Archive for February, 2008

On Sunday, the 80th annual Oscars will be held. And these folks have some serious talent. Where did their educations begin? Let’s take a look.

Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney (Michael Clayton): George Clooney attended Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati but did not graduate from either school. In his early years, Clooney attended the Blessed Sacrament School in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, St. Michael’s School in Columbus, Ohio, and the Western Row and St. Susanna schools in Mason, Ohio. He then graduated from Augusta High School in Kentucky.
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood): At a young age, Daniel Day-Lewis was known to be a little wild. His parents sent him to to the Sevenoaks School boarding school in England, which he hated. Afterwards, he transferred to a public school called Bedales. His big break came from his education at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street): Depp is a high school dropout who initially had aspirations to be a rock star. He actually attempted to return to school but his principal told him to follow his musical dream.
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah): Tommy Lee Jones has a presidential-studded education. He attended the same high school (Robert E. Lee in Midland, Texas) as First Lady Laura Bush. He then attended preparatory school St. Mark’s School of Texas and then was accepted to Harvard University on a scholarship. There, he was roommates with (future) Vice President Al Gore. He was also a Harvard football star and graduated cum laude with an English degree in 1969.
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises): After traveling between Europe and America (New York), Mortensten earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. He claims that he took an easy courseload because he wanted to be in many plays during his college career.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford): Pictured on the left, Affleck attended the George Washington University and later transferred to Columbia University where he got degrees in astronomy, physics, and Western philosophy.
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men): Bardem made his first debut at the age of six. You can imagine that his schooling wasn’t as normal as the rest of ours.
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War): Hoffman, right, has a bachelor of fine arts degree in drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he graduated in 1989.
Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild): Holbrook graduated from the Culver Academies preparatory school in Indiana, followed by Denison University in Ohio.
Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton): An English native, Wilkinson graduated from the University of Kent and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age): Blanchett attended primary school in Melbourne at Ivanhoe East Primary School, followed by a secondary education at Methodist Ladies’ College (also in Melbourne) where she began pursuing her interest in acting. She studied economics and fine art at the University of Melbourne and ultimately finished her studies in 1992 at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Julie Christie (Away From Her): Christie studied at a convent school in England and was expelled shortly thereafter. She followed her education at a boarding school for girls called Wycombe Court. Eventually, she studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama which is part of the University of London.
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose): The French actress doesn’t have any education history, as she’s been acting since she’s a child!
Laura Linney (The Savages): After graduating from Northfield Mount Hermon School (in Massachusetts) in 1982, Linney attended Northwestern University, then transferred to Brown University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986. She then continued her acting studies at the Juilliard School.
Ellen Page (Juno): Pictured at left, Page attended the Halifax Grammar School until grade 10 and graduated from the Shambhala School (a preschool-highschool program) in 2005.

Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There): Just as stated before, Blanchett attended primary school in Melbourne at Ivanhoe East Primary School, followed by a secondary education at Methodist Ladies’ College where she began pursuing her interest in acting. She studied economics and fine art at the University of Melbourne and ultimately finished her studies in 1992 at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Ruby Dee (American Gangster): Pictured at right, Dee is a 1945 graduate of Hunter College and received degrees in French and Spanish. She is also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
Saoirse Ronan (Atonement): Born in 1994, Ronan is still attending school in Ireland.
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone): Ryan never went to college. She was hired for a Broadway performance right out of high school.
Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton): Swinton, who is from Great Britain, attended West Heath Girls’ School, and then went to Fettes College, a boarding schoo, until she took a break. She graduated from a women’s college, the New Hall at Cambridge University with a degree in Social and Political Sciences in 1983.

New website JuicyCampus lets you gossip (in a very bad way) about your classmates completely anonymously. The goal, according to their “about” page, is “enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses.” Some examples of posts include discussions about the sluttiest girls at Cornell University, the hottest people on campus, and the reputations of various fraternities and sororities.

While it’s been a hit and a success for juice on your classmates, it’s got some negative press as well. At Cornell University specifically, there’s a lot of backlash. BusinessWeek explains that a Cornell student saw negative comments about sexual exploits — and is now worried about getting a job.

Interestingly, while college is all about free speech, students don’t want JuicyCampus near their campuses. The article goes on to say:

“In campus debates over Internet freedom, students normally take the side of openness and access. This time, however, student leaders, newspaper editorials and posters on the site are fighting back — with some even asking administrators to ban JuicyCampus. It’s a kind of plea to save the students, or at least their reputations, from themselves.”

Have you used it? What do you think — if you’re next?

University Professor Tara Barbazon says that Google is “the white bread of the mind,” according to The Times Online. Often, when people search, they don’t find the most accurate information. Because people can easily find whatever they feel they need on Google, there are even bigger problems: students aren’t as curious as they once were and are not looking for debate because the answers, they suppose, can be refuted easily by pulling up a search query.

She says, “Google offers easy answers to difficult questions. But students do not know how to tell if they come from serious, refereed work or are merely composed of shallow ideas, superficial surfing and fleeting commitments. Students live in an age of information, but what they lack is correct information. They turn to Wikipedia unquestioningly for information. Why wouldn’t they – it’s there.”

What’s next, then? Using Google and other search resources properly. Her students are banned from using Wikipedia and Google — at least in their first year of study. Instead, she provides each student 200 extracts from peer-reviewed texts. Her goal: “I want students to experience the pages and the print as much as the digitisation and the pixels – both are fine but I want students to have both – not one or the other, not a cheap solution.”

What do you think of her approach? Too traditional, or just right?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed how to choose a graduate school and the financial reasons for choosing a graduate school. Now we’re going to discuss the last and final element to finding a successful graduate school: the culture. This area addresses whether the school is a good fit for you academically and socially.

The first stop is considering your student relationships. If you’re in a graduate study program, you might be working with your classmates not only in the classroom but perhaps in the professional field. Therefore, relationships are crucial to success. Wouldn’t you want to have a great social experience in school, one that makes it more memorable? So consider the following questions:

1. How competitive are the students? Are they working for each other or against each other?
2. How is the social scene in grad school? Do graduate students get together with each other or do they do their own thing after hours? Does social inclusion (or exclusion) bother you?
3. Do students embrace newcomers with open arms?
4. How do research papers get drafted and written? Is it a group project or every person for themselves? Is collaboration encouraged or frowned upon?

The next step in choosing your graduate school has to be the most important: faculty. The goal is to work with your faculty and not without them, so consider the following things that may help make the choice easier.

1. How aligned are your interests with the faculty’s? What are their positions on topics that interest you?
2. Are the faculty members cordial of each other?
3. How often do you have the opportunity to interact with faculty members? Are they too busy for in-person meetings or do they make time for students?
4. Do faculty members allow students to work alongside them on research projects?
5. Have you observed any favoritism? Do faculty prefer any students over the others?
6. Eventually, you’ll be writing a dissertation. Do you know a member of the faculty who you’d like to work closely with as your advisor?
7. Are faculty members well-connected in the professional sphere? Can they help you secure a job after school?

These are the things you need to consider when going to school. Finally, just consider the academic program. Make sure there are enough courses in the program that reflect your interests, that the program has a solid reputation in the area, that the program has a good relationship with the academic higher-ups, and if job searching is easy after graduate study is complete. You may also want to look into the requirements (both coursework and extracurricular) to see if you can meet the demand (or find it too challenging).

Putting all of this together, you’ll know which school is your best bet for graduate study.

According to Mashable, Harvard has adopted a policy that requires professors to make their research available online — for free. In October, the University of Berkeley partnered with YouTube to offer free courses online. You can see the course lectures here.

Does this mean that you can get those college smarts without the college education? Quite possible, with the right discipline. Better yet, why not use this time to acclimate yourself with college offerings from a variety of universities to see what the right fit is for you? You can align yourself with your (future?) professors and see what subject matters are worth your perusal.

There are a lot of ways to take advantage of college study before you hit the books and the classes. Ask students for sample syllabi and get your reading done earlier (which can give you a head start and build up relationships with your professor and teaching assistants before school even starts). Check out message boards for students; many of them don’t require a university login. Or just look at the Harvard and Berkeley offerings and start reading and watching videos that give you a real taste of college life.

Forbes has a great slideshow about the most expensive colleges and universities located throughout the world. We’ve made it easier by condensing it into article format. The most expensive in each region:

The George Washington University in the United States. In the heart of Washington DC, GWU affords students the opportunity to take advantage of becoming political figures and more. Freshman dorms have housekeeping service. Commencement is held on the White House ellipse. Annual Tuition: $39,240

Kenyon College in Ohio (also the United States) is a small school with 1,600 students total and 176 members of the faculty. It is the oldest liberal arts college in Ohio and was founded in 1824. Annual Tuition: $38,140

Bucknell University in Pennsylvania (United States) is the nation’s largest liberal arts college with 3,400 undergraduates. Annual Tuition: $38,134

Vassar College in New York (United States) is a former “Seven Sister” (all woman’s school) but now is coeducational. The student to faculty ratio is 9:1. Annual Tuition: $38,115

Sarah Lawrence College in New York (United States) is a predominantly women’s college that focuses on performing arts in addition to a well-rounded liberal arts education. And guess what? You don’t need to submit SAT scores to be accepted. Annual Tuition: $38,090

Quest University Canada in Canada is less than a year old having opened in September of 2007. It is a private non-denominational university that offers a single degree: a Bachelors of Arts and Sciences. Only 80 students attend, taking one class at a time in 18-day blocks. The appeal? You don’t see many private universities in Canada. Annual Tuition: $23,420

American University of Paris in France is a liberal arts and science institution that neighbors the Eiffel Tower. Annual Tuition: $34,725

University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom is the only fully private university in all of the UK and was founded in the 1970s. The school offers degree programs in a total of two, not four, years. Annual Tuition: $30,400 for Brits, $52,800 for international residents

Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan (Asia) was founded over a century ago by Methodist Episcopal missionaries. It is part of an educational institute that begins instilling academic values in kindergarten, followed by elementary school, junior/senior high school, and eventually, college. Annual Tuition: $11,700 to $16,100

Bond University in Australia. Founded in 1989, this school boasts small classes and has a very high percentage of foreign students. Annual Tuition: $32,900

American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (Middle East). Only slightly over a decade old (the university was founded in 1997), the university is broken up into smaller schools that focus on business, architecture, engineering, and arts and sciences. Courses are taught in English but university assures us that culture is highly Arabic. Annual Tuition: $16,770

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico. Founded in 1943 by a Mexican businessman, this is one of Mexico’s most respected universities. Annual Tuition: $11,210

Now let’s ask this question: did you go to any of these expensive schools? Are they more prestigious than the “competition?”

A recent story on the Filife blog shares a lesson you’re going to want to keep in mind about checking fees. According to the blog writer, banking relationships can be on shaky ground: once you’re assumed to have graduated, they may change your student checking account to one with fees.

Don’t let this be you.

The article goes further to talk about the requirements of several banking institutions in the United States. In a nutshell, here’s the lowdown:

Bank of America: Your initial account is a CampusEdge account. It is then converted to a MyAccess Checking Account and your monthly fees are waived for the first 12 months. If you meet a minimum deposit amount, that fee is waived entirely.

Chase: You’ll be notified before graduation about the transition to a $6/month checking account unless you have direct deposit.

Citibank: After you graduate, you’ll be required to pay $9.50 per account unless all your Citibank accounts are a minimum of $6,000.

The rest of the story is at the Filife blog.

Last week, we talked about how to choose a graduate school. This week, we’ll talk about more specific details: how to address the financials of graduate school.

Every grad school may not be the best fit. That may mean that it’s not a good atmosphere for you as a student, but it may also go beyond that. Some schools just are more expensive than others. Your job is to start asking questions that address these financial considerations.

1. Will you be able to get a job as a teaching assistant or participate in any work-study programs during the duration of your study? Will these programs offer stipends or tuition reimbursement? If so, how much?
2. What kind of loan will you be required to take out for your education, and how long will you be required to pay that debt off?
3. What’s the cost of living in your college area? (In expensive areas, you may want to look for roommates to cut costs.)
4. Will your graduate program require any travel? Are these research trips to be self-funded or paid for by your graduate program?
5. Is the program local or far away? What are the relocation costs? (This is a question you should ask even when you go to an undergraduate program, but it may be more important for graduate schools in the long term, such as for an MD with a 5-year residency.)
6. Do you feel that you’ll make up the money for it to be worth it to you professionally?
7. Are you able to make it work for you personally?

In the next part of this series, we’ll discuss the faculty and student culture to determine whether the school is a good fit for you.

Have you ever seen Twitter? It’s an online site that is most similar to the Facebook status message where you can answer what you’re doing in 140 characters or less. While Twitter may seem like a tool that’s counter productive to getting work done, academhack shows that Twitter is more than that.

Twitter is a great way to chat amongst classmates. You can keep conversations flowing beyond the lecture hall.
Build relationships. Twitter is a tool that works well for community building. You no longer envision your classmates as a classmate but as a friend.
Get a sense of what’s happening out there. While Twitter is great for chat amongst classmates, it’s even better to see what’s happening in the world. You can track certain news agents (CNN, NY Times, etc.) to get a sense of what’s out there and can get results in real time (such as on your cell phone if you choose).
Track specific terms. Say you’re very involved right now in the 2008 elections and want to follow your favorite candidate. Whenever someone mentions the candidate’s name, you can find out what’s being said.
Track conferences. Twitter made its biggest debut during a tech conference. But what if, say, you’re interested in the Consumer Electronics Show or another conference? Chances are, someone’s covering that event and will be posting updates to Twitter.
Follow someone famous. You’re friends with Hillary Clinton on MySpace, but she has thousands of other friends. That’s not the case on the smaller Twitter community. Here’s Barack Obama’s Twitter account.

There are many other applications of Twitter beyond just the aforementioned items (and more on the list at academhack). What will you use Twitter for?