More Scholarship Opportunities

Calling all seniors!  We received two more scholarship opportunities today, so please read over the criteria and see if you qualify.

1.  The Signal Mountain Lions Charity Student Scholarship Program - First, you must reside in the 37377 zip code area.  Now, if you're still reading, this scholarship is worth up to $3,200 for four years of college ($800 a year).  The award is based on the applicant's financial need and academic achievement.

Please see Mrs. Haley in the college office for an application.  Important Note: You will need a copy of the the Student Aid Report (SAR) from the FAFSA, so you cannot submit the scholarship application until that has been completed.  The final deadline for applications is April 15, 2015.

2.  The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (Alpha Xi Chapter) is sponsoring an essay contest for all Tennessee high school students (grades 9-12).  First prizes is $300 with a possible extra $100 from the local chapter.  There are also 2nd and 3rd place monetary prizes.

Here's the essay topic:
     Poetry can often be referred to as the window to one's soul. Read and respond to "The Road Not Taken'" by Robert Frost and explain the central idea or theme of the poem.  You will also need to include a personal connection to the poem, perhaps focusing on making decisions, the abundance of choices one may encounter in life, or the impact of change as one grows older (these are just ideas).

You must turn in your essay to the college office by Friday, February 27, 2015. For more information, see Mrs. Haley.

Post-Application Blues

The stockings are hung, the menorahs and trees have been put up, and the applications have, for the most part, been submitted.  Now seniors are (hopefully) turning their attentions to upcoming exams and the holidays.  But what should be a time of rest from all the college application madness can often just be more stressful for the girls.

Home for the holidays, well-meaning family and friends often pepper seniors with questions: "Where did you apply?" "When will you hear?" Where do you think you'll go?"  It's understandable that people are curious, but for many of the girls, college is the last thing they want to discuss right now.

So here's a gift that every senior would appreciate.  Stop talking about essays and test scores and college applications. Step in and deflect the questions. Help the girls come up with a pat response, something like "It's out of my hands now, so I'm not going to make any decisions until I have all the information," or "I'm just going to remain open to whatever happens."  And then move the conversation in a different direction.

Make the next few weeks a holiday college free zone!  Your whole family will probably appreciate it.

The Ned McWherter Scholarship Program

The Ned McWherter Scholarship (named after a former Governor) is for Tennessee high school seniors who plan on attending school in the state of Tennessee, and the award is $6,000 per academic year.

To be eligible, seniors must:

• be a Tennessee resident and attend an eligible Tennessee college or university
• have at least an unweighted 3.5 cumulative GPA
• have a minimum composite scores of 29 on the ACT or 1280 on the SAT math and critical reading sections

The application must be accompanied by an official high school transcript and an official ACT/SAT score.  Applicants may receive "extra credit" for honors/AP courses as well as leadership activities.

To access the application, go to http://www.tn.gov/collegepays/mon_college/ned_mc_shcolar.htm
and click on the on-line application button at the top of the page.

Funds are limited, so complete your application as soon as possible. All applications are due by February 15.

Drunk on Camera

Thursday's installment from The Chronicle of Higher Education includes two items: a commentary titled "If students have time to get drunk, colleges aren't doing their job", and a video of, well, of college students drinking.

Truth be told, I debated posting the video because it is disturbing, and full of content and language that many people will find offensive.  But I learned some things watching it, mainly that people make money off of videoing college students funneling beer, chugging vodka, what have you.  And once you start drinking, it is easier to do things for the camera that you might not do otherwise.

You have been forewarned.

For the commentary: http://bit.ly/1yX922s
For the video: http://bit.ly/1FR8ICK

Friends helping friends when drinking

As today's Chronicle reports, some colleges are focusing on intervention rather than stopping drinking when it comes to alcohol use.  The students are the ones who are looking out for each other, monitoring their friends and intervening when necessary. For example, a young man at a frat party might see an inebriated young woman about to go upstairs with a brother, but rather than watch them, he steps in to make sure that both parties are well aware what they are doing (but quite honestly, if she's that drunk, I don't think she really can make a well-informed decision).

The story focuses on Union College in upstate New York, but the "bystander intervention" approach is being used on many campuses.  Even President Obama has launched the "It's On Us" initiative, a program that asks bystanders to intervene if they see someone in a risky situation.  It's certainly a good start, and it seems to be working on Union's campus.

To read the entire story, go to http://bit.ly/1FMwwro, and to see how four other colleges are handling risky behaviors, you can check it out at http://bit.ly/1HZvV9K

Why Colleges Haven't Stopped Binge Drinking

Today's installment of the special report by The Chronicle of Higher Education takes a look at how colleges have tried to rein in binge drinking.  Over the years there have been multiple studies, years of research, and a variety of programs, but nothing seems to really make a difference.

Some of the numbers are eye-opening:

• The binge drinking rate among college students has hovered at over 40% for the last two decades.
• 46.8% of high school seniors drank alcohol in the last thirty days
• only 25% of college students don't drink
• 599,000 college students injured while under the influence of alcohol
• 97,000 college student report being sexually assaulted or date-raped due to alcohol

As parents, I wonder what you expect a college to do, or are you like the UGA parent in yesterday's article who got mad when their son was arrested for underage drinking/public intoxication?  Perhaps you agree that a college's primary responsibility is to simply keep your child safe but not monitor his or her behavior.  Maybe you agree that drinking is simply part of college life, and you don't really believe there is a problem.  

Whatever your views on drinking in college/binge drinking, the article http://bit.ly/1yehQ3Z is well worth reading.

A river of booze...

The Chronicle of Higher Education has begun a special report about the use of alcohol on college campuses.  Today's first article is titled "A River of Booze, Inside one college town's uneasy embrace of drinking."  That town is Athens, Georgia, home to the University of Georgia.

Like my recent post about the problems at UVA, it is important to understand that this isn't about one college or one town.  The types of people discussed and the growing problem of overconsumption is a very real one, but it could happen at any college or university, not just Georgia.

Every parent should read the series, and I will post the articles as I get them.  Undoubtedly some parents will be sure that this could never happen to their daughter (or son), but if experience has taught me anything, it is that it will in fact happen to some of my students.  The odds are just not in their favor.

My intent is not to scare people or overdramatize the problems of alcohol and sexual assault, but they are most definitely issues that parents should discuss at length with their daughter and not just the day before she leaves home.  What you say is your business, but if this special report makes anyone stop and think, then it will be worth it.

You can find the first article here: http://bit.ly/1zITHAM