The ��Ƶ Blog is Turning 2! Top 5 Posts

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 04:24:00 +0000

In February 2012, we started the ��Ƶ blog to provide you with resources on parenting and teaching gifted youth as well as to keep you updated on what is happening at ��Ƶ. Two years later, we are humbled by how many people have read and shared this blog and our posts. To date, this blog has received more than 50,000 views!

In case you missed any of these, we wanted to take this opportunity to share the five most popular posts from the last year:

The lovable title character in Roald Dahl’s Matilda is a precocious young girl who can teach the world a lot about gifted kids.
In this day and age of technology, more and more web-based resources are becoming available at our fingertips. Here are some great online educational resources.
Lisa is a mother with a dilemma: “Every time I support my daughter’s need to look beautiful, I go through mental gymnastics.”
“There is a right way to approach your school work and a wrong way,” Lisa says. “But this isn’t a story about getting my son to do his homework the right way. This is about learning to accept his way.”
Is an aspiring Ph.D. in the sciences better served by an undergraduate education at a liberal arts college or a research university? Certified College Counselor Kate Duey explores this topic.

And, as an honorable mention, the most popular post in our Many Faces of Gifted series: ! Before Arden was six years old, he had already been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, met Al Gore, been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live twice, and received a personal letter of encouragement from Bill Clinton.

We are so glad that you have found this blog helpful, and we look forward to continuing to provide you with valuable resources and information.

Please remember that this blog is for you, and we want to share what you want to see. We always .

Here’s to a great third year!

Which post has been your favorite? We’d love to know. Please share in the comment section below.

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Liberal Arts vs. Research Universities for Science Students

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:17:58 +0000

By Kate Duey

Kate Duey is a private college counselor serving gifted students. She has worked with students on traditional schooling paths, home schooled students, community college students, and students seeking accelerated or early college entrance. Kate is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA.

Is an aspiring Ph.D. in the sciences better served by an undergraduate education at a liberal arts college or a research university? The vast majority (83%) of Ph.D.’s in science are awarded to students who graduated from research universities. The top ten research universities graduating undergraduates who go on to earn the most Ph.D.’s in the sciences are:

1. UC Berkeley
2. University of Michigan
3. Cornell University
4. M.I.T.
5. University of Wisconsin, Madison
6. Penn State
7. UCLA
8. Harvard
9. University of Minnesota
10. University of Washington

Liberal arts schools, however, educate roughly 8% of American college students, and from those 8% come 17% of Ph.D.’s in science. Thought of another way, the per capita distribution of science Ph.D.’s is twice as high in a liberal arts college as in a research university. Among the National Academy of Science members, 19% received their undergraduate education at liberal arts schools. The top ten liberal arts colleges graduating undergraduates who per capita go on to earn the most Ph.D.’s in the sciences are:

Swarthmore
Carleton
Haverford
Grinnell
Oberlin
Pomona
Bryn Mawr
Williams
Amherst
Wesleyan

Why are liberal arts colleges more productive at preparing science Ph.D.’s?

Thomas R. Cech, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry who led breakthroughs in the catalytic properties of RNA, discusses this in “”.

Dr. Cech offers several explanations for the imbalance, including:

Characteristic	Liberal Arts Colleges	Research Universities
Professorial focus	– Teaching undergraduates – Researching on a small scale – Access to professors leads to confidence and self-worth	– Teaching graduate students – Researching on a large scale – Publishing – Applying for research funding – Building national and international prominence – Fundraising for the university – Performing public service in other educational settings – Working on state-wide economic development programs – Coordinating intellectual property controls – Teaching undergraduates
Cross-training	– More requirements in multiple fields – Seeing conflicting data in multiple fields – More demands to interpret new information – More written assignments – More in-class discussions and presentations	– Fewer requirements in multiple fields – Can take more science classes
Which students gain experience as lab assistants?	Juniors or seniors who have distinguished themselves	Graduate and Postdoctoral students who are required to work as part of stipend
Lab schedules	– Fewer lab users – Lab assignments can become open-ended – Less competition for equipment – Professors typically supervise lab work	– More lab users – Lab time must be scheduled – Lab experiments are designed to be straight-forward and predictable to accommodate demands on lab time – Budget cuts intensify these issues
Professorial Contact	– Introductory classes typically have 50 students – 3rd and 4th year classes typically have 12 students	– Introductory classes typically have 500 students – 3rd and 4th year classes typically have 100 students
Fellow students	– Selectivity means stronger academic preparedness overall – Higher performing students create a culture of academic development	– Undergraduates witness higher levels of scholarship and competitiveness of academic research

As Dr. Cech illustrates, it is worth exploring all options available to you when looking for a university science program, including liberal arts universities.

What has your experience been with science programs at liberal arts or research universities? Please share in the comment section below!

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liberal arts – Institute for Educational Advancement

The ������Ƶ Blog is Turning 2! Top 5 Posts

Liberal Arts vs. Research Universities for Science Students

The ��Ƶ Blog is Turning 2! Top 5 Posts