(A.K.A. Invasion of the Townies)

Okay technically it’s not an “invasion” of Townies, because they do live here year-round. But when you live in a true college town like Davis, you don’t see this much of the regular townsfolk during a majority of the year.

I have never taken summer classes, so this year is my first time spending a large quantity of time staying in the summer.

Previously I have gone home to work during the summer, but this year’s job market has been especially rough.  Without a job lined up, I returned up to Davis to spend more time with my friends who had stayed up.

I hadn’t really thought about if or how the town might be different during the summer, but I made a quick discovery. Cities like Davis take on a whole different feel in the months between June and September.

The town is much emptier and quieter, and when you go out you don’t see hordes of college students roaming around like usual. It also becomes more of a family town.

At last Sunday’s 4th of July celebration in Davis, the fireworks show drew tens of thousands of people out to see it. But when I was there, I had to strain to find a large group of college-age attendees among the masses of families camped out.

Now, this isn’t meant to be a knock on townies, or a complaint of any kind. I just wanted to describe what I presume to be a similar situation in most college towns nationwide, and something to think about when deciding to stay in your college town for the summer.

I’m very curious to know if others had similar experiences, so please comment below.

Image by Beverly & Pack, “Happy 4th of July! The American Flag in Fireworks,” July 3, 2009 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.

This week, a friend of mine accepted an offer for a PhD program from a well-regarded public university in California. The school is known for excellence in his discipline, and he will undoubtedly thrive.

In the lead-up to the decision deadline, however, my friend was in agony. He was accepted at another prestigious school, and was torn by the decision. He even left the final decision to a Facebook vote by his friends: College A or B?

My friend called me up and asked for my advice. College A or B? We talked for about 15 minutes about the considerations for picking a “right” college. Here’s what we came up with:

1. What do you want to study? - This is a good one to begin with. What interests you? Will you have a chance to pursue those interests at this school? How big and well-regarded is the program? Is it well-supported? Are there any professors whose research interests interest you?

2. Where do you want to live? - Never underestimate how much location influences your happiness and productivity. Do you want a more rural or more urban environment? Can you deal with cold weather? Would you be able to continue doing your favorite activities if you lived in this area? Snowboarding in Florida and beach bonfires in Tennessee are difficult.

3. What do you want to do afterwards? – This one combines #1 and #2. How many people from this school go into the field you are interested in? Is there a strong and supportive alumni network? Can you see yourself working in this area after graduation? Your social network can be a real asset with things like finding a job. If you want to live and work in Indiana but went to school in New Mexico, how much will the alumni network be able to assist you in finding a job? Also, how important is prestige for your field? The notoriety of your school and the strength of its alumni network can make a big difference in helping you land a job in some fields (investment banking and management consulting, for example).

4. Is it worth it? – A college’s relative worth is not simply a product of its price tag. How valuable will a degree from this school be to you? Will you feel a return on your time and money investment, in terms of experience, happiness, quality of life, and future earnings? How generous is the financial aid package?

5. What else is important to you? – The range of intangibles is vast, and each person should consider what is essential to them: diversity and multiculturalism, prominence of sports teams, size of school, size of your department, prevailing political ideology on-campus, vivacity of religious life, level of school spirit, academic standards, typical weekend and weekday activities of students, and whether the school is residential or commuter.

6. How do you feel? - When you visit or think about the school, can you see yourself thriving there?

The Super Six Considerations for Picking the “Right” College? Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. Either way, these six criteria are all important factors to consider when deciding on a college. Start with these and you may just make a pretty darn good choice when it comes to college.

Just don’t forget to poll your friends on Facebook, too.

Should there be a #7? What else should be considered when picking a school? Share your thoughts!

As a graduating senior in my final quarter of college, I have begun to reflect on my time at UC Davis.  I started to think about all of the things that I am going to miss (and somewhat already do), and made a list of them.  I wanted to share them with the readers in the hopes that they remember to live in the moment at college.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The greenery. Davis has a vast campus, featuring a large grass quad and an arboretum with a good-sized pond.  I always enjoyed these natural areas, especially after being in classrooms for the bulk of the day.

2. The roommate bond. Living with someone different leads to many new experiences, but the ones that I will remember the most seem the most trivial. I will always remember my roommate and I eating soup in the middle of the night, talking in the hallway for hours, and making midnight Slurpee runs to 7-Eleven.

3. The intellectual variety.  College is great because it allows students to challenge themselves in so many academic disciplines.  I majored in Political Science, but the classes I loved the most were in Nutrition, American Studies, and Comparative Literature.

4. College sporting events. One of my first BetterGrads posts covered this, but it definitely bears some repeating.  The atmosphere of the student section is incomparable, and I will never forget the electric environment of an NCAA soccer playoff game that our school hosted during my junior year.

5. Club meetings, events, retreats, etc.  I participated as a member of the Davis College Democrats for three years, and they were the best three years of my life.  Not only was it a great group to meet people (I met my girlfriend there), but it also allowed me the chance to learn about and actively participate in the political process.

6. The college town atmosphere.  As of now, I don’t know if I will be leaving the city, but if so, I will definitely miss it.  Davis is a fantastic city, and it is one of the few true college towns remaining.

7. Picnic Day.  Most of you will not know what this is, so I will elaborate.  Picnic Day is like Christmas for college students at UC Davis.  Students set their alarms to wake up and start partying. The bars open at 7 A.M., the city is overrun with people (students and non-students), and the campus has great events going all day.  If you ever find yourself in the Davis-Sacramento are on Picnic Day, I strongly urge you to partake in it (responsibly, of course).

8. Free time. When you are a college student, you get a good amount of flexibility when making your schedule. You can usually arrange a great deal of free time to spend on whatever you like.  For most people, it will be the last period that you won’t be working from 9 to 5, so don’t let it go to waste.

9. Great friendships.  College is a great place to meet different people, and it can be easy to make friends quickly.  And while I hope to continue these friendships after college, I know that it will be difficult, if not impossible.  After college, you and your friends will have busier and more complicated lives.  Enjoy these friendships when they are easy to maintain.

10. Independence without responsibility.  This is why college is such a fantastic time for most people.  When you go away to college you get freedom from your parents; however, most also have some level of support coming from back home, so you don’t have to pay any serious bills.  And unless you are a trust fund baby, this period will not be repeated again.  It’s not happening again for me, and I already know I will miss it.

If anyone has any thoughts or additions to the list, please share your feedback below.

When I made the jump from high school to college, it was not a smooth transition. At first, I feared the life change that I was about to make. While my fellow classmates were eager to receive their admissions responses, I was unexcited about them.

I didn’t think that I wanted to go to college because of the challenge that it posed. I had lived in my hometown since birth, and had never been away for my family for an extended period before. The first few weeks at college were an emotional challenge.

After some time at college, I grew acclimated to the new situation and embraced my newfound freedom.

During the rest of my freshman year I learned even more about people, especially myself.

When you live and study with a new group of people, you learn an incredible amount. While this knowledge occasionally comes from a stress-laden screaming match, it mainly comes in innocuous situations.

Sharing a box of pizza rolls at 2 in the morning, or taking a late-night trip to 7-Eleven creates a strong bond between people. In situations like these, people are more open with their feelings about each other and themselves.

The challenge to find out your true feelings and identity is one that we face our entire lives. College is a great chance to soul-search and learn from otherwise perfect strangers.

Let us not forget about that other challenge in college: academics.

During high school, I had little difficulty in getting A’s and most of the time I expended minimal effort to get those grades.

In college, I started my freshman year with a similar work ethic as high school.  (Note: Not a good idea). After receiving C’s on my first two college papers, I knew that I had to make a change.

On a whim, I took a Comparative Literature class, and ended up in the most difficult class of my life.  However, it was also the best class of my life.

How so, you say?

I had an outstanding professor; she knew all of her students by name and pressed us each to do better. She did not push us for the sake of getting better grades, but for the sake of bettering ourselves intellectually.  And it worked.

I began holding myself to a higher standard, and it showed in all of my academic results.

All of these situations occurred during my freshman year, but the lessons apply anytime. The challenges that I faced helped me grow tremendously; I became more mature, more self-aware, and more motivated to achieve success.

“Why Col­lege?” is a series of op-ed arti­cles writ­ten by Bet­ter Grads staff and guest con­trib­u­tors about why we chose to con­tinue educa­tion after high school, how we got there, and glimpses into what we learned. To begin at Part 1 in the series, click here.

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 moved through the material far too quickly, and her strong accent caused me even more confusion.

Fortunately, my TA was fantastic, pretty much saving my grade in the class.  His discussion section made the material understandable, and his one section more valuable for me than the professor’s three lectures.

Go to the office

In a big lecture hall, professors can seem larger than life.  But remember that they are people too, not figures to be afraid of.

All professors have office hours, and most will make appointments to accommodate your schedule.  Talk to them, because they want to help you.  Even if their lectures are excruciating, they are likely approachable one-on-one, and it is worth a visit if you need help.

I took my first upper division class in my sophomore year, and my teacher was extremely difficult.  Her lectures contained more information than I could process, and her homework assignments were very difficult.

But when I finally got up the courage to visit her office, she helped me with the subject matter, and remained patient with me.  So don’t be afraid or intimidated, because they want to help you.

And if/when you do visit office hours, make sure you are polite, no matter how insufferable their lectures may be.

If anyone else has advice on dealing with difficult professors, please post below.

When you are a kid, getting sick is not too big of a deal.  You get to miss a day of school, your parents take care of you, and you get sympathy from your friends.

At college, being sick is a totally different story.

You have to take care of yourself, and missing a class means that you are behind schedule, and have to procure the notes from someone who did go to class.

I thought I had it all figured out until this past weekend, when I awoke Sunday with severe pain in my throat.  I slept very little, and I had to study for a midterm and finish a paper while seriously under the weather.  It was not an easy experience for me, and I learned some important lessons:

Get as much rest as you can

When you are sick, sleep is your best friend.  Your primary focus should be restoring your health, so don’t waste energy on parties or sports.

If you have to study or write a paper, give yourself breaks and don’t stay up working all night.

We don’t do our best work when we are sick, and that is magnified when we are sick and tired.

If it’s bad, see the doctor

Hitting up WebMD is not the same as going to a doctor; don’t try to diagnose yourself.  Most schools have a student health center on campus; please do not be afraid to visit it.

Plus, if you need a delay on a test/paper because of your illness, most professors require copy of a doctor’s note.  Also, if you need an extension on a paper or test, let your professors know as early as possible, because they may not grant it if you ask them on the day of a test.

And if it is a really serious illness, seeing a doctor is the fastest way to recovering.

Take care of yourself

Just as important as treating your sickness is preventing it in the first place.  Try to get a decent amount of sleep each night, and wash your hands regularly.

One last piece of personal advice: do not drink alcohol when you are sick.  Your body is strained enough when it is fighting an illness; don’t burden it even more by getting drunk.

If anyone else has personal stories of being sick at college, or advice on the topic, please comment below.

In a recent issue of Newsweek, Senator Lamar Alexander (R – TN) made the case for the three-year undergraduate degree. Although such a system is certainly not new, Sen. Alexander, a former Secretary of Education under President George H. W. Bush and president of the University of Tennessee in the late 1980s, garnered considerable attention in making his case, and thus we are presented with a timely opportunity to discuss whether a BA/BS should span four years or three.

According to Sen. Alexander, the three-year degree is the sort of innovation that “can help American universities, long the example to the world, avoid the perils of success,” namely stagnation and inefficiency. Among other culprits like tenure and the short fall-to-spring school year, Sen. Alexander blames the lack of the three-year degree for many of the problems in America’s moribund system of higher education.

Senator Alexander believes a massive shift toward the three year college degree would be a step in the right direction. I believe the Senator is massively mistaken.

The option to finish in three years is already available at many college and universities. Graduation is based on credits earned, not years attended. Although the four-year degree is the standard at many institutions, examples abound of individual students who completed all of their requirements in three years – and very occasionally, less. Why enact a sweeping mandate for the three year college degree when it is already available?

For students who seek the structure and focus of the three-year degree as the norm and not the exception, options exist. Europe is a viable place to study. Many fine institutions, such as UCL and Cambridge University in the U.K., welcome qualified American students with open arms to enroll in their well-developed, well-implemented, tested and true three year programs.

So if Europe is doing it, and doing it well, why can’t we? A systematic shift to a three-year undergraduate degree in the U.S. would require massive reform at multiple levels of education: high schools, community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and graduate schools, in the very least. An entire overhaul of curriculum would be required to compensate. While A.P. courses offer college credit to students who test well enough today, high schools would need to provide more rigorous college-level courses and teaching to satisfy the demands of one less year of undergraduate training for all students.

The biggest problems that America’s high schools currently face – too many students, too few resources, excessive testing and bureaucracy, massive cuts – are unrelated to the provisions high schools would be required to make in order to prepare students for the three-year degree. Many endemic problems need to be confronted squarely and responsibly before high schools can be asked to pick up the added workload of preparing all students for a three-year undergraduate degree (though I do believe that high schools can make this transition over time; California Partnership Academies are a strong example of the type of highly-focused study programs that would be necessary under a three year university scheme).

The situation would not be any easier for our colleges and universities. By lobbing off an entire year from the permissible duration of the degree in the United States, students who are already struggling to graduate on time in the U.S. system would find such a task even more difficult. Majors are highly impacted; classes are at full capacity or fully unavailable due to financial shortfalls; the quality of course advising is insufficient; the timing of career counseling is too late. All of these are significant factors in ability of the average student to graduate in four years or less. Senator Alexander’s proposal to cancel 25% of the time period already not being met would exacerbate rather than alleviate these problems.

College in America is distinct. The four year degree is a privilege: it allows students to take courses in electives and subjects outside of their major, thus allowing for personal and professional exploration and thus abetting the process of developing a lifelong commitment to learning. Three-year degrees require earlier and more sustained focus to a particular subject. This is wonderful for some, but certainly not for everyone, and would require wide-reaching shifts in our education system as described above.

With four year degrees as the norm, colleges and universities in the United States tend to take a liberal arts approach to learning: broad exposure to an assortment of ideas and a variety of courses over a sustained period of time, with a premium placed on the types of transferable skills necessary for a student to chart his or her own destiny. Before Senator Alexander’s proposal can be seriously considered, a major and far-reaching discussion must occur in the U.S.: what is the purpose of college, and education to a greater extent, in the first place?

The system of higher education in the U.S. is the best in the world. While major changes are necessary to avoid stagnancy, eliminate inefficiencies, and curtail spiraling costs,* arbitrarily knocking-off an entire year from America’s college system – and hoping that the lost material will be automatically made up by under-resourced high schools, enterprising college presidents, and expanded graduate school programs – is not innovative. It’s irresponsible.

*In California, increased investment in the cost-saving and invaluable community college system would support this, rather than the current practice of decimating it with cuts.

In continuing to answer questions sent from the Granada High students, I wanted to spend some time answering one that was not included in Lisa’s post. The question was something along the lines of, “What was your favorite memory from your days in college?” The easy answer would be something along the lines of, “Well, there was this one weekend, where I went to this fraternity / sorority house, and everything that happened that night made me feel like I was in Asher Roth’s ‘I Love College’ video / “Animal House.”

During my college career, I did partake in these kinds of weekend activities. But, those fleeting moments did not define my college experience. On the contrary, my favorite college memories include the times I failed. In particular, failing one of my intermediate economics courses was probably one of the best things to happen to me, and here’s why:

Failing an intermediate economics course, forced me to reflect and question, why I wanted to major in Economics. After failing that intermediate microeconomics course during the fall semester of my sophomore year, I used my winterbreak to question and reflect if majoring in economics was for me. I also realized that if wanted to switch to a kinesiology major, I had to enroll in an elementary chemistry, in order to graduate on time. However, after taking another intermediate economics course and finding that I did not bond well with chemistry (pun intended), I realized that semester that I was still passionate about economics.

In college, you cannot fear failure. There are times when you will take risks without knowing how successful you will be. But you can reassure yourself, that if you fail at whatever endeavor you undertake, you definitely recall what you learned from that moment of failure relative to that semi-descent party you attended two years ago.

In the spirit of Friday, I believe that it is only appropriate to discuss other fun things you can do during the weekend instead of partying like a rock-star :)

1). Get to know your local community: There is always something fun and exciting happening on a Friday night within your college’s local community. In Eagle Rock, CA, there was a fantastic farmer’s market with delicious fruits and vegetables, and some of the best floral arrangements I had ever seen. There were plenty of times where I purchased the raw ingredients that were soon to become part of scrumptious dinner dishes later that night. Research whatever it is that your future school’s community specializes in, and take advantage of the opportunity.

On a similar note, take advantage of the your community’s cultural offerings. Perhaps there is a huge Lebanese population and there are a plethora of delectable Mediterranean restaurants surrounding your campus. Why not go on a tabouli / falafel-crawl and determine which of these eateries has the best grub in your area.

2). Study???!!! Contrary to popular belief, most college students actually use the weekend to catch up on schoolwork, or to potentially prepare for a midterm or paper due the following week. With no classes on Saturday or Sunday, it does not hurt to catch up on class readings or get ahead on the work that is due the following week.

3). Sleep: During your collegiate career, you may find that there are weeks when you pull back-to-back-to-back all-nighters because it so happens that you had three intense midterms that week. As a result, you might want to use your Friday and Saturday nights to catch up on lost sleep.

As always, please feel free to add your thoughts on what you think make for great alternative weekend social activities.

Aside from contemplating the effectiveness of semi-colons, what are you doing during your non-class time? Sleeping? Flipping channels? Flipping burgers?

If you answered, “yes” to that last one, then you have the idea. Sort of.

College students are broke by nature, a fact that’s inspired such company titles as the über-successful “Starving Students” moving company. A company that, by the way, ripped me off earlier this month. But people do crazy things when they’re hungry, so whatever.

So how do college students get money? Other than loans? And parents? And just, finding it?

Jobs! Yes!

But a flipping-burger job isn’t the best flipping answer, unless it’s on campus.

Top 10 Reasons to Get an On-Campus College Job:

10. It’s close to your classes. Get off work 5 minutes before HIST 200 begins and power-walk to the building! You could really burn off that 2-week old pizza you had for breakfast.

9. It’s probably close to your bedroom. Roll out of bed and into work. Pajamas are coming back in style, you know. Work-appropriate pajamas, that is.

8. On-campus employers understand your student schedule. Your on-campus boss will most likely be very lenient with allowing time off for midterms, professor office hours, and that dreaded group project meeting. Off-campus burger-flipping employers don’t give a crap about your group project. Of course, neither does your group.

7. Pick your own schedule. This goes with Reason #8. Again, on-campus student employees are generally expected to prioritize classes above their job, so your boss may ask YOU for your schedule.

6. They’re everywhere! Like birds. (Seriously, there are a lot of birds.) Almost every office on every college campus hires students for part-time work or work-study programs. If your college has already filled their student employment positions for the fall, check back during the winter session, when they’ll likely be hiring again.

5. The “in.” Whether you work for an academic department or for an administrative office, working FOR your college gives you an incredible amount of insider-info that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. Being part of the behind-the-scenes process will help you in the future, whether you’re looking for a petition form weeks before graduation, or trying to track down a professor in another department whom you wouldn’t have known otherwise.

4. Work with your peers. This may be one of the most beneficial elements to the on-campus job. If you work on campus, you will likely work with other students in your same position. Some of the most successful post-college networking begins during student-to-student interaction at internship and job settings, the most accessible of which are… on-campus.

3. Make money, duh! All of the other perks sounded so good, I almost forgot about this one. In my experience, on-campus jobs only allowed students to work part-time. However, they offered frequent pay raises, since on-campus student workers tend to stay at their positions for their entire college career. No reason to quit… You’re there every day anyway.

2. It’s fun. No, this is not a throwaway-we’re-almost-at-number-one point. It really is fun! Many college students who work in outside retail, foodservice or office jobs feel removed from their studies when they go to work, and they often suffer the burden of “two lives.” Raking in the dough on campus allows you to consolidate your major responsibilities in one place.

1. It keeps you involved. The people who get the most out of college are the ones who are present. The people who hardly attend class enough to find out what textbook to buy generally hate college and get nothing out of it. Working on campus not only gives you another little on-campus niche to call home, but it also keeps you connected.

Now, before you go running into the campus Student Services Building waving around your resume like a crazed game show contestant, just wait. Stop waving that paper around. You look silly.

Just take a moment to leave us a comment about this post! Ask a question about how to find an on-campus job, or offer some suggestions on getting one.

We look forward to your feedback! Happy on-campus job hunting.

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Tip: A good way to start brainstorming is to make a mental catalog of the different buildings on your campus, and the next time you have a few extra minutes before class, stop in to get a feel for the different offices and ask if they’re hiring. If you’re not yet a college student, visit some buildings at the colleges near you to get a feel for the professional atmosphere.

A couple quick ideas:

All academic offices

Administration Building

Career Center

Admissions Office

Alumni Relations

Human Resources

Student Health Center

Mail Center

Maintenance Department

Financial Aid Office

…and a big, fat “etc.”