A Campus Steakhouse, NFL Players as Case Studies, and Free Bottled Water at High Point!

How many colleges can say that they have a steakhouse on campus that serves as a learning lab? While having a steakhouse as part of your meal plan might sound impressive, it actually serves as a place where students learn dining etiquette, which is an important skill in the real world. High Point University is definitely a university that focuses on preparing its students for what lies ahead. Students are told to “be extraordinary” in order to make themselves competitive for life after graduation.

High Point University has changed a lot in the last seven years. Under a new university President, the freshman class has tripled in size to 1,200 freshmen this past year, the campus has grown from 92 acres to 350 acres and they have added 1.5 million square feet of new space. While touring campus, I was impressed by all of the amazing new buildings on campus but also by the welcoming nature of the community. Happy birthday wishes to students are projected on screens around campus, there are stations students can get a bottle of water on their way to class and there are flags in the International Promenade that represent the 35 countries from which students hail. Also, 93 percent of students live on campus, which did not surprise me after seeing the beautiful residence halls.

High Point's School of Communication

The Library

 Business and communication are two of the most popular majors at High Point but their interior design program is one of the best in the country.  Some other popular majors of note are exercise science and athletic training. I was given the opportunity to tour the brand new Human Biomechanics and Physiology Lab, which had amazing tools to study things like athletic performance. While we didn’t see any NFL players, we learned that many of the top players in the NFL come to High Point to have High Point students study their injuries and assess their performance!

 One of the most important traditions at High Point is the signing of the honor code. On the night before the first day of classes, freshmen gather to sign the Honor Code together. At all times, there are four Honor Scrolls signed, framed and mounted in prominent places on campus representing each of the four classes: freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. Since High Point is a values based institution, it sets the tone for the community and the values that are important to the school.

 I was very impressed by the amazing academic facilities but also the preparation that the university provides for its students. Thank you to High Point for a wonderful visit!

 

Published by: LP

Scarlet Gowns and Royal Trivia at the University of St. Andrews

Upon arrival in the town of St Andrews, you immediately feel transported back in time. The University that is celebrating its 600^th anniversary this year and there are buildings that have existed for hundreds of years as a part of the campus at the University of St Andrews. Scotland’s first university, St Andrews has the ethos of a liberal arts college but the reality of a research university. I was very lucky to get to spend a few days in Scotland to learn more about this historic university.

The town of St Andrews is about an hour and a half from Edinburgh and is filled with history. My hotel was right on the golf course at St Andrews, which is where the game of golf was started. That would have probably been even more exciting if I actually golfed! The quiet town has about 20,000 residents and it felt like a college town since students make up such a large portion of the population.

Here is a picture of the town:

St Andrews is an extremely diverse university with students from all over the world. Out of the 6,000 undergraduate students, approximately 43 percent hail from overseas and 16 percent are from the United States. Slightly different from other universities in the United Kingdom, students start off studying three subjects and then can graduate focusing on either one or two subjects. You can apply to a particular major and then change your mind when you get to St Andrews. I heard from professors from the departments of Spanish, chemistry and sustainable development and I found the professors to be extremely engaging and focused on helping their students figure out their passions and interests. A few years ago, St Andrews began offering a joint degree program with the College of William and Mary, where students get to spend two years at each of the universities studying international relations and it sounds like a great opportunity for students who would be interested in studying at both schools.

Traditions abound at St Andrews and I thought their traditions were some of the most unique aspects of the university. My tour guide, Victoria, who hailed from Germany, introduced us to the tradition of the scarlet gown. Since 1640, undergraduate students have worn red gowns for special occasions and the wearing of the gown denotes seniority depending on how far off the shoulder the gown is worn.  On Sundays after chapel, the students walk down a pier in their red gowns and it must be an amazing sight to see! Another fun tradition is that students are often part of an “academic family.” First year students get “adopted” by upperclassmen who help guide them through life at St Andrews and often have dinner parties with the extended members of their academic family.

Here is a picture of our tour group and our guide in her red gown:

And the pier:

One of the highlights of my visit was getting to catch up with Visi alum Lizzy Wells, who graduated in 2009. Lizzy is a fourth year at St Andrews and will be heading to London after graduation to attend graduate school in security studies. Lizzy has absolutely loved her time at the university and said that she is happy to speak with anyone interested in St Andrews so ask your college counselor for her contact information if you are interested in getting in touch with her!

Besides being excited to see St. Salvator’s Hall, which is where Prince William and Kate Middleton met and fell in love when they were students at St Andrews, I came away feeling like any student would be lucky to study at such a historic university with a true focus on a top notch academic experience. Thank you to the admissions staff at St Andrews for such a great visit!

Published by: LG

Mrs. Prugh's Visit to the Embassy of Canada

Canada, eh? A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend an event at the Embassy of Canada to learn more about a few Canadian universities. The first thing that I learned is that in Canada, the word “college” is used for what we would call a community college so the schools that offer bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees are referred to just as “universities.” There are around 90 universities in Canada and I was able to learn about five specific universities.

According to a report done in 2012, there are over 10,000 Americans earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Canada and it is becoming a more popular option because even with the extra fees for international students, the universities in Canada often cost less than private universities in the United States. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada found that annual tuition costs for international students in Canada ranged from about $14,000 to $26,000 last year.

I heard from admission representatives from Concordia University, Queen’s University, the University of Toronto, the University of St. Thomas and Dalhousie University. Here are some brief facts about the five universities:

Concordia University

·         Located in Montreal, Quebec

·         Over 45,000 students that are involved in 500 different academic programs

·         Students can participate in a co-op program where they gain a year of work experience before completing their undergraduate degrees

·         They have four faculties of study- arts and sciences, business, engineering and fine arts

·         There are two main campuses that are three miles apart near downtown Montreal

·         For admissions, they do not require the SAT or ACT

 

Queen’s University

·         Located in Kingston, Ontario

·         They have 15,000 undergraduate students

·         They have the following faculties of study- arts and sciences, commerce, computing, fine art, music, nursing and engineering

·         Study abroad (beyond Canada!) is very popular- they have 180 programs in 45 different countries

·         Their second campus is a castle in England and students are offered the option to spend a summer, semester or even a year living in the castle

·         The province of Ontario has one application for all universities in Ontario and applicants can apply to three different programs at one university and be offered admission to all three

·         Seven percent of their student body are international students and over half of those are American

 

University of Toronto

·         Located in Toronto, Ontario

·         Canada’s largest university- they have over 33,000 undergraduate students

·         They have three different campuses and students can choose which campus they want based on what they want to study and the type of environment they want

·         The largest campus is the St. George campus, which is located in downtown Toronto

·         The other two campuses- Mississauga and Scarborough- are both about 30 minutes away and house a smaller number of undergraduate students

·         Their largest faculty is the faculty of arts and sciences but they also have computer science, life sciences, architecture, engineering, music and kinesiology

·         Students can apply using the universal application for all universities in Ontario

 

University of St. Thomas

·         Located in Fredericton, New Brunswick (about two hours north of Maine)

·         They are an exclusively liberal arts university with only 2,400 students

·         They offer over 30 majors and specialize in interdisciplinary studies

·         Some of their more unique majors are human rights and journalism

·         They do not require the SAT or ACT but they do require an essay

 

Dalhousie University

·         Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia

·         They have over 18,000 students and approximately 13,000 are undergraduate students

·         They have twelve different faculties, including a new faculty in agriculture that offers a pre-veterinary program

·         They have a very popular environmental sustainability program and have a large focus on undergraduate research opportunities

·         They have a very international student body and students hail from 110 different countries

·         Applicants can apply to three different academic programs at one time

 

Many of the universities offer scholarships for American students and Americans studying in Canada are eligible for U.S. Federal Student Aid. These universities sounded like a great option for students who want to experience a world-class education at what could be a slightly lower cost. There are great universities in each of Canada’s provinces and many of them are not located too far from home! There are several members of the Class of 2013 who have applied to (and been accepted by) Candian universitites. If you are a junior who is interested in learning more about Candadian universities, talk to your college counselor!

Published by: LP