Making the Grade

Once upon time, Pell Grants, federal loans from the government, were a great asset to help students pay for their college education. However, Kevin Carey, a policy director at Education Sector, a D.C.-based think tank argues that this is no longer the case. In a recent article, he claims Pell Grants are not as beneficial today, given the rising costs of tuition and the lack of any objective, universal statistics to evaluate how well colleges educate students.

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 [...]

College is… duck confit.

Saul Sutcher, like many college students, grew tired of the uninspiring offerings of cafeteria food. But instead of wallow away with “overcooked, unseasoned pasta that lies on the plate as mush,” Saul used his cooking skills and entrepreneurial vision to launch Cafe Norris, a once-a-week gourmet cafe offering such fares as duck ragu, pancetta-wrapped quail, and tarte aux pommes for dessert. In an interview, Saul details this awesome venture and describes how his experiences in college helped him achieve his gourmet goals.

The original article is well-worth a read (find out how a top-notch summer internship helped Saul prepare for dishing the goods at Cafe Norris). Last week, I caught up with Saul to learn more about this awesome venture and find out how his experiences in college helped him achieve his gourmet goals.

Skills for Life

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 [...]

College: Four Years, or Three?

Should undergraduate programs in the United Stated be reduced from four years to three? Senator Lamar Alexander makes the case for “yes”; Executive Director Kevin F. Adler offers reasons to be skeptical.

Academic Support

When struggling with a subject in high school, you might have looked for a local tutor to help clear up the confusion. And it was safe to say that the tutor was either a local college student, or recent college graduate. So, what happens in college when you are struggling with your coursework? Who tutors the college kids? Who offers to the opportunity to proofread your 20-page research paper a few days before you need to turn it in? Who offers the opportunity to take un-timed exams if you have a documented learning disorder? All of these things happen when you take advantage of your college’s Center for Academic Excellence / Writing Center. These places are usually located somewhere within the caverns of your school’s library (which should become one of your top-5 places you could be found, during any given day, while in college), and should be put to [...]

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 [...]