Star Trek

Maureen McRae Goldberg of Occidental College Answers 8 Questions

Posted on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 19:16

February is Financial Aid Awareness month. As students and families research financial aid, fill out the FAFSA, and assess their options this month, we asked Occidental College's Director of Financial Aid Maureen McRae Goldberg "5 Questions." And she graciously answered eight for us.

Occidental College is a private liberal arts school located in the oak and eucalyptus covered hills of Los Angeles' Eagle Rock neighborhood. Designed by Rose Bowl architect Myron Hunt, the campus' stucco and red tile roofed Spanish Colonial architecture covers 120 acres. No surprise then that Occidental has been the setting for more than 80 movies and television shows -- from the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers to Star Trek III, as well as Glee, Parenthood and Arrested Development. It has also been a feature film stand-in for the real-life college campuses of Stanford and Princeton.

Juniors: Do you know which Star Trek character you are?

Posted on Wed, 10/16/2013 - 12:01

The students who do best in the college application process have figured out who they are and what they want. They have asked themselves the tough questions that help them emerge with a strong understanding of who they are. It’s hard work and it’s not always fun -- until today. Today, in this week's advice, we bring you a little comic relief with a questionnaire to find out which Star Trek character you are. And this little exercise might actually get you thinking about some of your distinctive traits and preferences.

BTW, we know we are a little obsessed with Star Trek. But as role models go the officers on the bridge are a little more noble than the South Park boys -- though we do love how Cartman, Kenny, et. al. speak their minds. And we welcome hearing about any "personality inventories" that you have found particularly helpful!

For more information about researching yourself in order to create a preliminary list of colleges, including lists of questions about your interests, activities, friends, family, activities, academics and more, see Chapter 8, "Creating an Initial List of Colleges" in College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step.

College Goes to the Movies -- Part 2

Posted on Thu, 05/23/2013 - 05:38

We had so much fun with college-going movies -- and TV series -- last week that we had to add a few more. So here for your enjoyment submitted by friends of the blog:

Star Trek This 2009 film presents the origin story of the iconic main characters from the Star Trek television series.  Amidst the alternate reality of time travel and life on other planets, the age-old themes of college admission are a subplot with Kirk trying to gain admittance to Starfleet Academy and Spock turning down the Vulcan Science Academy for Starfleet. If that doesn’t hook you, go for the great characters, good fun, and excellent special effects.

The History Boys A view of university from the other side of the pond, The History Boys follows a group of British school boys with the highest A-level scores at their grammar school as they’re tutored for the exams for entrance to Oxford and Cambridge. (This film should also be prescreened due to sexual situations.)