Élan Advising

08/29/2026

👏🏻

The University of Chicago has now announced that it will bar AI use in its core social science courses starting this fall, according to a memo from the Social Sciences Collegiate Division, obtained by the student newspaper Chicago Maroon.

The policy will apply only to undergraduate core sequences, not graduate courses. The university is set to ban laptops, phones, smartwatches, wearables, and recorded lectures, and it mandates assignments to be completed without AI use. The goal, per division head Jenny Trinitapoli’s memo, is to teach students “to read, write, and think without dependence on AI”.

However, the policy allows narrow faculty-approved exceptions for work revolving around dataset analysis or citation research.

Read complete report by Akansha Sengupta: https://tinyurl.com/5n8zdayx

08/29/2026

Neat!!

One of UCSF’s largest-ever grants for basic research will support work to map autism-linked proteins and identify promising targets for new therapies.

08/19/2026

Exactly.

08/06/2026

A new UC Davis Health study published in Psychological Medicine suggests that when it comes to helping adolescents succeed in school and maintain healthy friendships, sleep may matter more than screen time, exercise or diet.
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08/05/2026

I did not know that lying about extracurriculars on a college application was even a thing, but I suppose it’s no different from doctoring a resume!

A little-known band of admissions officials at California Institute of Technology is scrutinizing the fonts on science-fair certificates, checking addresses on high-school transcripts and analyzing signatures on awards. 🔗: https://on.wsj.com/4pX1vzt

Known as the “fraud squad,” the four-person team is in charge of vetting applications to the highly selective STEM-focused school, which admitted less than 4% of its 11,400 applicants for the incoming class. Caltech created the team two years ago partly in response to a rising number of “poison pen” messages, or anonymous accusations of dishonest submissions.

Caltech now asks candidates to submit evidence to verify extracurriculars. Examples include a photo of a 16-year-old holding a trophy alongside a parent; a high-school newspaper article about the achievement; or reforwarding a congratulatory email that Caltech’s own admissions team sent them earlier; said Jonah Magill, a fraud-squad member.

Sometimes, the evidence itself seems doctored. The team has seen so many certificates that it knows what to look for: fonts; inconsistent margins; the right official’s signature; a superimposed name of a student.

Other investigation tactics: checking for standardized letterhead on transcripts and recommendation letters; ensuring counselors actually work at specified schools; and reaching out when teachers send such letters from personal email addresses rather than official school accounts.

07/23/2026

The supplemental medical school program, established through a partnership between UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis, embeds enrollees in communities that lack sufficient access to healthcare, at once providing them hands-on experience with…

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07/21/2026

This makes me wanna go to Stanford. 🐱

07/18/2026

The supplemental medical school program, established through a partnership between UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis, embeds enrollees in communities that lack sufficient access to healthcare, at once providing them hands-on experience with…
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07/17/2026

Consolidated hiring process for state job applicants passes first test

07/06/2026

Not surprised with funding drying up.

Some of the nation’s top research universities are shrinking doctoral programs because of uncertain federal funding.