• In our nation's most prestigious universities, a faculty's teaching skills and service to the community is viewed secondary to his scholarly productivity. Then, why do universities expect our kids to be scholars, school leaders, and community shakers?  Didn't we learn in kindergarten - lead by example?

• Mother, "Why are your test scores so low?"
  Son, "That's because I did not know the answers to the questions."

• In a recent study by CareerCast.com which also appeared on Wall Street Journal, it ranked the best and worst jobs in America. Mathematician tops it all, followed by historian (No. 7), philosopher (No. 12), and physicist (No. 13). Interestingly, physician ranked a lowly No. 142, below janitor. This reminds me of W.B. Yeats' poem "He Remembers Forgotten Beauty."

• Counselor, "What is your favorite course?"
  Student, "A three-meal course."

• With an admit rate this year of 7% at Harvard, 7.5% at Stanford, 7% at Yale, and 21% at Berkeley, it is time to change the name of College Admissions into College Olympiad - One University One Dream.

• Counselor, "What schools are you considering?"
  Student, "Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and Yale. As for my safety school, it is UCLA."
  Counselor, "UCLA is a safety school?"

• Team Captain: "I am the Captain of my school's varsity soccer team. I've led my team in playing many competitive games. Please note, however, that my team is the worst in the school district. We have not won a game." (Fred Hargadon, Former Dean of Admission at Princeton, on honesty)

• One of the greatest things about community colleges is the transfer function. That's what a democratic society wants you to hear. But the reality is, community colleges are effective in "let hopes down gently and unexplosively" (Burton Clark). Due to the remedial and adult education nature, students are quietly redirected from a transfer track to a work force track (Jerome Karabel). Although statistics show the percent of students who successfully transferred, they did not reveal the rate of students who are stratified and digressed from academics into vocational training.

• Application Instructions: "Obviously there are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers to the following questions. We just thought your replies might help us know you a little better. Please don't lose any sleep over the answers to this question."
  Applicant: "Please don't lose any sleep over my answers."

• Why are academics so important to American higher education? That's because they have a unique ability to turn simple things in life into a causal effect statement. For example, suppose you think taking Latin will increase your vocabulary, but they will tell you: "Simply because you can draw a correlation between taking Latin and higher SAT scores does not prove that taking Latin caused the scores. High correlations exist between SAT scores and IQ, between SAT scores and the socioeconomic status, between SAT scores and the education level of your parents."

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