My Weekly Reads: Top 5

 

Awkward teens (and 20- and 30-somethings) rejoice. Study finds that it might take 63 years, but you will, eventually, shed all traces of your awkward middle-school self. (Fast Company)

Adderall usage by individuals without attention deficit is out of control. Fast Company reminds us we have the power to control our brains, sans meds. (Fast Company)

Diverse Hollywood, in NYC? Steiner Studio lot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is surprisingly under the radar. It costs a third of most other film schools—$18,400 a year—and part of its mission is to admit women and minorities whose stories aren’t usually told. (New York Times)

And the award for the most unsatisfying industry to work in post-college goes to anything in finance (kind of). Meanwhile, in self-reported data from more than 13,000 recently graduated college students, such industries as technology, biotechnology, consulting, and arts, media, and entertainment top a list of “job satisfaction” ratings. Consulting -> we agree! (Poets & Quants)

Depression strikes today’s teen girls especially hard, and I see this firsthand in my work with high school students as they prepare and apply to college. Brains constantly “on-tech,” and in particular social media, may not be helping, but talking about it and identifying symptoms of depression early on can help teens get back on the right track. (NPR)

These Business Schools Produce the Most Billion-Dollar Startup Founders

When it comes to making what Sage refers to as “unicorns,” one business school is making everyone else look bad. As a recent Fortune article reports:

Founders of the meal delivery service Blue Apron, health insurance startup Oscar, and content delivery network CloudFlare all pursued business degrees at Harvard Business School. Altogether, 23 HBS grads have founded a private company valued at $1 billion or more, according to research by Sage.

With 19 unicorn founders, the Stanford Graduate School of Business comes in second, followed by Wharton, with nine.

It’s important to note, however, that for undergrads, Harvard and Stanford swap places: Stanford’s undergraduate program has produced 51 founders of billion-dollar startups, followed by Harvard with 37.

Below are the top business schools, ranked by how many of their students and alumni went on to found billion-dollar companies.

  • Harvard Business School: 23
  • Stanford Graduate School of Business: 19
  • University of Pennsylvania, Wharton: 9
  • INSEAD: 5
  • WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management: 5
  • University of Southern California: Marshall: 4
  • University of California at Berkeley: Haas: 3
  • Columbia Business School: 3
  • HEC Paris: 3
  • Indian Institute of Management: Calcutta: 3
  • UCLA Anderson School of Management: 2
  • Brigham Young University: Marriott: 2
  • George Washington University: 2
  • London Business School: 2
  • Northwestern University: Kellogg: 2
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business: 2

Note: Founders are classified based on their highest level of education. (For instance, if they received a Master’s degree at Harvard University and a PhD at Stanford Business School, they would be placed in the latter category.) The list also includes founders who didn’t graduate. For more information, see a breakdown of the research here.

 

MOOCs for Potential Business Majors

As I have said before, MOOCs are a no-brainer for high school students who want to explore their academics interests and possible college majors. And for those of you who have not started exploring your interests outside of school, you should; it is not terribly time-consuming, especially with online options you can access 24/7, and colleges look favorably upon applicants who explore outside of school. These are also applicable to pre-MBA applicants!

The four below are from Coursera, and are available now for sign-up:

Creativity, Innovation, and Change, The Pennsylvania State University

Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence, Case Western Reserve University

Creating a Startup from an Idea, Israel Institute of Technology

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills, University of Michigan

International SAT Date Changes

The SAT is offered internationally several times a year. Unfortunately, the following changes to the international testing schedule were recently announced:

  • In June 2017, only the SAT Subject Tests will be administered internationally. The SAT will not be administered in June.
  • In the 2017–18 and 2018–19 school years, the SAT will be available internationally in October, December, March, and May. SAT Subject Tests will be available in October, November, December, May, and June.
  • Country-specific scheduling changes will be announced in spring 2017.

Learn more about international test dates and registration here.

This Dope Dissertation Just Made My Day

Winner of the most creative dissertation format goes to A.D. Carson.

On Friday, a Clemson University doctoral student, A.D. Carson, will defend his Ph.D. dissertation in the rhetorics, communication and information design program — and many are already enjoying his work. His dissertation is a 34-song rap album, “Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics of Rhymes and Revolutions,” which many on YouTube and other social media sites are praising. You can listen to the dissertation here.

 

MOOCs for Potential Psychology Majors

MOOCs are a no-brainer for high school students who want to explore their academics interests and possible college majors. And for those of you who have not started exploring your interests outside of school, you should; it is not terribly time-consuming, I promise 🙂

The two below are via edX and both available to audit, for free. I’ll be checking out the first one myself since I am all about leading a happy and meaningful life.

The Science of Happiness

The first MOOC to teach positive psychology. Learn science-based principles and practices for a happy, meaningful life.

AP® Psychology – Course 5: Health and Behavior

Learn about the relationship between stress and physical and mental health and the treatment of abnormal behavior, including psychological disorders.

Michael Bloomberg on How to Succeed in Business (and Life?)

This is a fun, honest read. Particularly relevant to this blog is the first section, Choosing a College, in which he says:

Nobody remembers where you went to school. The first job they may ask, by the third job they won’t remember to. People put too much emphasis on that. It’s much more important that you go to a place where you fit in and which has decent academics. People say they can’t afford a college? My parents took out a mortgage, I had a job every summer working in a faculty parking lot. Then I got lucky, Sputnik was launched and the government created national defense loans.

Given the article’s emphasis on education, Bloomberg even goes on to comment on the MBA, and that it matters, but….:

The part that’s most important in an education is how to deal with people. There’s no job I know that you do by yourself, and I learned as much from the two guys I worked for at Salomon Brothers, Billy Salomon and John Gutfreund, as I’d learned at Harvard. In the end, it’s people skills that you need. Whether you remember that Columbus arrived in 1492 or not — a lot of the facts you memorize are immaterial.

Read the full article online!

Using the Modern Love Podcast to Teach Narrative Writing

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, but applicable all year ’round, here is an idea from Kinana Qaddour for using the popular Times podcast to encourage narrative writing.

Modern Love is a series of weekly reader-submitted essays that explore the joys and tribulations of love. Each week, an actor also reads one of the essays in a podcast. Though the stories are often about romantic love, they also take on love of family, friends, and even pets. This teacher finds their themes universal and the range of essays engaging models to help her students find their own voices.

In my work, I have found that most students have little or no experience writing personal narratives, which they need to write for the personal statement/Common Application essay requirement when applying to college. Naturally, I love this idea—so give it a read and share with a teacher who may find it useful!

How Praise Became a Consolation Prize

 

If you haven’t read Carol Dweck’s Mindset, then I suggest adding it to your to-read list. In it, Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talents that bring us success–but our approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem or even lead to accomplishments. In reality, too much praise works against us. A growth mindset, however, can foster resilience in students—something I have witnessed a lack of in many high schoolers today.

With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals–personal and professional.

Anyway, I came across a great interview recently (via Adam Grant’s email list) with Dweck in The Atlantic. Grab the book and give the interview a read!