College


Book Description

The strengths and failures of the American college, and why liberal education still matters As the commercialization of American higher education accelerates, more and more students are coming to college with the narrow aim of obtaining a preprofessional credential. The traditional four-year college experience—an exploratory time for students to discover their passions and test ideas and values with the help of teachers and peers—is in danger of becoming a thing of the past. In College, prominent cultural critic Andrew Delbanco offers a trenchant defense of such an education, and warns that it is becoming a privilege reserved for the relatively rich. In describing what a true college education should be, he demonstrates why making it available to as many young people as possible remains central to America's democratic promise. In a brisk and vivid historical narrative, Delbanco explains how the idea of college arose in the colonial period from the Puritan idea of the gathered church, how it struggled to survive in the nineteenth century in the shadow of the new research universities, and how, in the twentieth century, it slowly opened its doors to women, minorities, and students from low-income families. He describes the unique strengths of America’s colleges in our era of globalization and, while recognizing the growing centrality of science, technology, and vocational subjects in the curriculum, he mounts a vigorous defense of a broadly humanistic education for all. Acknowledging the serious financial, intellectual, and ethical challenges that all colleges face today, Delbanco considers what is at stake in the urgent effort to protect these venerable institutions for future generations.




You Majored in What?


Book Description

Fully revised and updated in 2017, the revolutionary career guide for a new generation of job-seekers, from one of the U.S.’s top career counselors “So what are you going to do with your major?” It’s an innocent question that can haunt students from high school to graduate school and beyond. Relax. Your major is just the starting point for designing a meaningful future. In this indispensable guide, Dr. Katharine Brooks shows you a creative, fun, and intelligent way to figure out what you want to do and how to get it—no matter what you studied in college. You will learn to map your experiences for insights into your strengths and passions, design possible lives, and create goals destined to take you wherever you want to go. Using techniques and ideas that have guided thousands of college students to successful careers, Dr. Brooks will teach you to outsmart and outperform your competition, with more Wisdom Builders and an easily applied career development process. No matter what career you aspire to, You Majored in What? offers a practical, creative, and successful approach to finding your path to career fulfillment.




How to College


Book Description

The first practical guide of its kind that helps students transition smoothly from high school to college The transition from high school—and home—to college can be stressful. Students and parents often arrive on campus unprepared for what college is really like. Academic standards and expectations are different from high school; families aren’t present to serve as “scaffolding” for students; and first-years have to do what they call “adulting.” Nothing in the college admissions process prepares students for these new realities. As a result, first-year college students report higher stress, more mental health issues, and lower completion rates than in the past. In fact, up to one third of first-year college students will not return for their second year—and colleges are reporting an increase in underprepared first-year students. How to College is here to help. Professors Andrea Malkin Brenner and Lara Schwartz guide first-year students and their families through the transition process, during the summer after high school graduation and throughout the school year, preparing students to succeed and thrive as they transition and adapt to college. The book draws on the authors’ experience teaching, writing curricula, and designing programs for thousands of first-year college students over decades.




Colleges That Create Futures


Book Description

KICK-START YOUR CAREER WITH THE RIGHT ON-CAMPUS EXPERIENCE! When it comes to getting the most out of college, the experiences you have outside the classroom are just as important as what you study. Colleges That Create Futures looks beyond the usual “best of” college lists to highlight 50 schools that empower students to discover practical, real-world applications for their talents and interests. The schools in this book feature distinctive research, internship, and hands-on learning programs—all the info you need to help find a college where you can parlay your passion into a successful post-college career. Inside, You'll Find: • In-depth profiles covering career services, internship support, student group activity, alumni satisfaction, noteworthy facilities and programs, and more • Candid assessments of each school’s academics from students, current faculty, and alumni • Unique hands-on learning opportunities for students across majors • Testimonials on career prep from alumni in business, education, law, and much more *************************** What makes Colleges That Create Futures important? You've seen the headlines—lately the news has been full of horror stories about how the college educational system has failed many recent grads who leave school with huge debt, no job prospects, and no experience in the working world. Colleges That Create Futures identifies schools that don't fall into this trap but instead prepare students for successful careers! How are the colleges selected? Schools are selected based on survey results on career services, grad school matriculation, internship support, student group and government activity, alumni activity and salaries, and noteworthy facilities and programs.




Better Than College


Book Description

Do you need college in order to be taken seriously and earn a real living? Conventional wisdom says yes. But true success relies upon self-knowledge and entrepreneurship: two qualities that you can obtain effectively and inexpensively without traditional college. Better Than College provides the step-by-step guidance and inspiration necessary to design your own higher education. This book teaches you how to find community, stay on track, and get hired or start your own venture, all without a four-year degree. Curious college students will learn to think clearly about their motivations, plan a gap year, or navigate life after school. And Better Than College will show parents how self-directed learning can lead to a lifetime of achievement-no expensive institution required.




Guide to Colleges 2022


Book Description

Every college and university has a story, and no one tells those stories like former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske. That's why, for more than 35 years, the Fiske Guide to Colleges has been the leading guide to 320+ four-year schools, including quotes from real students and information you won't find on college websites. Fully updated and expanded every year, Fiske is the most authoritative source of information for college-bound students and their parents. Helpful, honest, and straightforward, the Fiske Guide to Colleges delivers an insider's look at what it's really like to be a student at the "best and most interesting" schools in the United States, plus Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland―so you can find the best fits for you.In addition to detailed and candid stories on each school, you will find: A self-quiz to help you understand what you are really looking for in a college Lists of strong programs and popular majors at each college "Overlap" listings to help you expand your options Indexes that break down schools by state, price, and average debt Exclusive academic, social, and quality-of-life ratings All the basics, including financial aid stats, SAT/ACT scores, and acceptance ratesPlus a special section highlighting the 20 public and private Best Buy schools―colleges that provide the best educational value




The Professor Is In


Book Description

The definitive career guide for grad students, adjuncts, post-docs and anyone else eager to get tenure or turn their Ph.D. into their ideal job Each year tens of thousands of students will, after years of hard work and enormous amounts of money, earn their Ph.D. And each year only a small percentage of them will land a job that justifies and rewards their investment. For every comfortably tenured professor or well-paid former academic, there are countless underpaid and overworked adjuncts, and many more who simply give up in frustration. Those who do make it share an important asset that separates them from the pack: they have a plan. They understand exactly what they need to do to set themselves up for success. They know what really moves the needle in academic job searches, how to avoid the all-too-common mistakes that sink so many of their peers, and how to decide when to point their Ph.D. toward other, non-academic options. Karen Kelsky has made it her mission to help readers join the select few who get the most out of their Ph.D. As a former tenured professor and department head who oversaw numerous academic job searches, she knows from experience exactly what gets an academic applicant a job. And as the creator of the popular and widely respected advice site The Professor is In, she has helped countless Ph.D.’s turn themselves into stronger applicants and land their dream careers. Now, for the first time ever, Karen has poured all her best advice into a single handy guide that addresses the most important issues facing any Ph.D., including: -When, where, and what to publish -Writing a foolproof grant application -Cultivating references and crafting the perfect CV -Acing the job talk and campus interview -Avoiding the adjunct trap -Making the leap to nonacademic work, when the time is right The Professor Is In addresses all of these issues, and many more.




The Chosen


Book Description

Drawing on decades of research, Karabel shines a light on the ever-changing definition of "merit" in college admissions, showing how it shaped--and was shaped by--the country at large.




The Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College


Book Description

Find the college that's right for you! An A Z of admissions secrets, The Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College takes you behind the scenes of the college application process. The expert advice and tips in this book will help you get accepted at the schools of your choice. This clear, accessible guide takes students and their parents step-by-step through the admissions process. Learn: --How to choose the right college --How to get off a waiting list and get accepted --How to write winning essays --How to use the Internet in the application process --How admissions officers really rank applicants --How to interview successfully --How to construct a successful application --How to get the most financial aid --And much more! This is the best resource for helping students get into the schools of their choice. Edward B. Fiske served for 17 years as Education Editor of The New York Times, during which time he realized that college-bound students and their families needed better information on which to base their educational choices. He wrote the bestselling annual, The Fiske Guide to Colleges, to help them. Bruce G. Hammond was editor in chief of The Insider's Guide to the Colleges and was managing editor of four editions of The Fiske Guide to Colleges. He is the author of Discounts and Deals at the Nation's 360 Best Colleges and is the school and college expert at Parent Soup, a division of iVillage.com.