In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

The Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

In 2005, Steve Jobs spoke at Stanford University’s commencement ceremony (a.k.a. graduation).

Video of Jobs's speech has been making the rounds ever since he resigned as Apple CEO last week. Check it out below—his advice to the Stanford grads is as timely as ever. 

(Thanks to the Tweed blog for posting this.)

Reader Response: Americans Still Hold Low Opinion of Online Courses

In a recent post, I reported that most Americans still rate online college courses lower than traditional ones.

I asked IN readers—the future generation of college students—what they thought. Specifically, can a student learn as much in an online course as he or she can in person?

I recently received the following reply from reader T.C.:

I think the most important factor in how much you learn is motivation. If you’re interested in a subject and you want to learn more, then it doesn’t really matter how you get the information, you will learn. An in-person class might be better for someone who doesn’t care about the topic . . . you have a lot of choice in what you study at college so that should be rare. That’s why I think online college courses work.

Do you have anything to add to the conversation? If so, email me at INblog@review.com!

College Roommate Conflicts

Whether you dorm with a friend or a total stranger your freshman year, chances are there will be some disagreements along the way.

So how do you limit the number of conflicts and prevent the ones you have from turning into full-blown fights?

A recent article on the Huffington Post offers the following tips:

• Communicate
• Respect boundaries
• Don't be a borrower
• Practice courtesy
• Keep your space clean
• Share your interests
• Negotiate
• Be willing to change
• Look for other friends
• Have fun

Click here to read more about each one.

Summer Hiring Increased for Class of 2011

Experts estimate that companies hired 10 percent more college grads than they did last summer, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.

Much of this growth was in the business sector, fueled by corporate earnings that are near all-time highs.

It was the first summer since the recession began in 2008 in which new-grad hiring has significantly increased. Click here to read more on Businessweek.

A Perk of the Other “Common” Application

While students know that the Common Application makes it easy to apply to many schools at once, they are less familiar with the Universal Application.

The Universal App is a somewhat more flexible version of the Common App (e.g., it doesn't require an essay or teacher recommendation). It also has a different—albeit, smaller—roster of participating schools.

Montgomery Educational Consulting reports that the Universal App has an important advantage over the Common App—specifically, a place to link to your online content. If you have a website, YouTube video, or published article that you’d like to share with colleges, the Universal App allows you to do so directly on its Main Form. Check it out here.

High School Grads Wish They Had Taken Harder Classes

While honors, AP, and dual enrollment classes may be a lot of work in the present, former students say these classes are worth the extra effort.

A recent survey by College Board found that 44 percent of recent high school grads wished they had taken more challenging classes—particularly more math, science and writing-intensive classes—to prepare for college and work.

Additionally, 90 percent said that a high school diploma is not enough to compete “in today’s world.”

Click here to read more.

How Do You Solve Stress?

The short answer: it depends on the situation.

Tests, class presentations, and athletic competitions are just a few of the anxiety-provoking situations that students face on a regular basis.

While much research has demonstrated the negative effects of stress on performance, savvy students can avoid these difficulties.

Research at the University of Chicago provides situation-dependent advice for dealing with stress.

• When taking a test, a belief that you will do well is the best way to cope with the innate stress of the experience. In fact, test-related stress can even improve your “typical” performance if you are confident. If you lack confidence, writing about your stress right before the test can improve your performance.
• When performing in a public arena—e.g., giving a class presentations or performing in a sporting event—the best way to deal with stress is to distract yourself before you start.

Click here to read more.

A Student’s View: Safety Schools

Jennifer Angelo is a high school senior and a contributor to The Princeton Review’s IN blog.

I sometimes wonder if my “safety” schools are the only ones that will accept me.

While people my parents’ age only applied to 2 or 3 colleges, most of my classmates will apply to about 10. This jump in applications means that college admissions are much more difficult—and less predictable—for students today.

For this reason, it’s crucial to have safety schools. Unfortunately, the term has a negative connotation for many of us. Personally, I don’t like the word “safety” because it makes me feel like I am shooting lower than I should be.

The challenge for all of us is finding safety schools that we can actually see ourselves attending—without cringing—if we don’t get into our other schools.

I try to look at it this way: my safety schools are other people's “reach” schools, just as my reaches might be other people's safeties. If I can maintain this perspective, I will have a much better attitude toward my safeties.

Which schools are on my list? Like my classmates, I have narrowed it down to about 10 schools. (Once I start my applications, we'll see how many I actually send.) My reach schools are mostly Ivy League schools. I love Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn. Penn is very close to my home while still being in a different environment, so I think that would be great even though I'm not too much of a city person.

Other schools on my list include Northwestern, University of Chicago, Wake Forest, Washington and Lee, University of Richmond, Georgetown, and Lehigh. I love them all for specific reasons so, if I get into more than one, I’ll have a tough decision to make.

Fortunately, I've taught myself to be open to the schools that I am more likely to get into. I know that they’re all amazing schools, and I’d be lucky to attend any one of them.

Roommate Roulette

A recent opinion piece on the New York Times argues that you should opt for a “random” roommate chosen by your college.

While many students would rather dorm with a friend than a stranger, there are important benefits to living with an unfamiliar face.

Specifically, a roommate chosen by your school is much more likely than a friend to introduce you to new opinions and tastes. Additionally, getting to know a stranger will develop your ability to get along with others.

Click here to read more.

Americans Still Hold Low Opinion of Online Courses

While many experts view online courses as the wave of the future, most Americans haven’t caught that wave just yet.

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, only 29 percent of Americans believe that online courses have as much value as traditional courses. That percentage is somewhat higher—39 percent—among those who have actually taken an online course.

What do you think? Can students learn as much online as they can in person? Email me at INblog@review.com and let me know!