The so-called “gap year” saw a steep rise in popularity in the 1980s. As matriculation from high school to college became more and more expected for the population at large, many students found the...
The Compass Academics Blog
Resources Designed for Academic Growth
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Choosing How Far Away to Go to College Some kids have dreamed of getting as far away from their hometown as they can from elementary school. Maybe you’ve been landlocked your whole life and have...
What’s Your Passion? Unleash it with a Passion Project
We’re living in the Age of Information, and there’s no shortage of possibilities laid before each and every student embarking on their own path into college, careers, and adulthood. The wide open...
What’s Going on with the U.S. News and World Report College Rankings?
It has been a long-standing tradition for the U.S. News and World Report, an American media company with roots reaching back to 1948, to release its annual “Best Colleges” report. This report has...
Part-Time vs. Full-Time College Enrollment
College is a huge commitment — of time, of money, of energy. For many students, choosing a part-time path through higher education can help make the requirements more manageable, but full-time...
Benefits of Joining an Honors College
Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to a college! Maybe you’re even looking at your options across multiple offers. If you’ve got great grades and high test scores, you’re probably also staring...
Should I Buy or Rent My College Textbooks?
You can’t “hit the books” without getting the books, but the choices for how to do so have expanded for undergraduate students (and, in many cases, so have the costs). Many of your undergraduate...
How Should I Spend My Summer? Options for College Students
Summer’s just around the corner, and whether it’s your last summer vacation before embarking onto your college career or a break between existing college semesters, you may have some questions about...
Taking a COVID Gap Year? What You Should Know
A “gap year” has been a popular concept for far longer than the COVID-19 pandemic has been around, but the uncertainty and tumult of the last few years has definitely made a gap year more appealing...
Will My Social Media Posts Keep Me Out of College?
Good grades, a stunning resume filled with extracurricular activities, and a stack of letters of recommendation may not be enough to overcome the challenge of a past social media misstep. These...