College Experience

Backpacks amoung the breifcases Some students thrive on the noise and excitement of urban life and are excited about the many unique opportunities of living in a city. However, for some, being a college student in New York places them in a strange nether-world between "tourist" and "resident" and the thrill of being a self-sufficient, independent urbanite is muted by the effort it takes to take buses to classes, figure out what to wear, and learn how to fit in.

For those seriously considering city schools, it's a good idea to spend quite a bit of time waling around the campus, exploring surrounding neighbors, and figuring out how to negotiate transportation. The excitement and opportunties available to college students in the city are tremendous - but don't let the bright lights blind you to the realities of daily existence.

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Don't worry too much about WHAT you study...

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10 Tips About College Major When we get to the question on the Common Application that asks students what their intended course of study is, more often than not they look at me blankly, with no idea how to answer. And that is probably exactly how it should be. With so many fields of study from which to choose, many of which they've had no exposure to, how can a typical 18 year old really know what they want to major in?

More important than the choice of major is how the college student approaches their academic experiences and what skills they gain. If the goal is to get a job upon graduation, most employers are looking for students with strong analytical skills, excellent communication skills, and the ability to self-manage. Students can acquire and develop these skills regardless of their major. And, if they are planning to follow a career that requires specific job-related skills, often those can be learned through internships.

I once heard a parent advise her daughter not to worry about which classes she was taking, but to be sure to sign up for those classes taught by the best professors at her university. She wanted her daughter to be excited about the process of learning, to see what it meant to be passionate about something, and to be taught well. What she learned was secondary to how she learned it.

While students start to feel pressure to declare their majors fairly early in their college careers, consider waiting, explore different classes, learn from the best teachers regardless of what their teaching, and be excited about the process. Possibilities exist that may never have been considered.

You've got mail, and FB, and AIM and...

Study Finds No Link Between Social-Networking Sites and Academic Performance Every now and then an article comes along that is a real head-scratcher, and this piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education wins that honor today. A believer in "distracted attention is poor attention" I'm struggling to figure out how student's grades aren't impacted by spending increasing amounts of time on social media. I try not to be a ludite and, obviously, as a blogger I appreciate the benefits of social media, but I wonder what the study would reveal about students in upper level class, or for those with learning and attentional issues.

It's hard not to be drawn in to the siren call of facebook, twitter, or instant messaging. But isn't it nice to make a break from studying a real break?