Monthly Archive for August, 2007

Lafayette Tour

Published on August 30, 2007 in College Admissions. 2 Comments Tags: .

Again, I type a post in the back seat of a car, immediately after touring a college. Of course, this time, my destination was Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Simply put, I really like the place. The campus was stunning, my guide was excellent (thanks Billy!), and the atmosphere was awesome. I don’t have as many lessons to pass on, since most everything I learned seems redundant after the post I made after a previous college visit.

I snapped plenty of photos, they’re up publicly on Facebook.

What did I like about Lafayette, exactly? Well, first, it’s a beautiful campus, with more trees than I could count. If you didn’t know, I love trees. Second, I just had a really great feeling being there. It was uplifting, and everyone was nice. Next, I learned a lot about the financial aid process there, and the information was favorable. Admissions criteria didn’t seem impossible, either.

But, there’s bad news.

I’ve been giving the videoblog concept a lot of thought. I don’t think it works. On college tours, whipping out a camera and taking video of a student given tour is awkward for everyone involved. It worked for me at UCONN because I had a friend giving the tour (thanks Kyle!), with plenty of time to shoot scenes. Also, me filming my own tour doesn’t really have any valuable content, in my opinion. But text and photo blogging works pretty well, I think. Feedback?

Two Years After Hurricane Katrina

Published on August 29, 2007 in Links. 0 Comments Tags: .

I recommend that everyone listens to this interview today on the Financial Aid Podcast about the anniversary. That’s all.

Direct MP3 link.

A Woven, Tangled Web

Published on August 29, 2007 in Social Media. 2 Comments

Coolest Facebook application ever, period.

Connection Cloud is a program that visualizes your social web on Facebook in a new and unique way. Find out who knows who in your friends list. An experiment in grouping and social webs. Go from an unorganized mess to an asthetically pleasing graph…

I’m aware that the application page spells aesthetically incorrectly, but let’s overlook this error. You get to see your clumps of friends in a giant graphic (1600×1200, png) and discover their relationships. Before thinking that this is lame, just try it out.

I would post up my Cloud, but I’m not sure how my friends would feel about that; I’ll stay on the safe side. Props to Christopher Penn for blogging about the application, where I discovered it.

Did you all discover anything cool or interesting? I know you will.

Senior Year SAT

Published on August 27, 2007 in College Admissions. 4 Comments Tags: .

I’m deciding whether to take the SAT again on October 6 or on November 3. I lean toward October 6, simply because it’s earlier.

I’m of the foolish notion that I’m going to try to raise both my Critical Reading and Mathematics scores with this test. My writing section was pretty wonderful, so I don’t think it can go much higher.

Thoughts?

End of Summer Plans

Published on August 25, 2007 in College Admissions. 10 Comments Tags: , .

Summer will soon end, but the fun of my senior year of high school and the college admissions process is just beginning. My first day back at high school is September 5th. The rest of my summer consists of a few basic things. I have a visit to Lafayette College planned on Thursday the 30th, with a friend giving the tour. (Thanks Billy!) Additionally, I’ve got homework left from my AP English and AP Biology classes. I’ll be spending a majority of my time on them, starting tomorrow.

My biggest concern in life right now is still college. The Tech school v. general school conflict still teems in my head. After my visit to RPI, I’ve somewhat changed my stance on the issue. To spite the student body at a school, I think that one gets out of an education what they put in to it. Moreover, perhaps one can find intellectuals in a tech school. The jury is still deliberating on this point, someone try to change my mind.

Not to mention, my college list is in serious need of expansion (RPI, UCONN, Tufts [unvisited], Lafayette [soon to be visited]). I’ve purchased the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2008 Edition, and plan to study that. I can’t fathom why this is so hard for me, while seeming much easier for everyone around me. Perhaps I’m taking it too seriously, with the idea that if I don’t do this correctly, I’ll somehow fail at life. Although that seems very colloquial, it’s all that captures the notion.

Making Better Presentations

Published on August 23, 2007 in Links and Tech. 4 Comments Tags: .

I just read a wonderful post on 43 Folders about making better presentations. I think that every high school student in the United States should have to read this post.

Here’s the post. It’s too often that I see people plainly reading off of slides, rather than genuinely talking about a subject they either care about or have researched. It’s a shame.

Another good post.