[Via: American InterContinental University online education]
Though you’d never know it by watching Jersey Shore, higher educational institutions originated in Italy. I know, right? It’s true, though. The Salerno School of Medicine was established in the 8th Century and the University of Bologna followed at the end of the 11th Century. Fast forward approximately 600 years, and Harvard University was founded as the first college in America. And now, here we are in the 21st Century with … well, a LOT more. And with the continued additions of colleges and universities and institutions of higher education comes the evolution of their focus, student populations, and more.
For instance, in the 13 th Century, students could study pretty much one of three areas: Rhetoric, Logitech and Latin. Now, the options are pretty much limitless. From puppetry to enigmatology (Yep, Indiana University offers a degree in the creation and solution of puzzles), if you want a degree in something, you can probably find it. There are, of course, the popular choices, too. Top 10 degrees include biology, business, communications, computer science, criminal justice, education, marketing, nursing, psychology and political science. To this day, no  one’s sure what political scientists actually do. There’s a major dedicated to the study of it. Just kidding on that last part. Another thing that’s changed drastically is the gender breakdown of each year’s crop of college enrollments. As you might imagine, for a long time women weren’t encouraged to get education. Since the fall of 1970, though, that trend has fallen by the wayside. From just over 3,500 enrollees then to a fall 2007 total of almost 10,500, female enrollment has increased at a much higher rate than male (5,044 to 7,816 in the same date range). Girl power! And 10,000 more people enrolled in college in 2007 than in 1970.
But what about degree types? In the 13th Century, to go along with their Rhetoric, Logitech and Latin coursework, students were awarded one of three “grades” upon completion – Scholar, Bachelor or Master. A hundred years later, “Doctor” replaced “Master” even though those silly French were still using it in the 16th Century. In the 1600s, the Bachelor of Science was just an introductory public test and the Mastership of Arts was a 2-year program. Then, in the late 19th Century, Germany got all revolutionary and scrapped the Bachelor of Arts, instead using Mastership of Arts but calling it “Doctor of Philosophy.” Along that same time, America was devising their own system of degree levels, ending up with the still-intact Bachelor, Master, Doctorate hierarchy. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Long story short, education has changed a LOT over the past 1,300 years, but has remained something we all need to have fulfilling careers we can succeed in. And with so many options, why not check something out? Maybe you already have a bunch of degrees. What’s one more? As my friend’s grandma used to say, “Once you learn something new today, you can go back to sleep.” So, I’d say it’s naptime.
A week in the life of a college student can feel like an eternity, and it can be complicated. Thankfully, there is a limitless supply of useful apps to help get you through week. Your lifestyle and personal preferences will dictate what you need to survive. But if you’re a little clueless, or just curious, here are some suggestions to get you through the week. 
Monday – CNN mobile. Face it. You didn’t watch the news over the weekend. That’s why politicians always make apologies and give bad news on Fridays. They know you’re thinking about that hot date or that party you got invited to – as you should be. But come Monday, you might accidentally get cornered into a conversation about something newsworthy. Have this app ready, even if you just scan the headlines and improvise. Who knows, you might meet someone who’s attractive and smart, in which case this app might come in handy.
Tuesday – ScoreMobile. I know, it’s only Tuesday, but you’re already thinking about your fantasy team, or you’re following March madness and every other sport you can think of. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be glued to your TV or computer to know the latest scores, stats, or upcoming game times. With ScoreMobile, you can follow: NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAAB, NCAAF, CFL, PGA, NASCAR, EPL, Champions League and MLS soccer.
Wednesday – Lose it! By mid-week you’re already looking forward to eating 50 wings while watching the big game. But that feeling of guilt creeps in that reminds you how long it’s been since you showed up at the gym or ate a salad. With this app you can track your nutrition and explore a database of recipes, exercises and activities in the palm of your hand. You can even share how motivated and disciplined you’ve been with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. There are so many features and benefits to this app – order a pizza and check it out!
Thursday – Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. Okay, the weekend is getting really close. You can almost taste those hot wings, hear the laughter of your friends, and envision your team winning the big game. So what do you need to control the fire burning in your soul? A game that lets you kill Nazi zombies who have no souls. With this app you can meditate on shotgun blasts, splattering brains and the moans of the undead. Also, you can play with friends who are might be just as bored in class as you are.
Friday – Bartender’s Encyclopedia. (For 21+ College Students of course) You know what day it is. It’s time to relax and blow off some steam. Let’s say you’re trying to impress a date by making a martini (which you’ve never made before), or your at a bar and you want to order something different but you’re not sure what. This app boasts almost 25,000 different drink recipes. Drinks can be sorted by name, ingredient and in alphabetical order – depending on your need. This app even includes other information such as setting up a bar and techniques for quality assurance.
Saturday – Dinner Spinner Pro. So that girl you talked to last night? Um, yeah, you told her you could cook and that you’d make her dinner tonight. I know! How could you have done that? Thank goodness you have this app that lets you search by name, ingredient, cook time – you name it. You can even create a shopping list (because we both know you don’t have anything except beer and leftover pizza in your fridge). This app is handy for novice and experienced cooks. Why clutter your bookshelf with recipe books when you can have them all on your phone?
Sunday – HomeWork. Where did the week go? It’s Sunday and you can’t believe another week is about to begin. More than that, you can’t believe that you haven’t studied since last Sunday night. Some things never change. If this describes you, then download this app and start keeping track of your classes and homework. You won’t have to rummage through your notes (which are poorly taken) to figure out what your priorities should be.
Who knows what apps you’ll need next week? But rest assured there’s an app for everything (except time travel) and everyone.
Top 10 College Basketball Rivalries
1. North Carolina vs. Duke - The Battle of Tobacco Road is always that, a battle. Each team has talented squads year in and year out and the fact that their campuses are separated by only 8 miles of highway makes this our #1 choice.
2. Kansas vs. Missouri - Dubbed the Border War, this rivalry dates back to the Civil War and the hatred between the two fan bases hasn't dwindle too much since then. Kansas usually has the more talented squad, but Missouri has been known to pull an upset on more than a few occasions.
3. Kentucky vs. Louisville - Kentucky is one the bluebloods, but always finds themselves trying to keep their instate rival at a distance.
4. Maryland vs. Duke - Maryland has done a great job closing the gap in terms of talent with Duke, but the Blue Devils still seem to hold the edge over the Terrapins. Maryland does pull its fair share of updates though.
5. Texas A&M vs. Texas- You may have immediately thought about football when you saw this matchup, but don't let these traditional football powerhouses fool you, as they have some of the best basketball games year in and year out.
6. Purdue vs. Indiana - The Battle of the Shot Clocks as I like to call it. There may not be a lot of scoring in these games as defense is the key. But these two teams know how to execute and play smart basketball. This instate rivalry always gets the Indiana natives riled up.
7. Cincinnati vs. Xavier - These schools are only 10 minutes apart, which means their fans bases know each other well. These teams may not always be in the Top 25 of the rankings when they meet every year, but the intensity that these games are played at cannot be overlooked.
8. Arizona vs. UCLA - Both of these programs have been down as of late, but their traditions keep them firmly in the Top 10. You will always see athletes galore when you watch this track meet play out.
9. Michigan vs. Michigan State - Michigan has also been down for the past few years, but they are improving. Tom Izzo keeps sending out talented squads which is one of the reasons Michigan State has one won 18 out of the last 21 games against Michigan. It also doesn't hurt when he has a recent Final Four under his belt.
10. Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia - The Backyard Brawl as this is aptly named, looks more like a wrestling match when they hit the hardwood. It came to a head over the last couple of years when West Virginia students started throwing pennies on to the court.
On Wednesday,  the University of Texas officially announced a $300-million dollar deal with ESPN to start a TV network devoted solely to covering Longhorn sports. They also claim this will cover cultural and other non-athletic campus events, but that is yet to be seen and definitely is not the money maker in this deal. This is by far the biggest college TV deal in history and it is amazing that it could be done in a state that is trying to slash their budgets by $100+ million dollars.
The new network will spend the majority of its time showcasing its men's and women's "Olympic sports". Of the 200 athletic events that will air beginning in September, most of them will be in baseball, softball, golf, soccer, and other sports programs that don't see a lot of air time currently. Football and men's basketball games will not be shown very often because they are already locked into a deal with the Big 12 Conference. The new network will be allowed to show 1 Texas football game a year, and 8 men's basketball games.
You can read more about this in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Image courtesy of the Austin Business Journal.
Word came down this week that Harvard University will be inviting back ROTC to its campus for the first time in 40 years. What caused the sudden change? The armed forces can thank Congress for repealing its ban this week on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.
 This change will end a 40 year old stalemate between the military and one of the country’s best universities. Some quick history on this, the Vietnam War was the catalyst of the initial change and it continued over the last few decades due to student, faculty and Harvard administrators believing that it was unfair that the armed forces were discriminating against gays and lesbians. This has some profound implications on the military now that it will be able to recruit some of the brightest young minds in the country on campus.
University administrators will start up talks soon with high ranking military officials about the timetable for getting them back on campus. It seems as if the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy was the last hurdle they needed to overcome to get Reserve Officers’ Training Corps started up at Harvard again.
Here is what Drew Faust, the president of Harvard had to say; "I look forward to pursuing discussions with military officials and others to achieve Harvard’s full and formal recognition of ROTC," and, "I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country." So it looks like school officials are definitely on board with this. One thing is for sure, the brain trust in the military is about to get that much smarter over the next decade or so.
Read the Full Story at the Boston Globe. You can search for your own ROTC opportunities on AnyCollege.
With a record number of students heading to college in America, we thought it would be cool to take a look at what the average college student could expect. This is a great breakdown of information ranging from tuition prices, drinking and the importance of social networking. It's crazy that 85% of college students are on facebook, but I guess that's not surprising. Also pretty interesting was that 1 and 10 admissions counselors look at a perspective students facebook page before deciding their fate. So make sure your social profiles aren't too crazy while you are going through the admissions process. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it is accurate?
There is always a debate on what the best cities are for college students. Well the fine people at AIER came up with a pretty good map of where the best towns are. If you are a high school student and are still undecided on where you want to go to school, then this map should help you out. If you are a current college student, let us know what you think about these ranking by leaving a comment below.
Posted At : November 23, 2010 1:02 PM | Posted By : AnyCollege.com
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