The hottest Student life Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Culture Topics

The New Normal

russ880 • 1016 implied HN points • 30 Oct 24
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Many students in Israel are missing school due to military service obligations, especially during times of conflict. This makes starting the academic year very challenging.
  2. Despite the ongoing war and personal losses, students still find value in their education. They appreciate having a safe place to learn and grow during difficult times.
  3. Life in Israel during wartime is a mix of joy and sorrow. People celebrate moments like weddings while also mourning losses, showing resilience amid challenges.

The Scholar vs. the Professional

In My Tribe • 759 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
🚌 Education Student life
  1. There is a real tension between the leisurely, curiosity-driven scholar and the busy, goal-oriented professional, and universities are being pulled to serve both roles.
  2. The rise of the "professional scholar" — who chases grants, publications, and metrics — can distort true scholarship and weaken ties to the world outside academia.
  3. Trying to make students both scholars and builders at the same time risks short-changing each and causing burnout; sequencing dedicated periods for study and for professional immersion may work better.

Colleges

David Friedman’s Substack • 305 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26
🚌 Education Student life
  1. College has become much more expensive partly because schools now offer luxurious amenities and many more administrative and support services, and they use heavy price discrimination so published tuition often overstates what students actually pay.
  2. Many colleges actively organize students' social lives with curated housing groups, orientation trips, and staff-led programs, which reduces opportunities for students to learn how to make friendships on their own.
  3. Recent campus sexual-misconduct policies give institutions strong power to adjudicate disputes and can chill sexual activity by creating risks for one partner if accusations arise, effectively replacing old parental rules with administrative enforcement.

I’m a Harvard Student. It’s Too Easy to Get an A.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 551 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🚌 Education Student life
  1. A faculty proposal would cap A grades at 20% per class and replace GPA ranking with average percentile rank for honors and prizes.
  2. Most undergraduates strongly oppose the cap, but critics say current grade inflation makes it too easy to get an A and pushes students into damage-control instead of genuine intellectual risk-taking.
  3. The reforms aim to curb grade inflation and change incentives so grades become more meaningful and encourage real academic ambition.

College-for-All Means Homework-for-All

Five’s Substack • 1358 implied HN points • 22 Jul 24
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Many college students have a lot of work and study to do outside of class, making their schedule very busy. It's common for students to work part-time or even full-time jobs while studying.
  2. Homework is really important for truly understanding subjects in college. Doing the readings and assignments helps students think on their own and learn more effectively.
  3. It's vital to protect students' time for learning, not just to earn degrees. Education should be about more than just getting a job; it should allow for real thinking and personal growth.
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The Speaker The University Didn’t Want Me to Invite

Juan David’s Newsletter • 6 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Campus bureaucracy can create slow, intimidating, and unnecessary barriers that make it hard for students to organize simple events.
  2. Persistence, creative problem-solving, and leaning on friends or technical know-how can overcome institutional roadblocks and get things done.
  3. Bringing challenging ideas to campus matters for intellectual growth and personal confidence, and successfully hosting them shows what student initiative can achieve.

The Night a Shooter Came to My Campus

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 472 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
🚌 Education Student life
  1. A shooter came to a college campus and two classmates were killed.
  2. Students were barricaded in dorms during a lockdown, leaving survivors traumatized and struggling to find words.
  3. The day began as a normal Saturday with a packed campus Chabad lunch and final exams underway, showing how quickly ordinary life was shattered.

Two Months into an MBA

From the Desk • 27 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Returning to school as an adult can feel out of place at first, but it often brings renewed focus, confidence, and enjoyment in the classroom.
  2. Early classes in accounting and finance are practical and sometimes frustrating—accounting feels more exacting, while finance ties to broader concepts. AI can be a powerful study aid to clarify ideas quickly, but it mustn't replace your own thinking.
  3. Strong family and partner support, including financial sacrifice, makes part-time MBA study possible, and the program helps achieve concrete goals like credentials, practical business skills, a local professional network, and better chances for management or teaching.

Education Links, 11/21/2025

In My Tribe • 167 implied HN points • 21 Nov 25
🚌 Education Student life
  1. A lot of teachers believe it's important to show students that America is a good country. Most teachers don't have extreme views and the idea that they're anti-American isn't true.
  2. Students should learn practical skills for the job market, especially in tech, rather than just theory. AI might change how software engineering is done, with most code being generated by machines in the future.
  3. High schoolers are increasingly taking college courses, showing families want a blended education. This shift suggests we need to create a more flexible learning path for students.

So you want to be a yenching scholar

ChinaTalk • 44 implied HN points • 24 Jul 25
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Yenching Academy and Schwarzman Scholars are programs in China for international students aimed at fostering understanding and leadership. Yenching is a two-year program, while Schwarzman is one year.
  2. The application process for Yenching focuses on your interest in China and relevant experience, including language skills. Each program has different academic demands, with Yenching offering more accessible courses.
  3. Campus life at Yenching is diverse and encourages integration with local students, while Schwarzman tends to create a more Westernized environment. Networking opportunities and career services also vary significantly between the two programs.

What I Didn't Learn at the Evergreen State College

I Might Be Wrong • 15 implied HN points • 16 Jan 25
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Without grades, college can become a joke, leading many students to slack off instead of genuinely engaging with learning. It’s important to have some accountability to encourage real effort.
  2. Professors often pass students regardless of their actual participation or effort, which undermines the purpose of education and makes it hard to assess true performance.
  3. To improve education, grades need to mean something again so that employers can better understand which students truly excel and which do not. Making grades meaningful is a better alternative than removing them altogether.

AI Transcripts

The Apéritif • 0 implied HN points • 24 Jun 24
🚌 Education Student life
  1. Using apps like Otter AI can make students feel they can zone out during classes. They think they don't have to pay attention because they can always check the notes later.
  2. These tools might lead to less real engagement in learning. If students can just ask a chatbot for the important stuff, why bother attending the lecture?
  3. The focus in education seems to be more on grades than real learning. This shows how the system values shortcuts over meaningful experiences.