College Q&A: What’s the deal with party schools?

You’ve probably heard rumors about the school I attended. The school named the “Top Party School” in the U.S. by Playboy in 2002 and remains in the top 10. The school that had a sex scandal involving the student body vice president. The school that’s easy driving distance to both Las Vegas and Rocky Point, Mexico. Arizona State University. I wasn’t a partier in high school, yet I ended up at an infamous party school. Before starting, I got a lot of “Hey, isn’t that a huge party school?” from friends and family. After classes began, it didn’t change much. My answer then (and still is): “Any college can be a party school. You make it what it is.” Sure, at ASU you could find a frat party pretty much any night of the week. The bar scene on Mill Avenue and further north in Old Town Scottsdale is a [...]

An attempt to decode/decipher/deconstruct dating

A quick look at Cornell student (and columnist) Jeff A. Katz’s candid explanation of dating signals and communication between men and women in college.

Springing into spring break

Spring Break conjures up many different ideas of how to celebrate the traditional mid-semester break during college. First let’s talk safety, then other ideas for what to do with this mid-semester break.

An Alternative Spring Break

If you’re a high school junior, chances are your inbox and mailbox have been filled with letters from the marketing departments of colleges across the country. I also received those one page letters. And if you do not feel like waiting until the summer before your senior year to figure out whether you should apply to these schools, even better. And so it was during the spring of my junior year in high school that My Dad and I decided to take a road trip and visit some schools in the area who had been so kind to send us boiler-plate introduction letters. This time, “in the area” referred to schools beyond the city limits of Los Angeles, namely UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Sonoma Sate, and UC Santa Barbara. Below you will find some observations and tips from our trip should you choose to visit some schools during your spring [...]

Rating the dating on college campuses

Dating in college is something that a) every college student has thought about and b) few college students/alumni want to discuss. It’s awkward. It’s uncomfortable.

A decision you can sleep on

On Thursday, the New York Times ran an article describing a growing trend among senior citizens: sleep overs! After spending the daytime acquainting themselves with the facilities, retirement communities are offering prospective senior residents the opportunity to take in evening social events and the opportunity to spend the night. For senior citizens, this is a great way to gauge social life and other nuances associated with retirement homes that one could not glean from a brochure. Retirement communities are not the only institutions to offer this opportunity. Colleges do too! I dedicate this post to one of the great (and relatively uncelebrated) pre-college traditions: prospective student overnight visits! Why you should do it: College overnight visits offer prospective students (or more cutely known as, prospies) an unfiltered, in-your-face opportunity to experience collegiate social life in a way that guidebooks or facebook photos could never showcase. For example, such visits give [...]

Bettergrads Unplugged

Happy New Year! 2010 should be a great year for Bettergrads. I received a facebook message from the Bettergrads co-founder and social-entrepreneurship czar Kevin Adler, informing me that he would be spending the New Year’s weekend in the OC / LA area. Yesterday I met up with him, his brother Chris, and Emerald (Chris’ girlfriend) at Cross Roads Trading Company, a small consignment / thrift store in Santa Monica. It is always a treat to spend time with Kevin. The last time we were together, we spent the weekend making some hilarious videos for Bettergrads. It was a great bonding experience and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the organization . Before returning to LA, I made sure to squeeze in a trip to a local Nordstrom’s Rack, as Kevin shared that he needed to update his wardrobe. Like most guys, Kevin does not like shopping as it is [...]

Grace and Gratitude

An AP United States History teacher once interrupted himself during a lecture and shared with my fourth period classmates the following factoid: “If you think high school goes by so fast, wait until you get to college. It goes by 4 times faster!” Mr. Roberson was correct. At times, my college career did feel like someone was pushing the fast-forward button and would not let go. Many things can get overlooked during this four-year period. Think about it, college provides the opportunity to study a myriad of subjects, perform research, and meet incredible people. So in the spirit of the holidays, I posed the question to my friends and social networks: “What are you grateful for from college?” Below you will find actual responses to this question. And more will be on the way. Enjoy unwrapping this gift from BetterGrads! “The social experiences-Allowed me to grow and mature. [Grateful for] [...]

Home for The Holidays

Thanksgiving weekend is a time when many college students are able to return home and see their families for the first time since those August and September move-in days. When college is within driving distance from home, making the return trip by car for the Thanksgiving holiday feels like any other time when you come home for the weekend, give or take the turkey, pumpkin pie, and other festive foods that await you this time around. But for students who attend college 3,000 miles from home, the annual Thanksgiving trek, and home excursions in general, take on a different meaning, one of self-reflection and an opportunity to reconnect with family members and friends. So, in the spirit of the holidays, where family gatherings and yummy food, await bleary-eyed, jet-lagged college students, I will be interviewing my sister, Sarah, a senior at Columbia College, in NYC, who will share some of [...]

Maintaining friendships from home while away at college

Maintaining friendships from home when everyone is at different colleges doesn’t have to be hard or stressful.