Words of wisdom from a boarding school student
August 15th, 2016Often we post articles intended for college applicants, knowing that they also have great relevance for our boarding school families. Today, we offer the reverse: an article written for students heading to boarding school, but with great relevance for college-bound freshmen.
Students, our best wishes go with you to your boarding school or college and we’d love to hear from you in a few weeks or months. We’ll be eager to hear of your experiences, and to know if these tips prove helpful.
Published August 18, 2014
Written by: Stephen Gray Wallace
Several years ago, I contributed to a book titled Where Should I Sit at Lunch? The Ultimate 24/7 Guide for Surviving the High School Years (McGraw-Hill, 2006) by Harriet S. Mosatche and Karen Unger. Covering more than the classic cafeteria dilemma, the real-life stories of teen collaborators offer guidance on a host of other issues, such as peer groups, homework, part-time jobs and colleges.
As difficult as the transition to high school might be, it may be amplified for young people leaving home for boarding – or independent – school. And, while I serve a number of national organizations as a “parenting expert,” I never attended school away from home. Thus, I turned to a real expert, John Calicchio.
Read more at Psychology Today >>Tagged: Boarding school
Welcome freshmen – your college degree may soon change!
August 8th, 2016There is no doubt that earning a college degree is worth the investment. The question here isn’t whether the degree is valuable, but are you getting what you pay for?
Author Jeffrey J. Selingo, whose work we’ve linked to previously, outlines how vastly different universities, namely Georgetown and Arizona State, plan to engage students with more hands-on learning experiences so that students can see the worth of obtaining a degree from their schools. Competing universities are realizing that earning a four year degree doesn’t necessarily measure how much a student learns while in college.
Our thanks go to the astute parent who shared this link with us.
Article published July 23, 2016
Written by: Jeffrey Selingo
Across from Washington, D.C.,’s Georgetown University is a red clapboard house where this 226-year-old Jesuit university is trying to reinvent itself.
Georgetown has long enjoyed a top twenty-five spot in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and a stellar reputation among prospective students, who often choose between it and the top Ivy League universities. But Georgetown’s endowment of around $1.4 billion pales in comparison to that of the University of Pennsylvania ($10 billion), Princeton ($9 billion), or Stanford ($22 billion). Without that kind of financial cushion, Georgetown’s biggest boosters worry it may not continue to attract top students in the future, especially with an annual price tag of more than $60,000.
Read more at The Daily Beast >>Tagged: Career, College, Opportunity
Goldman Sachs video interviews help cast wider net
August 1st, 2016Edith Cooper, Goldman’s global head of human capital management said: “We want to hire not just the economics or business undergraduate but there is that pure liberal arts or history major that could be the next Lloyd Blankfein.”
Goldman Sachs, a multi-national investment banking firm, is now using video technology to improve the way they hire candidates. Goldman has for many years hired college students for summer or full-time positions after graduation. They typically limited their recruitment to about 400 colleges and universities with on-campus interviews.
Now, Goldman plans to open their search globally by using video interviews, hoping to gain more diverse employees with a wider range of backgrounds. It’s nice to think that our Shrop Ed Skype meetings may prove an excellent training ground for such interviews.
Will other major companies follow, and will undergraduates everywhere find that they have greater access to high-powered career opportunities? Today’s digitally savvy students are very well poised to capitalize on this trend, if so.
Article published June 24, 2016
Goldman Sachs is scrapping face-to-face interviews on university campuses in a bid to attract a wider range of talent. The US investment bank will switch to video interviews with first-round undergraduate candidates from next month. Each year the bank hires about 2,500 students as both summer and full-time analysts. Goldman hoped the move will allow it to find students from a broader range of disciplines.
Read more at BBC News >>Tagged: Career, Interviews, Liberal arts
Do State Universities Still Truly Exist?
July 18th, 2016Many well-known state universities are increasing tuition by significant percentages, year after year; sadly, that’s not news. But few realize that these universities are also increasing out-of-state and international student enrollment to generate even more tuition dollars.
Why the need? Many state legislatures have pulled back funding, leaving universities to develop alternative revenue streams. In doing so, they are very often shutting doors to needy young citizens. Just ask us, and we’ll get on our soapbox about this terrible state of affairs.
Sometimes, state universities chase after non-residents to improve their enrolled student profile, targeting students from affluent and educated families who are more likely to bring the test scores that will help with precisely that. The University of Alabama, for example, has been luring non-resident students with strong test scores and grades by offering significant merit scholarships. Happily, we can say that our students enrolled there are well served.
Today’s link to a New York Times article highlights the downside for in-state residents who may be having more difficulty gaining admission, and the subsequent diminution of one enormously significant facet of the American dream. Ironically, there may be an upside for bright students who are interested in some of the state flagships playing this game, and whose families can afford out-of-state tuition.
Is this fair? Does this have to be a zero-sum game? Do public universities still exist as intended? Are all of the right questions even being asked yet? We welcome your thoughts.
Article published July7, 2016
Written by: Stephanie Saul
SACRAMENTO — Over three generations, the Michael family forged a deep bond with the University of California, dating back nearly 50 years to when Jay Dee Michael Sr. was the university system’s vice president and chief lobbyist.
Family members proudly displayed degrees from the campuses in Los Angeles, Davis, Berkeley and Santa Barbara. And when Mr. Michael died last year, his family asked that memorial donations go to a U.C. Davis institute. Recently, though, the relationship has soured, a victim of the economic forces buffeting public universities.
Read more at The New York Times >>Tagged: Admission decision, College
