Academic March Madness

For the second straight year, Insider Higher Ed has published its own March Madness Tournament Bracket, taking the colleges and universities who have made it to the NCAA basketball tournament and ranking them based on academic performance rather than athletics.  The final four might surprise you. If you want more information about how the brackets are created, visit here.

The Women's Bracket: http://bit.ly/Zd33Ri
The Men's Bracket: http://bit.ly/YqMyBZ

The blog is going on spring break, but we'll be back the first of April!

The George Washington University

Make the nation's capital your classroom at The George Washington University this summer. Their pre-college program offers and extraordinary opportunity for an enriching academic summer experience at a top research institution.
To learn more about course descriptions, application requirements, and to apply, visit: precollege.gwu.edu.

Paying for College

All week long The New York Times is running a series of questions and answers about how to pay for college.  So far they've covered topics like alternative sources of financial aid and estimating your aid eligibility.  You can also post your own question if it hasn't been covered yet.

Erlanger Health System

FUTURE DOCS
Want to see what being a doctor is really like? Then this program is for you!
Three week pre-medical opportunity for high school seniors. 
For information visit www.utcomchatt.org and click on the Future Docs link at the top right.

If you have been accepted to the Volunteen Summer Program (described earlier in this blog) you are automatically registered for the Future Docs program.

How to Approach a College Rep or a College Fair

Being somewhat of an introvert myself, I understand it when some girls have a hard time striking up a conversation with a college admissions representative.  Mrs. Goldbach has wisely suggested that you have a prepared "elevator speech," a thirty second introduction with two or three things you want others to know about you.  Whether you are speaking to a college rep or interviewing for a job, this article on networking also offers some other great suggestions for introverts and extroverts alike, and with the Coast to Coast College Fair fast approaching (April 29), we want you to be as prepared as possible.

The Week's Wrap-Up

Though I sometimes find myself on both sides of this issue, I particularly enjoyed this blog post - Digital Era Redefining Etiquette - from The New York Times.  I'm a big fan of the 'old-fashioned' phone call, but I also often find myself irritated when someone asks me a question that they could easily google for themselves.  When it comes to high school students though, I think I know on which side they fall.

As a mother whose daughter is still paying off her student loans, this is not particularly welcome news (Student Loan Interest Rates to Rise).  I don't pretend to know what the answer is but hopefully congress will figure out something.

And finally, just in case you were wondering what NOT to ask on a college tour, here's a guide that might interest you.

Enjoy the wonderful weather this weekend!

Brown University

The Brown Leadership Institute helps students make a positive difference in the world. Students develop and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes associated with effective and socially responsible leadership

• Study Global Challenges
• Develop Leadership Skills
• Take Your Learning Home

Apply now for Summer 2013 at www.brown.edu/summer.