According to my campus tour guide, there’s “no such thing as bad weather [at Colgate] only bad clothing!” That’s important for families to hear because many students may overlook this wonderful campus because of its location/weather. Besides . . . there are tunnels to connect the buildings.
Reasons to attend Colgate
Colgate has a lot to offer to students who attend there. It’s a small-to-midsize college with an active student body of just less than 3,000 students. Colgate students are active in Greek life (40%), engaged in community service (majority), and likely to study abroad (approx. 70%).
My tour guide also mentioned that community service is so important to the undergraduate students there that it’s “hard to leave without getting involved.” One popular program is Sidekicks. This is a Big Sibling-type of program, whereby Colgate students mentor local kids in the area.
One of Colgate’s themes is Global Engagement. This theme is encouraged through a number of different types of study-abroad programs at Colgate. The typical program may last for a semester-long, with courses co-taught between a Colgate professor and faculty in the host country. Students can choose from 26 different study abroad groups, like the Economics group which studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
Study abroad for Student-Athletes
What about the athlete who can’t spend the full semester away? There are a number of “extended study” programs. The extended study is a 3-week long program that begins with the academic class. After the class ends, the extended study abroad is then led by the faculty members who taught the class. What an innovative approach to reinforcing and applying what was learned in the classroom!
One of my students recently returned home from school due to a concussion that occurred during wrestling practice. I was somewhat surprised to hear a) that a tall guy like him was wrestling and b) that he suffered a concussion in this sport, rather than football (his Fall sport)!
We often associate concussions with football, but a recent study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that students in other contact sports, such as girls’ soccer or basketball, ice hockey, and lacrosse are also at risk. As lacrosse season is about to begin, let’s take note…
Estimates of the number of Americans suffering sports-related concussions have been climbing in recent years. That’s partly because more people are playing contact sports, young athletes are training more aggressively at an earlier age, and doctors are more aggressive about diagnosing concussions. A recent study found that in 2008, there were five concussions for every 10,000 U.S. high school athletes who hit the playing field. That was up from just about one per 10,000 a decade earlier. . . . .
The other interesting finding is that girls had a higher concussion risk than boys.
In “gender-comparable” sports, girls had a 70 percent higher concussion rate than boys.
As teens continue to participate in sports throughout their high school and college years, it’s incumbent on parents, coaches, school administrators, and the broader community to be aware of the symptoms of concussion. Those symptoms, which may occur many hours after a blow to the head, include:
One of the suggestions I may to all my students on test day, whether they are taking the SAT, SSAT, ACT or even an achievement test at school, is to exercise the morning of the exam. During the weeks when my kids would have achievement tests at school, they would have oatmeal for breakfast then walk to school.
Earlier research studies found that exercising prior to an exam enhanced performance. Now a recent study among students aged 6 to 18 showed the difference that exercise/physical activity during the school day has on academics. This study is quite timely as many schools have eliminated physical education or athletic offerings to emphasize other academic enrichment:
The researchers point out that when children participate in sports, they often have better behavior within the classroom and are better able to pay attention to academics. Past studies have suggested that as physical activity increases, school performance and performance on the job improve; but some studies have been inconclusive. . . . The studies were varied in size, duration, and population. The sizes of the study populations ranged from 53 to 12.000 participants, and the age ranged from six through 18 years. The children’s physical activity levels and academic achievements were followed for as little as eight weeks to over five years.
The researchers found evidence that physical activity improves academics. They noted, “Evidence from the studies included in the present systematic review•suggests that there is a significant positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance…”
Academic enrichment is still important. However, this meta-analyis shows that physical activity is still an important feature of the school day that can support academic achievement. Our school policies may be better modified by extending the school day to keep physical activities or adjusting other non-priority programs.
Does your school still offer physical education? If so, has there been other programs eliminated to still maintain the academic quality.
If you’re like me, you’re deeply disturbed by the recent arrest at Penn State. The media reports have been alarming and unsettling. Although I’ve heard about the 23-page indictment report, I can’t bring myself to read it. Some things are just better left to the imagination, without all the sordid details. In other words, I don’t want it in my spirit.
A few weeks ago, when I was visiting schools, a young man mentioned that he would be attending Penn State next year. When the news broke days later, my heart sank for this young man and his family. Is he really going to attend? The campus vibrancy and its culture is forever altered. The only good news is that the news broke in early November and there are still many colleges that this young man could still consider.
Given the horrendous nature of these accusations and the fact that the president of the university is out, this family should strongly question whether Penn State is a place where their son should attend college for the next 4-6 years. (Graduation rate: 84.6%) If families are having second thoughts about Penn State, they should contact the university immediately if the student is a committed athlete. You should know whether you are obligated to still attend. Although, it’s hard to imagine that you would still be bound to matriculate.
Once the university’s admissions team learns of your decision, they can offer a spot to another student who may be still eager to attend. About a year ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article about the hiring and placement records of Penn State. There may be a large number of students who may want to attend Penn State for this reason alone.
As for me and my firm . . . it will be a long time before I can include Penn State on any of my students’ college lists.
In Day 2 of my western Connecticut prep school campus visits, I’m admittedly overwhelmed by the diversity of program offerings in this region. Connecticut is not a big state but is dense with prep schools. Today I visited Salisbury School, Indian Mountain School, and The Hotchkiss School.
SALISBURY SCHOOL
Salisbury serves 300 male students from around the world. The science center included a wonderful library, a physics lab, a chemistry lab, and a separate biology lab. My tour guide expressed that he wasn’t too keen on attending an all-boys school but realized that girls would be a distraction. Besides that, the school hosts dance each week so he’s still able to intermingle with girls socially.
The first stop on my tour was the boathouse, which is a sight to behold. It’s big, clean, and houses all the boats rowed by their world-class rowing program. An administrator proudly stated that “We grow rowers!” highlighting that many young men join the team with little to no experience. However, many advances to D1 level crew teams. The other athletic facilities were just as impressive . . . squash courts, hockey rink, lacrosse fields. Not to mention that their football team is strong in its division.
Salisbury understands boys, how to teach, how to engage, and how to nurture them both academically and socially.
INDIAN MOUNTAIN SCHOOL
There are 85 guitarists among the 180 students in the upper school. 140 musicians overall!
Indian Mountain School is a junior boarding school that I was excited to visit in person. In my prior conversations with administrators, I sensed that it was a special place for students to develop into their own. The lower school has students in grades PK-4, while the upper school ushers students in grades 5-9 through early adolescence. Students will typically board in grades 7th, 8th, and 9th. For the teachers, administrators, and other staff, this really is a life commitment/decision. The responsibility is even greater in supporting these youth.
The team of adults who work there, live on campus, coach, and organize activities provide all the support services imaginable. The support services are balanced with student leadership opportunities. Students are given just as many opportunities to take risks. Each class experiences an outdoor adventure that bonds them in unforgettable ways. The overall thrust of the community was character development.
An administrator shared a quote in his office, which speaks to the character and quality of Indian Mountain School: “In all things, a lesson.”
THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL
The flags adorning the Hotchkiss dining hall showcase the 69 countries represented on campus.
Hotchkiss is a school that you have to see to believe. Admittedly, I was overwhelmed by its campus size, facilities, and student involvement. A surprise day-off was announced prior to my arrival, so, as you can imagine, the students were happy and taking advantage of the many opportunities to order food, leave campus, or play games on the field.
The students I met were involved in so many activities – athletics, theatre, community service, as well as AP coursework. There are about 500+ students at Hotchkiss but its size rivaled most small colleges I’ve visited. An administrator described it as a “small school within a large school.”
From the science center to the fine arts offerings to the radio station to the Olympic-sized swimming pools to the school-owned farm, students have unlimited opportunities to explore and discover their interests. The academic rigor at Hotchkiss is well-known so students must learn fairly quickly how to balance their coursework with all these other enticing offerings.
In my travels around the country, I talk with a lot of families who are curious about the term “gap year.” It’s a term that originated in Britain and has made its way over the pond in the last 3 decades or so.
What exactly is a gap year?
It is a break in formal education, usually between high school and college where students continue learning through a cultural immersion, volunteer opportunity in the US or abroad, deeper skill development in their sport, arts, language, or academics. It’s a time of reflection and maturity. More importantly, it is a period of purpose and intention.
A gap year is not a vacation, nor a year of hanging out for the sake of hanging out. The purpose and intentional aspect of a gap year is important because it suggests that the gap year is most effective when it’s planned in advance.
For many incoming freshmen who decide to defer their matriculation to college, the colleges will grant deferred admission if you outline your plans for how your time will be spent during the gap year. For students who want to have a more competitive application for college, they may apply to college during the start of the gap year and the applicant must state how their gap year time is being spent. So having a plan for how the gap year will be structured is critical for college-bound students.
On our radio show today, we spoke with Andrew MacKenzie and Anna Walker of Africa and Asia Venture in Britain. Gap years have been popular in Britain for many years and their program has been around since 1993! Their program offers opportunities for cultural immersion and volunteer experiences in Africa, Asia, and The Americas.
Several of the topics covered in this discussion included:
Benefits of participating in such a program
Deferred admission vs. applying to college during their gap year
Trends in students pursuing a gap year
And of course . . . safety and security measures that families must consider prior to any cultural immersion or volunteer abroad opportunity
You can listen to this podcast on volunteer abroad gap year programs and learn Anna’s tips on travel insurance and resources that families must consult when vetting these programs!
When I visited the University of Cincinnati today, it was my first visit since I interviewed for a faculty position several years ago. I got an offer but didn’t feel like academia was a fit for my personality and work/lifestyle. Although I toured the campus back then, it was still worth a visit this time around to get a sense of the changes and campus culture.
This amazing structure houses the 4 floors of trophies, showcasing UCinn’s athletic achievements
Once I got over the fact that there were approximately 2,000+ other attendees at this Open House, it was time to absorb the presentations, tours, etc. I say that I had to get over it because it is a large, urban university with approximately 20,000 undergrads and just as many graduate students. With so many people there, attendees did not wear name tags, groups had different schedules, and I personally felt invisible. This experience is probably not a whole lot different from attending as a student. My student tour guide had only lived on campus for 1 year and lived off-campus for 3 years. She didn’t have a lot of answers about the campus, but she exuded pride in being a Bearcat. So UCinn can be a large university with tons of visitors at a time and . . . be a perfect fit for the students who attend there.
Throughout the presentations and campus tours, there was a lot of talk about costs. The morning presentation started with a discussion of financial aid. The next presenter highlighted all the “free” things on campus and emphasized all the off-campus activities galore . . . (it certainly made me wonder about the strength of the on-campus community).
When we started on the tour, the guide mentioned the cost of parking, how to save money on textbooks, and other services not
The lazy river and jacuzzi in Rec Center at University of Cincinnati are free to all students
included in recreation center fees. (Massages and personal trainers are an additional fee, while the “lazy river” and jacuzzi are included.) Perhaps it’s more a sign of the times in Ohio and nationally. . . . the cost of higher education is on the minds of families. I listen to a lot of admissions presentations and campus tours throughout the year. The consistent references to costs stood out. I definitely know that the application fee is $50 and nothing happens to your application without that fee! One other tip is that your application must be submitted by December 1, in order to be considered for Honors or scholarships.
Overall, the visit to the University of Cincinnati was well worth my time. After 2-1/2 hours, there was finally a presentation about academics. It was comforting to learn about those special programs that bring alive the intellectual engagement. The First-Year Experience includes learning communities that give freshmen a chance to form a community among their peers. That’s a plus on a large urban campus such as this. The Co-op Education program was also a highlight. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences must major in French, Spanish, Communications, or English though to participate. This is a great idea because it helps those students to be just as competitive in the job market after college. Also, the Co-Op Education program is 5 years, but you only pay for 4 years!
During this spring, we have had several shows where we’ve discussed sports in K-12 and at the collegiate level. We’ve talked about golf, hockey, and baseball. Everyone knows that I’m a Yankees fan but my guest to talk about baseball was Dan Mooney who played with the Mets so I stay away from the team rivalry and really delve into what these sports mean for students who aspire to advance in high school and college.
On today’s radio show, we talked about the sport of basketball and it was a great time to have this conversation because we’re in the midst of an exciting finals series!!
My guest today was Corrie Blount, who played in the NBA for eleven years, playing with several great teams, including the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. (My entire family are big Lakers fans.) Corrie has played at every level of basketball . . . high school, junior college, and college prior to the NBA. What I find so fascinating though about his career in basketball and higher education is that he still saw the importance and value of earning his college degree after retiring from the NBA! That’s excellent and a message that I echoed in our program today.
Please listen to our show as Corrie discusses his experiences at Santa Ana Junior College, Rancho Santiago, and University of Cincinnati! He also intimately shared what made him cry . . .
Last fall, I attended the IECA conference in Cincinnati and went to a presentation on unique programs in STEM. One of the programs featured was a Bioscience program, which offered an opportunity for high school students and post-graduates to gain a more focused experience in the biological sciences. That program is based at the Shattuck St. Mary’s School in Minnesota.
In my research of the school and its other offerings, I discovered that they also have what’s called athletic Centers of Excellence. The programmatic emphases for these Centers are Soccer, Hockey, and Figure Skating. Interesting, huh? These 3 sports don’t typically go together, however Shattuck-St.Mary’s, athletic Centers of Excellence make it possible for athletes in these sports to remain competitive in their sport during high school, and get a top-notch academic curriculum as they pursue collegiate athletics. In our radio show on this topic, you can hear more about what this school is doing academically and athletically for its students. Our guest is Director of Admissions, Amy Wolf, from Shattuck-St. Mary’s. One of the questions I had for Amy related to the culture of the school . . . . When I was in high school, there was an emphasis on the jocks, rather than the academics. It’s a tough cultural issue that many school deal with daily. Listen to the show and find out how they’re dealing with the jock versus student divide!
Back in 1995, I received an issue of my Stanford Alumni Magazine and on the cover of the magazine was a photo of the golf team when Tiger Woods was on the team. At the time, I had never heard the name, although I had picked up a golf club before and knew a little bit about the game. Since then, of course, Tiger Woods has really become synonymous with the sport of “Golf.”
Despite all that has happened in his personal life over the past couple of years, he has really been a catalyst for the growing interest in golf among young people. I recently read that there are close to 300 Division I colleges and about 200 Division II colleges that offer golf scholarships. That’s a lot of opportunities for those who are interested and talented in that sport.
During the month of March on The Education Doctor Radio Show we have talked about athletics (in recognition of March Madness :-)) in high school and the collegiate levels. In this particular broadcast for this week, we focused our show on the sport of Golf. A member of the Pro Golf Association and head of the First Tee of Greater Miami Valley, Brian Parkhurst joined our show to talk golf, nurturing the young player, and playing golf in college. Brian brought some practical information and strategies to make a difference for student-athletes who have an interest in golf and may even be considering playing golf in college. Unlike other sports programs out there, The First Tee offers a unique component to its golf program for ages 8 to 18. You can listen to the audio to find out what is special about The First Tee.
