College of the Day: University of Southern Califonia

University of Southern California

Quick Facts:

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Established:1880

Students Enrolled: 34,236

Applicants: 46,104

Male/Female Ratio: 49/51

The University of Southern California (USC) is located adjacent to downtown Los Angeles. The park-like, 226-acre campus is an oasis from the busy city of LA.  USC is the only major private college in the region.  The university has previously been called "the University of Spoiled Children", but recently, the university has become more known for it's leading programs in business, media, and arts.

Classes are challenging, but many students join the school's learning communities, where students with common academic interests get together to study. USC offers students seventeen different professional schools they can join besides the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.  The university strongly encourages students to take double majors or have minors.  

The majority of USC students hail from California, but the campus is one of the most diverse in the country.  USC consistently has the highest proportion of foreign students in the country. Even with all the diversity, most students consider other students to be outgoing and friendly.

Student Life:

Dorms are fairly nice and comfortable at USC.  Dorms feature microwaves and refrigerators, which is uncommon for universities to provide.  Freshmen are guaranteed housing on campus, but upper classmen usually have to find housing off campus due to a shortage of space.  Some dorms even feature swimming pools and tennis courts.

Greek life is very popular at USC.  Forty-six percent of students participate in either a fraternity or sorority.  The Greek houses are located a short walk for campus, so many students choose to live in these houses.  

Sports are a huge event on campus.  There is a fever that runs through the school every football season. USC's football team is usually top in the nation.  The team won two consecutive national championships recently and 11 total championships.  Students pile in the courtyards of the campus for every game to tailgate and root on their team.  

Applying:

If you are interested in applying to the USC you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 620-720 and a Math SAT Score of 650-760. ACT Scores for all sections should be at least 29-33. USC typically has at least 46,000 applicants each year with only 33% of applicants being accepted.  

Interested in applying to USC, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "University of Southern California." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 648-651. Print

 

College of the Day: UCLA

University of California - Los Angeles

Quick Facts:

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Established:1919

Students Enrolled: 39,000

Applicants: 72,697

Male/Female Ratio: 45/55

The University of California, Los Angeles, located between Beverly Hills and Bel Air, has a prime location in the Los Angeles area. UCLA's campus sprawls over 419 acres and features a wealth of gardens and tree-lined walkways. The campus is frequently used for the backdrop in many tv shows and movies. 

UCLA is known for it's superb facilities and outstanding academics.  The university offers 190 different fields of study for it's students.  Many programs at UCLA are considered the best in the country.  The School of Engineering and Applied Science is renowned nationwide.  The School of Film, Theater, and Television is highly regarded, and it's location in Los Angeles gives students many opportunities to explore career opportunities while at school. 

Because of UCLA's size, the required core classes often have 300 to 400 students in each, but the higher level courses do have less.  About 80 percent of undergraduate classes have less than 50 students.  The academic classes are rigorous and challenging, but the university offers students many study options like peer tutoring and study groups. 

Student Life:

Student housing is highly sought after due to the cost of rent in Los Angeles.  Ninety-two percent of students live in university housing.  Freshmen and sophomores are guaranteed housing, but older students have to sign up for a wait list. Campus has 15 different dining halls, cafes, and snack bars for the students to enjoy.  

Because of the campus's large size, there is never a shortage of social events to go to.  The neighboring town of Westwood features many restaurants and theaters, but only 3 bars.  Students mostly spend their weekends partying at fraternities/sororities or going to near by Hollywood clubs. Greek life is fairly popular with eleven percent of students joining a fraternity or sorority.  The university has a no open consumption policy when it comes to alcohol, but many students find it easy to get around this rule. 

UCLA is also a very distinguished school athletically.  The university has won more than 1,200 NCAA titles and has spawned more than 250 Olympic athletes.  The rivalry between the proximate University of Southern California (USC) is very electric.  Students get very passionate about the rivalry especially during football season. 

Applying:

If you are interested in applying to the UCLA you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 560-680 and a Math SAT Score of 600-760. ACT Scores for all sections should be at least 25-31. UCLA typically has at least 72,000 applicants each year with only 22% of applicants being accepted.  UCLA gets more applications than any other college in America. 

Interested in applying to UCLA, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "UC-Los Angeles." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 98-100. Print

 

Texas Teacher Honored by President Obama

Shanna Peeples Named Teacher of the Year

Shanna Peeples, a high school English teacher from Amarillo, Texas has been named the U.S. Teacher of the Year.  Peeples was recognized by President Barack Obama yesterday at a ceremony at the White House.

Peeples is a teacher at Palo Duro High School, where the majority of students live below the poverty line with many being refugee children. Texas leads the United States in refugee resettlements. Peeples teaches many students from Somalia, Burma, Ethiopia, Iraq, and Cuba. Many are survivors with emotional trauma from their war-torn homelands. 

She states that her childhood exposed her to alcoholism and domestic violence, which provided her with empathy for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. "That's what helped me as a teacher probably more than anything, that I have that connection with them, unfortunately," Peeples said. "You can't really learn when you're scared. (source)"


In the 12 years that Peeples has been teaching, she has touched many lives and helped many students succeed through many hardships. Peeples will now spend the next year traveling across the U.S. to advocate on the behalf of educators. 

"I hope to remind people that public school teachers are amazing, dedicated, hard-working, smart and gifted people, " Peeples stated.  

Many teachers like Peeples work hard daily to help their students grow.  Here at Tried & True Tutoring, our teachers strive to help all our students become the best they can be. Want help improving your or your child's testing scores and academic grades?  Check out our highly-successful 1-on-1 tutoring programs. 

Source

College of the Day: Arizona State University

Arizona State University 

Quick Facts:

Location: Tempe, AZ
Established:1885

Students Enrolled: 58,884

Applicants: 30,696

Male/Female Ratio: 50/50

Arizona State University (ASU), located in the desert oasis of Tempe, Arizona, is the largest public university in the U.S. with over 58,000 students.  The campus is officially listed as having an arboretum campus with more than 115 different types of trees.  Many northerners flock to ASU for it's warm, arid climate; twenty-three percent of students come from another state.  

Students apply to the university as a whole and not an individual program.  ASU offers many different undergraduate programs for students to choose from:  business, liberal arts and sciences, engineering, design and the arts, education, health solutions, journalism nursing and health, sustainability, technology and innovation. 

The social science and sciences buildings are first-class.  ASU is a founding member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute.  The teaching and education program at ASU is also very popular;  ASU offers the largest teacher program in the U.S.  Many students state that their classes include a good deal of hands-on experience, not just lectures.

 

Student Life:

About twenty percent of students (mostly freshmen) live in on-campus dormitories.  The majority of students choose to live off-campus, possibly due to the fact that ASU's campus is a dry campus.  Alcohol is not allowed in student's dormitories, so many students spend weekend's off campus at Tempe's local bars and nightclubs.  

Because of the large number of students, there is always something to do on or around campus. Students often have to choose between 3 or 4 events for one night. The Greek system is not large at ASU with only 11 percent of the student body participating. 

ASU is famous for it's school spirit.  The university's Division I athletics are consistently ranked in the top of the nation.  Because of the large student body, ASU makes sure their cheers are heard at every game. 

Applying:

If you are interested in applying to the Arizona State University you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 483-600 and a Math SAT Score of 500-630. ACT Scores for all sections should be at least 21-27. ASU typically has at least 26,000 applicants each year with 77% of applicants being accepted.

Interested in applying to ASU, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "Arizona State University." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 26-29. Print.

College of the Day: University of Colorado-Boulder

University of Colorado-Boulder

Quick Facts:

Location: Boulder, CO
Established:1876

Students Enrolled: 25,873

Applicants: 21,767

Male/Female Ratio: 54/46

University of Colorado at Boulder is located at the foothills of the picturesque Rocky Mountains.  The campus itself is located on 600-acres of land.  UC-Boulder prides itself on it's beautiful surrounding environment and as such, the university is one of the top public colleges in efforts to protect the environment.  

UC-Boulder has three different colleges, two programs, and one school for students to apply: The College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Music, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Program in Environmental Design, the Program in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Leeds School of Business.  The College of Arts and Sciences is the most popular with 70% of students applying to this school.  The College of Engineering and Applied Science is the most difficult school to be accepted into. 

The university offers more than 3,600 courses each year in over 150 different areas of study.  Popular departments include astrophysics, planetary sciences, and engineering.  Because of this, CU-Boulder is among the top universities to receive funding from NASA.  

Student Life:

First year students are required to live in on-campus housing, which allows students easy access to the classroom buildings.  Older students typically find housing off campus in the city, but bus lines make it easy for students to make it to campus.  While on campus, students can choose from four different dining halls and an assortment of cafes. 

Students that attend UC-Boulder typically are outdoors' enthusiasts.  There are many bike and walking paths all over the campus.  The Eldora Ski area is only thirty minutes away from campus, and Vail Breckinridge, and Aspen aren't too much farther.  

UC-Boulder has previously been known as a party school, but recent crack downs on underage drinking has curbed this image somewhat.  All on campus dorms ban alcohol.  If underage students are caught twice for alcohol, they will be subject to suspension.  Therefore, most of the social interaction takes place off campus.  Boulder offers students many restaurants, theaters, concert halls, museums, and art galleries. 

Applying: 

If you are interested in applying to the University of Colorado-Boulder you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 530-630 and a Math SAT Score of 540-650. ACT Scores for all sections should be at least 24-29. UC-Boulder typically has at least 21,000 applicants each year with only 84% of applicants being accepted.

Interested in applying to UC-Boulder, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "UC-Santa Cruz." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 266-69. Print.

College of the Day: University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Quick Facts:

Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Established:1789

Students Enrolled: 24,428

Applicants: 28,436

Male/Female Ratio: 42/58

The University of North Carolina (UNC), founded in 1789, is the oldest public university in the United States.  The university is considered one of the most prestigious universities in the South.  The campus sprawls over 730 acres of lush lawns and trees with quaint brick walkways.  Chapel Hill is the quintessential college town with the majority of residents being students or working for the university. 

UNC offers over seventy-five undergraduate degree programs including business, sociology, biology, chemistry, political science, journalism, communications, etc.   The university's honors program is nationally recognized as being among the best in the country.  UNC also offers over 300 study abroad programs in 70 different countries.  

 

Student Life:

UNC provides ample housing options for students with forty-six percent of students choosing to live on campus.  The town of Chapel Hill also provides easily affordable housing and apartments for students on a budget.  Franklin Street is the main street in town; students flock to the street for restaurants, bars, clubs, and movies.  Students provide most of the customers for the town of Chapel Hill, so students are always welcome. 

Greek life is also very popular at UNC with 17 percent of students participating in either a fraternity or sorority.  Fraternity row is a popular spot for all students to flock to for off-campus parties.  UNC provides many events and activities for students.  The annual Fall Festival and Halloween are major events for UNC students.  Between classes, students can be found lounging in the grass between the buildings or in the pit by the center of campus.  

Sports are extremely popular on campus; there is a strong spirit at the university.  UNC is dubbed the "University of National Champions" because of it's success in all sports.  The basketball team is almost always a power force, winning five national championships so far.  The women's soccer team has won more national championships than any other university in the nation.  It's hard not to catch the fever for sports with teams that win constantly.  

 

The University of North Carolina is almost always ranked at least in the top five of univeristies that give you the most bang for your buck.  UNC gives students everything they could need both academically and socially.  UNC students take great pride in their university and are always proud to be a Tarheel. 

 

Applying:

 

If you are interested in applying to the University of North Carolina you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 590-690 and a Math SAT Score of 610-710. ACT Scores for all sections should be 28-32. UNC typically has at least 28,000 applicants each year with only 28% of applicants being accepted.

Interested in applying to UNC, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "UC-Santa Cruz." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 266-69. Print.

College of the Day: UC-Santa Barbara

University of California-Santa Barbara

Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Established: 1944

Students Enrolled: 21,653
Applicants: 54,762
Male/Female Ratio: 47/53

The University of California- Santa Barbara (UCSB) is a picturesque campus is located near the beautiful beaches of southern California with two sides of the campus being bordered by the Pacific Ocean.  Many students spend their down time lounging on the beach or in the ocean surfing.  UC Santa Barbara has the reputation of being a party school, but students still are hardworking. 

Because of the coastal location, marine biology is a very popular department for UCSB students.  Other popular majors include psychology, biology, economics, communications, and sociology.  Because of the university's beautiful location, there is a strong desire for students to be environmentally friendly; because of this the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management is world renowned.  The university also features the College of Creative Studies which allows self-starters to create their own curriculum for independent studies of math, the arts, or the sciences.

 

Student Life:

Ninety-four percent of UCSB students hail from California, giving the campus a laid-back vibe.  Alcohol isn't allowed on campus, but many students find it easy to get around this rule.  There are also plenty of local bars and clubs for students to go to.  On campus housing is nice, but hard to come by.  Only 37% of students are able to get on campus housing.  Most students rent apartments in the near by city of Isla Vista.  

Greek life is growing on the UCSB campus with 20% of students participating in either a fraternity or sorority.  The UCSB Greek life is known for it's strong philanthropy.  Students that don't take part of Greek life still have plenty of activities and events in which they can take part.  Intramural sports are very popular with students and many take place on the beaches.  

Applying:

If you are interested in applying to UC-Santa Barbara, you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 540-660 and a Math SAT Score of 570-690. ACT Scores for all sections should be 24-29. UCSB typically has around 55,000 applicants each year with only 44% of applicants being accepted. 

Interested in applying to UC-Santa Barbara, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "UC-Santa Cruz." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 266-69. Print.

College of the Day: New York University

New York University

Quick Facts:

Location: New York, New York
Established: 1831

Students Enrolled: 34,497
Applicants: 42,807
Male/Female Ratio: 40/60

New York University also known as NYU is located centrally in Greenwich Village, one of the cultural centers of New York.  NYU has several campuses spread out over the city, but it's main campus is located in Washington Square.  Restaurants, shops, galleries, bars, and clubs are within walking distance in the trendy areas such as Soho, Little Italy, and Chinatown.  The city scene is a core element of the NYU experience; students gain street smarts along with their book smarts.

NYU is famous for it's renowned Tisch School of the Arts, which features degree programs in acting, performances, dancing, photography, film and television, etc. NYU is not just a arts school; it is also features a prominent business degree program.  Business and accounting are very popular majors for NYU students.

Student Life:

New York is famous for it's expensive and hard to find housing market, but NYU students do not have to worry about this.  NYU offers affordable student housing for all four years of undergrad.  Fifty percent of students decide to stay on campus.  Most of the dormitories have private baths and larger rooms than what you find in the rest of the city.

NYU students social life is based mainly in the city, but NYU does have many on campus activities, such as concerts and movies.  Greek life is a fairly small percentage of students with only 13% of students participating in fraternities and sororities.  Alcohol is not tolerated in public areas of the dorms; if caught with alcohol, students can lose their on campus housing.  Many students choose to go out in the city, rather than stay in their dorms.

Applying:

If you are interested in applying to the New York University, you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 620-710 and a Math SAT Score of 630-740. ACT Scores for all sections should be 28-32. Depending on which program you would like to apply to, you may also be required to present a portfolio or audition. NYU typically has around 43,000 applicants each year with only 35% of applicants being accepted. 

Interested in applying to New York University, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "Georgetown University." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 266-69. Print.

College of the Day: College of Charleston

College of Charleston

Quick Facts:

Location: Charleston, SC
Established: 1770

Students Enrolled: 9,967
Applicants: 11,962
Male/Female Ratio: 38/62

College of Charleston (CofC) is located in beautiful, historic Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is famous for it's historical downtown.  CofC campus features many historic homes converted into class buildings. The gorgeous campus is tree lined and well-manicured.  It is famous for the horse-drawn carriages that take tourists through the streets. 

With it's strong liberal arts based education, students receive an education with creative expression and intellectual freedom.  CofC has a strong liberal arts core curriculum that focuses on writing, computing, thinking skills, and language acquisition.  The most popular majors at the university are communications, biology, psychology, political science, and business administration. 

Student Life:

Thirty-one percent of students live on campus with choices between dorms, historic houses, and apartments.  Alcohol is strictly-enforced on campus, so a good deal of social life takes place off campus. Campus clubs do provide on campus activities frequently as well.  Greek life is popular with 37% of the student body participating in either a fraternity or sorority.  

Charleston provides students with plenty of activities and entertainment.  There are scenic plantations and gardens all over the city.  Students also have access to many festivals and plays. Several beaches are within close driving distance.  The college itself is located near the Battery, a Civil War sea wall that has picturesque views of the harbor and historic Charleston mansions. 

Applying:

If you are interested in applying to the College of Charleston, you should have a Critical Reading SAT Score of 550-650 and a Math SAT Score of 560-650.  ACT Scores for all sections should be 23-27.  CofC typically has around 12,000 applicants each year with 68% of applicants being accepted.

Interested in applying to College of Charleston, but need to boost your testing scores? Click here to access our various 1-on-1 tutoring and college admissions consulting packages.

 Source: Fiske, Edward B. "Georgetown University." Fiske Guide to Colleges. Vol. 2015. N.p: 266-69. Print.