What’s okay on Facebook and what’s not? As one Florida college sophomore found out, complaining on Facebook about a teacher can get you suspended from school (this occurred when she was in high school). The student has now won the right to sue to cover her legal costs and try to expunge the suspension from her record.

When I started college, Facebook was still relatively new and users had to have a university e-mail address to even open an account. Now anyone can open an account and Facebook currently reports that it has over 400 million users worldwide. Facebook is one of those amazing feats of technology that does great things—but also opens up the possibility for situations like the one in Florida. So what are we to do? Based on experiences that my friends, classmates and I have had, here are some key things to keep in mind when it comes to Facebook in college (or anytime, for that matter):

No matter how great that party was, make sure that any Facebook photo documentation remains PG.
I used the “untag” option liberally when it came to photos involving alcohol, even if it was a totally innocent bottle of beer—especially before I turned 21. I also learned not to be afraid to ask a friend to delete a photo altogether if I wasn’t comfortable with it. Photos on Facebook have a way of turning up elsewhere (for example, many yearbook staffs are turning to Facebook for extra photos) so I truly believe that there is no such thing as a silly or overly cautious photo de-tag or removal.

Upset with a professor/classmate/club/internship/life? Write a journal entry, not a status update.
I am amazed at how much people feel comfortable sharing with the world via status updates. A classmate of mine was actually known for her emotional, stressed-out status updates that sometimes identified groups of people as the cause of her problems (i.e. Department X, lab partners, etc) and still didn’t get the message even after this led to actual confrontations with some annoyed students in real life. If you wouldn’t say it in person, please don’t say it on Facebook! Yes, the probability of an outpouring of online support in regard to a crummy grade or difficult classmate is tempting, but it’s not worth getting into the mess that Katharine Evans got into in Florida when her venting actually got back to the school. Going public with private thoughts and opinions is a game-changer and it’s really, really not worth the instant gratification of posting these sentiments online.

Explore the various privacy and security settings.
These settings span a much wider range of options than I first realized, so it’s worth checking out. For one thing, networks vary dramatically in size, which may determine whether or not you really want everyone in a given network to see your profile or just those on your friend list. Beyond that, I set my account so that only a handful of friends can see photos tagged of me (which helps solve the first issue I discussed) and not everyone can access my contact information.

That’s how I face the Facebook issue (couldn’t resist)—what suggestions do you have for smart and sound Facebook use? Should Katharine Evans have been suspended? Why or why not? And while we’re on the topic, follow BetterGrads on Facebook!

Last week, Elizabeth’s post about books that mattered in college was a poignant review of the lasting impression of books: both in our minds and in the groove cut into our shoulder from increasingly heavy over-the-shoulder book bags.

While nothing will ever replace the tactile sensation of thumbing through hundreds of  highlighted pages, e-books are here to stay, whether librarians like it or not. Fortunately, physical book-loving culture is alive and well in the world, so the advent of digital texts doesn’t seem to be obliterating page-turning just yet.

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education discussed a new state law requiring that all post-secondary education textbooks be digitized by 2010. (Post-secondary education = all education after high school.) While not affecting the existence of tree-made textbooks, the law will force publishers to ensure that all of their material is available electronically.

College textbooks are expensive. In fact, textbooks are a huge factor when estimating education-related costs. E-books tend to run far cheaper than physical textbooks, and The Chronicle notes an example of an e-book costing nearly half of its physical counterpart. HALF!

A quick search on Amazon reveals that the top accounting college textbooks run between $140 and $200. Consider that the average college student purchases at least one textbook per 3-5 classes per semester, and we’re talking potentially thousands of dollars better spent on gas. Or Cheez-Its. In addition to a huge cost benefit to students, textbook companies are likely growing tired of the countless unsold books returned to them each semester. An e-book can’t be returned. At least not yet.

As an English major who took three literature review classes in one semester and a communications major who took another three comm. theory classes that same semester, I attest that my shoulders (and wallet) have yet to recover from tens of thousands of pages burdening me for those 14 straight weeks. (And, since I have a near-religious stigma against throwing away, reselling or abandoning books of any kind, my post-college bedroom walls are lined with thousands of dollars in stacked pages. I should take up flower-pressing.)

While this post may sound like a public service announcement championing the merits of the e-book, this campaign doesn’t need much support, as it’s already happening. In a world that’s growing more accustomed to paying bills, booking flights and finding love online, it’s no surprise that education is making the e-transition, too.

Perhaps next week we’ll discuss how the modern-day classroom is transforming… within your computer screen.

With Hanukkah winding down and Christmas right around the corner, newspapers across the country this week have highlighted some cool websites and mobile phone applications that can make comparison shopping a lot easier. One product that caught my eye, was the mobile application, ShopSavvy, created by Big in Japan, a development company based out of Dallas, TX. Mentioned in the Wall Street Journal , and in the New York Times, the app allows people to take pictures of barcodes, upload them to ShopSavvy, and have ShopSavvy compare the price of that item across various retailers.

Now, if Bettergrads had any input regarding how this app would function, I think our team would want the app to be able compare the cost of attending various colleges. Imagine being able to hold up an iPhone to any text document where the name of a college appears, and with the simple click of the phone’s camera, the phone captures the school name, and instantly provides a line item breakdown of the total costs of attending that school for one year. Cool, right? Sadly, ShopSavvy does not offer that feature. But, here are some BG-inspired ways you can use to comparison-shop colleges.

• List Pros and Cons

This is a tried-and-true method that people use to help make decisions on practically everything. For the folks out there who are still deciding on whether or not to apply to certain schools before the Common Application deadline, and for the students who have already heard back from the Early Decision schools, one smart way to compare colleges and weed out the ones that are not so appealing is to make a list of the Pros and Cons of attending each school. Categories such as location, class size, distance from home, and social life, are some examples you can use to help distinguish one school from the other. In the end, Decision-making becomes easier when all the facts are organized into a clean and simple list.

• Compare Costs Across the Board

This is another, universal decision method to employ when the college search boils down to 3 or 4 schools. Just create a table (either in Microsoft® Excel®, a whiteboard, or paper and pen) with the names of the colleges followed by a detailed list of the various costs associated with attending those colleges. Some costs to consider include the obvious ones such as room and board, financial aid, meal plan, and the not so obvious ones including transportation to and from school, entertainment, books and supplies, etc. Bettergrads believes that author, Henry David Thoreau, known for his quotation, “Simplify, simplify, simplify…” would approve of this method too :)

Applying to colleges and then attempting to figure out where to spend the next two or four years can be a stressful process. The aforementioned comparison-shopping processes are a few ideas that work. Feel free to use the space below or hit us up on twitter by searching @bettergrads to list some more.

Toward the tail end of my senior year, I would end most weeknights with the following ritual: Around 11:00 PM, I would climb a flight of stairs up to Jason’s suite, and would engage in a 30 minute session of playing one of Electronic Arts’ best selling video games, FIFA 2009 on Jason’s XBox.

I went through a long and embarrassing newbie curve. Jason, and his suitemate, Josh, would select the worst teams imaginable while I would try my best with FC Barcelona, (the equivalent of the Los Angeles Lakers, in terms of talent, but in the world of soccer). It was not until the third or forth week when the 10-0 drubbings turned into tight, 2-0 losses or, if I got lucky, a 1-0 win!

Jason and Josh are skilled gamers. Their talents were not just limited to sports video games. They could hang with the best of them in Halo too.Keep Reading…

Had Occidental College offered some kind of Video Game science minor, I can guarantee you that Jason and Josh would have signed up for courses. And while Occidental College does not plan on doing this anytime soon (to the best of my knowledge), the Los Angeles Times ran article stating that the University of California at Irvine, just added itself to the growing list of schools who offer students the ability to major in Video Game Science or Game Science. Other schools include Full Sail University and Bettergrads co-founder Erhardt Graef’s alma-mater Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Do we get to play Halo 2 during class?!!

One question that arises with such a major would be the associated coursework. Most schools would not be keen on having their students spending class time engaging in massive Halo tournaments. An article from the Washington Post noted that students at Carnegie Mellon, take classes such as Intro to Entertainment Technology, Building Virtual Worlds and Game Design. When I took a look at the course requirements for a BS in Game Design and Development from RIT, I was pleased to learn that the major encompasses a variety of subjects including Discrete mathematics, Physics, website development, and of course, Game Software Development III, and Foundations of 2D Graphics programming. Future students, be prepared to study more than just Halo maps.

Will they take me seriously after college? I mean video game design is more ledgit than basket weaving, right?

Another point to consider is the validity of such a major. When I spoke to my friend Josh about this, he stated, “The quality of teaching (and sincerity of the major’s educational spirit) matters much more than the content…it makes sense to have a games major.” With the course requirements at RIT, it is safe to say that there are plenty of transferable skills. And while some employers may chuckle or raise an eyebrow when they see BS in Video Game Design on a student’s resume, such a response can never take away from that individual’s passion for the field.

Want to learn more about the projects students have made during their college careers? Curious readers can check out the links to cool projects in video game design below:

Sociable

Dino Quest

WOW inspired RPG

As BetterGrads seeks out the scoop on all things educational and relevant to college-bound high schoolers, we came across great news for those keen on science.

Today, Discovery Communications (think The Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, etc.) announced their full-fledged support of President Obama’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative, with a new program: “Be the Future.”

Of the many STEM initiatives under Obama, Discovery’s “Be the Future” program will provide commercial-free programming for school-aged youth (including public service announcements from MythBusters’ very own Adam and Jamie) to help pique interest and achievement across the sciences. That’s awesome! Who doesn’t dig those guys, really? Now if we could only get Mike Rowe, too…

STEM programs, in the form of private and public partnerships, aim to push students to excel in the sciences, as American academic scores have continued to fall behind other countries in recent years. Obama’s goals for STEM youth education include: increasing critical thinking about science, improving the international science/math teaching gap, and expanding STEM career opportunities for women and minorities.

And even cooler than that, PC Magazine is all over STEM initiatives, boasting Time Warner’s 5-year commitment of $100 million to STEM programs and Sony’s national Game Design Competition, which will provide $2 million for developers to create STEM-based video games for kids. Video games can be educational? I don’t have to pretend, anymore…

Clearly, STEM is sprouting off in all directions.

Okay, corny science puns aside… The Obama administration’s recent focus on STEM comes at a time when colleges are looking to recruit students who are both interested in the sciences and have had at least some opportunity to cultivate those interests in some way. Showing up at college with a blank slate can be beneficial in terms of opening your mind to a multitude of subjects, but having been introduced to the nearly limitless fields of science, technology, engineering and math at a young age can help you make informed decisions so you can avoid switching your major a zillion times.

Additionally, the U.S. Government Members of the House Committee on Science and Technology met earlier this year about specifically, how to increase the number of females who pursue careers in science. And what best way to open those doors? Starting early, of course.

When I worked as a freelance writer for UCSF, I had the opportunity to research a UCSF-high school science education partnership that teamed up teenagers with graduate research students in campus labs all summer, and many of them were female. The graduate students were wholeheartedly impressed with how much high schoolers could learn and apply advanced pharmacological and biological research to their projects at such a young age. Across the board, they expressed their desire to see more science education outreach among high school-level students.

This USCF-high school partnership was a great example of a STEM-supporting initiative, and here at BetterGrads, we’d like to know if you can share with us other programs that are similar in scope to the mission of STEM education. We’d love to show our support for programs that demonstrate the importance of prepping pre-college students for, well, college.

Do you have an interest in science? Do you see the quality of science, technology, engineering and math education improving in your school? Do you know females who are currently considering a science career? Give us the scoop! We’re all ears.

Somewhere within the never-ending piece of literature you might currently know as the Common Application (or any college application for that matter), you are asked to highlight some of your skills. Yes, it’s easy to write that you are proficient in Microsoft® Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® (the later will become the bane of your existence as you enter the collegiate world and eventually the working world). But there are two skills I wanted to highlight today, that will help you grow and succeed during your high school years and beyond.

1). Follow-Up or Fail

This skill comes to you courtesy of author Keith Ferrazzi from his book Never Eat Alone (NEA). While Ferrazzi spends much of the book explaining the finer points of networking, he spends a significant portion discussing the importance of follow-up.

So, what’s the big idea behind follow-up? Following-up shows you care and are thankful for that gift you received from your aunt or that free lunch with your mentor. Think of all the times your parents made you write thank-you notes. Yes, it was tedious to write them, but from the recipients point-of-view, taking the time to follow-up demonstrated that you valued and appreciated his efforts to spend some time / money on you!
As a high school student looking at colleges, the easiest thing you can do is follow-up with every admissions director, student tour guide, college alumni, etc you meet. It can be as simple as writing a thank-you note, or if you believe you and this individual really hit it off, why not suggest a future meeting where this individual can answer more of your questions and learn more about you. In all, you will be amazed how something so easy as following up can be incredibly rewarding.

2). Tech Skills
Most high schools require students to take 1 semester (or 1 year) of fine art and a technical art respectively. The second one is of significant importance. What do web-design, learning a computer language (JAVA, XML, etc), graphic design, and video-editing all have in common? These skills are useful regardless of your academic path after high school. A student with any of these skills becomes a valuable asset to a group project. Think of all those times where you thought aloud, “Man, if I knew how to edit videos, our presentation on 20th Century U.S.-Iraq Relations would be so much more engaging.” Beyond the classroom, paid opportunities from friends and local business await those who can whip-up a flyer in Adobe® InDesign® promoting a charity event or guest speaker.

Use the time this weekend to think about the many incredible skills you currently possess. Even better, feel free to discuss some of the skills you found to be a significant asset during college.

For high school students trying to pick the perfect college, the best thing to do is personally visit all of your top choices, meet professors, sit in on classes, and eat in the dining halls. But this isn’t realistic. That’s why students and parents rely on local college fairs to meet college representatives and ask probing questions about schools. These fairs are also great ways to learn about schools that you’ve never heard of before.

HOWEVER, according to an article on eSchool News, more students and schools are turning toward “virtual college fairs” to fill this need. Colleges, large and small, are short on cash of late. They can’t afford to send representatives and erect information booths at every college fair around the country. At the same time, they need to continue to extend their outreach because competition for top students is fierce.

Similarly, high school students and parents can’t afford to visit every college fair in an 100 mile radius, nor every college on their lists. Virtual college fairs seem like a good alternative. And virtual fairs should be complemented by additional online resources and carefully selected in-person visits to form a solid strategy for picking the perfect college.

The Virtual College Fairs mentioned in the eSchool News article are hosted by three organizations:

• CollegeWeekLive: This service is free to register for and has a wide selection of colleges from across the United States, and a few from around the world. Register now to make sure you can virtually attend Nov. 4th – Nov. 7th, when they “open their doors”. For more information, check out the eSchool News article.
• Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair: This free service is primarily geared toward Black high school students, offering one virtual college fair exclusively for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Tom Joyner also features information about Black fraternities. It appears to be open all the time, but I couldn’t find any live interaction features.
• Green College Tour: This service focuses on mid-tier colleges from across the country. The format of the virtual fair is not very clear from their website, but registration is free (if you want colleges to contact you). Occasionally, representatives from the colleges are available for live chat through the site.

If virtual college fairs were around when I was looking for a school, I wasn’t aware of them. They may have helped me to avoid an embarrassing moment at an in-person fair: I blushed pretty hard after enthusiastically grabbing a number of brochures from Bryn Mawr College before being politely informed by their representative that it was an all girls school.

I visited two colleges in person, which solidified my decision to attend RIT. But well before that, I had spent countless hours on FastWeb and The Princeton Review absorbing information about colleges and admissions. If I had known about the college rankings from U.S. News & World Report, I would have been studying that too. (NOTE: There are a similar rankings and information focused on United Kingdom schools available at the Times Online Good University Guide.) These online resources are invaluable.

For current high school students looking at colleges, you should be checking out all of these websites and signing up for virtual college fairs. Registration, if necessary, is free and easy. If you don’t have regular internet access at home, or even if you do, ask a teacher if you can go to your school’s computer lab during study hall or free periods. Good luck.