Tuesday, September 30, 2014

MyProjectorLamps Scholarship

This scholarship is for students who are in their final year of high school or are currently enrolled as college undergraduates in an accredited program in the United States. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be 16 years of age or older, have a minimum 3.0 GPA or higher, and be considered in good standing at their current institution. To apply for this scholarship, applicants must create a one-page essay detailing their ideas about the use of multimedia and data visualization in K-12 classrooms; see website for more details.

Award: $500

Deadline: Oct. 13, 2014

More info: http://www.myprojectorlamps.com/

Image of My Projector Lamps logo | MyProjectorLamps USA

Bridging Scholarship

Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) 

This scholarship is for undergraduate students who are participating in study abroad programs in Japan. Students majoring in any field of study are eligible to apply; Japanese language study is not a prerequisite. Applicants must be US citizens and must be enrolled as undergraduates in a college or university in the United States before and during the time they are studying abroad. Summer study abroad programs are not eligible. Note that your application materials must be received, not postmarked, by the application deadline.

Award: $2500-$4000

Deadline: Oct. 8, 2014

More info: http://www.aatj.org/studyabroad/scholarships

Homework Help and Learning Supports at the Pima County Public Library

A message from: Michelle Simon

Pima County Public Library (PCPL) supports learning and education in a variety of ways. Library staff provides programming in technology, creativity, skill building in reading and math, and STE(A)M topics that supplement and enhance what a student learns during the regular school day. Electronic resources include databases, tutorials, videos, audiobooks, ebooks, and access to practice tests and a writing lab, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Online tutors are available for students (K-College) to help with all subject areas from 2pm-11pm every day of the week. Face-to-face homework help is also available at a limited number of locations.

College-bound students can practice taking the PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams using Learning Express Library or they can use tools to prepare for college and the entrance exams with Gale Reference Center (http://www.library.pima.gov/resources/learn/study.php). PCPL also provides access to the Regional College Access Center in partnership with the Metropolitan Education Commission as well as other information related to colleges, scholarships, and financial aid (http://www.library.pima.gov/research/guides/colleges.php).

What do you need to access all of these great resources? A Library Card. September is National Library Card month and PCPL is dedicated to making sure every student has a card. Students can check out materials, use electronic resources at school or at home, or they can come to the library and use the public computers available at every location. In order to increase children's access to library resources, PCPL implemented a policy that no late fees are ever assessed to children's or teen's materials.

Where do you find all of this great information? http://www.library.pima.gov/resources/learn/ Our website has links to every resource you need to help your student learn. The information is easy to access and encourages parent participation in the process. Electronic resources include sample lesson plans, content level based on lexile scores, and cross-reference to other databases so you can create a comprehensive learning environment. Make flashcards, games, and interactive practice tests for any subject area.

How do you get your student a library card? You can have students take home a library card request form to be filled out by parents. Students return them to you with a parent signature and then you turn them into the library for issuance of a library card. Even if a child cannot get a parent signature, he/she can be issued a limited (complete computer and electronic resource access, 2-item checkout limit) library card. The request forms can be mailed, hand carried, or scanned in and emailed to a library staff person. Library cards can be delivered or mailed to your classroom.

Please visit our website (www.library.pima.gov) to explore all of the great things the Pima County Public Library has to offer!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Making the Grade: America's Most Beautiful College Campuses

By Chloe Pantazi

'No matter how much colleges try to sell themselves with fancy academic rankings, resort-style amenities, and the lure of intramural ultimate Frisbee (!!), it almost always boils down to the campus visit.

And also, parties. But mostly, the campus visit.

And since not every one of America’s roughly 3,000 four-year colleges and universities can be beautiful (even if their moms think they are — sorry, UMass Dartmouth), we took into consideration factors like architecture, location, landscape, and historic structures, and narrowed it down to the nation’s most picturesque 25:'

Click here for full list and article: http://tinyurl.com/lqt46dn

Making the Grade: America's Most Beautiful College Campuses

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Students with Heart Scholarship

This scholarship is for students who have cardiac disease or a cardiac deformity. To qualify, applicants must be entering or currently attending a US post-secondary institution as undergraduate or graduate students and maintain a minimum status of part-time (six credits). Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA and be US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents. A letter from a licensed physician, official transcripts, letter of recommendation, and personal statement are required.

Award: $500-$6000

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.studentswithheart.org/scholarships.html

George J. Mitchell Scholarship

US-Ireland Alliance 

This scholarship is for students between the ages of 18 and 29 who hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. The scholarship is for one year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by colleges and universities in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Scholarship applicants are judged on academic excellence, leadership, and a sustained commitment to service and community. Scholarship award includes tuition, housing, a living expenses stipend, and an international travel stipend. Applicants must be US citizens.

Award: Tuition, accommodation, a stipend for living expenses and travel.

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://tinyurl.com/3wxpx6f

US-Ireland Alliance

Higher Education Scholarship

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Education Department

This scholarship is for enrolled members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in southeastern Montana. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must demonstrate financial need. Scholarship applications must be complete with supporting documentation.

Award: $100-$6000

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.cheyennenation.com/education.html

IXL.com Online Tutoring K-12 for Math and English

Practice makes perfect, and IXL makes math and language arts practice fun! IXL motivates students through interactive games and exercises while keeping teachers and parents informed and involved. With more than 4,000 skills spanning pre-school through high school, IXL offers a dynamic and enjoyable environment suitable for any learning style.

Check them out: http://www.ixl.com/

The 5 Colleges That Leave the Most Students Crippled By Debt

by Kim Clark - time.com/money 

Full article: https://time.com/money/3426618/student-loan-default-factories/

Almost 650,000 federal student loan borrowers have defaulted on their debt, new data shows. A handful of for-profit schools are a big part of the problem.

More than one out of eight students who had a federal student loan and left college or graduate school in 2011 has since defaulted—a total of almost 650,000 Americans, the U.S. Department of Education reported today.

In all, 13.7% of the 4.8 million federal student loan borrowers who graduated or dropped out of a higher education program in 2011 have gone at least nine months without making a payment on that debt.

That number is alarming to many analysts because new flexible repayment programs have made it much easier to repay federal student loans. Some of the government’s new income-driven repayment plans, for example, cap payments at 10% of a borrower’s discretionary income.

Students and parents should be wary of colleges with high default rates, advises Debbie Cochrane, research director of The Institute for College Access and Success. “At schools with both high borrowing rates and high default rates, too many students are clearly leaving school worse off than before they entered,” she says.

A handful of for-profit colleges are responsible for a disproportionate number of the defaults, according to the new government statistics.

The Education Department says it will stop making loans to students at the 21 colleges with the worst default rates. (It will cut off schools with a three-year default rate above 40%, or three consecutive three-year default rates above 30%.) Twenty of those schools are for-profit colleges.

Many of the colleges with the highest default rates are trade schools, and many are comparatively small. The Coast Career Institute, a California-based trade school with a 56% default rate, for example, currently reports having only 169 students. Eleven of the 21 colleges with the worst default records are beauty or barbering schools. On average, 19% of students at for-profit schools who left school in 2011 have defaulted.

What’s more, several other government agencies are looking into whether some for-profit colleges are trying to attract students using false or misleading marketing. Allegations of fraud leveled by the California attorney general have forced for-profit Corinthian College to shut down.

Overall, the default rates for public colleges was 12.9%. The default rate for private, non-profit colleges was 7.2%. But the four colleges with the largest numbers of defaulters were for-profit schools. They produced a combined total of more than 75,000 defaulters in the past three years.
The University of Phoenix, a for-profit company and the nation’s largest higher education system, with 242,000 students, accounted for more than 45,000 of the defaulters in the most recent three-year group. That represented 19% of all of the Phoenix students whose bills started coming due in 2011.
Spokesmen for Phoenix and an association of for-profit schools note that their default rates have been declining. The University of Phoenix’s three-year default rate for students who graduated or dropped out in 2010 was 26%, for example.

The largest producer of defaulters among public schools was Ivy Tech, a community college in Indiana, where 23% of the student borrowers who left there in 2011 have since defaulted on their student loans. On average, 20% of community college borrowers have defaulted over the past three years. Community college officials note that their students generally tend to borrow less than others because the schools charge lower tuition.

These five schools have the highest numbers of defaulters among those who left school in 2011, according the Education Department.

COLLEGETYPE# OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN DEFAULTERS, 2011-14% OF BORROWERS WHO DEFAULTED ON FEDERAL LOANS DUE IN 2011
1University of PhoenixFor-profit45,12319%
2ITT Technical InstituteFor-profit11,26022%
3Kaplan UniversityFor-profit10,68420%
4DeVry UniversityFor-profit9,08119%
5Ivy Tech Community College of IndianaPublic community college7,23723%

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Golden Key Graduate Scholar Award

This scholarship is for Golden Key members who are enrolled as full-time students in a post-baccalaureate program of study at an accredited institution at the time of application; or members who plan to enroll during the academic year immediate following the granting of the award. Emphasis will be placed on involvement around Golden Key's pillars of academics, leadership, and service.

Award:  $10,000

Deadline:  Oct. 1, 2014

More info: https://www.goldenkey.org/scholarships-awards/overview/

Choctaw Nation Higher Education and Grant Program

These scholarships are for students of Choctaw descent pursuing a college or university education. To qualify for these scholarships, applicants must have CDIB and tribal membership cards, and be able to show Choctaw descent. Applicants must be attending an accredited college or university working part- or full-time working towards a minimum of an associate's degree. Vocational technical schools, certificate programs, and correspondence courses are ineligible.

Award: $400-$2000

Deadline:  Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.choctawnation.com/services/education/higher-education-and-grant-program/

Marshall Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to American students to enable them to study in the United Kingdom. To qualify, applicants must be US citizens, have a bachelor's degree from a four-year US college, and have a minimum 3.7 GPA. See website for more information.

Award: University fees, cost of living expenses, annual book grant, thesis grant, research and daily travel grants, fares to and from the United States and, where applicable, a contribution towards the support of a dependent spouse.

Deadline:  Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.marshallscholarship.org/

Raymond Davis Scholarship

This scholarship is for undergraduate students who have completed two academic years of study and for graduate-level students. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must have an academic and/or research focus in a field related to imaging. Applicants must be full-time students at an accredited institution pursuing an academic degree. Applicants do not have to be members of IS&T.

Award: $1000

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.imaging.org/ist/membership/davis.cfm?AwardCode=RS

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Khan Academy - A free world-class education for anyone anywhere - Plus free SAT test prep

Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. They're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.

All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.

Check it out here: https://www.khanacademy.org/

Friday, September 12, 2014

Minority Teacher Education Scholarship/Florida Fund for Minority Teachers

Florida Department of Education

This scholarship is for African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, and Native American students who have been newly admitted to a teacher education program at an eligible participating post-secondary institution. To qualify, applicants must be US citizens or eligible non-citizens while meeting Florida’s residency requirement for receipt of state student financial aid; have earned 60 credit hours or an Associate of Arts degree; be juniors and have not earned a bachelor's degree in education; have not exceeded 18 hours of upper division education courses at the time of application; and have and maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA. See website for more details.

Award:  $2000-$4000

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.ffmt.org/mtes-application/

Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, Inc.

Bureau of Indian Affairs/Tribal Scholarship

Sky People Higher Education

This scholarship is for American Indians who are enrolled or non-enrolled members of the Arapaho tribe or who can provide verification of Indian blood from Bureau of Indian Affairs. To qualify, applicants must be eligible for a PELL Grant. Yearly scholarship deadlines are April 15, June 15, and November 15.

Award: Varies

Deadline: Nov. 15, 2014

More info: http://skypeopleed.org/

Hopi Tribe Grants and Scholarship Program (HTGSP)

Hopi Education Endowment Fund

This is a college scholarship for American Indians who are enrolled members of the Hopi Tribe. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be high school graduates/GED recipients and be admitted to a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants must have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have applied for all federal, state, and institutional aid to be eligible for this scholarship. If applicants are entering freshman, they must have at least a 2.0 GPA to qualify for this scholarship; all other students must have at least a 2.5 GPA.

Award: Varies

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.hopieducationfund.org/

Mutual of Omaha Actuarial Scholarship for Minority Students

This scholarship is for minorities who are enrolled as full-time college undergraduate students. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be majoring in actuarial science or mathematics with the goal of pursuing an actuarial career. Applicants must have passed at least one actuarial exam and completed at least 24 semester hours. If selected, applicants must complete one summer internship at Mutual of Omaha's home office in Omaha, Nebraska, and therefore, must be willing to relocate to Omaha, Nebraska, for the summer. All applicants must be US citizens, permanent residents, or recipients of refugee status from the US Department of Homeland Security.

Award: $5000

Deadline: Oct. 20, 2014

More info: http://www.mutualofomaha.com/about/company/diversity/internships-scholarships.php

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Xerox Technical Minority Scholarship

This scholarship is for minority students who are enrolled in a technical degree program at the bachelor's level or above. Technical fields include chemistry, information management, computing & software systems, material science, printing management science, laser optics, physics, and engineering (chemical, computer, electrical, imaging, manufacturing, mechanical optical, or software). To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be full-time undergraduate or graduate students with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Applicants must be US citizens or visa-holding permanent residents and be of African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaska Native, or Hispanic descent. Spouses and children of Xerox employees are not eligible for this scholarship.

Award: $1000-$10000

Deadline: Sept. 30, 2014

More info: http://www.xerox.com/jobs/minority-scholarships/enus.html

QuestBridge National College Match Scholarships

This scholarship program is for high school seniors who have shown outstanding academic ability despite facing economic challenges. Most College Match scholarship recipients come from households earning less than $60,000 annually (for a typical family of four) and have experienced long-term economic hardship. Applicants must plan to graduate from high school during or before the spring/summer of 2015 and enroll as freshmen in college in the fall of 2015. Non-US citizens, undocumented, and international students are eligible. Recipients are granted admission to one of QuestBridge's partner colleges with a full scholarship. All scholarships are full four-year scholarships with no loans. See website for more details.

Award: $100,000

Deadline: Sept. 26, 2014

More info: http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/ncm-scholarship-details

Tribal Business Management Scholarship

Catching the Dream

This scholarship is for students majoring in business, finance, management, economics, banking, hotel management, and related fields who plan to work in economic development for tribes. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be at least one-quarter American Indian and be enrolled members of a US tribe that is federally recognized, state-recognized, or terminated. Applicants must have high GPA and test scores and be enrolled in an accredited US college/university on a full-time basis.

Award: $500-$5000

Deadline: Sept. 15, 2014

More info: http://www.catchingthedream.org/Scholarship.htm

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Asian Women in Business Scholarship

Asian Women In Business (AWIB)

This scholarship is for women who are of at least 50% Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry (includes those who can trace their ancestry from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam). To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be enrolled full-time in an accredited four-year undergraduate institution at the time of application and award; have at least one semester/term remaining before graduation; have a minimum 3.0 GPA at the time of application; and have a leadership role in a community endeavor or a record of entrepreneurial achievement. They must also be US citizens or permanent residents. A larger scholarship will be awarded to students who can demonstrate financial need by submitting a copy of the FAFSA form.

Award: $2500-$5000

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2014

More info: http://www.awib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=811

Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards

Hispanic Heritage Foundation 

This scholarship is for current high school juniors (rising seniors) who are of Hispanic/Latino descent (at least one parent). To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be graduating in the spring of 2014 and be planning to enroll in college in 2015-2016. Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale or 7.5 GPA on a 10.0 scale and be US citizens or permanent residents. Applicants must be willing to travel at their own expense to the awards ceremony in their selected region (regions include Los Angeles, Houston, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Dallas, Miami, Northern California, Denver, and Phoenix); ceremony attendance is absolutely mandatory for scholarship recipients. Be sure to visit all the pages of the website for complete details.

Award: $1000

Deadline: Sept. 30, 2014

More info: http://www.hispanicheritage.org/programs/youth-awards/

Native American Leadership Education Scholarship

Catching the Dream 

This scholarship is for paraprofessionals in American Indian schools who are education majors and plan to pursue degrees in education, counseling, or school administration. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be at least one-quarter American Indian and be enrolled members of a US tribe that is federally recognized, state-recognized, or terminated. Applicants must have high GPA and test scores and be enrolled in an accredited US college/university on a full-time basis.

Award: $500-$5000

Deadline: Sept. 15, 2014

More info: http://www.catchingthedream.org/Scholarship.htm





Thursday, September 4, 2014

Colleges that meet 100% of a student's financial need

One of the biggest concerns students and their families have about college is affordability. Rising costs at the nation’s public and private schools keep qualified students from considering the best options.

Fortunately, many colleges are committed to remaining affordable to each admitted student regardless of their financial circumstances. A college or university that promises to make sure every penny of an accepted student’s demonstrated financial need is covered through grants, work-study, scholarships, and in some cases, federal student loans, is considered a 100% meet need school.

College Green light has compiled a list of the colleges around the country who identify themselves as 100% meet need, and have indicated the specifics of their programs below. Note that a major difference between meet need programs is whether or not the college includes federal student loans in a student’s financial aid report. The colleges that include student loans keep the amount a student is expected to borrow reasonably low. In these instances, check with the college’s office of financial aid for additional information.

If you are interested in learning more about any of these colleges or universities click on the link below to view their College Greenlight profile.

Note: 100% meet need schools pledge to meet a student’s full demonstrated need. Most students will still have an expected family contribution they are responsible for.

Link to schools and article: http://www.collegegreenlight.com/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/

Meet Need Schools

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Wesleyan University Fall Open House Programs: Transportation Assistance Program.

The Office of Admission funds a Transportation Assistance Program (TAP), which provides an all-expenses-paid visit to campus (including transportation, accommodations and meals) for a select number of high school seniors interested in participating in one of our annual Open House Programs. During the visit, students will have the opportunity to visit classes, meet current students, speak with faculty, and explore the campus community.

This year the Open House programs will take place October 12-13 and November 10-11. If you are interested in the Transportation Assistance Program, the online application and supporting materials must be submitted by the appropriate deadlines.

Columbus Day Open House October 12-13, 2014 (Forms due September 26th)

Veterans Day Open House November 10-11, 2014 (Forms due October 24th)

While the Open House Program is open to all, the number of students awarded travel grants is limited, so a timely response will be taken into consideration along with background and interest in Wesleyan.

More info and online application here: http://tinyurl.com/ksswjsf

The 10 Top Colleges Students Really Want to Attend

By Kim Clark

Click here for original article: http://tinyurl.com/nfre8sn

A new study of which schools high school seniors actually pick turns up prestigious names you know. Good thing these colleges also offer good value.

Not surprisingly, if you get into an elite college, chances are high you’ll say yes. But which of the elite schools are most likely to be students’ first choice? In a new analysis of acceptance and enrollment data, Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton top the list for this fall,

Parchment, a company that specializes in transferring student records from high schools and colleges, analyzed the college acceptances of 27,723 high school seniors who filled out the company’s survey this spring and summer. The company’s analysis, says chief executive officer Matthew Pittinsky, reveals which schools students are flocking to—and from.

Overall, the typical student in the study reported being accepted by three or four colleges. By comparing the schools the high schoolers got into with the ones they picked and rejected in the end, Parchment calculated a popularity score for 726 schools. Of the 265 colleges for which Parchment had records of at least 100 decisions, the 10 below are the most popular.

This report provides a slightly different and more up-to-date view of college popularity than the standard federal statistics on the percentage of admitted students who enroll. By those numbers, Harvard, with 81% of the admitted students enrolling in 2013, was the most popular elite school in the country. On this list, it’s No. 3.

Some of Parchment’s most popular schools are somewhat surprising given their official acceptance stats. Almost 100 members of the study group got into the University of Chicago and at least one other college, for example. And those students generally chose Chicago, where just about half of accepted students say yes, over almost every other school.

The good news is that these 10 most popular schools, while elite and expensive, also offer some of the best bangs for the tuition buck in the country, according to Money’s new college value rankings, which take into account net total costs after scholarships and grants as well as typical post-graduation earnings.

And some of the more expensive schools in the country appear to be students’ safety or backup schools in Parchment’s analysis. More than 100 members of the study group got into Drexel University (where only 8% of accepted students enroll) and at least one other college, for example. But most of those students opted for another choice.

In Money’s rankings of the 665 schools with graduation rates at or above the median and enough data for Money to examine, Drexel ranked 596th, in part because of its high cost. Money estimates a degree from Drexel, after all costs are included and grants or scholarship from the college are subtracted, will cost current freshmen about $218,000. That’s $72,000 more than a typical degree from highly popular Princeton University, for example, and $20,000 more than a degree from Chicago.

POPULARITY RANK*% ACCEPTED WHO ENROLLCOLLEGEMONEY VALUE RANKINGNET COST OF A DEGREE
176%Stanford University5$168,800
272%Massachusetts Institute of Technology3$154,700
381%Harvard University6$181,200
466%Yale University15$182,800
565%Princeton University4$146,200
663%University of Pennsylvania11$201,600
742%Duke University32$192,800
860%Columbia University22$206,800
953%University of Chicago101$188,800
1058%Brown University19$192,000