In accordance with that day and the chance to get you thinking about the sacrifices these individuals make on our behalf, we offer a few poignant tributes.

This touching video is the perfect kick off – the back story is at our sister site but the basis is quite simple – honoring a moment of silence is not easy for some:

A reminder of the reason why we went to Afghanistan in the first place, sung by Alan Jackson and featuring a mashup of some of the most powerful images recorded:

Sadness and pain so easily tossed aside unless you are witness, yet another mashup featuring the haunting voice of Sarah McLachlan.

While there was a time when many of us may have been without a connection, today most of us have been touched and this is a great reminder that these military folks are our family:

And the amazing Marine Corps cadence, featuring the likes of “if I die in the combat zone, box me and ship me home.” It gives you a sense that these soldiers understand just what is asked of them:

And despite the demand, “mama don’t you cry cause the Marine Corps motto is do or die,” she couldn’t help herself. And neither could you. If you have attended a funeral of a loved one that served, it is virtually impossible not to shed a tear during the presentation of the flag amidst the most moving 24 notes imaginable:

Please, take some time to remember on Veterans Day.

I cannot remember the first time I heard someone suggest Division I athletics bordered on a form of prostitution. Though previously I had deemed such a suggestion excessive hyperbole, this past weekend we became witness to why that ugly word is used to describe college athletics.

On Saturday, Delaware State, a small 1-AA FCS football program, had the unenviable task of traveling up to Ann Arbor to take on the 1-A FBS Michigan Wolverines. As expected, the game, which should never have been played, was a rout of monumental proportions.

The Wolverines (5-2) set several team records including 442 total yards of offense in the first half and 727 for the game in a 63-6 rout. Michigan matched a school record by scoring 28-points in the first quarter and their 49 points by halftime were the second-highest in school history.

But truth be told, such routs happen quite often in the world of college athletics, particularly in football when teams with disparate resources get together to ‘compete’ on the field. Therefore, in most instances, the Michigan-Delaware State game would simply be relegated to the NCAA hinterlands if not for a back story that demonstrates the sometimes vile world of college athletics.

Two Losses the Same Day

Sports sites noted that Delaware State actually lost two football games on Saturday. In addition to the pasting they received at the hands of Michigan, the team forfeited a game against fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe North Carolina AT&T, a game that had been scheduled prior to the agreement to play Michigan.

In fairness, the initial mistake of two games being scheduled on the same date came while Delaware State was searching for an athletic director. But the choice of what game to play, and subsequently which to forfeit, demonstrates why so many are down on the world of college athletics.

Seems that Delaware State was offered $550,000 to go to Ann Arbor and play the role of football fodder for the Wolverines. And administration at the school decided that sum of money was just too much to pass up.

The Decision

According to reports, given the opportunity, Delaware State signed a contract to play the game in Ann Arbor despite having already committed to playing AT&T on the same date. The contract did allow Delaware State to cancel for a fee, the amount of which was not made public.

Of course, once everyone realized a mistake had been made, Michigan could have done a classy thing and released Delaware State from the contract. But then again, if Michigan could afford to pay Delaware State $550,000 just to appear, one can gather that the lost revenue from a home game would represent a sum of money that made the half-million payout seem inconsequential..

At the same time, Delaware State officials could have done the right thing and honored their league commitment against AT&T. Of course, given Michigan’s stance, to do so meant State would have had to pay the required fee for backing out.

Instead of either school honoring the spirit of amateur athletics, i.e. handle a loss with dignity and class, both opted for the opposite. Both put large sums of money in front of integrity and, as a result provided a sorry message to the athletes on their respective teams.

Many Fumbled the Ball

Beyond the physical mismatch that constituted the so-called ‘game’, the decision by Delaware State to take the money also meant it put the integrity of its league at risk. The choice to forfeit could well impact the final league standings and ultimately, the status of numerous other conference teams in the process.

Given that both levels of football have a supervisory agency, the NCAA, one would think that leadership beyond the two schools would have taken issue with the decision to allow money to alter the integrity of the sport. Apparently, not so.

Today we understand why some would use the word prostitution to describe college athletics. Yes, such a statement borders on the outrageous.

But what these two universities did in the name of college football could only be described in such terms.

But the greatest difference involved what I now call the level of hand-holding. As opposed to those wonderful and understanding high school teachers, my professors made only casual reminders of long-term assignments and they never postponed an exam simply because some students did not understand the material.

Simply stated, I made some mistakes my first semester that cost me dearly – by the time Christmas rolled around there wasn’t a single A to be found on my grade report and in at least two cases, classes that should have resulted in B’s had turned to C’s.

Fortunately, I had greater expectations for myself. I also was a relatively fast-learner – I say relatively fast because it did take me one full semester to figure things out.

Established students will likely find my missteps obvious but perhaps those of you starting your first semester can learn from my “Seven First-Semester Mistakes.”

Mistake 1. Failing to Realize You Are on Your Own

This one of course is one of those obvious ones for established students but it permeated my first semester of school.

The best thing about going to college is you finally are on your own. There will be no one nagging you about getting to bed at a certain hour or about spending too much time at the gym. No one, not even your resident assistant, will be hovering over you, asking you about whether or not your homework is done or when your next test is coming.

At the same time, the academic expectations begin with the very first class. Add to that fact that semesters are short on class time (much less frequent than in high school) and you soon learn that you have much greater work expectations between class sessions than you ever did in high school.

Still, the academics pale next to the expectation that you are, and will be, a responsible young adult. Ultimately, the nagging is replaced with a basic assumption that you are old enough to handle responsibilities without being reminded of them daily.

Mistake 2. Being Unorganized

Another major mistake I made was the failure to create a master schedule of my courses and the assignments for the semester. Though I did create a notebook with separate sections with each syllabus, I never synthesized the materials on one master calendar.

The bottom line was that many times I got caught not looking far enough ahead. On more than one occasion I found myself running out of time as materials became due or test dates arrived.

That first semester I learned the importance of taking the entire syllabus for each course and plotting all daily assignments, major projects/papers and exams on one master calendar. Doing so in future semesters helped me to understand that while this Tuesday I might have had little to do, next Tuesday the expectations might be so great I would need to be up half the night to complete all that was expected.

Every Sunday night I would review the upcoming week in detail, then scan the expectations for the following two weeks to see what I should begin working on ahead of time. Of course, creating such a calendar is a time-consuming first task – but it was a life-saver in future semesters.

Mistake 3. Being Unorganized – Redux

The second organizational aspect related to retaining all materials for the semester in their appropriate notebook. Those materials included all the original handouts, the additional ones provided during the semester and all returned assignments, quizzes and tests.

On many occasions I spent five, ten or even fifteen minutes searching for a certain document that was on my desk somewhere. On other occasions, I actually lost some graded materials, papers I could have definitely used in preparation for final exams.

I learned that first semester that I would receive and produce more materials than I ever did in high school and that taking care of those materials when I received them saved countless hours of time over the course of a semester.

Mistake 4. Multiple Course Sections Are Available

Another element I learned the hard way was that at college you had choices as to which courses and sections you opted to take. You can pick classes according to your learning style as well as quality of teaching.

For example, lecture-based classes were not my forte and taking them on Tuesday and Thursday meant longer class periods and an even greater test of my attention span. Such classes were far more manageable for me following a Monday-Wednesday-Friday format.

Perhaps even more importantly, the multiple sections of courses means you do not have to put up with a low quality instructor. That first semester I mistakenly sucked it up and stuck out two such classes, both to my detriment.

College is difficult enough without having to try to deal with poor quality instruction or a disorganized professor. In such cases, even first semester freshman can seek another section of the course immediately.

Mistake 5. Thinking Your Dorm Room Is a Great Place to Study

The need for a quiet place to do some real studying is essential. Yes, most times you can work in your dorm room or the lounge, but no matter how good your roommates or dorm-mates are, even at the quietest moments there will be distractions.

To get some real focused time you must find a place where you can truly disappear. I have heard some say you must find a cave somewhere on campus.

They exist – I found mine in the back stacks of the library. And you must use your place whenever you need to find some real quiet time.

Most importantly, you and only you, the young adult, can determine when such a time is needed.

Mistake 6. Asking for or Accepting Extensions

Because of my somewhat lackluster organizational skills, I remember struggling to complete one major paper for my Economics class. As I stated earlier, I simply had not plotted out an overview of the semester and all of sudden I seemed to be struggling to find the time to meet a group of expectations as final exams approached.

Naively, as the deadline for that major assignment drew near, I overheard a classmate discussing a possible extension with the professor. The professor offered some simple extension terms, one-third of a letter grade per class period (one period late, a B+ would drop to a B, two periods late that B+ would drop to a B-, etc.).

I convinced myself that the extension terms were reasonable and would help me. Given I had decent writing skills, I foolishly decided to take one additional week (three class sessions) to turn the paper in.

At the time I assumed my final product would earn an A or A- meaning at worst I would take home a B- or C+ for the paper, a good enough score to maintain the B average I had worked all semester for.

Evidently I wasn’t quite the writer I thought I was – remember the point about increased expectations earlier? The professor scored my original paper a B-, with the docking it became a C-, and because of the grading weight of the paper, my B average for the semester fell to a C+.

I learned the hard way to get my work done when it was due.

Mistake 7. Limit the Social Scene

At college, social events occur virtually every night of the week. From athletic events to open-mic nights to movies there is always something available to do that seems more enticing than your studies.

Add to that the Thursday night party group, the students taking a less demanding academic program (and content with earning Cs in those courses) and you always have someone trying to get you to take a few hours off for some social activity.

Taking time from studies is critical to maintain an emotional balance. But if you are not careful, it is all too easy to get pulled away by your roommate or other dorm-mates at times when you really should be getting some much needed work done.

Remember there is always something social to do and someone you know will be doing it – that simply means you can skip specific social opportunities when work demands prevail as there will always be another fun thing to do tomorrow.

Back in our day, passing notes was the surest way to get removed from class. I can only remember seeing it happen once in college and the results were not pretty.

Especially when the person found himself banned from attending the class he had already shelled out big bucks to attend.

Now, we are hearing cases of students instant messaging and checking their Facebook pages right under the professor’s nose. Without repercussions.

Still we could not believe that there would come a point where a professor actually encouraged students to pass notes in class. And certainly not via Twitter while he was lecturing.

An Invitation to Distraction
But such is the case with Cole W. Camplese, the director of education-technology services at Pennsylvania State University at University Park. According to published reports, Camplese teaches with two projection screens.

One of the screens features what one would always expect, the professor’s notes. But directly alongside of those slides, the professor provides a second screen featuring Twitter comments from students in the room. The theory is for students to enter into a discussion of the material as it is being presented.

But, to be honest, I cannot envision myself in such a setting. Which screen would I pay attention to? And how attentive could I be if I entered the Twitter discussion at any point?

Of course, whatever the students write is visible on the screen for all to see, including Camplese. So talking about the keg party at Bernie’s on Friday or that gorgeous young blond from Sweden who just enrolled second semester simply is not conceivable in such an environment.

So it is not the equivalent of passing notes from my day. And there were a good many lackluster lectures that could have been far more enticing if we had used the Camplese format. Certainly, the more tech-savvy, multi-tasking crowd would find this structure far more in keeping with their Facebook life style.

And while I was at first shocked by the concept, I was even more surprised to learn later that the process had a name: back channeling.

Most adults, myself included have expressed concern that the process will create nothing but chaos in the classroom. However, Professor Camplese insists that it is the first step towards new educational processes that feature the student more and the professor less.

Hmmmm.

Readers, what say you?

Because some students have exams right through Friday afternoon, then have only until 12:00 p.m. Saturday to be out of their room, there is no time to appropriately deal with all the items in the dorm room or on-campus apartment. Not only is there simply too much accumulated stuff to fit all of it in your car without making multiple trips home, you simply don’t have the time to deal with breaking the stuff down so that it might fit.

The result, loads of valuable items get tossed into the dumpster or in most cases by the end of the week, piled alongside an overflowing trash unit. Chairs, couches, tables, VCRs, and even television sets can be seen sitting on top of these containers or resting on the curb beside these huge bins.

Perhaps the most appalling aspect is the realization that the space in your car is already spoken for yet you are now witness to literally piles of items that you would scoff up in a minute if it were the beginning of the school year.

Schools and Students Taking Action

More and more, as green-eyed students across the country become aware of the earth and the need for greater sustainability, recycling programs have started to emerge for this end of the year clean out. The goal is simple: reduce the number of reusable items heading to a landfill or transfer station and get them into the hands of another potential user.

There are many successful ways to deal with the process. One simple step is for a group of students to locate a place for storage of viable items, especially the larger units such as mini-refrigerators and other electronic gear. Then, using a group of student volunteers, these unwanted items are collected and taken to the storage facility to be sorted out.

The following fall, those very same items are put up for sale to the incoming students at the school. Any collected funds that remain after the costs of storage have been taken care of are either donated to worthy charities or to the school’s nonprofit sustainability organization to further sustain a school’s green mission (if one exists).

Another common method of dealing with the leftover items is to involve community organizations and use them to solicit volunteers for all the handling tasks as well as the storage of items. Instead of selling them to students, the collected items can be sold in a massive community yard sale. Later, the proceeds from any sales can then be divided among the nonprofit groups according to the time each specific organization puts into collecting and selling the items.

Want to Start a Program?

Many other programs are underway with variations on these themes. In certain instances, students can simply leave unwanted items in their dorm room where they will be collected later.

Still, there are a number of schools where the idea has not caught on.

If you are interested in getting such a program started at your university, a nonprofit called Dump and Run helps interested groups. They can offer ideas regarding item collection, donation and storage, as well as appropriate ways of handling the cash that comes from selling the collected materials.

If the end of the 2009 school year has come and gone and your school still is not on board, it would make a perfect project for next year. Students interested in starting a program at their school can contact Dump and Run for assistance and advice.

Ultimately, the end-of-the-school-year recycling program is a true win-win. No student ever feels good about throwing such material in a dumpster. And our landfills/transfer stations are already strapped with mountains of trash.

If she had her legs amputated, she would eventually be able to learn to walk with artificial limbs. If she had kept her legs, it would have meant a lifetime confined to a wheel chair.

Her parents took the option that would give her the best chance at an independent life. Ever since that day, this awe-inspiring young lady has been showing people how to respond when life throws challenges your way.

Despite being a double amputee, Aimee would play numerous sports as a youngster. Eventually she began competing in track at Georgetown where she had earned a full academic scholarship in the foreign service program. Competing against ‘able-bodied’ athletes she became the first disabled athlete to compete in NCAA Division I track and field.

As for one of her identifying traits, the idea that “true bravery is not the absence of fear, but the ability to conquer it” comes from her about her famed college coach and her concerns about running the 200-meters in the Big East Championship meet. She was enormously fearful of competing in the race as issues with her prosthetic in the 100-meter had her believing that her leg might fall off in front of thousands of spectators while running the 200-meter.

She acknowledges pleading with her coach to withdraw from the race. He does not cut her any slack, instead offering with his deepest Brooklyn accent:

Aimee, so what if your leg falls off! You pick it up, you put the damn thing back on and you finish the God-damn race.

If you need a little pick me up or are interested in this young woman’s wondrous spirit and 12 pairs of legs, including the high-tech appendages that she uses for running, check out her appearance on Ted.com:

It seems that every professor saw such a request as a sign that I simply had not started the assignment in a timely manner. In their eyes, I had simply run out of time more from dereliction of duty than the development of any new insights.

Not only did my requests for a push for a later time result in a pledge that my grade would be adjusted if I failed to meet the initial due date, it was also immediately accompanied by a short lecture on the importance of meeting deadlines, particularly when one gets outside of the academic world.

The theory was, “in the real world” deadlines were an important part of life and meeting those deadlines was considered to be non-negotiable.

New Study

The importance of deadlines appears to be overstated according to a study by Harvard researchers Daniel Carpenter and Justin Grimmer. In “The Downside of Deadlines (PDF),” it appears that when it comes to the FDA and drug approvals, deadlines are a significant problem, particularly when a payment structure is connected to the deadline process.

The study offers a very technical look at FDA drug approval variations. But the bottom line is that imposing deadlines results in a finished product that may not meet the expectations set forth: “as in my project is done but the quality could be improved if I had more time to work further.”

Within the study, deadline bonuses or pay tied to deadlines will in fact decrease the time taken to review a case. But the critical finding of the study involved the application of deadline bonuses and the subsequent error rates.

Not too surprisingly, as the time to review a case decreased, the propensity for error increased. Within the drug approval process, such a situation could prove to be extremely serious.

Approving drugs that are not safe is the last thing the FDA wants to do. Yet, at the same time, reviewing drugs quickly may well allow patients access to a beneficial treatment in a timelier manner.

I must acknowledge that the study does not state that deadlines are a net negative in terms of the welfare of society. As the study notes, the “benefits from speeding up regulatory decisions may outweigh the costs of added error” for those cases where early approval of those drugs that would have been approved anyway reach patients sooner.

Still, the study indicates that the imposition of deadlines upon an agency’s decision-making process may render the agency’s decision-making more variable in the long run. Moreover the study suggests that inserting bonuses into the process “can generate greater administrative error.”

Ultimately, when it comes to the issue of deadlines and decision-making, the jury is out as to what is the best method for dealing with the issue. But it does beg the question:

In what instances should a deadline be imposed upon an agency?

A Feeling of Vindication

Needless to say, I have embraced this study as evidence that my requests during my undergraduate years were in fact valid. I even toyed with sending my professors a link to the study.

But I soon realized that unless I spent countless hours reviewing my initial request with them and the course I was taking at the time that neither of them would likely have a clue as to what I was talking about.

Then again, perhaps those of you currently involved in the process can make use of this little tidbit if necessary. Be sure to use it responsibly – it is not an indictment of the deadline concept, only that in some instances, deadlines and not lack of effort are the basis for a less than stellar final product.

At age 21, Matt McCarthy could hit 92 mph on a radar gun. And in a rare development for a Yale graduate, the lefthander would give the world of pro baseball a whirl.

If you have ever dreamed of the opportunity, you can now see just what the experience entails with McCarthy’s new book. All told, “Odd Man Out” offers a less-than glamorous look at minor league baseball.

But the book, if accurate in its portrayal (some are now questioning the veracity of the tale) should be required reading for every parent who dreams of a professional career for their son, as well as for all college athletes (the language makes it tough to recommend to high school students).

Chasing the Dream

In McCarthy’s case, the time pursuing the dream ended up as the proverbial cup of coffee, not much more than a year. But the time was memorable for the future Harvard doctor and the man who would ply his medical skills in distant Cameroon and Malaysia.

In one way, McCarthy’s short-lived battle for baseball greatness matched the experiences of the majority of aspiring pros. For every player who makes it to the big show, there are hundreds who one day receive the ultimate pink slip.

The one that says sorry buddy. You just aren’t good enough.

Yet, as a Yale graduate, McCarthy’s perspective was quite different. Such is the case if someone brings balance and a touch of wisdom to the experience.

McCarthy began his efforts in 2002, in Provo, Utah, in the California Angels farm system. He notes it was at the height of the steroid era and that amphetamines were passed around the clubhouse like candy.

While top draft-picks could expect to receive contract offers of hundreds of thousands of dollars, McCarthy was drafted in the 21st round. That meant a take-it-or-leave-it signing offer of a $1,000 bonus and the monthly minor league standard salary, $850 a month.

The small money came because at 21, McCarthy was also “old” for a prospect. More importantly, as a college graduate, he had no leverage, the if I don’t get a great signing bonus I will return to college type of leverage most real prospects have.

Like Politics, Baseball a Two Party System

Unbeknownst to most fans, McCarthy categorizes the baseball minor league as a two-party system. “You’ve got your Dominicans, and you’ve got everybody else.”

The term Dominicans being what the non-Hispanic players called all the Hispanic players.

McCarthy notes the majority of those Hispanics were just 17 or 18 years old. Many had been rescued from poverty.

In contrast to McCarthy, these youngsters had signed six-figure contracts. They wore “large smiles, larger gold chains and designer sunglasses” and “they seemed to be playing life with Monopoly money.”

The two-tiered system also featured the U.S.-born players, most of whom had signed professional contracts directly out of high school.

Baseball was “the only life they knew or wanted to know” and they were “fond of saying that Don Zimmer, then the Yankees’ bench coach, had lived a model life because at 71 he had never drawn a paycheck outside of professional baseball.”

Interesting Insights

McCarthy offers some other very interesting tidbits about the entire experience. He discusses the baseball version of the Wonderlic test, the exam used by corporations and the NFL for decades to evaluate prospective employees.

The Wonderlic is administered as a timed test that features 50 multiple-choice questions. The less-challenging version administered by ML baseball featured 100 true-or-false statements.

McCarthy offers this sample: “Athletic competition began on Earth in 1974.”

To fit in McCarthy portrays himself as something he is not. He tells folks
he is not typical Ivy League, that he barely graduated.

“I didn’t go to class and didn’t do any work,” he says. “I just played baseball.”

Such lines seemed to work, allowing the Yale graduate to fit in with a group of men who were quick to assert, “I’m sure you’ve got some Wall Street job if this (a chance at a baseball career) falls through.”

McCarthy shares his showering experiences (one might expect juvenile behavior from the 17-and 18-year-olds) and his first meeting with number one draft choice Joe Saunders, the 12th player selected in the country. A man who signed with the Angels for $1.8 million.

At their first meeting Saunders asked McCarthy what round of the draft he was selected in. The newly signed phenom was a little uncool in asking according to McCarthy, a bit “like a Yalie who went around asking people what they got on their SATs.”

And when the man dubbed Joe Millionaire inquires about Yale, the former president and his daughter, McCarthy again struggles to fit in, offering some lies about the younger Bush and her attendance at Yale.

McCarthy also shares his experiences regarding young Bobby Jenks, the man who would help the White Sox win a World Series title in 2005. Jenks featured a 100 mph fastball and after failing with the Angels farm system, he would “pitch in each game of the ‘05 World Series and get the very last out, after which his teammates charged the mound to celebrate the franchise’s first title in 88 years.”

Other than that description, what is shared about Jenks is anything but flattering.

McCarthy also shares in detail his receipt of his pink slip in March of 2003. The tears of the other players receiving pink slips that day overwhelm the man delivering the news to McCarthy, causing Tony Reagins, the executive, to break down as well.

However, McCarthy’s tears come when he talks with another released player, one without a future.

Great Reminder

For those wanting a real, gritty look at the world of professional baseball, Odd Man Out is a must read. The book clearly indicates why, with-in the process of playing organized, interscholastic sports, the real key is to be sure you take the education part seriously. Without an education, those pink slips represent not only the end of a dream for most of these players, it spells the end of any chance at a career.

Not so for McCarthy and it seems to allow him to look upon the whole experience with a certain detachment that renders this experience just another step in his life.

Exactly what athletics should represent.

Editors note: In recent weeks, a number of people quoted in McCarthy’s book have sited what they insist are fallacies or inconsistencies. McCarthy has stood by his work, insisting that he kept meticulous notes during his time with the Angels. Sports Illustrated’s baseball editor Chris Stone notes: “To suggest that the book is fraudulent is a stretch and unfair.”

Today, there are a number of such options that can provide Facebook users access to information about colleges, the courses offered and the professors teaching those courses. One of the applications provides info from the famous US News and World Report college ratings publication while others seek to connect students within schools, with course information and professor ratings.

Any readers using these or other applications?

Gradzilla

Gradzilla is an application featuring some of the data compiled by US News and World Report. With Gradzilla, students can gain access to information on all aspects of selecting a college including information on majors, athletics, extracurricular activities, tuition, and student body size.

With Gradzilla, students can search for schools by name, location, major, tuition, size, setting, extracurricular activities and intercollegiate sports. The results can then be easily bookmarked for a second review later.

College Planner

This Facebook interactive application allows you to research information on more than 5000 colleges. The application was created by Embark.com, a company that has “helped more than 15 million students research, organize, and apply to the schools of their choice.”

With College Planner, users can create their own personalized profile. In conjunction with the site’s advanced school finder, the profile can then generate suggested schools that meet your personal criteria and interests.

And all the while you do your research, you can share everything with other Facebook friends.

SkoolPool

SkoolPool seeks to connect college applicants to one another and to current students at respective schools. The first primary objective is to help students find the right school.

Through the site you can meet existing college students and theoretically get unbiased information from them about their school. Given that these individuals may attend your final school of choice, the site also allows you to connect with potential classmates.

Courses

Courses is designed for both students and instructors. Using Facebook with the Courses application will allow students to share their schedules including the courses they are taking and the activities they are participating in. Students can then search for other classmates where they can share files and discuss specific classes.

In theory the application is also built with instructors and teaching assistants in mind. If students within the class can access one another through Courses and Facebooks, teachers can use the social networking application as part of the class structure. Announcements, syllabi and assignments can be distributed over the student network rather than one constructed by the colleges. Of course, the application can also form the basis for virtual office hours.

Course Profiles

Course Profiles is designed for those students taking courses through The Open University. Students may enter the OU course code, or portion of the title and Course Profiles will search the database and provide the full course full name.

By displaying the courses on the Facebook application that students have studied, they can then find people who have taken or are taking the same course creating a potential “study buddy” through the virtual connection. Students can suggest relevant resources and leave helpful details on the comments wall.

Rate My Professors

Offering access to nearly eight million opinions on more than one million instructors, Rate My Professors is a tool that allows students to share their opinion of their college instructors. With the Facebook application, students can browse through the ratings and comments on every one of those professors, doing so directly from the student’s personal Facebook profile page.

What makes the application so popular is that students can then learn what other students think of specific professors prior to enrolling in that instructor’s class. As the site notes, “Before you register for class find out which professor will inspire you, challenge you, or which will just give you the easy A.”

The number of Americans taking time to work and travel has always been far less. In fact, the concept on this side of the pond tends to be associated only with upper-middle-class students from private schools.

But amidst the worst economic recession in decades, some are suggesting that it may well be time for more students to give greater consideration to the gap-year experience. Add to that fact the potential of a revamped financial aid system and it is clear that the gap year concept could well be a great choice for many more Americans this year.

Benefits of a Gap Year

When considering a gap year, most students envision using the time to travel and to gain additional work experience. Occasionally, some individuals also seek to improve their academic preparation during their year away from school.

The benefits of a gap year are well-documented. Students taking a year off before entering college “mature earlier than their peers who come straight to college from high school.” Taking the time to travel or work full-time will expose students to a number of challenges that are distinct from those experiences one obtains in the school setting. The result is the chance to develop additional personal skills, making it easier for you to handle the social and intellectual stresses that come with college demands.

In addition, students who take a gap year are able to get a better grip on what it is they want to do with the rest of their life. A gap year is particularly helpful to students who are unsure where they want to attend school or the course of study they want to pursue.

Experiencing a gap year enables students to explore different job options, a process that ensures they are able to better determine their choice of college major. In many instances, the gap year also helps a student decide if college is really in the cards for them. A year of work and answering to a supervisor can give a person a new perspective regarding four years of additional study.

Lastly, if students are concerned about their overall academic preparation, a gap year with a focus on sharpening academic skills can be exceedingly helpful. Taking a couple of adult education classes or community college courses are an inexpensive way to sharpen those math, writing and technology skills. They can also give students a taste of what the college environment will consist of, again helping a student make a more informed decision.

Effect of Financial Crisis

In writing for the NY Times, Johnathan D. Glater offers his thoughts as to how the economic recession and the proposed policies of the Obama administration could well make the gap year an even better choice for certain students this year.

President Obama’s college proposals, legislation that offers “the most sweeping changes in federal college aid programs in decades” according to Glater, include significant increases in aid for needy students. If passed, the legislation would offer more fixed rate, low-interest student loans as well as larger grants for those students who qualify.

Glater notes the changes must first go through Congress. Therefore, if they are to be approved, the expanded financial support for students would not take effect until July 2010. Ultimately, waiting a year could put a student in a position to access these additional funds.

Though likely to be a relatively small increase, Glater goes on to note that if the student applying represents the oldest in the family, waiting another year could place that individual in college with a younger sibling or siblings for more overlapping years. With benefits also contingent on the number of family members in school at the same time, waiting a year could well positively impact a family’s overall outside support significantly.

In addition, Glater notes that asking to defer admission for a year, something colleges generally are very willing to do, could be critical for those families with parents worried about their current job security or who have been negatively impacted by the financial downturn. Irrespective of the job issue, Glater notes that all families will face greater challenges securing credit and college loans in the current environment.

Add to that fact the impact of the economic downturn on everyone’s college savings plans and now might simply not be the time to begin taking on the substantial costs associated with attending college.

Will Times Be Better?

Of course, there is the possibility that the Obama plan will not pass Congress. There is also the potential that our economic funk may not be over. Certainly, while everyone is hopeful that better times are just around the corner, we are experiencing a more severe economic downturn than anyone could have previously imagined.

Glater does offer a balanced view, quoting Seth Allen, dean of admission and financial aid at Grinnell College in Iowa:

“There’s a real possibility things could be worse,” warn Allen. “What if the markets have actually dropped further, and the kind of economic news coming out suggests that unemployment will continue to rise and endowments for the foreseeable futures will remain flat?”

In other words, the competition for funds could be even greater a year from now. Therefore, today’s economic difficulties should not cause students to consider a gap year if a student has not considered the idea previously.

Is the Gap Year Right for You?

Clearly, taking a year off from school has documented benefits. Another year to gain experience and to earn some additional funds are two great ways to help students be better prepared for the rigors of college.

Such a year can help students confirm whether or not college is truly the next step for them. It can also be extremely helpful towards clarifying their potential career goals and therefore shed great light on their choice of college and major.

And a year away from full-time school can also be used to help improve academic preparation should a student be in need of such.

One may then add to these traditional benefits the two points raised by Glater, the issues brought about by our current economic downturn and the aid proposals of President Obama. Collectively, they represent a strong basis for considering a gap year.

However, making such a choice based solely on Glater’s financial concerns may well be nothing more than a gamble. Therefore, students should seriously consider a gap year only if they believe that the experience will better prepare them for their future, whether that future will consist of a move straight into the workforce or the pursuit of a college diploma.

Simply stated, a gap year is not for everyone. But the rationale for taking one has grown given the recent economic developments in our country.

Editors Note: For more on the gap year concept including help with determining possible gap year experiences, peruse one of the many Gap Program websites available on the web. A search on the phrase gap year will provide a wealth of sites that discuss the concept further while a search of gap year programs will bring you to sites that assist students with a gap year experience.

Flickr photos courtesy of Cats-Eye-View, tacitreqieum and Chichacha.