Tag: academics

How Not To Choose A College

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how not to choose a college

With college acceptances pouring in for seniors, and juniors beginning to narrow the list down to the golden ten, it’s likely you’ve already sat through the lectures about how to choose a college that is a best fit for your future. But what are the elements to avoid? Here are a few reasons to be weary of choosing that particular school – for that particular reason.

Don’t Follow You-Know-Who. You have dated #SoAndSo for four years; six if you count the months spent checking their Facebook wall in middle school. But following your love life to college is possibly the worst reason to choose your alma mater. Deciding on which college to spend the next four years of your life should be a truly individual decision. Factoring in your high school romance will only result in making huge compromises on your future – a future that may not even include your current sweetheart past freshman orientation. As much as it may hurt to be separated from your current boyfriend or girlfriend, it is important to make a pragmatic decision based on your own personal and academic goals. In the worst case scenario, you will just have to be apart a few weeks at a time until Fall Break…and Thanksgiving Break…and then the long Winter Break (college has A LOT of breaks.) Tolerable, and you will each have space to grow and become your best selves. Great case scenario, you will grow apart relatively pain free and end up meeting a lot of really interesting and attractive new people, but you and your ex can still spy on each other via Instagram. Win win!

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The Graduate: Majoring in Speech Pathology

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Lauren is a Senior at Southern Illinois University.

Lauren is a Senior at Southern Illinois University.

The Graduate is a new blog feature considering college majors, graduate school, and a look into career options beyond higher ed. Are you a young college or graduate student who wants to be featured next? Tweet us @PetalAndSass or email petalandsass@gmail.com for more information!

Name: Lauren Graham

College: Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville ’16

Major/Minor: Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology

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The Art of Speaking in 5 Steps

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the art of speaking

So much depends upon what comes out of your mouth. Whether you are sitting in a sticky leather upholstered chair on a hot day being grilled by a chipper college admission counselor, or trying to impress the mom of your significant other with your knowledge of Phil Collins tunes, the way you turn a phrase – in one sentence or less – can send out all the right (or wrong) signals about who you are as a person and what your intentions are.

Fortunately, language is something you can work on, and everyone can improve somehow, whether it’s through diction, word choice, tone, or perhaps even more importantly – the ability to know when to stop talking and just listen.

Adjusting speech patterns, elocution and diction doesn’t happen overnight – but the more aware you are, the more likely you are to develop your speaking skills. Here are a few places to start.

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The Graduate: Should I Study Law?

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should i go to law school

The Graduate is a new blog feature considering college majors, graduate school, and a look into career options beyond higher ed.

For the past decade, teens have consistently rated becoming a lawyer as one of their top career aspirations (following careers in medicine, education, and STEM fields). Careers in law are often depicted as sexy, whirlwind, detective style who-done-it professions- and probably just a bit over glamorized – in popular media today (except for you, Amal Clooney: swoon. Looking at you, SVU and Suits.) but what is a career in law really like, and what does it take to get there?

Should I go to law school? Is pre-law an undergrad requirement to get there? Is being a lawyer actually worth it? We reconnected with corporate lawyer and Role Call interviewee Erika Payne, JD, for some hard nosed advice about a highly sought after field. Here are her points to consider:

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10 Ways To Improve Your Memory

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how to improve your memory

Does it seem like other people around you have a sharper memory? Chances are, you’re just forgetting how great your brain retention really is. Memory is critical to success – and it certainly might come in handy when you run into that girl from French class at a party or sit down for a US History exam. Photographic memory is a superpower – and since most of us are mere mortals, here are just a few tweaks you can make in your everyday life to strengthen your ability to retain information.

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Sleep: How to Get Some in 10 Steps or Zzzzz.

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Sleep How To Get Some

Ok, maybe don’t count this kind of sheep. He’s a little creepy.

Zzzzz… it’s not just the sound of your phone on vibrate.

This is considered a pretty boring topic, but could add years to your life (ok, maybe not years, but at least a few more months worth of Netflix). You probably aren’t getting enough sleep. Only 15% of teens actually clock in a decent 8.5 hours a night. From overbooked schedules to midterm anxiety, late night texts and social obligations, you’re probably only taking in an average of 6.5 hours a night, when in reality you need anywhere from 8 to 10 hours just to function without dribbling that third cup of coffee down your shirt.

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Love Letters: High School Hierarchy & Finding Your “Lobsters”

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Love Letters

‘Love Letters’ is a Petal + Sass blog feature that regularly asks a group of diverse women in their 20’s and 30’s about their experiences with health, sex, emotional wellness, body image, college, careers – and what they wish they had known themselves as teenagers. Visit the ‘Love Letters’ To My Former Self page to learn more about the contributors.

Question posed: What “cliques” existed when you were in high school? Did you belong to one (whether you wanted to be in it or not?) What advice would you give to teens about “popularity” (or conversely, unpopularity) in high school?

Don’t Lag Behind: 5 Ways to Start The School Year Strong

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tips for back to school

School kicks off in early September for most, for others it may already be a grueling reality. Whether you are already trudging through the halls or enjoying your last few mornings of MTV, here are a few tips for starting the school year off right.

1. Start waking up a little bit earlier each day. It’s harder to make yourself go to bed earlier than it is to wake up earlier (even if it doesn’t feel that way!) Avoid ‘back-to-school jet lag.’ Jet lag doesn’t only happen when you return home from a European vacation; starting a new routine (like cruising into first period by 7:45 am) can take a big toll on your first weeks back at school, which can have a significant impact on your grades for the year. Try adjusting your sleep patterns for a few days in order to prepare for your upcoming schedule.

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