I’ve been back in college for two quarters. I (re)started at the end of November – just after Thanksgiving – thanks to my school’s quarter system, where each block is ten weeks long, rather than the traditional semester system. (They’re doing away with that system this coming fall, but that’s not particularly relevant to this discussion.) Anyway, I’ll be taking two classes this coming summer as well: Internet Marketing and Advertising & Promotion Management. Both of these courses require a textbook, and if I were to purchase those books from the campus bookstore, new, they’d cost me $341.65 before tax. Needless to say, I’m put off by that prospect. After all, I’ll only be in these classes for ten weeks. […]

Everyone from educators to economists asks, “What should we teach?” The proposed answers tend to vary according to segments of the student population. Those students who are disadvantaged and underperforming need nurturing during early childhood, and life skills later on – so says the White House on the advice of people like Nobel Prize winning University of Chicago Economics Professor James Heckman. All capable students who want to serve the economy need to study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Those students who are neither disadvantaged, nor STEM-inclined, apparently need to learn how to think creatively and innovatively in groups. These student segments are of course fluid; it would not be helpful for students to identify with only one group of […]

It’s never been harder to gain college admission. Someone said it last year, and the year before, and… is it true? Or, more specifically, is it true most colleges report that they receive and reject more applications every year? The short answer is, yes, it’s never been tougher. According to The New York Times, schools as varied as Skidmore College (42.41% increase in applicants), St. Lawrence University (14.41% increase), and Yale University (2.81% increase) have all seen upticks in the number of applications they receive. Nevertheless, some would argue that colleges are no more selective than before. The bar hasn’t been raised, they say, there are just more applicants beneath it. A March 20th Times article, “College Admissions: The Myth […]