Jay Rosner, Executive Director of The Princeton Review Foundation, will be speaking to Senior School students and parents (Grades 9 – 11) on “Cracking the SAT/ACT: How to Get Your Best Score” on February 7, 6:30-8:00 pm in the Copeland Lecture Theatre. This will be a lively, interactive session.

Please register online.

Jay is an admissions test expert based in the San Francisco Bay area, but his work is international in scope. He specializes in preparing and coaching underrepresented minority students for tests such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, MCAT and LSAT. He also does workshops for admissions officers, faculty, administrators, counsellors, and nonprofit organizations on the topic of standardized testing.

Jay, an affirmative action advocate, testified as an expert witness in favour of affirmative action in Grutter, the landmark University of Michigan Law School affirmative action case, and co-authored a law review article cited in several Supreme Court briefs in that case. He has served as a consultant on a wide range of admission testing issues, and an adviser to test-takers in disputes with test developers.

With a possibility of snow flurries being forecast for this weekend, there is a corresponding  flurry of scholarship possibilities for the winter term at SMUS.  While many merit based scholarships will  be offered without application as part of a conditional offer of acceptance, all of the major scholarships at Canadian universities and all of the private ones being offered for community service do require application. Students who are interested, are encouraged to visit university websites and/or to make an appointment with Ms. Casey for assistance with major scholarship applications.  Please note that students have completed major scholarship applications  for Queens and U of Toronto prior to winter break.

New and Noteworthy Opportunities:

UBC and UWO:  Meetings were held this week to provide information on both the University of British Columbia and University of Western Ontario scholarships. Applications for both of these scholarships require nomination from the school. Applications for both are due to Ms. Casey on February 2. Students MUST see Ms. Casey to pick up application packages.

Criteria for these scholarships are:

• Outstanding academic achievement

• Exemplary performance in at least one area of passion

• Broad community service both in school and out

McGill:  There is no nomination required for the McGill Major Scholarships. However, the academic requirement is quite high – academic average of at least 94% over the last two years. Two references are required (one academic and one activity based) and students may request ranking statements and transcripts from Ms. Casey. The application form is accessed through the student portal Minerva. Deadline for applications is: February 7. Please visit the following websites for information regarding applications: http://www.mcgill.ca/studentaid/scholarships/prospective  http://www.mcgill.ca/studentaid/scholarships/prospective/criteria

UVIC:  There is no nomination required for the UVIC Major Scholarships. However, the academic requirement is quite high – academic average of at least 90%. Students may access the application through NetLink and must self-report their grades in the second round of reporting (starting in February), even if they self-reported in the first round, to be eligible for scholarships. Deadline for applications: March 31.  Black Press Scholarship for business students: http://www.uvic.ca/gustavson/undergraduate/prospective/tuition/blackpress/index.php  Deadline: Feb. 28

Private Scholarships:

CMolick: For students with demonstrated financial need. Please see Ms. Casey for details. Due date: Last Friday in February

Chick Evans: For students with demonstrated financial need. Please see Ms. Casey for details. Open to grade 8 students.

Miller Thomson National Scholarship Program: http://www.millerthomson.com/en/our-firm/community-commitment/mt-foundation/overview  Deadline: March 1, 2012

Trevor Linden Community Spirit Scholarship: www.canucks.com/scholarship  Deadline is March 15

The Big Dig Scholarship: http://www.antiquetrader.tv/studentscholarship.php  Deadline: June 1

Dogwood/District Scholarships: This is a scholarship open to students with passion in the areas of Fine Arts, Writing, Applied Skills, Athletics and Leadership. Please see details in another blog on this site. Students should watch for announcements from Ms. Casey in February when application information will be distributed. The adjudication evening is scheduled for April 26 at St. Margarets School. All applicants will be required to attend the adjudication evening.

Further information on scholarships is available on this site under the “Categories” tab.

Peter Van Buskirk, Author, Motivational Speaker, and Former Dean of Admission will be presenting on “ The Admission Game”, a lively interactive evening for:

Middle School Parents
Senior School Faculty, Staff, Students and Parents

Wednesday – January 25, 2012 – 6:30 – 8:30 PM Copeland Lecture Theatre/Crothall.
Please register for this event.

By transforming the audience into an admission committee at a mythical college, Peter reveals the seemingly capricious “back room” logic that often determines who is accepted and who is rejected at US colleges every year. During this interactive session he provides insight and instruction regarding course selections, essay preparation and the role of standardized tests.

The College Planning Quiz™ will prepare participants to get the most out of Peter’s presentation. It’s a fun exercise that tests students’ preparedness to navigate the college planning process. Students are strongly encouraged (and teachers and parents!) to take the Quiz on the website, http://www.theadmissiongame.com/college-planning-quiz.php, prior to the presentation.

Peter is the Creator of the Best College Fit™
Featured: The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today,
Family Circle, and “Oprah and Friends” with Jean Chatzky

Please see the email you received for the program description and flyer or visit http://www.theadmissiongame.com/

Whitney Laughlin, Ed.D.

Dual degree programs and cross-registration work very well for students who have multiple interests. Wilfrid Laurier University and Waterloo University offer dual degrees in Computer Science/Business and Mathematics/Business. Mount Allison University allows the completion of a bachelor’s degree with multiple minors. Bentley College encourages its Business graduates to earn minors in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Brown University in Providence and the Rhode Island School of Design invite cross-registration in each other’s course offerings as do Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College in Halifax. A recent blog entry on this site talks about a joint medical program offered by three universities – two in Scotland and the third in Canada.

Now add to this list the dual BA program between Columbia University and Sciences Po (France). Students complete the interdisciplinary social-sciences curriculum at Sciences Po, one of Europe’s most distinguished institutions of higher education, and the Columbia core curriculum and major requirements, spending two years each in France and New York. Upon completion of the program, students graduate with bachelor’s degrees from both schools.

Students begin the dual degree program at one of three regional Sciences Po campuses: Le Harvre, Menton, or Reims. Courses at the Sciences Po regional campuses are taught in English, with additional instruction provided in French and the living languages spoken in the region of focus. All regional campuses follow Sciences Po’s interdisciplinary social sciences curriculum, which offers instruction in economics, history, law, political science, and sociology. The second two years of the dual degree programme are undertaken at Columbia College in New York. After completing the Sciences Po curriculum, students will matriculate at Columbia and complete the requirements for a major while also cultivating intellectual breadth by fulfilling distribution requirements in a variety of disciplines, including literature, art, music, science, and the humanities. Upon completion of the program, students will graduate with two bachelor’s degrees, one each from Sciences Po and Columbia, and, like all Sciences Po alumni, will be eligible for guaranteed admission to a Sciences Po graduate program.

The intake for this relatively small and esoteric program is quite small, at present a few dozen per year. Students who desire a traditional, four-year, residential college experience will find Columbia College more appropriate. Students with a strong interest in French language and culture and a desire for a global, nontraditional college experience that combines the academic rigor of two world renowned-universities should consider the Dual BA Program.

Like millions of others, I spend a little time with an iPhone and/or an iPad in hand. Okay, maybe more than a little. But, I have put some of the playing to good use, recently, as I have been experimenting with some of the college search apps. I have yet to find a comprehensive one for searching Canadian universities and colleges (I’m sure it’s only a matter of time), but there are a number of apps for the US college information. Here are some of my observations:

Find Colleges: Developed by ThinkEducation USA, an organization geared towards international student recruitment, this app allows you browse by state, major, size & tuition, or by videos. It doesn’t provide all the information that CampusBird does about each institution, but it does allow you to search by more specific subject areas and add in location by individual state, not just region. And if you don’t find what you want, you can request information, but it doesn’t have a link to the website.

College Search: Developed by Peterson’s, a major player in the world of college data publications, it uses the image of a slot machine with customizable wheels to browse colleges. You can select the search parameters, including state, major (more specific than CampusBird, less detailed than Find Colleges), tuition cost, SAT/ACT scores, size, sports, and selectivity (uses a star system: more stars = more selective). Once you get to the search results and click on the college name, it gives quite a bit of detailed information, though it lacks in visual appeal. Also, when I clicked on “more information”, it took me to Peterson’s site, not to the actual college website, which was seemed like unnecessary self-promotion on Peterson’s part.

CampusBird: So far, I like this one best, both for visual appeal and content. It is designed by a private trio of clever people, and it allows you to search by school name, SAT/ACT score, degree type, region, and program. I appreciated the fact that it detailed the states located in each region because my knowledge of US state by location on a map is a bit shaky. One criticism is that the program search options are too broad. For example, if you wanted to see where you could study psychology in New England, you can only choose “liberal arts” as your search parameter. On the plus side, once you get the search results, you can quickly access a slew of general information (student population, campus setting, private/public, address), admissions info (numbers of applicants, admits, and students enrolled, average test scores), finances, and degrees (majors) offered, all without going to the website. But, if you want to go to the website, there’s a link for that, too. And the flying bird that appears as it searches is pretty.

Now, back to working on getting past level 19 in Angry Birds…

This summer the Ministry of Education rolled out new eligibility requirements for Provincial Scholarships.  The most notable change for SMUS students is that AP exam grades will no longer be used in calculation of Provincial Scholarship eligibility.  In fact, most of the criteria will be met by the end of the grade 11 year. 

The provincially examinable subjects that will be counted toward the Provincial Scholarships are:  English 10, Science 10, Math 10, Social Studies 11 and English 12.  In order to win a Provincial Scholarship, students will have to earn a final grade of at least a “B” (at least 73%) in English 12.  Students must achieve at least ONE “A” (86% or better) and THREE “B”s on four of their best provincial exams.  In addition, students must be Canadian citizens.

The value of the Provincial Scholarship remains $1000.  Vouchers are sent to graduates in late October or November of their graduating year.  Traditionally, SMUS seniors have been very successful in their quest to be recognized for this scholarship and I expect that they will continue this trend.