I still remember being a restless high school senior waiting to cut my ties and finally make it to college. My sister had chosen a community college for her freshman-sophomore experience just three years before me, and since I followed in her footsteps in most areas I naturally considered taking the same route.

So on a hot day in mid-May back in 2004, my mom and I made the journey just one hour south of Wichita, Kansas, to check out the college that would soon be my new home. While my stay there was short – just two years until I could snag my associates degree – it was memorable. And the following two years spent at Wichita State University securing my bachelor’s degree were even more enjoyable than the first.

When I was looking for schools, my top priorities were proximity, price and degree offerings, among other minor considerations. Out-of-state universities weren’t an option for me as tuition would’ve been outrageous. And along the consideration of price, I also wanted a school that could offer me a scholarship.

Earlier this month, Forbes announced its list of top 650 colleges in America. Among its highest-ranking universities were Princeton, Williams College and Stanford, with Johnson & Wales and Texas Southern University snagging the last spots in 649th and 650th place.

While some have criticized the methods Forbes and other news sources, including US News and Newsweek, use to determine their respective rankings, there’s really no one, tried and true way to determine which colleges are superior. Because the truth is, everyone has their own opinion about what makes one college better than another. Read the rest of this entry »

Many students think of the ACT and SAT as tests they have to take to get into college. They study a little bit, take the test, and then apply to the schools where their scores are deemed acceptable. However, the world of college admissions is changing and these tests might not hold as much sway in the future.

Currently, there are 850 colleges and universities in the USA that have an SAT/ACT optional admissions policy. This means that students do not have to take these standardized tests in order to be accepted. Some of the schools that have adopted this policy include Indiana State University, Johnson & Wales University, and Kansas State University.

Some people are in favor of this new trend concerning college admissions because they argue that the tests are “a cocktail of trickery [that do not allow] enough time, and [require] idiosyncratic ways of thinking,” as Anthony Russomanno of the Princeton Review said. The SAT and ACT were originally designed to create a bell-curve distribution of test scores, but opponents say that this does not prove the tests are fair. Instead, they say that the tests would be fair if students could study for them in a similar way that students can study for other tests, such as AP and IB exams. Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. News recently released their lists of the top colleges in the USA. One of the lists that they released focused solely on Liberal Arts Colleges.

So how did U.S. News determine what makes an excellent liberal arts school? The scores are based partially on the quality of the education that students receive at the institutions and the financial burden families must take on in order to offer this education to their students. All schools that are regionally accredited and for-profit institutions are considered for this honor if they have respond to the statistical survey that U.S. News sends out each year. The students’ level of satisfaction is also taken into consideration, since U.S. News know that no raw set of data can truly evaluate a school’s value.

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The results are in, and Williams College has been ranked the number one college in America by Forbes. Each ranking system uses different criteria to determine the top colleges, and Forbes attempts to rank the best schools from the student’s point of view. “Students have varying tastes, preferences, academic abilities and financial situations, so the ‘best’ school for each student depends not only on overall quality as measured by rankings such as this one, but other considerations specific to individual students,” they explain.

Here is what Forbes consider the most important criteria:

• Do students enjoy their classes and overall academic experience?
• Do graduates succeed well in their occupations after college?
• Do most students graduate in a timely fashion, typically four years?
• Do students incur massive debts while in schools?
• Do students succeed in distinguishing themselves academically?

Here are the top ten results:

1. Williams College

2. Princeton University

3. Amherst College Read the rest of this entry »

Planning on attending a liberal arts college? Then plan on shelling out some hard cash. With that said, liberal colleges have proven to be a great educational investment. PayScale, a salary data site, released its recent report on this year’s top liberal arts colleges by salary potential. Here are some of PayScale’s most beneficial liberal arts colleges ranked by the average starting graduate’s salary:

1. Harvey Mudd College: The average salary is $68,900. The yearly tuition is, as of the 2009-2010 school year, $38,467.

2. Claremont McKenna College: The average salary is $58,700. The yearly tuition is, as of the 2009-2010 school year, $38,510.

3. Bucknell University: The average salary is $55,800. The yearly tuition is, as of the 2009-2010 school year, $40,816.

4. Lafayette College: The average salary is $54,800. The yearly tuition is, as of the 2009-2010 school year, $37,815. Read the rest of this entry »

Sure, he can’t drive because he does not have his driver’s license yet, but Justin Bieber is a cutie pie!

What girl does smile a little – even if it’s only on the inside – when she hears Bieber croon that he wants to tell her he loves her? His music sickeningly sweet, but man, it’s one of my biggest guilty pleasures.

Sure, most 15-year-old boys are not really going to say things like Bieber sings. Neither are they really thinking about pursuing a college education, but once again, Bieber is an exception.

Instead of playing video games while he is on tour, Bieber studies, according to People.com.

“I want to go to college,” Bieber said. “As Asher Roth says, I think college would be a blast.”

Read the rest of this entry »