College News & Views, Vol. 2

BetterGrads College News & Views is an ongoing collection of college-themed posts around the web. Our social media team, partners and guest contributors take part in providing this service to you. This week, we came across several articles about how to negotiate your student loan package, relative poverty levels for college-age students and non-students, plus a fun way to look at college clubs. Enjoy reading!   College Life: 10 Bizarre But Real College Clubs (Zen College Life) Did you always want to be a highly-skilled assassin? Or just have an excuse to stare at people on campus? We’ve all got strange interests, but these institutions of higher learning have taken the next step by offering up a club for that craving. What to do if you’re failing a class in college (Helium) The agony and defeat of a failing grade may first pop up in college. Maybe you never worried [...]

Dealing with a Difficult Professor

Getting into the right classes can be quite a difficult task in college, especially in your first couple of years, when you do not have registration priority.  Since you do not get to register first, sometimes you will find yourself in a class with a difficult professor. This is also the case when it comes to required classes, for a major or minor; but, you can find a way to survive, and succeed in the class. So if you leave the first lecture in fear or disgust, know that there are ways to endure this tough situation Use the TA If you have a professor whom you find insufferable, consult the TA for further help.  If you have a discussion section, it can be a great way to get clarification on difficult or confusing material. When I took Statistics in my freshman year, I could not stand my professor.  She [...]

For What it’s Worth: The Value of College

As Elizabeth mentioned, February is a month filled with opportunities for budding relationships (college acceptance letters) and heartbreak. (sigh…rejection letters). In some cases, these same letters may force some soon-to-be graduating high schools seniors to revisit a question they once confidently answered months before penning rough draft personal statements. What’s more, the answer to this question may not arrive after one discussion. The question is simple: “What’s the value of a college degree?” Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger attempted to answer that question. Below you will find excerpts from her December 2009 article as well as some great BetterGrads-inspired commentary. Finding work you love. College degrees can guide students’ career choices in subtler ways. Jason Wotman, 24, loves his work as a co-founder of Tailwaiters, a Great Neck, N.Y., startup that runs tailgate parties for clients at sporting events and concerts. “It’s mine, it’s [...]

Can we “red flag” professors?

Professors Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman, educators and higher education experts, recently published a list on The Huffington Post about “red flags” that college students should look out for when encountering new professors. I tend to be wary of absolute statements like some of the advice that they offer while other tips rang true for me as well.

More than words: Books that mattered to me in college

Sometimes when I look back on my four years of college, I see stretches of time and experience punctuated with what I read. None of these books were for classes in my field of study, politics. Of course several readings from courses in my major also stand out in my memory, but these are the peripheral three; a few volumes that formed a sort of cerebral border around the majority of my learning.

The Honorable Thing To Do

A recent NYT article discusses controversy over the downsides and benefits of too many honor societies in high schools. I look at the article through the lens of my own experience.

New Year, New Academic Resolutions

I used to make a whole slew of resolutions at the start of every semester–some worked better than others.

Majoring in Halo!!!??

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 [...]

Surviving Finals

Three tips for surviving final exams in college.

Regrets, I’ve had a few…and that’s a good thing!

Jacob, I totally agree with you on the “failure” front. Having just graduated in May (and in school all over again in a school), I think a lot about the choices I made and did not make during my undergraduate years. There are certainly things that I would have done differently and maybe even wish had never happened–but the cliche rings true that I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for those mistakes or missteps. The only reason I feel capable of being a grad student now, for instance, is because I just spent four years figuring out how I learn best. I used to be obsessed with flash cards; call it a stubborn high school holdover, but I insisted on making flash cards for just about everything throughout my freshman year of college even when they really weren’t the best study tool. Eventually this [...]