Where: Europe
Who: Students studying French. Also, students interested in art, cuisine, fashion, architecture and history are well-suited to enjoy their time studying in France.
When:  Summer months are May to September. If you want to avoid the tourist season then you should make your time in France between December and March.
Perks & Tips: While you study abroad in France you can concentrate on nearly any subject. The students with a passion for the arts, architecture and history are usually the ones that flock to the country in the highest numbers. That isn’t much of a surprise considering that France has been the center of the arts, as well as an international player, for centuries.
Students of the arts can visit the Louvre to view the works of French artists such as Monet, Matisse and Renoir. Architecture students can see nearly every style of architecture including, The Gothic Chateau de Chambord, built in the 1500s; Place Dauphine built in 1607 in Baroque style; and the post-modern housing development, Marne-la-Vallee. History students will find that over the course of the centuries, France has been the stage for the most important developments in the history of mankind, including the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and the rise of the Fifth Republic under President Charles de Gaulle. It was also the site of the D-Day invasion of WWII. Besides being an excellent location for learning France will also provide you with the opportunity to enjoy fine cuisine, fashion and beautiful scenery.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to study abroad in France by Shouting Out to StudyAbroad.com.

Study Abroad in France

This weeks winner of the Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship has finally been chosen! We were impressed by the great essays but would like to remind you all that the essays and your Zinch Profiles are taken into account.  There were quite a few great essays that just were not backed up by great profiles.  Remember to update your Zinch profiles!

This weeks winner, with the prompt: “The biggest thing I wish I would have learned in the classroom…”, is Jeffrey Lee!

Here is the winning essay:

The biggest thing that I wish I had learned in the classroom is how to love and be loved in return. To just love and be loved in return is the greatest thing you’ll ever know. Having drifted through life loving the idea of love but never experiencing it for myself. What sadness, what depression, what Woe! But with the loving of Brittney, oh what exquisite Joy!

Here is a little more about our winner:

I currently attend Brigham Young University while working for an up-and-coming Consulting Firm, Performance Progression, LLC. I plan to go into HR at the BYU Marriott Business School. I am very ambitious and am looking to network with other successful people on Zinch. I enjoy long walks on the beach.. Uh, wrong website… Turns out I have a sense of humor as well. I enjoy playing sports and can’t get enough of College Bowl games and March Madness. It’s gunna be crazy baby!

Here are the other finalists:

The biggest thing I wish I would have learned in the classroom is how
to enjoy life. How to appreciate the little things as opposed to the
big picture, stop worrying ALL THE TIME about my future and enjoy the
present. I wish I was taught how to take a risk and to not second
guess myself. To just be.

Bridget Eng

Were I to attend the Ideal High School, the freshman requirement would
be Assertion 101. This grueling class would teach the fine arts of
class discussion, successful interviewing, and -gasp!- finding the
humility to ask the teacher for help when you truly need it.

Meredith Agens

I wish I had learned what to do post-high school.  The things nobody
tells you, such as how health insurance works, how to pick a vehicle
insurance policy, how to rent/buy a place, etc. This should be a class
that is required for everyone!

Lindsay Schlenker

The biggest thing I wish I had learned in the classroom is to create
my own knowledge.  So often we are consumed in learning vocab words,
historical dates, and math theorems through textbooks and lectures
that our creativity to produce our own wisdom becomes hindered.

Seolah Kim

Vanessa asked me what today’s date was. Sweat dribbled down my
forehead and I blurted out “September 43!” I wish I learned how to
talk to girls.

Bryan Zick

The biggest thing I wish I had learned is to make yourself heard. Too
many people wish to make a difference; to help the people around them;
to make the world better for generations to come, but they rarely know
how do it. We must be taught that every voice matters and we could be
that voice.

Nyasha Medina

The biggest thing I wish I had learned in the classroom is the purpose
of life. We are taught language, mathmatics, arts; What about the
important subject of them all, the reason to exist? Unfortunately, it
has never been decided what actually *is* the purpose of life.

Katherine Tung

The biggest thing I wish I would had learned in the classroom is that
there is no specific formula for success. The formula is several cups
of sweat, a pinch of sleepless nights, and infinite amount of
dedication. Some things go untaught in school: experiences encourage
greater personal growth.

Alexandra Carreto

The biggest thing I wish I had learned in the classroom is that every
mushroom cloud has a silver lining. You lose, you learn, you get back
up, you grow. We are constant developers. We are incessantly on the
move to something bigger, better, incredulous. A speed bump does not
stop you indefinitely.

Alyssa Ramirez

The biggest thing I wish I had learned in the classroom is that the
classrom is not the only priority; that my worth as a human being is
not measured on an F - A scale; that the classroom is not the end, but
rather the means to a greater end.

Carolyn Lee

Again we would like to thank everyone for participating and don’t forget to submit an essay to the Scholarship ID Page on this weeks prompt: If I could have one wish…

Good Luck!

With spring, come the college admissions decisions. A recent Wall Street Journal article, said “with next fall’s college freshman class expected to approach a record 2.9 million students, hundreds of thousands of applicants will soon be receiving the dreaded [rejection] letters.”

According to the same article, “rejections aren’t uncommon” and that “Harvard accepts only a little more than 7% of the 29,000 undergraduate applications it receives each year, and Stanford’s acceptance rate is about the same.”

So if you’re rejected, don’t sweat it. Take a look at these famous folks that that didn’t make it into their dream schools. And all feel that the rejection may have been the best thing to happen, in the end.

Warren Buffet, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - After Harvard Business School said no, everything ‘I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better.’

Meredith Vieira, ‘Today’ show co-host- Had she not been rejected by Harvard, she doubts she would have entered television journalism.

Lee Bollinger, Columbia University president (rejected from Harvard) - To ‘allow other people’s assessment of you to determine your own self-assessment is a very big mistake.’

Harold Varmus, Nobel laureate in medicine - Rejected twice by Harvard’s medical school. One dean there chastised him and advised him to enlist in the military.

Ted Turner, Entrepreneur - Rejected by Princeton and Harvard. ‘I want to be sure to make this point: I did everything I did without a college degree.’

John Schlifske, President of Northwestern Mutual - Lesson he learned from Yale’s rejection helped him years later counsel his son, Dan (standing), who was rejected by Duke.

Tom Brokaw, Broadcast journalist - Harvard rejection prompted him to settle down and stop partying. ‘The initial stumble was critical in getting me launched.’

So if you receive a thin envelope from one of your favorite colleges, just remember what Lee Bollinger said, “The question really is, who at the end of the day is going to make the determination about what your talents are, and what your interests are? That has to be you.”

As we get closer to the end of the Sweet 16 round and the beginning of the Elite 8 we wanted to go over some of the fierce competition.

Take the match up of Ravyen Wray and Innsu Kim.  This match up has turned into a musical faceoff! With both contestants posting videos of their musical talent these two are running a close race.  Ravyen Wray displays her singing and song writing talent while Innsu Kim displays his piano composing and playing skills. Check out their videos below and go vote for who you thinks deserves $20,000!

PS If you play the two videos at the same time it sounds pretty cool!

We are trying to read through all of the great essays that were posted throughout this past week. And We must say that we’re really impressed! The caliber of the essays are greatly improving! Great job everyone!

In fact we have been SO impressed with the essays we decided we didn’t want to stop getting to read them… In other words we are extending The $1,000 Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarships for ANOTHER MONTH! So here are the dates and deadlines.

Week 1 ~Begins:Now! Ends: 4/5/2010

Week 1 ~Begins:4/6/2010 Ends:4/11/2010

Week 1 ~Begins:4/12/2010 Ends:4/18/2010

Week 1 ~Begins:4/19/2010 Ends:4/25/2010

Make sure to post your essays before midnight of the final day to submit!

This weeks prompt is: If I could have one wish…

Remember to only post these comments to the Scholarship ID Page, essays posted elsewhere on Zinch will not be considered.  Thanks to everyone for posting such great essays! Keep up the good work!

Scholarship America’s Dollars for Scholars program is giving away three scholarships through Best Buy’s @15 Exchange, and you get to decide how much they’re worth! Feel the power – and discover a pretty cool resource while you’re at it.

Best Buy @15 (www.at15.com) was developed for teens to make their voices heard, network with peers across the country, and share the causes they’re passionate about. And in addition to all those resources, it offers a real lesson in the power of philanthropy. You can earn points for participating in activities on the site. Every quarter, you can donate your points to one of four organizations – and the points you give out decide how much of Best Buy’s $250,000 donation each organization receives.

Dollars for Scholars is one of those four organizations this quarter. To underscore the point that giving back has its rewards, they’ve created the new Dollars for Scholars UHelp Scholarships, which are entirely through proceeds from @15. You can head over to the link below to apply for a UHelp Scholarship, and the more points you earn and donate, the bigger the scholarships will be.

More points = more scholarships. Simple, right? Head over to www.at15.com/points/big_give/org/dollars_scholars and start banking some points – you’ve got until April 30.

Jessica Cronnin is an aspiring graphic designer that has done an amazing job here in this years March Madnezz competition.  She has pushed through to the Final 64 and was able to get published in two newspaper articles! With amazing talent and such determination we know that even though this scholarship wasn’t in the cards for her, she will be able to accomplish so much!  We wish you luck Jessica! We hope to see you participating in other Zinch scholarships! Keep up the great work.

-Zinch Team

Harrison Richards our winner of the Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship under the prompt: My very best failure…

Has given us a blog interview! Here is his experience in winning.

When/where did you hear about Zinch and the Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Zinch Scholarship?

I heard about the Scholarship on Zinch the day before the submissions were due.

What was your reaction when you found out that you had won the Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Zinch Scholarship?

I was ecstatic. My girlfriend was sitting next to me and I said, “You know, I think I just won one thousand dollars”. I’m still enjoying the excitement of winning a Zinch scholarship.

What was your parents reaction?

My parents reaction: w00tw00t (they didn’t believe me at first, but they are very proud)

What college would you like to attend and why?

I would like to attend Edinburgh College of Art because of their fantastic landscape architecture program.

How would you move Mount Fuji?

Physically…not sure. But emotionally I’m pretty sure that Mount Fuji, with its tendency towards stillness, would be moved by the concepts of mobility and progress. Life is about change. Mount Fuji might be surprised to learn a thing or two about the negative impacts of stagnancy.

Thanks Harrison and Congratulations!

Congratulations are in order for Dakota Holbrooks! Winner of the Born in ‘93 Zinch Scholarship! We asked Dakota a few questions about his experience…

When/where did you hear about Zinch and the “Born in ‘93 Zinch Scholarship”?
I was emailed by Zinch one day, and Zinch gave me a list of scholarships I was eligible for, so I applied to a few. I never expected to win.

What was your reaction when you found out that you had won the “Born in ‘93 Zinch Scholarship”?
I freaked out. I have never won a scholarship before, and I have been looking for ways to finance my Flight education. Once I read the email that told me that I won, I yelled for my mom to come take a look, and she printed the email out and began gloating for me. I am still in shock.

What was your parents reaction?
My mom wasn’t surprised like I thought she would be. She took the news like she took any other news. But, I knew she was excited when she started calling people up to tell them of this. My father is just ecstatic.

If you could create your own fruit what would it be like?
I have always wondered what it would be like to cross an apple with an orange. Something as crisp as an apple, but yet as citrusy and sweet as an orange. So, this would be my fruit.

How did you become interested in flying?
I believe that it was a mixture between my mom working for US Airways, and my Grandfathers past ambitions of flying. Back when my Grandpa was my age, he wanted to fly for the US Air Force, but they found that he had a hole in his heart during his medical evaluation, and needed to get risky surgery to live. This medical history would keep him out of the military. So his admirations for aircraft and flying kind of just stuck to me. And my mom worked as a revenue analyst for America West Airlines/US Airways, which allowed us to fly for free anywhere in the world. I received many hours as a passenger. Without these influences, I would not be the same person I am today.

How are you more than a test score?
Most Colleges and Universities just look at numbers. But, you cannot fully understand a human being by just looking at how well they did at filling in bubbles with a number two pencil. Zinch allows Colleges and Universities to see me for who I am, and to actually get to know me before I even meet with them.

How would you move Mount Fuji?
There isn’t anything we can’t do here on Earth when we use man power, and intelligence to work together. If we need to move Mount Fuji, we will move Mount Fuji. I would personally use dynamite and helicopters though. That seems like a pretty legit plan.

Congratulations again Dakota! We hope this scholarship helps you on your way to becoming a great pilot!

This is the last week we will be having a the Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship! This weeks prompt is: The biggest thing I wish I had learned in the classroom…

We have finally made it through all of your great essays and have a winner! The winner of the Third Round of The Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship is Natasha Kovacs!

Here is a our winner’s essay: My education has taught me how to count electrons, find “x”, and build cardboard rockets, but I have taught myself the memory tricks for each formula. In my world, creativity has brought me almost as far as education, and I know that alternative ideas can bring us as far as conventional solutions.

Here are the runner ups:

Yoo-Jin Kang: My education has taught me that it’s not all about me. Education is a gift and in some places it’s valued more than I could ever imagine. My Education has inspired me to become a teacher and aim to enrich the lives of others.

Jennilee Davies: My education has taught me that not everything in life can be learned from a book, their are somethings that only experience will teach us. Its also taught me that the only way to be worry free in life is to do what needs to be done quickly. Only then can you truly appreciate the free time you have.

Jacky Huang: My Education has taught me the truths behind history’s greatest horror; the stories behind Genocide like those of the Holocaust. It is from my education that spawns an ironic opposition towards systems of conformity, much like that of a school’s.

Jeremy Madison: My education has taught me that we exist for a deeper purpose than a perpetual drive for material success. Putting all my focus into my academics has ironically shown me that I am here not to be the best, but to pour myself into others and be selfless. Love creates fulfillment, not education.

Julie Chang: My education has taught me about quantum physics, improper integrals, and rhetorical devices, but most importantly, that education is a life-long process, not confined to classrooms or textbooks. Education is visiting foreign countries, tasting new foods, meeting new people. Education is … life.

Seifuddin Saafir: My Education has taught me that success is only a state of mind. But Failure and Struggle is Reality. You must expect to Fail but Aspire to Succeed.

Lize Zalite: A treacherous path must be tread to locate each answer in school and life. One must trek through thorns in troubles and float amiably among clouds when life challenges. My education has taught me that I am capable of solving everything and others are available to aid me.

Zane Doty: My education has taught me that zombies are improbable. It has showed me that Robots will someday rule the world and I hope to be an accomplice. The most important thing how ever is that dinosaurs never existed, they were just made up by the CIA to discourage time travel.