Should obese students be forced to take a special class?

According to this story on CNN, students at Lincoln University who have a body mass index (BMI) that is greater than 30 are being forced to take a fitness course that meets three hours each week. Those who do not complete this course can't graduate from college.

Is this fair? Is this right? Is this legal?

One student writes that she thinks all students should need to take the fitness course.

When I was a college student at MIT, we had to pass a swimming test (or successfully complete a swimming course) in order to graduate. This was a mandatory swim requirement. If you're attending a college that's next to a river like the Charles River, then you really ought to know how to swim.

So, returning to Lincoln University - what's going to happen? I think this new rule will upset some people, but personally, I think they should reconsider their BMI numbers. Instead of setting the bar at 30 (obesity), they should set it at 25 (overweight). Furthermore, those who have a low BMI (less than 18.5) should take a course on eating disorders, healthy eating, etc. BMI has its limitations, so I'm glad to see that they're also using waist circumference as a measure.

H1N1 spreading in colleges and universities

I'm glad that I'm not a college student this year. According to this CNN report, H1N1 (swine flu) appears to have infected over 2,600 students at Washington State University. Sounds like people should stay at home and take their courses online. Distance learning is now very effective thanks to major advances in communications technologies.

The school is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the local health department by "treating all patients with influenza-like symptoms as if they have H1N1."

As H1N1 spreads to more colleges this fall and winter, I wonder how this will impact academic performance. Wouldn't you love to have an excuse for those lousy grades? I was sick during finals. I missed too many classes. I was quarantined.

US News college rankings and MIT

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) was ranked as #4 overall among U.S. universities and #1 in engineering. Specific engineering disciplines at MIT that U.S. News also ranked as the nation's best include: aeronautics and astronautics, chemical, electrical and computer science, materials and mechanical (that was me). I studied mechanical engineering at MIT and look at me now. I'm blogging about medicine and technology. The MIT Sloan School of Management was rated the nation's fifth MBA program behind Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern and the University of Pennsylvania. A salute to all my friends and colleagues from MIT!

Congrats to all the MIT graduates!

MIT celebrated its 143rd commencement yesterday. Congrats to all the MIT graduates! Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts, delivered the principal address. Wow, has it really been that long since I graduated from MIT? In some ways it feels like yesterday when I was walking through the Infinite corridor and running along the Charles River. I miss those days at MIT.

Top Colleges with Record-Low Acceptance Rates in 2009

Wow, as I looked into the acceptance rates of other highly-selective colleges, here's what I found on US News & World Report:

• Harvard: 7%
• Columbia: 9.8%
• MIT: 10.2%
• Brown: 10.8%
• Dartmouth: 12%
• Duke: 17%
• University of Pennsylvania: 17%

These acceptance rates reflect the fact that so many more students are applying to college. With online applications, the process is very easy. Yes, you still need to write your essays and get your letters of recommendation, but you don't need to mess around with typewriters (yes, I used one of those in my day). Aren't you so glad that we now have modern technology and computers?

How low will these numbers go in the next several years?

MIT Acceptance Rate: Record Low at 10.2%

Wow, this year, MIT's acceptance rate fell to a record 10.2%! As the number of applicants increase each year, this trend will only continue. Last year, the acceptance rate was 11.6%. Only 1,597 students out of 15,661 applicants were admitted to the MIT Class of 2013. Waitlist spots were offered to 454 applicants.

I really miss my days in Boston. Those 4 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology went by very quickly. Although they were many years ago, they feel almost like yesterday. Now, I have the unique opportunity to interview high school students who are applying to MIT. As an Educational Counselor, I've met some extremely talented students and it's a unique privilege to speak with them and hear their stories.

I often wonder what most MIT students plan to pursue. Engineering? Science? Technology? Medicine? When you go to a school like MIT, you eventually meet pre-med students who are majoring in fields like mechanical engineering (that was me), computer science, electrical engineering, aeronautical engineering, and materials science. Of course, you have your droves of biology and chemistry majors. You also get countless bioengineering and chemical engineering students who are pre-med. What's rare is to find a student at MIT who majors only in Spanish. I knew one student during my 4 years at MIT who was a Spanish major. I think she probably picked the wrong college.

Online Master of Science in Health Communication

Boston University (BU) offers an Online Master of Science in Health Communication. For those of you who are considering a career transition into medical communications, you may want to look into this relatively new degree program. I miss my days in Boston. It's such a wonderful city for a college student. However, if you don't live in Boston, you can still get educated by some of the great colleges in New England. Boston University is an internationally respected university with a reputation for excellence and extensive research and ranks among the Top 100 National Universities according to U.S. News & World Report college rankings. Boston University is regionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC).