Little vacation for the T-day holiday

Posted by Dee

Hey AdmitSpit readers!

Sorry we haven’t been writing in awhile; all the contributors have been back at home from college spending time with family and friends, with little motivation to get to the computer to write.

But, starting Monday, look forward to a post about Princeton academics, some posts with our personal tips and suggestions for UC personal statement essays, and our personal tips and suggestions for writing short answer responses.

Also, do let us know for what other schools you’d like academic snapshots from. I’m working on getting someone from USC to write for us, as well as someone from Columbia. What other schools are important for you to hear about? Leave a comment!

Li’s playing the world’s smallest violin

Posted by Dee

Yes, I know the title is cliché, but I couldn’t think of any other way to express my reactions towards this Jian Li character I’ve been reading so much about lately.

I’ve been following with piqued interest for several days now about this whole Princeton vs. Li upcoming lawsuit ordeal. Fellow blogger, Sam Jackson, provides a great, slightly-lengthy recap of the issue at hand in his post titled, “WSJ asks: ‘Is Admissions Bar Higher for Asians At Elite Schools?’ [part 1]” which I will not rewrite again here; I do recommend reading through it to familiarize yourself with the debate and points of contention.

Here’s my take:

I’m a fan of merit. I do support the idea that if you’re more qualified than another candidate, you should get admitted. But, that said, this is not what college admissions is about. In the InsideHigherEd.com article from October 10 titled, “Too Asian?,” (which is also a read I recommend) they report that, with regards to Asian applicants being held to higher standards than Whites, “intensity of concern has grown, as has mistrust of the system.”

Honestly, this is laughable! What system? Since when has college admissions

Thanksgiving is soon

Posted by Dee

And that means applications are due soon enough.

It’s going to be tempting to just slack off, hang out, and pig out on pumpkin pie all weekend, but remember that, while taking time to rewind and recharge is important, Thanksgiving break is the time to get ahead.

Use the extra days away from school to catch up on your school work and to work on college applications. Believe me, if you waste the time, you’ll not only end up behind, but you’ll also be more stressed and frustrated with yourself than ever!

The six colleges of UCSD

Posted by Teja

The University of California, San Diego may be known for its sunny beaches and super hot surfers but don’t be fooled into underestimating its academic rigor. As a large campus with over 20,000 undergraduates, there is no lack of academic and recreational activities.If you choose to go to a big university, such as UCSD, it is very important to be independent. Unlike in high school and smaller colleges, there is no “spoon-feeding.” You are completely responsible for yourself: signing up for classes, asking for help, getting advice, etc. Consequently, studies at UCSD are as hard or as easy as you make them. There are many opportunities to get involved in leadership, research, and social activities but they do not come to you, you must go look for them. With that said, I’ll tell you a little bit about UCSD…

The academic year is based on the quarter system, which allows you to take a vast number of classes in various subjects. There are four quarters to a year. Fall quarter from September to December, winter quarter from January to March, spring quarter from March to June, and summer quarter during the summer (optional). Each quarter lasts about 10 weeks, so if you really dislike a class it will pass by with the blink of an eye. On the negative side, this system demands a constant output of work; I have only been here for 2 months but have already gone through midterms, and the quarter is almost over.

UCSD is the only UC that is split up into 6 different sub-colleges. The beauty of this

How “x” does academics: x = Cornell

Posted by Polina

You’ve probably already heard the saying… “Cornell: the easiest ivy to get into, the hardest to get out of.” Somehow Cornell has acquired this rep of having a brutally impossible curriculum and a super intense academic environment. While, yes, Cornell is not a walk in the park for the most part (excluding a few majors), it’s not impossible and, from what I gather, it’s pretty similar to its peer institutions in terms of academic rigour. Don’t let the rep scare you out of applying or coming here—there’s not a lot of truth to it.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to the actual majors and programs at Cornell. So, this can get very tricky, especially at first. I’ve already been here for over two months, and I’m still continually hearing about new majors and programs I had no clue about. Cornell is so unique in the plethora of academic opportunities it offers that it can really get confusing, so let me explain:

Unlike most universities that tend to consist of maybe two or three different colleges at most (usually an “arts and sciences” school and “engineering”), Cornell is

Importance of a CV

Posted by Dee

What is a CV?

As you progress through your academic and professional life you’ll here this term more and more often.

A CV is an acronym for curriculum vitae, a “summary of a person’s educational qualifications, skills, publications, and professional activities, prepared when applying for an academic position.”

Nowadays, I think CVs are defined even more broadly than that, and you can basically think of it as a list of any activity, school, skill, honor, recognition, prize, etc. you’ve ever completed, received, etc.

It is very, I repeat, VERY important, even from a very young age, to keep track of all your accomplishments. Definitely keep records of awards you’ve received, your report cards, test scores, etc. dating back even to kindergarten. Not only does it track your history and personal development, but it is also extremely useful when

How “x” does academics: x = Yale

Posted by Nicole

Entering the academic world at Yale seems like a very daunting challenge at first; the workload definitely requires diligence. However, Yale’s many unique aspects of its academic approach make the task much more manageable and worthwhile.

Yale operates on a semester system. The first semester begins in late August/early September and ends in December (before winter break); the second begins in January and ends in early/mid-May. This allows for more depth in a fewer amount of courses than a quarter system with fewer major assignments.

Students need 36 credits to graduate, averaging 9 credits a year. Most classes are one credit each, with some exceptions (labs, for example, are generally half a credit, while beginning or intensive languages class can be 1.5-2). Many students graduate with over 36 credits under their belts.

There is no “core” curriculum at Yale; instead, students must take two classes in the following categories: humanities, social sciences, sciences, quantitative reasoning, and writing. There is also a foreign language requirement, for which, depending on one’s level of study and AP scores, students take one to three classes. These categories are very broadly defined; logic classes, for instance, count toward quantitative reasoning, while biology courses that require more in-depth research papers fulfill the writing requirement.

Students must declare a major by the beginning of junior year, or can work with

How “x” does academics: x = Harvard

Posted by Alana

Harvard is hard, but while the classes are time-consuming and extremely challenging, there are plenty of opportunities for fun. That said, let’s get down to the dirty details of academic life at Harvard.

Classes range in size from 12 people (for the mandatory freshman Expository Writing course and many small seminars) to more than 600 (for the big intro classes to economics and the life sciences). Classes meet either two or three times per week. Don’t worry too much about the large lecture halls, because every big class also meets in section–with about ten to fifteen students per TF (Teaching Fellow). These teaching fellows are incredibly helpful and a great resource to supplement course lectures and homework. Most Harvard students take between 4 and 5 classes each semester. If you want to check out specific courses, the complete catalogue is online.

Each year, almost all of the undergraduates fill out something called a CUE evaluation, rating their professor and the class overall. Before selecting their classes at the start of the semester, many students consult the CUE guide (distributed free to the entire student body) to gauge course elements from the difficulty of the material to the enthusiasm of the professor. After narrowing down

How “x” does academics: x = Stanford

Posted by John

To begin with an unbiased statement, Stanford is a school known for the well-balanced academic and social lives of its students, its top-tier academics in both fuzzie and techie fields, and its beautiful and enormous campus.

Stanford really is one of the most flexible schools in the US. Students are encouraged to take a wide variety of classes and to combine majors in new and unique ways. Let’s start with an overview of the academic requirements at Stanford, and I’ll then elaborate on how those promote flexibility and such.

Stanford runs on a quarter system rather than a semester schedule. This means that there are three major divisions to the school year: fall quarter (before winter break), winter quarter (until spring break), and spring quarter. There’s also summer quarter, which is about the same length (hence, “quarters”), but that’s primarily

Basics of the UC essays

Posted by Helen

The University of California system will begin its application filing period on Wednesday, and will accept applications through Nov. 30. Since well over 50,000 students will be applying to the University of California, we thought we should talk a little about what you need to know regarding the personal statement portion of the application.

Basics:

1. The application consists of three essay prompts designed to explore the following three areas: the applicant’s academic achievement, potential to contribute, and additional information.
2. The three essays combined are limited to 1,000 words, divided among 2 short responses (200 words) and one long response (600 words). Do NOT break these restrictions. Applicants may choose whichever essay they wish to be the long essay.
3. Remember: The UC system does not accept teacher or counselor recommendation forms. Your personal statement is your chance to be the advocate for your admission, so treat it accordingly!

Prompt #1:

The first prompt on the application is the Academic Achievement Prompt. This