Jake Akins

President

Jake graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2007, and started SuccessfulStudent.org in 2014.

Successful Student's design is to be a resource for students to make sense of education options. The need to place students first in education rankings was apparent, given that all other college ranking entities always approach college ranking top-down.

Top-down ranking means selecting the best schools based on factors such as academic prestige, endowment amounts, and factors that don’t necessarily always translate to helping students. Jake devised a bottom-up approach, which has been the guiding principal informing the rankings and all content at Successful Student.

We have created a database of all online and on campus colleges in the U.S. From this database, we can create algorithms that will rank schools by the weights we give to the various ranking factors. For more information about our ranking methodology, see our College Calculator.

1. Author of “C. S. Lewis, Science, and the Medieval Mind”.

Jake, an avid reader of C. S. Lewis, wrote chapter four in the book The Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society, edited by John West. Published by Discovery Institute Press, 2012.

This book is a collection of essays from different authors exploring the writings and thoughts of C. S. Lewis concerning science, such as its origin, the psychological factors behind scientific revolutions, the philosophy of scientism, and the effects of science and scientism on society.

Jake’s essay concentrated on what Lewis wrote about the original conceptualization of science in the Medieval period through the lens of the medieval worldview. Lewis dispels some common myths about this period, and explains the worldview which led to the scientific enterprise (such as the scientific method as derived from the medieval philosophy of science).

2. Editor of Lectures on Natural Theology, by Thomas Reid.

Edited by Jake Akins and James A. Barham, Published by Erasmus Press, 2020.

In the 1779-1780 academic year, Thomas Reid gave lectures on natural theology at the University of Glasgow.

This book was transcribed from notes taken from these lectures by a student named George Baird. The book consists of 15 lecture notes, which range in topics such as natural theology, the intellectual powers of man, the human soul, practical ethics, and politics.

Thomas Reid was born in Strachan, Scotland, and became a philosopher in the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment period. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Scottish School of Common Sense.

Jake’s author page at Amazon.com.

Favorite Education Quote:

"Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously. ~ G. K. Chesterton."

Email: jake@successfulstudent.org

Jake Akins's Articles

The Best Online Associate’s Degrees in Accounting

Published: 25 Jul 2022

We have done the research and found the best online Associate’s degrees in Accounting in the U.S. About this ranking This ranking is designed for students to find the right online Associate’s degree in Accounting. We formulated this list using data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the academic influence of the school’s… View Article

The Best Online Master’s Degrees in Music Education

Published: 15 Jul 2022

The Best Online Master’s Degrees in Music Education Rank School Location 1 Boston University Boston, Massachusetts 2 University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, Missouri 3 University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 4 William Carey University Hattiesburg, Alaska 5 Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, Georgia 6 University of West Georgia Carrollton, Georgia 7 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska… View Article

The Best Online Associate’s Degrees in Photography

Published: 15 Jul 2022

We have ranked the best online Associate’s degrees in Photography in the U.S. This ranking is designed for online students to make informed college and degree decisions. The world needs skilled professionals who understand how to shoot and compose digital narratives. If you’re seeking a new career, now is the time to take steps toward… View Article

The 50 Best Video Game Design Colleges

Published: 05 Jul 2022

This is a ranking of the 50 best video game design colleges in the U.S. These game design degrees are for undergraduate and graduate students. About This Ranking Our ranking is designed for online and on-campus students to make informed decisions when considering which Game Design degree to choose and which college to attend. These… View Article

The Best Master’s Degrees in Communication Management

Published: 07 Jun 2022

Successful Student has ranked the best Master’s Degrees in Communication Management in the US. This ranking is designed for students to make the most informed decisions concerning college and degree options in Communication Management. Public relations, social media, corporate objectives, and other types of communication within organizations, needs to be managed. With instant and global… View Article

The Best Online Master’s in Music Business

Published: 11 May 2022

This ranking is designed for online students to make informed college and degree decisions for choosing an online master’s program in Music Business. About this ranking We use data from the National Center for Education Statistics and academic influence of faculty and alumni in professional publications. For more information about our ranking methodology see our… View Article

3 Problems with NFTs: Blockchains, Copyright, & Return on Investment

Published: 11 May 2022

This article is about three concerns with the NFT market: blockchains and digital asset custody (where digital assets are stored and how they correspond to the data of the NFT), copyright ownership, and return on investment in NFTs. I chose to write about these three because popular opinion seems to think that the digital assets… View Article

The Best Sustainable and Renewable Energy Colleges 2022

Published: 02 May 2022

We have ranked the best Sustainable and Renewable Energy colleges in 2022 in the U.S. About This Ranking: This ranking is designed for students to make informed college and degree decisions for studying sustainable and renewable energy. We designed this ranking for students. We use data from the National Center for Education Statistics, and academic… View Article

The 15 Best Drug Design Colleges

Published: 27 Apr 2022

We have ranked the 15 Best Drug Design Colleges in the United States. This ranking is designed for students to make informed degree and college decisions for studying Drug Design. About This Ranking From theoretical speculation to actual clinical trials, there is a broad range of areas to study within the field of Drug Design. Drug… View Article

Criminal Justice Degree: The 50 Best Programs

Published: 18 Apr 2022

We have ranked the 50 Best Criminal Justice Degree Programs in the US. About This Ranking This ranking is designed for students to make informed school and degree decisions in Criminal Justice. This ranking is designed by using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (which includes acceptance rates, graduation rates, and tuition amounts),… View Article