The Dunce's Cap- Junior version
October 7, 1999
Dear Junior:
By now this college selection thing is getting to be familiar. Some mail from colleges, perhaps a college fair or two, and some prodding from your guidance office to come by or to do something to get started.
THE DUNCE has a suggestion for you, too. From the following list, put in priority order the factors important to you as you begin to search for a college: location, academic reputation as a college, availability of a specific major (or more), where friends are going, total cost, scholarships/financial aid, Internet and computer capabilities and the "fun factor."
This will keep you busy for a little while. By the way, ask your parents to create their own priority list, then compare. Resolving the differences in priorities will keep you busy a long time. But now is the best time to start this discussion.
In this issue I discuss some college admission terms in THE DUNCE'S COLLEGE GLOSSARY. Also, I report the results of a survey taken last year at this time. We are in the midst of a similar survey now (did you take part?) and will have those results next month.
THE DUNCE'S COLLEGE GLOSSARY
Here are but a few of the terms or abbreviations you will be encountering. We start with some obvious ones. If I insult your intelligence, just skip right on ahead.
Major. No relation to military rank. A common description of a group of academic courses taken in the junior and senior year of colleges.
Minor. Has no reference to your age or legal standing. The opposite of a major. Some students will major and minor. They like to study a lot.
Predicted GPA. What's left of your original GPA on your transcript after college admissions people take out what they consider the nonacademic courses and weight your resulting GPA by an academic factor assigned to your high school.
Coed. An abbreviation for "coeducational." One day some enlightened educator (who should be a saint) figured out if men and women went to the same college they would get a better education. But since women tended to go to former men's colleges, the women were called "coeds."
Extracurricular. Colleges came up with this big, fancy, Latin word for "fun" to confuse parents. Surprisingly, some students major in extracurricular activities, but these are the students who don't like to study and take a long time to graduate.
Intramural. Literally, "within the walls" from the New Latin. The term usually applies to sports, therefore, these are the sports that are played on campus by teams from other parts of the campus.
Intercollegiate. As you may infer from the above, intercollegiate sports are between colleges or universities. These sports are the same as "varsity" sports and are usually the biggies: football, basketball, baseball, and beachball. But any sport played against another college qualifies for the definition.
Club sports. These are the kind of sports typically organized by students, e.g., among fraternities or sororities, and are not part of the regular college athletic program.
Student union. Not what you think. It's the place to hang out after and during classes. Usually the building where you will find the cafeteria, student government offices, game rooms, and the Dean of Students office. Also, the bookstore is generally in the immediate area.
THE DUNCE
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