How To Deal With College App Stress

October 20, 2010

Alex wrote me this short and sweet email which I almost declined to answer because it was so brief and general. But then I thought, hey, maybe the high school folks out there getting ready for college need a little bit of a primer on what to worry about and what’s not worth stressing over. [...]

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Sob Stories: Should You Tell Them?

October 19, 2010

Sandra is from Serbia. She’s multilingual and also survived some ferocious circumstances in the war-torn Balkans during the early ’90s. Will those help her win money for college? When it comes to students who speak English as their second language, how helpful is it to colleges to accept students of different cultural backgrounds? Personally, I [...]

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Single Mom Pursuing 3 Careers

October 18, 2010

Mala’s a Canadian single mom going through a divorce here in the States, and in my opinion, she’s trying to do too much. What do you think? Just like everyone else, I have a very unique situation. I love the irony! True, though, I think. It’s a long story too, but as you noted-detalis provide [...]

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Free Degree at Home vs. Spendy Journalism School

October 15, 2010

Oh, Claire. If only you were born 20 or 30 years earlier. I am a senior in high school who is currently filling out college applications. I have applied to many places, some more prestigious than others. Ever since I was in middle school, it has been my goal to get into Columbia University and [...]

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Should I Go To Law School?

October 13, 2010

Erik is poised to become one of our nation’s 8.7 trillion practicing attorneys. Is it a good idea? Hey Judge Josh, My name is Erik. I really dig all the insightful school and career advice Outlaw Student and has to offer. Thank you and keep up the good work! Thanks, man! I really appreciate that! [...]

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Honors Classes: Worth the GPA Hit?

October 12, 2010

Monaco’s question has an interesting twist on several subjects we’ve touched on ’round these parts: honors programs, GPA and grad school. I have a long question but I will try to keep it short. Lay it on me. Oh and BTW, before I forget, Monaco is a stellar name. If my wife weren’t so tough [...]

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Does Everyone Starve in Graduate School?

October 7, 2010

Mike’s headed off to grad school — that lovely purgatory between the dream-world of college and the hellish incinerator that is the working world. Is grad school the bread line that it’s mythologized to be? Hey, thank you for taking the time to answer my question and give advice on others. You’re welcome. Thanks for [...]

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17-Year-Old Freshman Wants Out of Mom & Dad’s House

October 5, 2010

Usually when students ask me questions about residence issues, they usually want to move off-campus and get out of their dorms. But Kseinya has the opposite problem. She lives cheaply off-campus but wants a dorm life. Hi my name is Kseinya and I am a freshman at Whitworth University. Spokane, Washington. Just in case you [...]

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Education Management: Study Education or Business?

October 4, 2010

Anita is steadily climbing the ladder in the education industry, and because she’s an older student, it’s important that she chooses her steps carefully. When you don’t have a couple of spare decades to recover from mistakes, it’s important you make as few as possible! I am a non-traditonal student (43) and just got my [...]

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Finding a Career Outside Your Major

October 1, 2010

Emma’s note is a great way to start a Friday for me, because it’s 180 degrees from what I normally get. When it comes to jobs, most of you guys want to know how you can find jobs related to your major and doing what you went to school to do. But Emma wants to [...]

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Transferring Colleges: A Waste of Time?

September 30, 2010

Even though Michelle likes her school, she feels like transferring to another one. She suspects her business-degree program isn’t delivering the goods, and has her eye on Northeastern University. Hi Judge Josh, is it too late to transfer schools, as a junior? No! But let’s have more detail. I am in a minor dilemma and [...]

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Too Sick For School. Online Degree?

September 29, 2010

Casey has some health problems & needs a transplant. And although she’s still plugging away at her college classes, things would be a lot easier on her if she could switch to an online degree. Hi Josh, I really love your website, and enjoy reading your advice everyday, so thank you for that. Thanks, and [...]

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Ready To Give Up

September 28, 2010

Darius is a little beaten down and, IM-not-so-HO, dangerously close to making a decision he’ll regret for a long time. And since I’ve dispensed with any suspense about what my response is gonna be, I hope you’ll read and give him your advice, too. Firstly, I want to say that your blog is very informative/helpful/interesting. [...]

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Early Childhood Education vs. Teaching Degree

September 27, 2010

Amanda dropped out of high school, realized the error of her ways and clawed herself back into the college game. But when she missed that senior year of high school, she missed some key college advice that I’m trying to fill in today. Feel free to read along and help! Dear Judge Josh, I have [...]

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Hate My School. Should I Transfer?

September 24, 2010

Mary Jane’s in a spot that millions of current and former college students can identify with: She hates her school and wants out. For an unfortunately large chunk of first-year students, college life ends up sucking once you get to campus. That super-awesome orgy of intellectual, cultural and social stimulation promised in your campus tour [...]

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Should You Go To Grad School Somewhere Else?

September 23, 2010

Jeeves is not a butler. He’s a pretty accomplished undergrad at Illinois who isn’t sure whether to trust the traditional wisdom that says you oughta go to grad school somewhere different from where you did undergrad. After all, what if your undergrad school has an absolutely phenomenal, world-renowned grad program? Hello! As everyone has already [...]

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Retake SAT after a 2090?

September 22, 2010

Erica must know how conflicted I feel about parents who want certain things for their kids, seemingly independent of what those kids actually want for themselves. My gut reaction is to get pissy with the mom or dad and tell them to quit trying to impose their will on their adult (or nearly adult) children, [...]

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Are There Scholarships To Pay Off Student Loans?

September 20, 2010

There are scholarships you can get while you’re still in high school, and of course there are scholarships for undergraduate school and graduate degrees. But what about money for life AFTER college? That’s what Olga wants to know. Hello, I have $26,000 in student loans for bachelors in org. behavior and leadership. I graduated Dec. [...]

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Use Grants To Repay Student Loans?

September 17, 2010

Kara’s done pretty well by herself. Good grades, community service, grants, and now admission to grad school at one of the best universities in the world. Yes, the entire world. But even the most accomplished among us can rarely escape student loans, and she’s no exception. Up rises the question once again, then, about how [...]

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Rejected From Colleges, Part 2: The Italian Job

September 16, 2010

Chiara is Italian. And not the kind of Italian where the family has been here in the U.S. for five generations but still calls themselves “Italian” — I mean, she’s from Italy. She has an email address that ends with “.it” — that kind of Italian. Apparently she’s had a rough go of it with [...]

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Flunked Out of College. Can I Get Into Grad School?

September 15, 2010

A few days ago, we talked about whether you can get into grad school with a GPA of under 3.0. Conclusion: Yes, but it’s hard, and you’re going to have to make up for it with other strengths (experience, recommendations, research, etc.). But now Kelsey has upped the ante. A low GPA is one thing, [...]

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Should You Mention Your Disorders?

September 14, 2010

Scott’s in a jam! He’s good enough to excel at Harvard grad school if he can get in, but he’s got some black marks on his resume (black marks for Harvard, anyway). But there are good explanations for them. Problem is, the explanation may create new problems. I’ll let him tell it. Hello Judge Josh, [...]

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Grad School & Low GPA: Can You Get In?

September 9, 2010

Eleanor is a very succinct lady. She’s now the current champion in the Outlaw Student Shortest Email Ever category. Is there a way to enter grad school with a low GPA? That’s it. Now, if was as much of a smartass as my friends think I am, I’d just answer “No” and hit save and [...]

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Financial Aid For Americans in Canada?

September 8, 2010

I gotta be honest, I’m a huge fan of Canada. Canada has always reminded me of a giant version of America with a lot more breathing room and a lot less anger. Personally, I’ve been dying to visit Toronto for 10 years and still haven’t. Not to mention wonderful exports like Rachel McAdams, Will Arnett [...]

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Should I Move Back Home?

September 7, 2010

I’m sure I’ll regret writing this one 12 years from now when my daughter inevitably decides to go off to college in Uzbekistan or somewhere equally far-flung just to get away from her overprotective father, but today it feels like good advice. Hi! I’m Kris. (feminine form of the word ) I actually heard about [...]

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Too Shy To Be a Teacher?

September 3, 2010

It must really stink to know exactly what you want to do in life, but be held back by some extraneous detail that isn’t substantively related to the job, really. Like Amanda, who wants to teach, but isn’t sure about the ability to stand in front of people and talk. I am a sophomore in [...]

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Early College High Schools: Advantage or Disadvantage?

September 2, 2010

Breanna and her sister are the first in their family to go to college, and if you’re in the same boat, you probably understand what it’s like to have very little college guidance under your own roof. Your folks are proud of you and supportive and all that, but they just don’t actually KNOW much [...]

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Use Subsidized Stafford To Pay Unsubsidized Stafford? Does Your Education “Expire”?

September 1, 2010

Sierra is our official Outlaw Student of the Day (light bulb?). She wants to strike out on her own and go to Germany, she’s getting timid and bad advice from people close to her, and she’s creatively trying to solve her own financial problems. LOVE HER ALREADY. Hey Judge Josh, I have two questions for [...]

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Finding Your Interests: A Few Ways to Get Started

August 31, 2010

Yesterday we started talking with Chablis about how to right the ship after you’ve realized you don’t want to pursue your chosen course of study and it’s already too late to change your major. We also discussed how surprisingly difficult it can be to discover what your own interests are. Today, as promised, we’ll take [...]

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Too Late To Change Your Major. What Now?

August 30, 2010

Chablis is my cohort in journalism disillusionment. Degree in hand, she’s found that the profession just isn’t all it was cracked up to be way back when she started studying it. Now she’s struggling through a career she doesn’t like and looking for something better. Hi Josh, (tips hat)… Mornin’ ma’am. After ten long years [...]

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