Concerned about campus safety? You should be. But don’t think the “blue lights” are so special. They’re not.
Continue readingCampus Safety and The Blue Light Special
Ivy Covered Campus – Can You Guess Where We Are?
Where’s Mark now? Are you looking for a beautiful, Ivy-covered campus on a hill, with harmonious, Georgian architecture, wonderful facilities, and offering a top-notch education? Watch this!
Continue readingJudging Books By Their Covers–Pretty College Admissions Offices
Admissions offices are the sales and marketing divisions of colleges and universities. Now they are building opulent “welcome centers” to impress prospective students. Caveat emptor!
Continue readingKhan Academy, PossibilityU and Flipping College Counseling
What Khan Academy is to classroom instruction, PossibilityU is to college counseling.
Continue readingLarge vs. Small Colleges–Which Size Is Best For Me?
Which is better for you, large or small? To answer this question, think of going to a sumptuous buffet. How much can you eat? What delectable food will you start with?
Continue readingEssay Tip #2-The "Influential Person" Essay
Make sure you are writing about yourself – not just the person who influenced you!
Continue readingAre Advanced Placement Courses Good for College Admission
AP courses are among the most rigorous offered in American public high schools. But how good are they? Lots of kids take them–and fail the exams. So how good are AP courses for college admissions? As with most things, the answer depends on a number of factors. This article helps you to evaluate the value of AP courses at your school.
Continue readingCarnival of Family Life, Newest Edition
Today’s Carnival of Family Life is hosted by Write From Karen. This Carnival is tremendous. The wealth of information is overwhelming. Karen does an outstanding job of organizing the posts.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
David B. Bohl presents What Can Your Kids Teach You About Technology? posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “Technology. The word itself is enough to strike fear into the hearts of those of us old enough to remember when a three-day turn around on postal mail was considered speedy communication, especially after spending some time with today’s young technological savants.”
hank@myinvestingblog.com presents What Effect Does It Have On The Economy When Companies Stop Offering Student Loans? posted at My Investing Blog, saying, “Thought it worth while, finding $$$ for your college aged student might be getting tougher!”
Trevor McKay presents Detection of Early Alzheimers posted at The Alzheimers Resource Centre. This one has nothing to do with College, but I found it interesting, because my mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 60. And, to make this disease more fun, my mother-in-law was diagnosed at age 58. I think I’d be pretty good at detecting early Alzheimer’s. Not exactly a skill I had hoped to develop, but…there you have it.
Enjoy the Carnival!
Mark Montgomery
Great College Advice
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: Is It Really An Important Statistic?
Student-to-faculty ratio is generally considered to be an indicator of the quality of the educational experience at a college. The lower the ratio, the more personal and intimate the experience ought to be. And yet some colleges have very low ratios and enormous class sizes. Plus, these statistics are easily manipulated by campus administrators.
But what do they really tell us about the quality of a campus. I spent some time on a campus recently and asked students and faculty about the student to faculty ratio. Everyone said it was important, but no one could explain why it’s an important indicator.
Have a look at what I posted on YouTube.
Check out these links for more insights about student-to-faculty ratios and average class size as indicators of educational quality.
And if you want to explore the unintended, negative consequences of having small classes and low student-to-faculty ratios, check out my explanation.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant and College Planner
