“Thinking is not a matter of making definitions in one place, classifying things in another, inferring in a third, and making practical judgments in some fourth place. How these activities are organically related to each other and to the use of language, a systematic exposition of the nature of thinking should make clear.” — Arthur […]
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A few years ago, at a luncheon at Harvard University, Larry Summers noted an interesting fact. If you look at the top ten players in any industry or business 50 years ago, the list would look wholly different than it does today–except in higher education. It was Harvard, Yale, Princeton . . . back then, […]
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While selective colleges and universities have become more selective, middling and lower-tier schools have become less selective, according to a new study reported on Inside Higher Ed. The study’s author, Stanford’s Caroline M. Hoxby, correctly noted that “typical college-going students in the U.S. should be unconcerned about rising selectivity. If anything, they should be concerned […]
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Test prep pioneer Stanley H. Kaplan, who died this week at the ripe old age of 90, was a living embodiment of the roller coaster changes that have roared through the college admissions scene over the last three decades. He also set the stage for students, and later colleges and universities, to game the system. […]
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The latest installment of the Washington Monthly college rankings is out. Their ranking evaluates such factors as the percentage of students entering ROTC or the peace corps, awards won by professors, and total research expenditures. If you’re a sucker for college lists, you won’t be able to resist this one (here are some reasons why […]
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As author of a major college guide, I try to approach college admissions issues from the point of view of what’s best for college-bound high school students and their parents. I speak with lots of such students and their parents every year, and the one topic that is guaranteed to come up is: What should […]
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Baylor University has taken U.S. News list hucksterism to a new level, in granting students a $300 bookstore credit for retaking the SAT, and a $1000 per-year merit aid increase for improving their score by at least 50 points. That’s called buying your way up the list.
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I certainly am. Those with narrower interests will be well-served by Popular Science’s recent “A Geek’s Guide to College.” What do you want to do in college? Shoot Particles? Try Stanford. Enter The Deep Freeze? Montana State has a -80 degrees Fahrenheit lab. Study Killer Bugs? Boston University. See, much simpler than defining “best.”
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