Cal-Berkeley Cuts 5 Athletic Program

The New York Times

The University of California, Berkeley, eliminated five of its intercollegiate sports programs Tuesday, two of which, baseball and men’s rugby, had become particular points of pride over the years.

The move comes at a time when athletics have faced strong criticism at Berkeley because money-losing sports have been subsidized while the academic departments have been forced to make severe cuts. The men’s and women’s gymnastics and women’s lacrosse teams will also be dropped from intercollegiate competition after this academic year.

By going to 24 programs, the university will save an estimated $4 million a year. Read More

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

The Science of College Roommates

New York Times - July 25th, 2010

FIRST-YEAR roommates matter. Though they may go their separate ways sophomore year, their reach can ripple throughout the college years and after. No one forgets their college roommate,” says Allison Ryan, an associate professor in educational psychology at the University of Illinois.........

A growing body of research is identifying how much these roommates may influence each other, in ways temporary and longstanding, negative and positive. A lack of previous bonds at school make first-year students perfect subjects for social scientists and economists.

Read More

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Failure to Communicate

New York Times - July 25th, 2010

SINCE the very first bunk bed, college roommates have annoyed each other. They leave their clothes all over the floor; they host overnight guests unannounced.

Administrators speculate that reliance on cellphones and the Internet may have made it easier for young people to avoid uncomfortable encounters. Why express anger in person when you can vent in a text? Facebook creates even more friction as complaints go public. “Things are posted on someone’s wall on Facebook: ‘Oh, my roommate kept me up all night studying,’ ” says Dana Pysz, an assistant director in the office of residential life at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It’s a different way to express their conflict to each other.”

Read More

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Saying Goodbye and Hello!

New York Times - July 15th, 2005

The adjustment to college is surely emotional, and entails saying goodbye as well as hello.

W. Houston Dougharty, vice president for student affairs at Grinnell, has been reminding incoming freshmen in recent years that theirs is the first generation heading off to college that will never really separate from family and high school friends — largely because of “electronic tethers” like Facebook, texting and Twitter. His advice: cut that virtual cord, or at least curtail its use.

“Every minute you spend updating the people back home,” he tells freshmen, “is time you’re not investing in developing relationships in college, whether that’s with new roommates or new faculty or new friends.”

Read More

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

"College Campus Trips, What a Great Idea"

“What a great idea,” people tell me when they hear about College Campus Trips.

Yet, the percentage of students who actually visit two or more colleges is very small. Some students are just convinced they know which college they want to attend with no plans on seeing others. Some students just want to get accepted and make a list of schools without knowing much about them. Others get no encouragement from parents or counselors to take this proactive step and wind up depending on word-of-mouth and the Internet to make this important decision. But a college tour is as important as any high school course and actually fun. Here’s why:

Too Personal & Expensive
If you are going to spend four years someplace it is going to be a lot more pleasant and productive if it feels right to you. The student body, the faculty, the physical environment, and the geographical location all weigh in on the decision you will make. It is surprising how often an on-campus tour leaves a positive or negative vibe with a person.

And oh yes college is expensive, big-time, unless, of course you receive a “full ride.” Most of you wouldn’t buy expensive clothes without trying them on to make sure it fits properly. The right college needs to “fit” for four years.

Do You Really Know What You Like?
I am not trying to be facetious but if you have not compared, do you really know what you like? Is it a public university over a private one or a large college over a small one? Does an urban campus seem better to you than a rural one? These decisions are very personal and you can’t possibly make up your mind without taking a tour and comparing for yourself.

Self-Confidence
Believe it or not, a college tour is a confidence booster for students whether they're sophomores, juniors or seniors. Why? Well, I’ve been on many tours and seen the transformation. I’ve seen the look of intimidation on the faces of otherwise brazen warriors as they take their first tour. And I’ve seen students after a 4th or 5th college tour. The “aha” look of realization knowing “Hey, these guys are competing for ME” is unmistakable. The experiences of college admissions and college life are no longer just stories that a sibling or a friend has shared. It is now something they’ve experienced themselves. I firmly believe that every high school student should visit a minimum of four colleges before senior year as part of the educational process, even if the student does not plan on going to college.

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Why go with College Campus Trips

Today I would like to talk about reasons why it is important to take a college tour. The college choice is too personal and expensive to make without "hands on" comparisons; visiting a number of colleges helps you to determine what you like and don't like; or the more colleges you tour the more self confidence you gain. In this article, I will talk about some reasons you should visit colleges in a group and why you should use College Campus Trips to make those tours.


SEE MORE CHOICES
Traveling with a group you will more than likely visit colleges you would not go to see with your parents adding to your wealth of experience and choices.

FEEDBACK FROM YOUR PEERS
Traveling with friends, classmates and other high school students, gives you the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of different colleges from the viewpoint of your peers, which is very often a whole lot different from the discussion you will be having with your parents.

EMBARRASSING QUESTIONS
You will not have to endure any embarrassing questions your parents are bound to ask! Traveling with a group makes a sometimes grueling chore much more fun and it usually always adds to your prospective because of the interactive thoughts generated by the group. Once your school and you agree a college campus tour is a smart way to go, these are some reasons why College Campus Trips should be the choice to operate your tour:

PLANNING
College Campus Trips is a travel company. Planning itineraries and negotiating transportation and hospitality needs is what we do. Once we know the colleges to be visited, we contact each one to schedule an admissions orientation and a campus tour. This sounds like a simple task until of course one college or more can not oblige our well planned schedule. Then it is back to the drawing board to rework the schedule or beg the admissions department to accommodate our group in our time frame. Planning the itinerary is often time consuming and exasperating but it is the key to a successful trip.

TRANSPORTATION
If air is required we look for the best flights to fit our itinerary while keeping cost in mind. This task has become more difficult because of reduced flight schedules, increased air fares and non-refundable tickets; it is our over 30 years of travel experience that helps us make the best choices. Once we determine our flights we charter the motor coach that will take us to and from the airport as well as be our transportation between the colleges. Due to safety concerns and because the motor coach is such an intricate part of the tour we check out motor coach companies very carefully. We visit the Dept. of Transportation Web site for safety and maintenance records and we try to make visits to the companies' home bases to see personally how the buses are maintained.

HOTELS
We choose only hotels with inside corridors for safety and security reasons. We also hire our own security guard to patrol the rooms occupied by our group between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

MEALS
Breakfast is always at the hotel, lunch and dinner is often arranged at the colleges we visit in order for the group to sample the food and get to absorb more of the school by observing and mingling with the student body.

TOUR DIRECTOR
College Campus Trips provides a trained tour director on every trip. The tour director travels with the group and insures that the tour runs on time and is conducted in a safe and enjoyable manner.PRICE What does all this cost? It will very much depend on the destination and the number of attendees. However the purpose of these tours is too important and the cargo too precious for us to seek the least expensive alternatives. We prefer to choose the best at the best price. No matter what, taking on of our group tours will be much less than going it alone and more fun.

REGISTERED
One last thing, if a travel company is located in or sells travel in the State of Florida that company by law must be registered with the State as a Seller of Travel and be bonded. College Campus Trips' Registration No. is ST37245.

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com