During your college interview, you might be given the chance to explain a bad grade or weak semester. The question can take a variety of forms, but it will be something along these lines: "Does your high school record accurately reflect your effort and ability?"
If you've had a major disruption in high school that affected your grades, this is your opportunity to explain the circumstances. However, be careful to avoid coming across as a whiner who likes to blame others for a bad grade. These college interview tips can help you with this question.
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Explore the Columbia University campus in this Columbia photo tour. Columbia is one of the eight members of the prestigious Ivy League, and with an acceptance rate around 10%, it is also one of the most selective colleges in the country.
Columbia University
Photo Credit: Allen Grove
The campus is stunning with Italian Renaissance style buildings designed over 100 years ago by the highly regarded McKim, Mead and White architectural firm. The school is located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. These 20 photos are from my visit to the campus on a beautiful sunny day this past October.
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On Monday the #1 LSU Tigers will take on the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide in the BCS Championship Game. For game analysis, be sure to visit
Tim Hyland, the About.com guide to college football. Here we'll look at how these two schools measure up on the admissions front. Both schools are large
public universities, and both are members of the powerful
Southeastern Conference. Both have chapters of the prestigious
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society for their strengths in the liberal arts and sciences. Costs, test scores, acceptance rates, and graduation rates are compared below:
Louisiana State University:
- Percentage of applicants accepted: 69%
- Middle 50% SAT Reading: 510 / 630
- Middle 50% SAT Math: 540 / 650
- Middle 50% ACT Composite: 23 / 28
- Total Cost (In-State): $18,344
- Total Cost (Out-of-State): $29,129
- 4-Year Graduation Rate: 26%
- 6-Year Graduation Rate: 59%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 23,685
University of Alabama:
- Percentage of applicants accepted: 54%
- Middle 50% SAT Reading: 490 / 620
- Middle 50% SAT Math: 500 / 620
- Middle 50% ACT Composite: 22 / 29
- Total Cost (In-State): $21,681
- Total Cost (Out-of-State): $34,281
- 4-Year Graduation Rate: 38%
- 6-Year Graduation Rate: 66%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 23,700
The two schools are nearly identical in size, and they are equally selective. You're likely to pay a bit less at LSU -- not only is the cost less for in-state and out-of-state students than at Alabama, but LSU offers more grant aid to more students. Academically, however, Alabama might have a slight edge. The four- and six-year graduation rates are higher, and the undergraduate business school is highly regarded. All-in-all, however, I'd have to say this match-up is too close to call. Let's hope the game keeps us entertained by being equally close.
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Dartmouth College is the smallest of the
Ivy League schools. With just over 4,000 undergraduates and its location on a small town green, Dartmouth has the feeling of an elite liberal arts college.
Dartmouth Hall
Photo Credit: Allen Grove
However, with its schools of engineering, business and medicine as well as numerous research centers, Dartmouth has the academic breadth of a much larger comprehensive university. The college has been putting up lots of new buildings and renovating old buildings in recent years, a clear sign of Dartmouth's strong economic foundation (the school's endowment currently stands around $3 billion).
To see some of the sights of this prestigious college, explore the campus in this Dartmouth College photo tour.
For acceptance rates, costs and admissions data for the Ivy League schools, click on the links below:
