Collegiate Attrition After Year One

College students have a lot on their minds these days. From balancing classwork, a job, extra curricular activities,  and budding social lives,  it can all become one huge blur. And sometimes, all this pressure can force students to withdraw from their university studies. And should students choose to pull out, there’s a group people beyond the students themselves who pay the price: taxpayers. That’s right, taxpayers. A new report shows that states appropriated almost $6.2 billion for four-year colleges and universities between 2003 and 2008 to help pay for the education of students who did not return for year two.

Topic: A Specialization in Obscurity

The Ph.D. candidate who specializes in philosopher Jean Baudrillard ‘s theory of hyperreality in graphic novels. The English lit master’s student who studies post-structuralism in Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way. The undergrad majoring in 19th century French poetry. These hardworking, passionate scholars regularly face the same dreaded question: “What are you going to do with that?”

High School vs. College: Views of A College Freshman

“Beep… beep… beep…” The alarm clock goes off, and you hit the snooze button. You expect to have your mother’s kisses, or your father’s tickles, to wake you up. When you realize they’re not there, you jerk yourself out of your slumber. This isn’t high school. You remember… you’re now in the real world. You’re now at college. As you turn to look at the clock, you see you’re late for European History, having spent all night attempting to finish that psychology assignment. It’s now a quarter to eight, and you have to be across the campus in 15 minutes.

Confessions of a recovering orientation leader

Working on Oxy’s Orientation Team (i.e. O-Team) for three years was an excellent experience: I learned to work well under pressure and with minimal sleep, bonded with other team leaders, and felt lucky to help new students explore their new college. I’ve also learned a few things about the college orientation experience, including….

The Not so Summer Blues (The Work Experience Elixer)

I have always considered July 4th as summer’s hump day; The summer days and nights seem to move at a much faster pace after this national holiday. And given that July 4th falls twenty days after the summer solstice summer days should feel as if they move faster. During my high school summers, the July 4th holiday did not remind me that I had ample time to frolic and play. Instead, July 4th reminded me that a new school year loomed in the distance. The period of time between July 4th and the beginning of the school presented a challenge: how should I best fill this time?

On Imagination

When brainstorming topics for BetterGrads blog articles, I frequently refer to what I think of as “the big three” in academic-newsworthy-land: The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times education section, and top keyword hits on Google news. Or perhaps the Cronk, every now and again. And that’s probably TMI on the breath of my daily media intake. I search within my comfort zone, and I pick topics that fit, usually passing on subjects that seem hard to squeeze into the category of educational blogging, such as this piece on imagination recently featured in the Chronicle. And then it occurred to me. After devouring every last word of that brilliant article. I’m guilty of the very same rut college students find themselves in when playing it safe and going through the motions: Pleasing professors. Regurgitating lecture material in essays. A “least possible work for the max possible grade” philosophy. [...]

The Write Stuff

A recent article on The Huffington Post discusses a growing concern in higher education: how should we teach writing? What should our students learn?

Words of Wit and Wisdom

After attending my sister’s graduation from undergrad last week and reading Lisa’s piece on the romantic proposal / speech from the graduating student at Centenary College, I thought I would share some of my favorite graduation speeches. Check out the links below, as these are quality, verbal presentations. And while you might be four or more years away from reveling in these exquisite deliveries of spoken word, they are certainly something to look forward to: Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, offers Harvard undergrads some advice from the perspective of Stewie Griffin, the brash, yet conniving toddler. in this speech from 2006. Meryl Streep shares some words of wisdom to class of 2010 at Barnard College in NYC Stephen Colbert delights the grads at Knox College in ’07 with his witty commencement address Think you’ve heard a mind-blowing speech lately? Let us know by dropping a line in the comment [...]

Did You Hear About…

…the college valedictorian who proposed to her almost-valedictorian boyfriend during her commencement speech? Talk about over-achiever! Most college graduation ceremonies are filled with speeches about following your dreams, fulfilling your potential, breaking away from the nest… it’s all very relevant and true, but let’s be honest. Predictable. If you didn’t hear about it already, give a nod to this one-of-a-kind occurence that took place at Centenary College in New Jersey last week. Check out the video they uploaded to Facebook, appropriately named: “Perfect GPA, Perfect Match!” I have yet to see a college graduation ceremony surprise top this, unless you have one of your own you’d like to share. Congratulations to all the 2010 college graduates out there!

Why I’m pro-procrastination (sort of)

It took all of college and this first year of graduate to realize that when I reach this point, it’s time to call a spade a spade and stop torturing myself! Setting bite-size goals is definitely a great way to get things done, but giving into distraction can sometimes be the best way to go.