Verto Education

Wondering if a year off before college would be the right move for you? Don’t stress, Verto has your back with a breakdown of the pros and cons of a year off (and how to get the best of both worlds).  Why You Should Go Straight to College High school is wrapping up and while…

Grew up on a Pineapple Farm Despite growing up on a former pineapple farm in West Palm Beach, Florida, Cody Ward didn’t eat his first pineapple until he was in his 30’s! “My parents told me I was allergic to pineapples, which ended up being a total lie. I think they just wanted to keep…

Course Director, Kaycie Lawson discusses the importance of observation in environmental science. Kaycie has a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University. Her nearly 20 year career working in environmental science has taken her to places around the globe.   “In the distant future…

Course Director, Lean Sweeney shares her teaching philosophy and experience living in Mexico. Lean Sweeney defended her doctoral dissertation, "Stateless Space and Nationless Citizens: Tools of State-Making on the Chiapas-Guatemala Border, 1821-1899" in April of 2019 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and received a Master's in Mexican History from the Universidad Nacional…

Over 100 students will leave home this September to start their freshman year of college abroad! Verto Education’s Fall 2019 cohort has less than two months before they step onto a plane, and into an immersive semester abroad. As the Marketing Intern for Verto Education, and a student on the Asia cohort this fall, I…

Allowing - and even helping - students to develop a non-traditional path to follow after high school graduation is hard, even for parents of responsible children. Even for college admission consultants. I was both. Thirteen years ago, my son Ben wanted to hit the pause button before beginning college. The consultant in me told him,…

Verto Education was designed to give students the opportunity to see new countries while graduating in four years at the same cost, if not less, then your typical semester of college. We do our best to eliminate anything that does not directly contribute to our students’ educational experience. That means students aren’t charged any dues…

Course Director, Dr. Karen Straight, shares her teaching philosophy and experience on a semester with Verto Education. Dr. Karen Straight earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and will be serving as the Course Director for Identity, Politics and Equity, Cultural Anthropology, and Global Health Fall 2019. My…

Most colleges agree, taking a year out of the classroom before college is a good thing. Harvard actually encourages their students to take a year off, and goes as far as to attribute its 97% graduation rate to the number of their students who take a break after high school. Studies show that students who…

The key to every successful semester of Verto Education is the team behind the scenes! Our Course Directors will serve as adjunct faculty at Portland State University and be responsible for designing the curriculum, training the teaching staff, and supervising the delivery and grading of the course. They've all travelled far and wide and think that…