Research Opportunities
Ralph Becker
The Importance of High School Research

Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.

The Importance of High School Research

Writing Center

Best Practices of a Student-Focused University

Best Practices of a Student-Focused University

Though heavy research and publishing demands might constrain faculty teaching efforts, many universities are becoming more effective at encouraging undergraduate learning by implementing ‘best practices.’

Research into best undergraduate educational practices by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) yielded a list of ten: 1st Year Seminars; Required Common Courses; Learning Communities; Writing Intensive Courses; Collaborative Projects; Undergraduate Research; Global Learning; Community-Based Learning; Internships; and, Capstone Projects. The full list, along with a quick synopsis of each practice, can be downloaded at the AACU website: http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/hip_tables.pdf.

The Importance of Revising College Essays

The Importance of Revising College Essays

Writing a decent college essay is not an easy task. Sometimes you run with an idea and, in the end, it doesn’t work as expected. You’re going to have to revise. Don’t fret: writing a good essay takes time and, by its very nature, it demands revisions. This is all part of the process. Even Harvard recognizes and stresses the importance of revisions. Revising is as fundamental as writing the introductory paragraph.

Laura Saltz of Harvard’s Writing Center has a handout that you can obtain online: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Revising.html, and it is indeed a useful tool as you go about revising your college essays.