More Than a Test Score

Congratulations to Katie Harris, our latest Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship winner!

We’ve all had our fair share of memorable instructors, but we wanted to know if you could have any public figure (past or present) teach a class at your school, who’d it be? Katie’s creative choice stood out to us for picking an unlikely candidate, and showing us why she felt it’d be a class worth attending.

Here is her winning essay:
I would choose King George III to teach History. Throughout my education I have always liked the American Revolution; however, I always get the same lecture from the winning side. I really wish to know how the British viewed the events that took place and the bias Americans had.

Here is a bit more about our winner:
I’m an anime junky, love the color orange, want to be a veterinarian when I’m old enough (most people say “when I grow up” but lets be honest we never grow up). I live on a farm with too many chickens to count, four ducks, six horses, 14 dogs, 5 cats lots of fish, 6 goats and one llama.

Did this last prompt fly just under your radar? Fear not, cause with our Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship there’s a new opportunity to win $1,000 every Monday! Just click the link, fill out the form and you’re done!

At Zinch we believe students from all backgrounds have the potential to find the school that’s the perfect fit for them. But with thousands of universities located across the country, where should a student start? Our School Spotlights are focused on some of the top universities in the nation, and
strive to educate students about the unique
benefits these institutions can provide.

Today’s school spotlight is on California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, California. Rooted in the Lutheran tradition, the university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in both the liberal arts and science fields; some of their most popular academic programs include Business Administration, Journalism, Psychology, and Social Sciences. The school also offers non-traditional majors such as Global Studies, Bioengineering, and Theology and Christian Leadership. Due to their vast catalog of academic options, as well as their high student satisfaction rates, California Lutheran University was ranked #18 in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges for Regional Universities (West Coast).

In addition to their strong focus on an academic curriculum, the 225-acre Cal Lutheran campus is one of the finest in the state. Divided into four main quadrants, students can enjoy such facilities as the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, the Samuelson Aquatic Center, and the Spies-Bornemann Center for Education and Technology. The school is also known for their high levels of student engagement, offering such extracurricular services as yoga classes, intramural sports teams, and career counseling.

To learn more about California Lutheran University, visit their college profile on Zinch. Make sure to click the green “LIKE” button to receive more information on how you could become part of the Cal Lutheran tradition.

Congratulations to Andy Yu, our latest Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship winner!

We all have our favorite films that make us laugh, cry, and cheer in excitement, but we wanted to know which film in particular you considered an inspiration. Amongst the top picks were the tale of a father and son pursuing happiness, a football team of titanic proportion, and the story of a lion who’d become king. Andy’s choice stood out to us for recognizing the power of teamwork, whether it be in a combat zone or in the classroom.

Here is his winning essay:
Black Hawk Down has taught me the value of friends , family, and country. Thanks to this movie I have learned the value of leaving no one behind. I have applied this value not only to helping friends in difficult times, but to many of the students I tutor and mentor.

Want to score a $1,000 towards your college tuition and be spotlighted on our blog like Andy? Apply for the Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship and you could be our next winner!

Congratulations to our latest Double Your Money Winner, Esat Resad! Esat successfully applied for and won a Sam Walton Community Scholarship for $3,000 using Zinch, and we’re making sure his award is doubled. Esat was kind enough to chat with us about his award and himself, and here’s what was on his mind.

What is your strategy behind applying for scholarships?

Being a busy individual, I do not prefer to spend too much time looking for individual scholarships. I use scholarship search engines to find scholarships that match me. Zinch has proven to be the best one, matching me to the only scholarships I have won. I have all my achievements, awards, extracurricular, and community services on a document on my computer and simply refer to it to fill out scholarships rather than having to think of what my accomplishments are for each scholarship. I recommend everyone create a document with all your information to ease the scholarship application processes.

After school, what kind of career path would you like to follow?

After finishing school, I would love to pursue a career in health care. I would love to be an anesthesiologist for the sole reason of comforting individuals in the most painful moments of their life. This would be a perfect way to apply my learning to help countless individuals

If you could time travel to any point in America’s past, when would it be and why?

If I could travel to any point in America’s past I would love to travel to the time of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. To see how our president implemented strategies to hold our nation together would have been intriguing. Also, I love this time period because all humans, no matter what color, attained more freedom than ever before.

How are you more than a test score?

A test tries to depict an individual’s knowledge. I may not be the smartest individual but my hard work, community service, awards, and achievements show that I am a well rounded person. A test cannot calculate all of that. From creating an event in a small community that has raised and donated over $11,000 towards cancer research to being trusted and elected to diverse officer positions throughout my school, I am more than a test score.

Looking for your best bet in financial aid? Check out our scholarship search where we have nearly $2 billion worth posted online. Don’t forget to invite your friends to Zinch too, cause with our Win Your Friend’s Scholarship feature, any scholarship they land will earn you a check for the same amount!

There’s only one source that can really tell you what life on campus is all about—actual college students! We wanted to hear real experiences from our Student Ambassadors about student life, so we asked them a question and told them to give us their most honest responses. This month we asked…

Kelsey Dozier from Northeastern State University says…

Moving is probably one of the most stressful things you will do for college, mostly because no matter how much you pack, you will realize you’ve forgotten something important. But what things should you absolutely bring with you? Well, let’s narrow it down…

1. Food – You might think this is kind of a given, but the biggest tip is bring more than you ever plan to eat, because you WILL have friends over and they WILL raid your food. That’s a fact.

2. Shower Items – More importantly, shower shoes. Bacteria love two things, a hot steamy bathroom floor and your bare feet on that same floor. Now the caddy; if you have a bucket or caddy, you don’t have to worry about getting soap in your eyes, flailing around in a blind soapy panic and kicking your shampoo across the bathroom. In addition, you’ll have one thing to grab instead of 50.

3. Mattress Covers – No, not a blanket, I’m talking an actual plastic mattress
cover. Think about how many people have slept in that bed, what they have probably
done there and then you know – you’ll want a mattress cover.

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Ron Addison from Southern Illinois University Carbondale says…

Chances are you forgot some of the less common, most forgotten items. Here are some things I found that will make life easier:

1. Paper work – (Social security card, copy of birth certificate, bank account information) If and when you get a job on campus you will be required to prove your existence in all sorts of strange and interesting ways. Best to be prepared.

2. Formal wear – (Men – suit, dress shirts and pants, tie. Ladies – dress, skirts, plain blouse) You never know what you may get involved in. There are times when you may have a banquet, concert, or interview. Always a good idea to have something nice on hand.

3. Outlet extensions – Dorm room outlets are awkwardly placed and their number is in no way proportional to the number of electronic devices you are likely to bring. Don’t forget surge protection for that stormy night when the power goes out and your final essay vanishes into thin air.

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Angelina Modica from SUNY Fredonia says…

Last year at this time I was scurrying from store to store buying all of the “college essentials.” After a year away at school, here are three things that I think no college student should be without:

1. Sewing kit – This may seem incredibly odd, and you probably think, “I’ll never use that.” But in reality, you will. This year a ton of my friends used it to sew on buttons that broke off their coats and one used it to fix her favorite party kit. I even got so annoyed that I bought a few of my friends sewing kits at Christmas time!

2. Laundry detergent sheets – Instead of having to lug down Clorox, Tide, Downy, and dryer sheets from your room on the 3rd floor to the laundry room on the 1st floor, use laundry sheets. They’re a soap and dryer sheet all in one, so you don’t have to worry about the detergent ruining your clothes! Check the circulars because sometimes pharmacies have them on sale for Buy One Get One Free!

3. Your own fridge – A lot of roommates agree on splitting the costs on a few room essentials in order to save a few bucks—including food. Don’t fall for this trap! My roommate wanted to do the aforementioned and we wound up splitting up after the first semester. Also, look for a fridge with a lock on it. That way no one can steal your stuff!

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Mary Muller from Texas Christian University says…

Even though I planned and shopped all summer for what I thought I would need for my dorm room, when I moved in there were still a few essentials that I realized I needed. Here are my top picks…

1. Hammer and nails – You’ll need to hang stuff up. My mom bought me a toolbox, and I thought she was crazy for it, but the hammer really came in handy for when I wanted to hang up my pictures, and all of my neighbors came by to borrow it.

2. School supplies – Lots of pens, pencils and binders! Also, make sure you get some Scantrons, but wait until your professors tell you which ones you need for their class. They don’t just give you Scantrons like they did in high school, and you don’t want to get caught right before a quiz or test without one!

3. Eating essentials – (plates, bowls, silverware, or cups!) I realize that this is technically more than one thing, but eating essentials are very important! I didn’t think about this when I was getting stuff for my room, and then when I was getting ready to have a snack, I realized I didn’t have anything to put my food on!

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Kevin Wright from Northern Arizona University says…

There are a few unique items every freshman should consider bringing. The reason why I’d recommend these items is simple:

1. Plug-in freshener – Keep your room always smelling fresh. College is all about meeting new people, but you never know who you may be roommates with. Another thing is that the hallways inside your residence may have a weird odor ever so often. A plug-in air freshener can also contribute to an individual adding their own personal touch to the room.

2. All-in-one fax/scanner/printer – For preparing and sending important information for taxes, scholarships, and homework projects. Even though there are resources all over campus you could still save so much more money if you had your own machine in your room. There may be some times where a computer lab may be closed, a printer in your residence hall breaks down, or the system is updating campus-wide. Because of common occurrences like this, an all-in-one machine is extremely convenient when handling all academic obligations.

3. Desk fan – For keeping the room a cool environment, because you never know if the buildings do not have air conditioning in them, and only have heat. We get all four seasons in Flagstaff, Arizona, but in the summer and spring seasons fans are a definite must-have.