Sense and Nonsense

"Boola, Boola" Times 4

Yale admitted quadruplets from Danbury (CT) High School this week.  Smart family. 

Diversionary Tactic

In my couple of decades as a college professor, I had a number of students try this sort of thing on me.  It's not a bad strategy.  At the least, it's mildly amusing.

College Advice

Today's New York Times carries nine short pieces of advice to college freshmen from eminent professors at various universities.  (You can find them on the last page of the "Week in Review" section.)  On the website, each brief bit of advice has its own link.  Here are the best of them, in my view.

Stanley Fish, "The Hunt for a Good Teacher"   Here.

Harold Bloom, "Get Lost.  In Books"  Here.

Carol Berkin, "Don't Alienate Your Professor"  Here.

Garry Wills, "Play Politics"  Here.

James MacGregor Burns, "Off-Campus Life"   Here.

Grads Face Tough Job Market

Both the Boston Globe (here) and the Wall Street Journal (here) have front-page stories today about the brutal job market facing this year's crop of college graduates. 

Downsizing College Dreams

People face far worse problems in the world than the ones described here.  Still, this is tough for these kids and their families.  I feel for them.

Struggling to Pay for College

For many young Americans and their families, this recession is wreaking havoc with their plans for college.  This article from today's New York Times describes the frantic search for outside scholarship assistance on the part of one young Californian.  The stresses and strains on many families are heavy.

American colleges and universities have to do their part to address this problem by doing what they can to stop the incessant increases in tuition and fees for room and board.  They could start by paring back their bloated, overpaid administrative staffs and opting out of the race for more attractive amenities such as climbing walls in their student athletic complexes. 

"Scholars of Confusion"

Also from the Times "Education" supplement today, see this short piece by Walter Kirn, which illuminates what is wrong with so much of what passes for "scholarship" and education in contemporary universities.

The Vagaries of College Financial Aid

The "Education" supplement to today's New York Times carries an interesting article about the frustratingly opaque decisions of college financial-aid officers, second in inscrutability only to those of the admissions officers.

Applications Up at Elite Universities

The New York Times reports that most of the nation's top colleges and universities experienced significant increases in the number of applications for admission this year.  In some cases, the increases were sharp. 

Online Student-based Reviews of Colleges

The New York Times Magazine today is devoted to education.  It's a good issue.  One of the most interesting articles is about a new website that provides detailed reviews of about 275 colleges and universities.  The reviews are written and submitted voluntarily by students at the colleges, who often supplement their words with photos and videos.   Read the article -- "The Tell-all Campus Tour" -- here.   

The website is Unigo.com  It's a fabulous resource-- far more informative than any of the published guide books to American colleges. It's a good way of finding out what life is really like at some college you're considering.  Visit it here.