More Than a Test Score

After reviewing many excellent profiles we are pleased to announce the winners of the 2010 and 2011 Scholarships.

The winner of the 2010 Scholarship is Emily Flower.  Emily’s Zinch bio reads: “I have a passion for the middle east and medicine. These work in tandem to drive me toward my goal of Osteopathic Orthopedic Surgeon, ready to adventure to war torn countries to heal victims of violence. I love to read; it is my window into a life I haven’t lived. It allows me to be a swashbuckling pirate one day, and a boy on the side of a mountain the next. I’m in love with culture, of all kinds and regions. Immersion and Exposure are the best medicine, and studying abroad is a priority of mine.”

The winner of the 2011 Scholarship is Jelena Borak. Jelena’s description of herself: “I’m a refugee from Yugoslavia. My parents, 2 older sisters, and I came to the U.S. when I was 6 years old. Though my stature is small, 5’2″, my dreams are certainly not! I have decided to get a head start on my quest for much-needed scholarships. I love art, reading, and playing sports. Above all, I’m dedicated to my family and education!”

We wish our scholarship winners all the best in finishing out high school strong and seeing their college dreams come true.

There are currently a lot of scholarship opportunities on Zinch, so be sure to check out what scholarships you are elgible for here.

Paolo Singer is pretty smart. He registered on Zinch. He also applied for a scholarship listed on Zinch, and won it. Now he’s got twice the money because Zinch is matching scholarships. Pretty smart, right? He knows that Zinch is the best place to look for colleges and scholarships. That’s probably why he’s going to Harvard. I got to ask him some questions. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and all I hope is that he can find some good Italian food in Massachusets.

What made you register for Zinch?

I saw the scholarships that Zinch was offering, so I created a profile and applied to a bunch. Looking back, it was a good idea :).

What made you want to go to Harvard? What was the application process like?

Harvard is a place where I’ll be both challenged and inspired by other students around me, and where I’ll have so many resources to pursue my studies and extracurriculars as far as I want — I’m very excited for the four years ahead. The application process was slightly hectic because I left the bulk of the work for the last couple weeks before the deadline, but the effort definitely paid off.

What are you going to study?

I’m planning to study government, economics, computer science, and evolutionary biology.

Are you excited to move from the Bronx?

Yes — I’ll finally be liberated from having to take the subway every day.

What kind of outside hobbies do you have?

I love music, sports, and the outdoors. Some of my favorite hobbies are piano, theater, skating, soccer, and traveling. And, of course, eating good Italian food.

What is your main goal in life?

To make the best of what I have, and to make the world around me just a little better.

Why are you more than a test score?

We are a work in progress, and test scores cannot measure the love, tears, laughter, joy and memories we gain from living.

What a kid. We’re so excited for Paolo. Register for Zinch and see if you can be a moocher, too!

Steve Cohen, Chief Editor of Zinch’s blog for parents, The College Admissions Report, was recently featured on the Daily Beast.  His article, How Kids Really Choose a School, was based on the results of a Zinch survey.  Your voices are being heard and people are taking them seriously.  We here at Zinch have gotten a lot of feedback based on that article and people want to hear more.

If you are a 2009 high school graduate and are yet to let us know your thoughts on what really mattered to you the most in your college decision process, take the survey and let your voice be heard!

With the current recession forcing schools to slash their budgets, sometimes drastically, many schools are eliminating hundreds of courses or cutting back on the number of sections available of certain courses.  This spells bad news for every student, but especially for incoming freshmen as many of the courses first in line to be cut are the introductory courses they would take.

Like community colleges throughout California, City College of San Francisco is also facing such deep budget cuts, but they are trying some unconventional methods to prevent eliminating hundreds of courses and sections.  The college is offering donors the ability to save a course — and have the course named for them — for $6,000, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Currently, about 800 classes are slated to be canceled. There are so many classes being killed that the newspaper reported that potential donors have lots of options, including traditional introductory courses in fields such as biology and French, practical courses in fields such as accounting, and electives such as Psychology of Shyness and Self-Esteem and Advanced Kung Fu.  Yes, it may seem strange to sign up for the “Bill and Melinda Gates Advanced Kung Fu class”, but better that then the alternative.

This morning as I browsed the news while having my morning caffeine I came across an article in the New York Times’ college admission blog about college fairs starting to assign personalized bar codes to students as they enter a fair, enabling a student to then signal interest in an institution with a mere electronic swipe.  This new technology is being adopted as a means for students to quickly and effortlessly provide institutions with their names, contact information, high schools and academic interests, among other data, but this practice is among several recent uses of technology in higher education that are under heavy scrutiny.

The University of California San Diego now has it’s own iPhone application to help students get around campus, contact faculty, staff, and students, follow sport scores, watch campus-related videos, or check their class schedule.  The University of Missouri, the United States oldest journalism school, is now requiring journalism students to have an iPhone or similar technology as a tool for class.  Twitter and Facebook are becoming more and more integrated in high schools and colleges not just as a social tool, but as a tool in the learning process.

Detractors to this wave of new technology being integrated into the lives of teachers and students across the country seem to feel like it takes too much of the personal side of education out of the process, but my question to you the reader is, how do you feel about technology in education?  After all, you are the true participants.  In the college admissions process, how much do you rely on technology as opposed to campus visits, college fairs, and face-to-face interactions with you guidance counselor?  How much is too much when it comes to technology in education?