Mrs. Hamrick’s Counselor Corner

If you are thinking of applying to a college or university using the Common Application, you may want to view a draft showing the changes for next year’s application - https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/2009-10CommonApp_highlightedUpdates.pdf

College Board has recently launched a new option for students to send scores to college.  Now, instead of automatically sending all scores from each testing administration, students can pick and choose which set of test scores to send to colleges.  ACT already does this.

For more information, visit http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/score_choice.html?CampaignID=3465.  College Board has also set up a tutorial here - http://www.collegeboard.com/html/SCTutorial/index.html

To see a list of colleges and how they evaluate scores, download this PDF.

Business Week has ranked 32 schools they deem the best business schools.  Two of our own, Georgia Tech and Emory, make the list!

“Responsiveness to the community’s needs, academic rigor, relationships with top recruiters, and dedication to excellence are among the qualities necessary for a business school to be considered one of the best. Every two years, BusinessWeek consults students, recruiters, and academic research to determine which business schools fit the bill. Here’s this year’s look at the best U.S. full-time MBA programs.”
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/11/1112_best_business_schools/index.htm?chan=rss_topSlideShows_ssi_5

This article explains several sources where you can find free college opportunities! 

http://www.examiner.com/x-673-Education-Examiner~y2008m11d8-More-information-on-full-scholarship-and–tuitionfree-colleges

If you’re thinking it’s easy to transfer to an Ivy League school, there’s some things you need to be aware of:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/strategy-t.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

I found this article while browsing a college advice blog (http://thecollegesolutionblog.com/).  I thought that it had some really good advice that you don’t always hear when trying to figure out the whole “financial aid thing”. 

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/article/what-college-aid-officers-wont-tell-you/276393/

We get asked ALL THE TIME about certain organizations that send letters announcing to students that they’ve been nominated to be in this “highly prestigous” program, or chosen from a pool of students to participate in this expensive summer leadership opportunity. There are pros (travel, exposure to neat opportunities) and cons ($$$, opportunity less unique than anticipated) to all of these and it is debatable as to whether or not they hold any merit with college admission reps. Sometimes students are provided some great learning experiences and other times, the whole program exists to puff up a student’s (or parent’s) ego (”purchase this book that has YOUR KID’S name in it!” Who looks at these books anyway??). Read this article to get several perspectives.

What factors do colleges look at when choosing whether or not to admit a student??  This article addresses this topic and asks college admissions officers what they want to see.

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/features/the-a-college-applicant-391836.html

Similarly, this next article also addresses the importance of selecting what (and how many) activities you choose to participate in while in high school.  You may be surprised to learn what they have to say!

http://www.examiner.com/x-766-College-Admissions-Examiner~y2009m1d27-Do-only-wellrounded-students-get-into-college

• Parents’ Guide to Teen Social Networking Chat Transcript:  Does your child have a Facebook or MySpace account? Does he or she text constantly? These methods of social networking sites are increasingly becoming one of the primary ways our kids are communicating with one another these days.  With all the talk of online predators and cyberbullying, how can parents help kids keep the Internet a constructive and safe place? Read a recent chat session with Anne Collier and Larry Magid, co-authors of MySpace Unraveled: A Parents’ Guide to Teen Social Networking and co-directors of ConnectSafely, regarding any issues or concerns pertaining to your teenagers and their online social lives.

• Internet Safety Technical Task Force The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University today released the final report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, a group of 29 leading Internet businesses, non-profit organizations, academics, and technology companies that joined together for a year-long investigation of tools and technologies to create a safer environment on the Internet for youth. The Task Force was created in February 2008 in accordance with the Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety announced in January 2008 by the Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace. The report was delivered to the 52 Attorneys General in December, 2008.  To read the final report, including the executive summary, as well as reaction statements from members of the Task Force, visit: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/pubrelease/isttf/

• Internet Evolution: Future of the Internet III Press release for a December 2008 “survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020.” Includes summary and full text of the report, which found that experts predict the “mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet … in 2020.” Also includes links to previous “Future of the Internet” and other related reports.http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/270/report_display.asp

• Free Online Book - Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law, offers a fascinating account of how the Internet is transforming gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations. Focusing on blogs, Internet communities, cyber mobs, and other current trends, he shows that, ironically, the unconstrained flow of information on the Internet may impede opportunities for self-development and freedom. Longstanding notions of privacy need review, the author contends: unless we establish a balance among privacy, free speech, and anonymity, we may discover that the freedom of the Internet makes us less free.  http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/dsolove/Future-of-Reputation/text.htm

www.thinkcollege.net

Youth with intellectual disabilities have not had many chances to go to college. This is changing as individuals across the country begin to create opportunities for these youth to reap the benefits of postsecondary education. This website will provide information and links to anyone interested in finding out more about the possibilities.   Pages are provided for students, families, and educators.  If you or your child suffers from a disability, you can find answers to many of your questions on this site.