I bet these guys do to. Crucnhgear has some very interesting coverage of MIT eurekafest aimed at showcasing high school students engineering ingenuity.
EurekaFest is a yearly event held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that showcases the prototype inventions of high school students from around the country. The inventions consist of various gadgets and devices aimed at helping solve real-world problems.
One of the more impressive ideas I saw during the two days I spent covering the event was a prototype “sensing” cane for blind people. The cane features sensors that can detect objects up to eight feet away, at which point the cane’s handle begins buzzing once per second and increases in intensity as objects get closer.
Apparently future college students are not going to their dream schools, but rather schools they can afford, according to a survey from NACAC:
Seventy-one percent of respondents indicated an increase in the number of students foregoing their “dream schools” in favor of more affordable options. Counselors at public schools were more likely to report an increase compared to those at private schools.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents indicated an increase in the number of students planning to enroll in public versus private colleges in Fall 2009, as compared to Fall 2008 numbers. Thirty-five percent reported no change.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents indicated an increase in the number of students planning to enroll in community colleges versus four-year colleges.
Almost 40 percent of respondents indicated that the average number of applications per student had increased from 2007-08 levels. Forty-six percent indicated no change.
Counselors at public schools were more likely to report changes in student behaviors than those at private schools,
including increases in number foregoing “dream school,” number delaying postsecondary education, enrolling in public versus private colleges, and enrolling in community colleges versus four-year colleges. In fact, counselors at public schools were three times as likely to report both increases in delay of postsecondary education percent) and community college versus four-year college enrollment (63 percent versus 21 percent).
Only 15 percent of respondents indicated an increase in the number of students planning to delay postsecondary education for financial reasons. Eighty-four percent reported no change.
Counselors at schools with higher percentages of students eligible for the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program (FRPL) were more likely to report increases in the number of students delaying postsecondary education or opting to attend a community college instead of a four-year institution.
Today we continue our series looking more specifically as what goes on inside a major, by providing links to some of the best descriptions and web 2.0 technologies out there. Today’s Field Guide to Communications follows the same basic format as last week’s Field Guide to Business.
What is the study?
• Wikipedia does a nice break down of the field and the CollegeBoard offers a more specific look at the major in US college while the British Council outlines the UK approach in their Fact Sheet. I found one other decription of the Communications majorI though was intersting, while Student reviews tries to spell out what the stuy is really be sure to check out their various tables:
Courses you should love:
• AP Language/IB English
• IB Film/IB-AP Art
• Journalism/yearbook
• Speech Clubs that matter
• PR for any club
• Start blogging
The University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication is the best in country. It has a thorough communications program which covers a broad range of relevant course work. Students majoring in communications will learn of contemporary culture, media institutions, and will study the impact and influences of the various disciplines which affect and are affected by communications. Communication majors will be required to take 14 communication specific courses. Students are offered the opportunity to participate in internships and independent study. Additionally, students are afforded the opportunity to study abroad. The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication is dedicated to the advancement of the communications field through research and educational experiences.
2. Syracuse University
Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications endeavors to explore the breadth of the communications discipline. Communications majors can study print journalism, broadcast journalism, even photography. The school integrates the internet and computer-based interactive multimedia into their program. The program places a concentration on ethics and professionalism. The faculty are professionals in the communications field. Admission to the school is extremely aggressive with only the top candidates gaining admission.
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s department of communication studies offers hundreds of undergraduate majors. The program uses research and service to instill the ideas from the classroom and to further the reach of the program. The communications program investigates the effects of communication on social, political, cultural, and economic institutions. The program develops the necessary skills to be successful in the communications field. Students are required to complete thirty credit hours in communication specific courses and must choose a concentration in which at least four courses must be completed.
4. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Communication studies at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor focus on the new technologies facilitating communications and the media. The curriculum includes studying the history of communication and how communication has affected history. The focus on mass media investigates the impact mass media has had on the culture, society, and the governments of the current world. The school endeavors to incite thoughtful discussion and curiosity of the way communications through mass media and the technological outlets for it have influenced every aspect of modern life. The program at the University ensures students are provided with the groundwork needed to pursue post graduate education or to enter into the profession.
5. Pepperdine University
The Pepperdine University Seaver College Communication Division is one of the best in the country. At Pepperdine, communication majors can select a concentration in advertising, communication, journalism, public relations, rhetoric and leadership or telecommunication. The program exams the methods and effects of communication on interpersonal relationships. The communication major has certain required courses which are mandatory; theory, communication research, ethics, and message creation and effects. The University offers an accelerated masters degree program.
Be sure to read about all of them, but know they are missing many quality porgrams like Emmerson, Lynn and Chapman.
Largest Colleges by Student Enrollment with Programs in Communications
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Ohio State University
The School of Communication within Ohio State’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is well known for its research in the areas of health communication, mass media effects, communication technology and political communication. Communications students at Ohio State University benefit from interaction with leading communication researchers and teachers and an abundance of internship opportunities. An honors program is available to communications students, who may also participate in student organizations such as the Society of Professional Journalists. The School of Communication offers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs in communications.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University at Tempe
The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication within ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is an important research and teaching center for the study of human interaction and the analysis of communication problems. Benefits of studying communications at ASU include the opportunity to be part of a nationally recognized forensics team; study communications abroad in London, Dublin or Edinburgh; and explore the field through a broad range of internships. Communications students may earn a B.A., B.S. or M.A. in communications at ASU.
College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida
UF’s College of Journalism and Communications is known for being an early leader in electronic publishing. The College includes departments in advertising, public relations, journalism and telecommunication. In addition to bachelor’s degrees in these areas, students in the College can pursue master’s or Ph.D. programs in mass communication. Communications students participate in a large academic community of leading scholars and communications professionals while working for campus magazines and pursuing internships in the field.
But bigger does not always mean better, so you can look at productivity in terms of numbers of articles published.
1 Boston U.
2 Northwestern U.
3 New York U.
4 U. of Wisconsin at Madison
5 U. of California at Davis
6 Pennsylvania State U. at University Park
7 Michigan State U.
8 U. of Texas at Austin
9 George Mason U.
10 U. of California at Santa Barbara
Interesting that the hands down most scholarly place does not even make College crunch’s list…or that any of College crunch’s top ten even make the list on Productivity. As the Vitural advisor points out:
Even if there was one single, definitive list of the top U.S. journalism programs, I wouldn’t urge you to pay much attention to it. Almost 500 colleges in this country offer journalism majors, and dozens of them could probably be justifiably considered among the best. Thing is, it’s really tough to figure out just what having the “best” program means.
Is it the school with the best student newspaper? Any number of colleges have excellent student papers — Indiana University, New York University, Loyola, Kansas State and the University of North Carolina regularly win awards for their work, and that’s just to name a handful of the great student newspapers out there. The University of Pennsylvania’s student newspaper (The Daily Pennsylvanian) gets an awful lot of acclaim, and graduates loads of students who go on to successful journalistic careers, yet UPenn doesn’t even have a journalism major. The same is true of Harvard, whose student newspaper, the The Harvard Crimson, is considered by many to be the best in the country.
And of course you can use US NEws Grad school ranks as a hint, but a strong grad deparment does not always mean a stong undergrad department (and more importantly a lack of a grad school actually gives an advantage to undergraduates.
Ever wonder when you go to any college search website like collegeboard.com, how they come up with average SAT scores or percentage graduated in four years? This information comes from the common data set that each college fills out. This initiative aims to make reporting the same on key data points:
Enrollment by racial/ethnic category
Four year and six year graduation rates
Freshman application and acceptance numbers broken down by men and women
Number of students on the waiting list and number accepted from that list
What the most important factors are for freshman admission to that college
The 25th and 75th Percentile for SAT and ACT scores broken down by subscore
Early decision applications and admissions numbers
Number of students awarded financial aid and the average amount awarded
Undergraduate class size
Number of degrees conferred in each of the major areas
Much, much, more
Read more. Most colleges publishes their data somewhere on their website. To find it simply google “college name”+ “common data set”. This shoudl get you the page you want. The lovely people at College Confidential have attempted a list, but it may not be up to date.
Some people will ask me which college they should apply to early decision. Actually that question has an easy answer: None! Why? Early decisions is designed for students with a clear FIRST CHOICE. In other words you have fallen head over heals in love with one college. AS a friend likes to say, early decision is like a marriage; would you ask more than one person to marry you at the same time?
Some students believe applying early will improve their chances of getting in.
Certainly I watch this trend carefully and have seen it bare fruit at some colleges but not at others. Check out my post where I present some data on the subject.
To make matters more complicated, many colleges have reported dramatic increases in early apps..while others have reported decreases:
Changes in Early Decision, 2005-7
Percentage of colleges reporting early decision applications… 2005 2006 2007
–Increased 58% 63% 49%
–Stayed the same 24% 12% 19%
–Decreased 18% 25% 31%
Percentage of colleges reporting that students admitted early…
–Increased 48% 47% 36%
–Stayed the same 31% 16% 32%
–Decreased 21% 38% 32%
This post was inspired by this question:
Question: I was wondering what the difference between early action and early decision and what they are exactly. Could you explain or possibly point me in the right direction in finding out?
Basically:
Early action: Non binding (you can still apply to other universities).
Early Decision (Binding–you can only apply to one. If they accept you, you must go).
Timeline is the same:
Apply by Nov 1
Decision by mid December
Early action lets you wait until may 1 for your response–so you can still apply to other colleges.
SO basically, if you have fallen in love with one school, apply early decision, if they offer it. If you have not fallen in love or have fallen in love with more than one school, apply early action if they have it.
More details here and here or this super simplified chart:
This site maintains a list of which colleges offer which programs, but it is blocked in China (use a proxy).
College essays and personal statements through a lot of people for a loop. People freak out about writing them, but the truth is that good writing is really about good editing.
Wikipedia does a nice break down of the field and the collegeboard offers a more specific look at the major in US college while the British Council outlines the UK approach in their Fact Sheet. As a fan of the new media, I went looking for information from other sources. First up is a YouTube video called “Major in a Minute from Georgia State University”
You tube has several Business playlists which you can weed through to find video such as:
or
Future business leaders should get in the habit of reading now:
As many readers of this blog know, I am rather cynical of rankings given how easily they can be gamed and manipulated and even more importantly do they even use criteria important to you? So you should, before you click below, as what exactly are you looking for in a B school? What woudl make it best for you?
The New York Times blog, THe Choice, hits it on the spot this morning with an indepth review of fashion advice for college interviews. They take umbrege over an MBA charging 15 K and suggests that the following is perfect for a college interview:
But admission folks just scoffed:
To road-test some of Ms. Duff’s ideas, I shared photos of her event with two deans of admission — Jennifer Delahunty of Kenyon College in Ohio, and Eric J. Furda of the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Delahunty’s review was emphatic and succinct: “I looked at the photos and burst out laughing,” she wrote in an e-mail message. “This whole concept is insanity! The ultimate in ‘packaging’ a student.”
So if you have an interview–dress comfortably, be clean and be yourself, whoever that may be.
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