When it comes to applying for college financial aid, timing is not quite everything. But it comes close. Contrary to the beliefs of many art school applicants, a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is not simply a certificate of training in art but a college degree, for which a student must complete and pass both studio and academic courses alike. For Alec Tallman of Lunenburg, it was a tossup with Vassar College, and Vassar lost. For Meghan Brown of Pembroke, it was the chance for a high-quality education at a palatable price.
Graduate students are in a perfect position to reflect on freshman year.
Having been there, done that, they view the first-year college experience through the focused lens of maturity and perspective. As she completes her studies and aspires to a broadcasting career, Gaffney looked back on what she's learned while serving as a teaching assistant in freshman classes and working in COM's office of student services. Amid a state push to raise academic standards, officials bemoaned a report released yesterday showing thousands of students from Massachusetts public schools requiring remedial classes in basic reading, writing, and math skills when they arrive at state colleges and universities. Much public attention has been focused on the issue of teacher testing in Massachusetts. But the recent approval by the state Board of Higher Education of a series of sweeping changes that could reduce educational opportunities for working families and students has gone relatively unnoticed.