My College Guide figured that you would enjoy seeing what a college theatre program really looks like: the rehearsal, set design, costume construction, and, well, you get the idea!  Watch the Theatre Department at Cal Poly on YouTube or below.

Related posts:

1. The More Things Change: Marquette University Past and Present
2. Virtual College Tour in Higher Education: Second Life Style
3. Old Spice Parody from Brigham Young University: Study Like a Scholar, Scholar

jek in the box {is traveling} / jessica wilson

Why a pre-college program?  Why not just hang out at the beach or the mall all summer?  Why spend part of your summer learning?
Jeff Harris: Programs like JSA Summer School give serious students the best of both worlds – an academic experience that keeps their mind active during the summer and a social experience where they have fun, meet new friends and create good memories that last a lifetime.

David Lowitz: A pre-college summer program like the National Student Leadership Conference is a great opportunity for students to take advantage of non-traditional learning opportunities that wouldn’t normally be available to them during the regular school year. At the NSLC, students can meet and interact with their peers from all over the world, build essential leadership skills, and experience living on a college campus.

Bob Musiker: Pre-college programs such as Summer Discovery tremendously help students make a positive transition from high school to college living. Students learn to succeed at college level work, manage their time without their parents around, live cooperatively with roommates, meet peers from all over the USA and the world, and learn more about the college admissions process. And like real college, it’s not all work. There’s lots of sports, recreation, cultural and fun evening activities and weekend road trips included in the program. We also get to hang on the beach in just about every program!

mollypop

Do you believe that any high school student can benefit from this program?  Why?
Jeff Harris: A chance to take a college-level course on a university campus is invaluable for any high school student.  Students leave our program with new study skills, enhanced time management strategies and a new sense of personal responsibility.  Not only does this give them a leg up on other students during their freshman year in college, it helps them excel academically in their remaining high school years.

David Lowitz: Absolutely! One of the great things about the National Student Leadership Conference is that we offer programs in over 14 different academic and career areas. No matter what profession they are interested in, students can find a program to fit their interests. We even offer an intensive leadership development program for students who just want to focus on their leadership skills.

Bob Musiker: Summer Discovery teaches valuable skills in academics and skill building, socialization, time management, tolerance and diversity. This summer students are attending our programs from 41 states and 39 countries. You can also explore fields you may be interested in pursuing in college and enroll in courses you are genuinely interested in.

What makes a pre-college program different from the traditional high school setting?
Jeff Harris: The learning atmosphere and environment are completely different from a traditional high school setting. When every student in a class is motivated and engaged by the subject matter, the energy created in the classroom follows the students and professors back to the dorms and dining hall. Students who immerse themselves in the subject matter with new friends wind up exploring topics much more deeply and in interesting and often unexpected ways.

David Lowitz: Many pre-college programs offer students experiences that wouldn’t normally be available in a traditional high school curriculum. At the National Student Leadership Conference, students gain a real feel for a day-in-the-life of their chosen profession. For example, students in our Medicine & Health Care program have lectures from surgeons, learn surgical knot-tying, practice suturing and taking patient histories, and work with current medical students. They even get a chance to go behind-the-scenes at hospitals, medical schools and research centers to gain a better understanding of the practice of medicine.

jek in the box {is traveling} / jessica wilson

Bob Musiker: First, students can take courses for college credit, many that are not found in typical high school curricula: Robotics, Psychology, Sociology, Law, Medical Careers, Leadership, Foreign Languages such as Chinese or Italian, Television Production, Fashion Design, Art History, and valuable Internships. Students also have access to the University computer system and libraries, world-class athletic and recreational facilities and live on-campus in an official university residence hall.

Do you have any advice for a student thinking about participating in a pre-college program like yours?
Jeff Harris: Make sure to walk in with an open mind. A lot of your assumptions will be challenged and you’ll learn that stereotypes don’t hold true.  The students who get the most out of the program are ones who treat every new challenge at the program as a learning opportunity.  From absorbing and analyzing classroom lessons to understanding students from different backgrounds to figuring out how to do your own laundry, every aspect of the program can be enriching if the student is open to learning new things.

David Lowitz: Do your homework. Talk to former participants in the program. Ask to see a full sample schedule so you know what kinds of activities you will be participating in. Think about what type of program and setting you will excel in. Some programs focus on large group lectures and with several hundred participants. Other programs may be smaller and spend more time in small-group workshops. Some programs may be more academic while others may be more experiential. Finding the program that most appeals your interests is incredibly important.

abbey*christine / Abbey Hambright

Bob Musiker: If you want to feel comfortable about going to and applying for college, a residential pre-college program like Summer Discovery is right for you. You can explore over 300 courses in topics that genuinely interest you, meet with college admissions officers and visit many colleges large and small.

Any parting thoughts?
Jeff Harris: Our students have broad interests – music, science, drama, foreign languages – but are unified in understanding the importance of civic engagement and their desire to gain the skills and knowledge needed to get involved and make a difference in their community, the nation and the world.

Bob Musiker: Learning can be genuinely fun, let Summer Discovery show you how!

Related posts:

1. Institution-Offered Precollege Summer Programs to Spice up Your Summer
2. Another Summer of Boredom? Think Pre-College Summer Programs!
3. One Book, One Twitter: World Summer Reading Twitter Project

Courtesy of Nichols College

What is the Professional Development Seminar?
The Professional Development Seminar (PDS) Program is a series of 4 one-credit courses in career and professional development. The courses were developed based on student developmental models…we tried to match students’ needs and developmental stage with appropriate skill development, over the 4 years. Our program closely aligns with Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) student development model. The focus of the program is to teach the skills necessary for our students to find success in the job search process and in their professional careers.

Why do you feel this is a necessary program?  What will a student “get” from this experience?
Most colleges and universities educate their students in the academics but then leave the student to their own devices to find employment. At Nichols College, we believe an education consists of outstanding academic instruction and learning, coupled with skill development in finding a position and succeeding in a career. For instance, resume writing instruction begins in the sophomore PDS course and is repeated in the junior and senior courses. By the time the student uses the resume to apply for a professional position, it has been reviewed and graded at least 6 times by a trained PDS faculty member.

Svadilfari / Sean

Additionally, interviewing skills are introduced in the sophomore course and most of the junior courses focuses on this topic. In the junior course each student is required to participate in a mock interview in front of the class, assuming the role of both an interviewer and an interviewee over the course of several weeks. The student not only learns from participating but also from watching and critiquing almost 20 other interviews.

What are some of the topics covered in the program?
We alter the curriculum every semester in order to stay current with the demands of the workplace. For instance in the last five years we have added: how to apply online at a company website, using Facebook and LinkedIn for networking, multiculturalism and globalism, behavioral interviewing techniques, and more.

Additionally, our students create a professional portfolio beginning in the sophomore course and continue the process through the senior course. They add to it each year and it is graded by their professor. We then train the students how to use this portfolio in an interview.

Are there guest speakers or hands-on projects in the Professional Development Seminar?
Yes, we use guest speakers (alumni, area business leaders, college recruiters, and faculty) in classroom presentations and for the Sophomore and Senior Choice programs. The Choice Programs are a series of special workshops and presentations that the students attend in lieu of one (sophomore course) or three (senior PDS) class meetings.

For the topic of interviewing skills in the junior year, one faculty member brought in an FBI Special Agent who interrogates suspected terrorists to describe what he looks for in both word usage and body language during an interview. Another faculty member brought in a Vice President of Human Resources to discuss what he looks for in applicants, and to describe his do’s and don’ts of interviewing.

Courtesy of Nichols College

Sophomores must attend the Academic Fair – an event much like a career fair where faculty and seniors from each major “man” a table with information about their major. Sophomores transverse the room and spend time speaking with the faculty and seniors about various majors/minors, internships, and employment opportunities. The students have overall found this event very successful in helping them to decide on a major, a minor or a second major.

Who teaches these courses?
The courses are taught by full-time faculty, administrators, and adjunct faculty. Most college academic majors and departments are represented on the PDS faculty. Thus, this program serves to unite the college over a common goal – of teaching students the professional skills they need to be successful in the “real world”. The challenge is to provide comprehensive, ongoing training for faculty in order to deliver the curriculum consistently across sections and courses.

Related posts:

1. Final Exam? Not for Seniors at This College
2. Second Life and Higher Education: Endless Possibility
3. Unusual College Classes: The Lighter Side of College Life

Watch New Spice Study like a Scholar, Scholar on YouTube or below. Then check out the hilarious outtakes in New Spice Behind the Scenes on YouTube. Celestial sandwich not included.

Related posts:

1. The More Things Change: Marquette University Past and Present
2. Braves TV: An Ottawa University First
3. Theatre Major Sneak Peek: Behind the Scenes in Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Program

hjl / Ho John Lee

My College Guide believes that college blogs are a great and wonderful tool that you can use to learn more about the colleges and universities that you are interested in. After reading our giant 101 College Blogs to Put You in the College Mood article, we figured some of you may have been thinking “study abroad” and were perhaps left wondering about the existence of international college blogs!

We’ve found a slew of international college blogs (93 of them to be exact) to aid you in your international college search. From the Imperial College London Blog with the clever snapshots of students complete with mini-movie previews to athletic blogs like the ones found at Simon Fraser College, Vice Chancellor blogs at Macquarie University, or the arts at RMIT, you’ll find something to keep you entertained – and informed!

Related posts:

1. 101 International Colleges and Universities on Twitter
2. Read All About It: Johns Hopkins University Blogs It All
3. 101 College Blogs to Put You in the College Mood

Courtesy of Saint Michael's College

This is definitely a college first! Where did the idea come from? The idea came from collaboration between Chris Cleary, the sculptor from On The Rocks, and two SMC professors Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz.  When the Teaching Gardens were installed three years ago, Chris designed a large rock to say “The Teaching Gardens of Saint Michael’s College.”

When designing the large rock, Clary used a rubber-resist sandblast process to create the letters on the stones, and he realized that there was a lot of wasted rubber. Clary says it is the nature of his business to create as little waste as possible, so he continued to play around with the leftover materials, sandblasting words into extra pieces of stone, and before he knew it he had lots of words, which are now all being used in the garden.

How will this word garden be used? Are there any special features we should know about?
The garden will be used by the Saint Michael’s community and those visiting our campus. The possibilities are endless; one can create poetry or wordplay or just sit and meditate. Classes will be able to use the space, as will our orientation and community service programs. A Professor of English just decided to use the Word Garden in her Genres Poetry class this fall. Someone could even write a marriage proposal, send a message to a friend, or just leave some silly or profound phrases for others to contemplate.

What are some of the words students can discover in the garden? Do you have any favorites?
There is a wide variety of words in the garden, ranging from words like peace, love, and God to leprechaun, fur, and ninja, plus verbs like open, exit, believe and think — Ninja is definitely my favorite word in the garden. I made the sentence “Ninjas are here” which can be seen in the video.

Are there plans to add more words over time?
We have one more “word-delivery” coming up in a week or so to give us a grand total of 350 words. We are hoping that classes, departments and others will donate words to the garden. The garden is a huge draw already and everyone from visiting families to faculty and staff to theater-goers to campers are having their say, with some pretty interesting results. A chalkboard and a chessboard made of stone will arrive this week as well.

My College Guide thinks this sounds like a lot of fun — and a great idea! Check out the Word Garden at Saint Michael’s College on YouTube or below for more about the Word Garden.

Related posts:

1. Connecticut College Students Have Room to Rock
2. College Graduation: Pomp, Circumstance, and Unusual Traditions
3. 15 FireFox Add-ons to Rock Your College World (and Increase Productivity)

Clemson University Sophomore Tyler Gosselin has a few very good reasons why you may want to consider a living and learning community. At My College Guide, we think it’s always good to know all of your options. When you are done with this video, you can read more about your dorm living options all over My College Guide, like unique dorm living options or the Grand Valley University Living and Learning Community to name a few.

Watch Clemson University’s HEHD Living and Learning Community video on YouTube or below.  Ready for a few helpful hints? Don’t worry – this won’t be the last you see of the dorm housing subject!

Related posts:

1. Live Where You Learn: Grand Valley State University Honors College
2. College Applications Video? Tufts University Tunes In
3. Dorm Living versus Apartment Living

KTVee / Krissy

What is the ACT?
“ACT” once stood for American College Testing and is a standardized test. As you may remember from The SAT Reasoning Test and You article, a standardized test is one in which the conditions that you take the test are the same as someone else taking the test who lives eight states away.

Introduced in 1959, the ACT quickly grew. Just a year later, students all over the country had the option of taking the ACT, and now some states, like Illinois, Kentucky, Wyoming, and Colorado are required by the state to take the ACT as a condition of graduation!

Why Should You Consider the ACT?
So, why take the ACT? At some colleges (and even states), the ACT is actually a requirement. But for those that leave that decision up to you, this standardized test could play more to your strengths! The ACT college entrance exam structure is content or curriculum-based. This test aims to check the knowledge that you have retained over your high school years. The ACT is composed of four sections: English, math, reading, and science with an optional writing section.

david.nikonvscanon / David Blaikie

When Should You Take the ACT?
You probably want to take the ACT twice, once in the Spring of your Junior year and again in the Fall of your Senior year. As we discovered from test prep professionals, just taking the test a second time and knowing what to expect can give your score a boost! According to the ACT website, 55% (of test-takers) increased their composite score on the retest. So — that may be something you want to keep in mind!

How Long Does the ACT Take to Complete?
It will take you just over four hours to complete the 215 questions on the four basic sections of the ACT, but plan on an extra half an hour if  you decide to take the optional writing section too. Just don’t forget to bring your #2 pencil!

How is the ACT Scored?
The composite test score ranges from 1 to 36, and the sub-score ranges from 1 to 18. An average score for the ACT is around a 20 or 21.

Let’s say you earned a Composite score of 30 on the ACT. According to the ACT website, a 30 shows that your score nationally ranked 96%, which means that 96% of the high school graduates who took the ACT received a Composite ACT score of 30 or below. Less than one percent of students achieve a 36 – the national average is a score of 21.

david.nikonvscanon / David Blaikie

How Many Colleges can Officially Receive the ACT score at one time?
The ACT will let you choose up to four colleges maximum where you can have your official ACT scores sent. Some colleges, like Yale University, require that they receive at least one official result from ACT in order to successfully file the Yale Common Application but you are still expected to report any other scores you receive.

While all four year colleges accept the ACT, should you choose to take it, each college weighs your score differently. They are going to look at your GPA, your class rank, your extracurricular activity, leadership roles, personal statement (or essay), and then some! The standardized test isn’t your ticket in – it’s just another tool to aid you in getting in! Want to read more on the ACT? Check out the My College Guide Admissions Guru past ACT questions.

Related posts:

1. The SAT Reasoning Test and You
2. SAT Test Prep: You Don’t Have to Prepare Alone
3. 6 Ways Homeschoolers Can Help Their Admissions Odds

1Happysnapper (photography) / Nina

At My College Guide, we know you are probably overwhelmed not just by the price of college, but of all the college extras, like dorm necessities and textbooks. Do you want to cut down on the cost of college?

The newest trend towards reducing college cost (besides buying used textbooks) is to rent your textbooks. Seriously, it’s all the rage. My College Guide has made it easy with our handy list of websites that are renting textbooks online.

Renting textbooks makes the price a little more reasonable and, honestly, no matter how interesting your professor made the class, chances are that when it’s over…you won’t even touch (let alone read) that textbook ever again.

Rather than have it sit around collecting dust under your bed or take up valuable closet space – you can send it back! Do your research (buyer beware), compare costs, and you might be able to rent textbooks for cheap, saving yourself money that can go towards the important things, like Ramen Noodles and iTunes downloads. Just don’t wait until the last minute — give your rented college textbooks a chance to be shipped to you in plenty of time!

Related posts:

1. 9 Ways to Save a Fortune on College Tuition and Expenses
2. Want to Lower Your College Expenses? Consider Used Textbooks
3. Getting Started at College: Tips for Settling in at the Beginning

My College Guide loves this great simple video from Arizona State University that answers that age old question, “How do I make friends at college?” Actual Arizona State University students share their tips for getting connected and making friends at college. But for whatever else you come up with, well, that’s what the My College Guide Admissions Guru is for! Watch ASU Unscripted: Connect on YouTube or below. Afterwards, drop by the My College Guide Admissions Guru and ask the college-related questions you are too embarrassed to ask anyone else – it’s free and anonymous!

Related posts:

1. Students Helping Students: K-State Proud Pays it Forward
2. Transition to College Easily: University of Arizona’s Faculty Fellows Program
3. A Day in the Life of a College President: Macalester College President’s Day Video