To date, thirteen of the top twenty-five US News & World Report nationally ranked universities, all adopted Pass/No Pass-style grading systems for the spring term, due to the COVID-19 health crisis: Although Pass/No Pass is the default system at UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton and Yale, students can still “opt-in” to be awarded…
Tag: Academics
The Costs of Cheating
Recent articles highlighting cheating in college here and here and here, may be shocking to some or just an everyday commonplace for others or somewhere in between both reactions. However, none of the authors of the aforementioned articles question why students and seemingly more students than in the past believe that cheating in college is…
Who’s the Class Clown?
Teachers got jokes Some advice for those students wanting to be the next Jack Ryan: If you’re looking to hide top secret information, insert it into a syllabus or an assignment’s instructions. No one will ever read it. — Typical EduCelebrity (@EduCelebrity) December 2, 2019 And, just to shake things up for those parents who…
Got Jobs?
Since many attend college in search of “The Golden Ticket”, AKA “a good job”, the above map can give needed information about employment opportunities to both high school seniors and soon-to-be college graduates. With more information about the greatest potential employment in a particular location, students can consider if they’d move somewhere, apply to a…
Liberal Tech
A recent Forbes article, highlighted the importance of humanities and other liberal arts degrees, despite the cultural norm that STEM is the only means to economic prosperity. The human to human connection is what bridges technology with it’s intended outcome: more efficiency based on information. Although technology is a more efficient means to collate data,…
Advanced Placement Exam Registration Changes for 2019-20
The College Board, which administers Advanced Placement (AP) exams, will require students to register for May 2020 AP exams in November 2019. Alternatively, if students decide to register for the May 2020 exams after the November registration period closes, they’ll pay an additional $40.00 late fee. Conversely, if students decide not to take the May…
Grade Inflation Exposed
I often listen to students’ and parents’ worries about high school grades that are any other letter but an A. The A grade has become synonymous with “smart”, “the key to college acceptances” and “bragging rights”. But, in the quest to “achieve”, often the confidence in knowing oneself and one’s strengths, so as to boldly…
What Happens When Children Mimic Adults Too Soon
Never has a day dulled, remembering the joy of being a child.
The Parent Trap
A parent’s job is often unenviable. Thankless. Tiring. Trying. Tireless. Especially when the child is a teenager. Parents’ reasons for making decisions can vary from encouraging their children to “live their own lives, do what makes you happy” and worries that what makes their children happy won’t pay their bills, let alone save for retirement,…
ARGGHHH…#$%@^ Sickness
The days of Calvin-esque thinking are gone. Now, to miss school and recover from illness is more trouble than worthwhile. Missing assignments means hours of make-up work on top of already multi-hour nightly homework sessions, and missing tests is a complex, logistical hassle to coordinate already busy teacher’s, kid’s and parent’s carpool schedules to find time…
Tricks of the Academic Trade
Online tools are useful homework management techniques for students. Yet, with the plethora of online tools available, knowing which tools are actually worthy can be tricky. So, here’s a couple tools that are student-tested and recommended: Wolfram|Alpha: a searchable database for all academic subjects, including solutions to exact math problems. For an additional fee, students can…
Our Fervent Wish
…is that every high school senior and transfer college applicant and their parents temporarily develop multiple hands, whose swift fingers dance with the wind across the keyboard to craft brilliant essays well before the deadline. Deadline approaching. pic.twitter.com/CszGLJyrA1 — Academia ɐɹnɔsqO (@AcademiaObscura) September 4, 2018
NO SAT!?! NO ACT!?! UChicago’s Curve Ball
Testing is not the be-all and the end-all, said James G. Nondorf, U-Chicago’s dean of admissions and financial aid. He said he didn’t want “one little test score” to end up “scaring students off” who are otherwise qualified. From The Washington Post, June 14, 2018 On June 14, 2018, the University of Chicago’s John W.…
College Application or Marriage Proposal?
Applying to college isn’t simple. Metaphorically, choosing a college can be like an arranged marriage—parents are involved in the choosing process, lifelong expectations are being weighted and future prosperity is being forecasted. “Dowries” are paid in the form of tuition, room and board, books etc. Students seek a college that’s the “right fit“, dating…
Knowledge Doesn’t Belong to Just Any One Person
Below is an excerpt from the May 2017, National Geographic Magazine, where Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, discusses the need for frank discussion and collaboration amongst everyone, not just scientists and academics, in order to advance human knowledge. Doesn’t publishing your raw data invite premature criticism? Yes, there’s is public criticism, but that’s peculiar to any science…