Ted Sizer was an innovative thinker about high school education but his premise was simple -- respect students. That didn't mean coddling them; it meant having high expectations for them. It meant acknowledging that these young people have talents and abilities and want and need guidance and direction, but they also want to be respected. He felt that when teachers approached students more as mentors then positive learning could take place. Read more about this remarkable and dedicated educator at the NY Times.

It should also be noted that Ted Sizer had a learning disability and when he was a student he was told by his teacher that he should not plan on going to college. Thankfully, Sizer did not listen to that teacher and went on to become one of the nation's most influential educational leaders, and in particular was Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Headmaster of Phillips Academy, Andover.

Advice to College Freshmen

As students head off to college for their freshman year, there is/will be a mass of advice coming from all angles -- how to manage your money, how to select your courses, how to survive a roommate, how to deal with being away from home, how to manage your time, and on and on about how to "survive" college.

There is some is some valuable advice that is not always included as to how to make your carefully chosen college a successful venture. These few suggestions are ones that I have witnessed that have enabled other students to have happy and successful college experiences. These are not listed in any order of importance, since they are all important:

BECOME INVOLVED
Regardless of whether you are at a "large" university or a "small" school, the best way to become integrated into a community, make associations, and feel committed is by becoming a part of something that interests you. Join whatever group you might have a passion for, or one that you would like to learn more about. (Please note, though fraternities and sororities may provide a source of social belonging, they are generally "social" and may not necessarily provide a link for you to specific interests or talents).

GET TO KNOW ONE FACULTY MEMBER WELL
A second recommendation, almost a "requirement" or "assignment", that I would make to you, is that each semester you get to know one faculty member well, and likewise, he or she you. This will take an effort on your part, but I promise that it is one that will pay more dividends than anything else you do in your four years. Though there may be some professors who do not reciprocate, you will find that most faculty members are eager for the relationships that develop with their students. It is one of the great rewards of teaching; so give the faculty the opportunity to share your educational experience. In order for this to happen you will most likely have to make an appointment to go to the faculty member's office; you may also want to invite him or her for a coffee or to a sporting event. These “profs” love being a part of their institutions and will eagerly share that with you. Do it! These will be people who not only will be mentors but will be friends, and possible writers of recommendations.

PARTICIPATE IN SOME SORT OF VOLUNTEER, INTERNSHIP, OR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT WILL GIVE YOU "RESUME" EXPERIENCE
Third you should participate in some sort of volunteer, internships, or community activity that will give you useful “experience” that could be transferable to a job or career. Those students in business, engineering, or other "pre-professional" programs may have a built-in advantage here, but there are also many who believe that a liberal arts degree is the best preparation for one's future career or profession. You will find businesses, medical schools, law schools, etc. stating that they are more eager to enroll students who have not specialized too much. What employers and graduate schools like to see along with a sound education is experience, regardless of whether you were pre-professional or liberal arts. If you pursue opportunities to share or develop talents by participating in campus life, you will gain the invaluable experience that will help you land employment or acceptance into grad school (very important four years from now!). This experience may very well help direct the later part of your educational experience in college -- foreign study, research, self-designed major, internships, etc.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PROGRAMS, SPEAKERS, CONCERTS, PLAYS, ETC. THAT ARE OFFERED ON CAMPUS AND ELSEWHERE
These opportunities add a richness to the academic experience that is invaluable to making your college "education" much more than just the classes you take by providing a cultural enrichment not generally available to the public.

So there it is, my advice – INVOLVEMENT, FACULTY FRIENDSHIP, EXPERIENCE, AND ENRICHMENT. Not much to remember, but these few things will enhance your collegiate experience well beyond what you would get from four years just going to class. Best wishes for a great year!

Making the Best College Choice for Your Life

As another school year begins, juniors and seniors become increasingly focused on college. With today’s costs, more and more students and families are looking to insure that their money is well-spent. They want to feel that those tuition dollars help lead to a satisfying experience as well as to the ability to be employed following graduation.

To insure this, it is more critical than ever that students make a good match for themselves, both academically and financially. Failure to take either of these into account could involve additional expense and lead to unfullfillment and frustration.

In the early ‘70s, a NY Times reporter, Loren Pope, began writing about colleges and the disastrous choices and high dropout rates he was seeing. His research led him to publish “Colleges That Change Lives”, a book about 40 colleges across the country that do an outstanding job of educating students and preparing them for future success.

This perspective on what constitutes a “good” college turns the concept of “rankings”, as fostered by other national publications, upside-down. Over the past half dozen years, a group of the colleges described in his book have been traveling the country presenting information sessions and fairs at events call “The Colleges that Change Lives Fair”. Though these colleges are presenting themselves as excellent options and opportunities, their over-arching theme and message of what makes for a quality college education is universal.

This concept has been borne out in research studies through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Center for Inquiry Study in the Liberal Arts, and has been heralded by the Educational Conservancy. All of these groups point to the fact that it is the engagement between students and faculty that is at the crux of an effective and worthwhile college education. It is not name, ranking, size, or any other “popular” factor that makes for an outstanding college education and success in life; it is instead the quality of the teaching-learning experience.

The “College That Change Lives Fair” is one of the best opportunities for students and parents to get a good picture of what educational quality can look and feel like. I encourage all students, whether they are considering one of these specific colleges or not, to attend this fair and get a fresh perspective on what makes for a great college experience.

Counselors Ride in the Tour d'Admission - The Paper Trail (usnews.com)

Another national article about our bike tour!
Counselors Ride in the Tour d'Admission - The Paper Trail (usnews.com)

The ‘Tour d’Admission’: Guidance Counselors Seeing Colleges by Bicycle - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com

Here is a blog article written by a reporter from the NY Times about the College Bike Tour:
The ‘Tour d’Admission’: Guidance Counselors Seeing Colleges by Bicycle - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com
I had spoken with Jacques Steinberg, author of "The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Office of a Premier College" (http://www.the-gatekeepers.com/asp/default.asp), about two weeks ago on another topic and was sorry I could be there for to ride this leg with him! By the way, he's been to Greenville and thinks it is a great city -- That's pretty good praise coming from someone from NYC!

The Tour Goes On

Our visit to the U.S. Naval Academy began at exactly 0800 and reinforced the concept of this being a very special place. Not only is it an outstanding engineering program (there are liberal arts majors as well) but it a place with a real sense of caring for its students. The idea of hazing and weeding out is gone. The Academy believes that it has admitted some of the best individuals in the country and it is committed to seeing those individuals succeed, not only at the Academy but in the Navy and later in life. And their record proves it -- numerous notable officers, astronauts, Rhodes Scholars, and even a President of the United States. My great-great-great grandfather -- Rear Admiral C.K. Stribling who was the first Superintendent of the USNA, would be proud. "On Stribling" refers to the main walkway through the grounds and means that a plebe is "on-campus". (For those from S.C. who may recognize the name Stribling, he was from Pendleton and left home at the age of 15 in the mid-1800s to join the Navy -- note the US Navy cycling jersey I found on sale just before I left Greenville!)

We were in Annapolis during "plebe summer", the time when the new students come to the Academy and begin their training. They were out at 9 PM marching around, and then back again the next morning in formation. It might be tough, but 85% go on to graduate in 4 years; a record surpassed by only a handful of colleges in the country.

The Academy is definitely in the modern age technologically and it has excellent facilities. All that combined with career training that is easily transferable to the civilian world makes this a great option!

posted by William "Stribling" Dingledine, Jr.

Goucher College & Johns Hopkins University

Stage 1 of the Tour de Mid-Atlantic is over and great weather and wonderful visits prevailed! A beautiful summer morning of about 60 degrees greeted us as we pedaled from Oldfields School to Goucher College -- I thought everyone was taking July 6th off since July 4th was on the weekend but you couldn't tell that by some of the early traffic! The eight of us from the following: Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City, Stoneleigh-Burham in western MA, Tenafly HS in NJ, Christ School in Arden, NC, St. Luke's School in Westport, CT, and Scarsdale HS in NY, and Oldfields in MD, all set out in various bike set-ups. Several of us had the traditional panniers, one pair was on a tandem (that had traveled much of Europe!), and a couple had "trailers" towing their belongs behind. We talked and laughed most of the ride today through local neighborhoods.

Goucher was excited about its new (long-awaited) students center and library about to open this fall with a big "green" focus in its construction. Not only are their science programs strong -- great pre-med tradition and psychology is considered a "science", thus requiring significant research, but their dance (best facilities for any college this size I have ever seen -- conservatory quality!) is great along with education and creative writing. Though not a college associate with any religion, the student body has a strong spiritual component ranging from Christian to Jewish to Muslim, and alternative; the non-denominational chapel is widely used. Also, Goucher is Test-optional and really places a strong emphasis on high school preparation and writing ability (as shown on the essays -- they require 500 words as opposed to the 250 regularly requested on the Commmon App).

Our ride to JHU was led by their Vice-President for Enrollment and he took us through some of the prettiest old neighborhoods of Baltimore City -- not the usual route for visiting Hopkins -- and this certainly dispelled any notion of the neighborhoods around the University being questionable. Nevertheless, it is true that Hopkins is in the city, so usual cautions are advised that one would employ in any city. As expected, Hopkins presented itself as a powerful "research" institution. Though class sizes might average 11-12, intro classes in the major courses (biology, chemistry, organic chem, psych, etc) are 250+. Students are driven by internal desire to succeed and that lends itself to the notion that it is a very competitive school; yet there is a good amount of collaborative and collegial learning and studying that occurs. More and more housing is being made available to students -- very important this year because they accepted a few more students expecting a lower yield, only to have more of them deposit -- counterintuitive in this economic climate! They emphasized that Hopkins is not just a "science" school but is quite strong in many areas of the liberal arts -- creative writing, economics, international relations, and art history. The student body is diverse and it is sometimes hard to find a unifying theme or aspect, except for lacrosse -- this is the mecca for the sport -- but there is no doubt that these students come with strong academic and extracurricular backgrounds. The admission office pointed out that they consider all factors of a student's academic and non-academic profile when making decisions.

Time to go rest up for tomorrow's ride to Annapolis and St. John's College, one of the nation's oldest and most unique colleges. Hopefully I'll have good computer access tomorrow and can post some thoughts to digest about the "Jonnies"!