College Happenings

More and more colleges and universities are aiming to become sustainable. As the world gets bigger and more populated, conserving resources is one way to maintain quality of life and overall sanity. Schools are choosing to be sustainable in a number of ways including water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environment quality, materials usage, and food production.

Here’s a quick primer on some ways colleges are choosing to become sustainable:

Source: How Universities are Going Green

Some of the schools mentioned in this sustainability graphic include:

Colorado State University
Brown University
Duke University
Georgetown University
Emory University
Louisville University
Iowa University
Columbia University
UCSB University
Vanderbilt University
Harvard University
Toledo University
Clemson University
The American University of Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania
Carnegie Mellon
The University of Utah
Oregon State University
Northwestern University
Buffalo University
Arizona State University
California Institute of Technology
Sewanee: The University of the South
Cornell University
Yale University
Princeton University
Brown University
Dartmouth University
The University of Vermont

So what are some ways that your college is going green?

Many studies (and even students themselves) suggest that the fateful, albeit semi-mythical Freshman Fifteen beast exists. Whether it is fact or fiction in your life, chances are great that between the sedentary sitting involved in attending class, late night studying, less than stellar meal plans, and the revelry of being a young adult, you’ve gained a few pounds. The good news is you’re not alone. And the even better news is if you make small changes in your daily routine, you can stop the semi-mythical beast of the Freshman Fifteen from settling on your physique.

Research has shown that we are what we eat and how we take care of our bodies greatly affects not only our moods but also our overall sense of well being. Fueling your mind and body with healthy foods will not only prevent weight gain but help you keep it off. Have nutritional snacks (like dried foods, nuts, and yogurt) within reach to resist the temptation of consuming junk during your next late night study session. And speaking of all nighters, studies show that people who get regular, consistent amounts of sleep are thinner than those who do not. Increase your sleep bank to ward off any unwanted extra pounds.

You can also avoid the Freshman Fifteen during your next visit to the dining hall. Choose the most wholesome, simple foods and avoid any (if not all) processed foods. If you attend a party, apply portion control and steer clear of high calorie alcoholic beverages like mixed drinks and beer. Replacing your favorite cocktail with low calorie alternatives like wine, light beer, and low or no calorie mixers will curb the possibility of weight gain.

Finally, get moving. Exercise will help you work off the stress that your studies create, increase the feel good hormones, and keep you from putting on the pounds. Hit the gym. Walk. Run. Take the stairs to class. Join a sports team. Make an extra loop around campus. Or find an activity you enjoy to effectively chase off that semi-mythical freshman fifteen beast.

Related Links:
http://www.skidmorenews.com/features/the-freshman-fifteen-myth-or-fact-1.2942566#.UJLafMXA9uM

Here’s an infographic about the top party colleges of the last decade. What do you think? Florida over Penn State?

Source: Best Colleges Online

We’ve had a few of these “top online christian colleges” sent our way in the last month, so we figured we’d go ahead and post. It’s crazy to us how hungry people are for college rankings. But some of our most well visited pages on this site are posts about college rankings so we can’t complain.

Apparently there are people out there who are looking for Christian colleges. And some people want their Christian college to be an online one. So it would serve to reason that some people are looking for the top ranked online Christian colleges. Here’s a collection of the best ones we’ve found online, for those of you who are:

Top 5 Online Christian Colleges
10 Best Online Christian Colleges

Our recommendation with rankings of any kind is to take them with a grain of salt. They are pretty subjective (but so is a college degree after all!) The main thing to remember is that you can get a degree at any school that’s got a decent reputation and the proper accreditation. We think the lower the cost, the better;)

One of the clearest paths towards career advancement is getting an MBA degree. An MBA allows you to move up the business career ladder a whole lot faster and further. But how do you choose which MBA to get?

In our opinion, you should only get an MBA if you want to be in a leadership position. And these leadership positions often come with added stress. So be forewarned.

If you’ve already gotten your bachelors degree, and aren’t happy with your current position or feel that your career has hit a ceiling, and MBA may be the right option for you. Here’s how to decide:

1) If you currently have a job, and can’t take a sabbatical, consider the flexibility of an online MBA. Rankings such as SuperScholar’s SmartChoice Top 25 MBA Programs are worth looking at to make sure you’re going to a quality school. These days, so long as you’re going to a good school, an distance learning MBA can be just as good as a traditional degree.

2) If you have the time and flexibility, consider going to one of the cream of the crop MBA programs. Harvard. Michigan. Wharton. These schools are very competitive, but if you get your MBA from any of them, you’re virtually guaranteed a high paying job with a Fortune 500 company. When going the traditional route, make sure to pick your school from a reputable MBA ranking site like US News or Business Week.

Whatever your choice, choose carefully. There are many MBA programs out there that won’t give you much competitive advantage. It’s important to go to a school that’s regionally accredited and well respected. And when making a decision, please take our advice: always consult multiple MBA ranking sites in order to determine a consensus. Otherwise you might be going off just one random person’s opinion.

You know, we had a little fun with our post titled 25 Cheap Beers to Avoid at all Costs and got all kinds of shit as feedback. However, there’s a sense in which even cheap beer is good beer. As evidenced from this infographic that points out that not only were many of the Founding Fathers beer brewers but that beer literally saved humanity from disease.

All hail the great brew.

Created by: Online Bachelor Degree Programs

If you’re like me and you don’t live near any colleges, then the online route might be the best one. The cool thing about the online option is that you can get your degree from a number of high quality schools without having to move halfway across the country to do so.

Anyway, if you’re interested, here’s a new ranking of the top 25 online colleges for 2012:

Here’s the top 10:

#1. Northeastern University
#2. Duquesne University
#3. Penn State World Campus
#4. Washington State University
#5. Drexel University
#6. Regis University
#7. University of Massachusetts
#8. Colorado State University Global Campus
#9. Oregon State University
#10. Robert Morris University

Some very good schools on that list. And there are other highlights in the top 25 too such as: #12. University of Illinois at Chicago, #14. Arizona State University, #16. University of Cincinnati.

For the full top 25 rankings of the best online colleges for 2012, here’s the source.

Yes, college can be a waste of money especially if you choose a worthless degree.

From: The Best Colleges

It’s college rankings season for 2012 (well, really 2011 but they all say for 2012) and the school rankings are pouring out from places like Forbes, Princeton Review and US News & World Report. A new addition to the rankings flood comes from The Best Colleges who has a list of the 50 best colleges in America.

According to their site, they entered the rankings fray because they wanted to better reflect what students actually care about like quality of life and economic value (after all, everyone goes to college to get a job right?).

Here are some interesting things we noticed in their 50 best college rankings of 2012: continue reading…

Ever wonder what the college admissions board is thinking when they read essay after essay? How can you make a good impression and get admitted to your dream college? Here’s everything you need to know.

1. Who are you? GPAs and accomplishments are just words on a page. Your essay is the one chance you have to be unique and memorable. Tell a story about yourself that will demonstrate to the admission staff your positive qualities. Spend the most time preparing the first and final paragraphs. They should be your best material and contain a central thesis statement which the rest of the paper will address more fully.

2. Can you write? The admissions board will want to see if you were properly prepared in secondary school to be qualified for their program. It is important to have strong transitions and good flow between sentences and paragraphs. Your ideas need to be well-organized and relevant. Of course, it is essential to use correct grammar. It is most common for people to make mistakes with possessive apostrophes, quotation marks, run-on sentences, and hyphenated words.

3. Careless errors are the number one red flag. The board will ask themselves- are you focused and competent? Take your time preparing your essay and be thorough. Proofread again and again to ensure that every word, phrase and punctuation mark is correct. Most often people make mistakes with commas and with words that are spelled right, but are the wrong word for the context (for example- affect vs. effect). After you have proofread it yourself several times, then put it aside and look at it again later with fresh eyes, or ask a skilled friend to help edit.

4. Are you ready to face a demanding curriculum? College will be a marathon of reading assignments, papers, exams, labs and group projects. Show that you have the discipline it takes to follow the rules and meet the demands by sticking to the proposed page limit or word limit. Double-check that you have done all formatting and spacing as suggested. Be sure you have actually answered the question with your essay and kept to the point.

5. Will you succeed in college? Use your words to bring to life your past successes and what is great about you. Think about a few characteristics that enable you to be an achiever and have helped you accomplish past goals. Stay positive. There’s no need to mention negative qualities about yourself, unless it would help to clarify reasons for a low GPA or limited extracurricular activities or incompletes. If you have to discuss flaws in your previous academic performance, then explain steps you will take to not repeat these failures.

This article was written by Amy Clark from Paper Proofreader, a website that specializes in providing help for college application essays.