Whazzup? How’s it going? Sup, Dawg?
If you are not sure what the above statements mean, you are not alone. Each year, international students like you master the English language only to discover, upon arrival in the United States, that they cannot follow all of the conversations that involve them. The reason: English as a Second Language (ESL) programs cannot adequately prepare them for the dizzying array of slang, idioms and colloquialisms that color everyday speech in America.
“Students can feel lost in conversations,” says Mark Algren, Language Specialist at the Applied …

The first educational fair held in Baghdad this past week brought 27 Colleges and Universities from around the globe to meet with potential students and unveiled an ambitious initiative by the Iraqi government to send 10,000 students per year for the next 5 years to English speaking countries to pursue higher education.
According to Dr. Zuhair Humadi, the executive director of the Iraq Education Initiative and a senior advisor to Vice President Adil Abd Al-Mahdi, the Iraqi government has committed $1 billion a year to this program.  Each year for a …

ST. LOUIS (AP) — For 20 years, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale’s enrollment numbers have languished, proving so vexing it cost a top campus administrator his job in 2006.Much of the problem, the chancellor contends, is that would-be students from Illinois bolted to other states on the promise of sweet tuition deals.
Now, the university is fighting back: This fall, it will begin offering in-state tuition to first-year students from neighboring Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana.
Across the country, a bidding war of sorts has developed over prospective students seeking bargains in a bad economy. …

Moving into a college dormitory can be the realization of a long-cherished dream. It can also hold many surprises, for students and parents alike.
“My mother didn’t realize until the day before I moved into a college dorm that there would be men and women living in the same building,” says Tamara Hindawi, a graduate of University of Michigan. Like many parents, Tamara’s mother was concerned about her daughter’s welfare. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds,” Hindawi continues. Male students were confined to the first three floors of the building, …

by Brian Whitson | January 8, 2009
For the second time this academic year, the College of William and Mary has been ranked among the country’s top values in public universities. In its 2009 annual college rankings of best bargains, The Princeton Review listed William & Mary third among its top public universities.
“It’s always satisfying when kind things are said about William & Mary,” said President Taylor Reveley. “William & Mary does provide an education of extraordinary caliber for far less money than other schools of comparable caliber. We’re delighted that The …