students had the chance to take part in this unusual college class that combines philosophy and sociology!

Special thanks to Dr. Sara Raley and Mr. Josh Baron, the brains behind this surprising meaty class at McDaniel College, for sharing their views. And like Cartman, we’re left saying, “kewl.”

Who knew that South Park and the Underpants Gnomes could teach about Marx's theories of worker alienation?

http://www.southparkzone.com/episode.php?vid=217

Most people wouldn’t see South Park and think “college class!” How in the world did this come about?
I (Dr. Sara Raley) started using South Park clips in some of my classes as a way to engage students while underscoring points about various social issues. When we examine a tough issue like racism using the humor of South Park to highlight the extremes of the issue, it loosens students up to talk about these topics more freely. Every time that I used a clip in class, I would talk about how I wanted to do a whole class on South Park. One of my students mentioned that there was another faculty member on campus who frequently referenced South Park in his classes and suggested I get in touch with him. It turns out that this faculty member, Josh Baron, had also toyed with the idea of doing a whole class on issues raised in South Park. When we met we found that between the two of us, there were many topics that we could cover from both a philosophical standpoint (Josh’s discipline) and sociological perspective (my discipline), and our class was born.

My College Guide noted that this was an interdisciplinary course. What are the subjects that students cover?
Josh is a philosopher and I am a sociologist. The topics we cover include: social constructions of gender and their role in media and television, racial and ethnic stereotypes and their impact on social interactions, capitalism and question of morality and corporations, Facebook and the nature of friendship, and many more. The class really strives to discuss not just broad social issues, but also specific examples and phenomena relevant to students today.

Are there textbooks or other readings? What are some of the books that students have read in relation to the South Park episodes?
In lieu of a textbook, which would be difficult to find, Josh and I use a combination of historical texts found online, journal articles, and our own personal research. So, in addition to excerpts from the writings of philosophers and sociologists like Plato and Marx, students read academic journals that are themselves interdisciplinary. Please visit our course website for more details.

McDaniel College: Home of the South Park class!

eddie.welker / eddie welker

Has student viewpoint ever shifted after reading the supplemental text?
That’s a good question. We don’t ask them directly if they change their minds after reading the articles we give them, but we definitely present them with new perspectives that challenge the way they see the world. On one of the first days of class, Josh does an exercise connected with the “Make Love, Not Warcraft” episode where the students have to prove they exist. We also have students come up to us after class and talk about how their opinion on subjects like gay marriage shift after discussing it in class in connection with the episode, “Follow That Egg.”

What have been some of the surprising things that this unusual class has discovered after watching South Park? Any big revelations in there?
Perhaps the biggest surprise, at least to the students, is that the creators of South Park actually have some intelligent cultural commentary to offer. It seems silly to ask students to take a cartoon seriously, but when they do, we see that we can have open discussions about topics that are often too controversial to discuss honestly in a conventional academic environment. The humor helps to lighten the mood on topics that can be emotionally charged like racism and homophobia. That is not to say that we use South Park to make light of serious topics, but rather the reverse: we use the non-threatening medium of South Park to convey how serious and deeply ingrained in our culture these issues are.

What has been your favorite episodes to share with the class so far? What has been the most difficult episode to discuss as a group?
My favorite episode to share with the class is probably “Gnomes,” which is about these gnomes that are stealing people’s underpants in the pursuit of profit. We connect this episode to Marx’s notions of worker alienation.  What better way to make Marx memorable in the minds of undergraduates then to have them associate his ideas with underpants gnomes? I also just find it hilarious that we now have a cadre of students who might think of the underpants gnomes when they think of Marx. Josh’s is “Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes,” which portrays the impact a new Wal-Mart has on the town and its residents. Even though the South Park adults just decide to shop at True Value instead, the episode raises a whole host of issues about corporations and social responsibility. The episode that is the most difficult episode to discuss as a group is probably “Starvin Marvin” where we discuss poverty on a global scale and really challenge students to think about their individual responsibilities to alleviate the sufferings of others.

What does Eric Cartman teach us about society?

databhi ♪♫ / Giuseppe Zizza

So – what does Cartman teach us about society?
Let’s face it, Cartman’s a jerk. But at the same time, there is at least one moment in one episode when all of us can relate to Cartman in some dark way.  Sometimes Cartman says the things that people are thinking but know it’s inappropriate to say out loud. Again, he really opens up the door for Josh and I to discuss and address all perspectives, even those perspectives people may be reluctant to admit that they have. Without Cartman, our discussions might not be as lively or as honest.

Anything you want to add that our readers should know?
For countless years humor has been used to make profound social commentary. Contemporaneous shows with South Park such as Saturday Night Live, Chappelle’s Show, and The Daily Show all bring to light deep and complex social issues using humor and a fresh perspective. Although reasoned arguments and research provide the evidence for needed social change, sometimes the greatest motivation to think more about the absurdity of some deeply held social or personal beliefs comes from a good laugh; even if it is at our own expense.

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

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Posted in Choosing a Major, College Classes, College Life | No Comments »

Lawrence University’s Crown Jewel: Bjorklunden

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Some colleges can point to a strong liberal arts background. Others can mention inclusion on the Colleges that Change Lives list. Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin can do both — and they’ve got one more unusual feature: Bjorklunden. Referred to as the Northern Campus, Bjorklunden is part of what makes Lawrence University so unique. What is Bjorklunden? For starters, it’s an amazing student resource.

Bjorklundlen Image Courtesy of Lawrence University

Courtesy of Lawrence University

Special thanks to Ken Anselment, the director of admissions at Lawrence University, for taking time out a busy season to share Bjorklunden with us!

Okay, so, what is Bjorklunden?
A beautiful lodge nestled in 425 wooded Door County, Wisconsin, acres with more than a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline. A resort community? Almost.

It’s Bjorklunden Vid Sjon (Norwegian for the “birch forest by the water.”) The lodge sleeps about 100, and is decked out with a mudroom and wet lab, seminar rooms, observation decks (for telescopic views of the crystal clear skies of Door County), and music rooms, including a performance hall.

Bjorklunden doesn’t just sit there and look pretty? Students can actually have classes here?
About three-quarters of our students head up here at least once a year for French immersion programs, music recitals, cross-country practices, field research—or sometimes just to get away from it all.

Bjorklundlen Image Courtesy of Lawrence University

Courtesy of Lawrence University

What happens in the summer when students leave campus? Are there other ways that students use Bjorklunden?
Students also use Bjorklunden as a place for summer employment. Living and working in Door County, Wisconsin’s premiere summer vacation destination, is a pretty good gig.

We also use the facility throughout the summer to offer seminars to the community on topics as varied as you can imagine: “Beauty Will Save the World: Dostoevsky’s The Idiot;” “The Comic Genius of Aristophanes;” “Basic Crossword Construction;” “Angels, Bird Droppings, and Fish Liver: The Book of Tobit.”

How do you believe a Lawrence University student’s education is enriched by this unique northern campus?
Lawrence is a community of micro-communities, and a great way to see that in action is to spend a weekend at Bjorklunden, where you’ll have students from diverse backgrounds but with a common affinity—they all play bass, or they’re all biology majors, just to cite a couple of examples—have a shared residential, dining and social experience beyond the reason they’re gathering. It’s a great way to forge more connections for when they return to campus.

Bjorklundlen Image Courtesy of Lawrence University

Courtesy of Lawrence University

Anything else you would like to add that our college bound readers need to know?
Few (if any) colleges are so fortunate as to have this kind of asset available for student, faculty, staff and community use. It really is one of the crown jewels of Lawrence University.

My College Guide thinks it sounds pretty incredible, too – and what better way to get a feel for a college like Lawrence University than with the college campus visit?

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Campus, College Classes, College Life, Fun Stuff | 1 Comment »

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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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 »

Beyond the Campus Tour: 7 Signs to Look for When You Visit a College

Friday, December 18th, 2009
Photo by Chaval Brasil

Chaval Brasil

As the time to choose a college approaches, you’ll probably want to visit as many schools as possible to get a feel for which one is the best fit for you. But sometimes, visiting a school is more of a distraction than an answer. After all, the tour guide is bound to show you the nicest dorm rooms (which you probably won’t have a chance of getting), but will she tell you which professors are the human equivalent to Nyquil?

To get the true scoop on college life, it’s important to get beyond the tour script and ask the tough questions. When you go, here’s what you’ll want to check out to see if the school’s worth applying to.

Sit in on a class. Don’t just take the tour guide’s word that the professors are fantastic—go sit in on a class in a field that you’re interested in, and find out for yourself! You’ll probably need to get the college admissions office’s approval to sit in on a course, but they should be able to help you find one that coincides with your visit, if your tour is during the regular school year. Check out ratemyprofessors.com to find out what regular students think of your lecturer.

Find out what students do for fun. Is most of the activity focused on-campus, or off? Is the Greek scene a big part of campus life? Does the whole campus go crazy for football, or do the students seem more artsy and independent? Depending on your interests, you’ll want to make sure that the school has what you need to thrive socially.

How’s the food? OK, maybe it’s not the most important thing, but you’ll be eating food from the college cafeteria every day for at least your first couple of years, so you’ll want to make sure it’s edible. Take a swing by the cafeteria for lunch to try it for yourself.

What sort of sports and outdoor activities can you take part in? If you love to run, take a look at the track. If swimming’s your thing, you’ll want to check out the pool facilities—and if you love mountain biking, then see how far you are from nearby trails, and how easy they are to get to. Some schools in beautiful areas, such as Colorado College, offer students the chance to take outdoors excursions every weekend. If you’d be interested, ask a student who’s attended one of the events about what it’s like.

How’s the library? You’ll probably be spending plenty of time there, especially during finals week. Is it well stocked? Is it quiet and comfortable enough to study in? Take a look at the students there—if they all seem incredibly stressed, it may not be the best place to spend four years of your life.

What’s off campus? At some schools, you’ll have enough to do that you’ll rarely want to leave campus—but when you do, what will you find? Is the college located in an interesting city with lots of cheap restaurants and nightlife options? Or are you an hour or more from any place worth seeing? While location isn’t everything, it can play a big part in your college experience, so it’s worth considering. (Check out our list of great college towns for some ideas of places to consider applying.)

How easy is it to get home? Obviously, this isn’t something to ask your campus tour guide—you’ll answer this question yourself when you make the trek there. If getting back and forth between home and the dorm seems like a huge hassle, it may not be the best place to set up shop for four years.

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