2010 Scholarships for Military Children Now Open
The 2010 Scholarships for Military Children began taking applications on November 3. According to the Scholarships for Military Children website, these scholarships are available to you if "your mother or father is active duty, reserve/guard, or retired military personnel or you are the survivor of a deceased member, and you have a military dependent I.D. card you can apply! You must be planning to attend a college or university on a full-time basis."
Applications are available in commissaries or at the website. As someone who has had family members in the military for many, many generations, I want to make sure those of you with military connections are aware of this resource. Some additional resources you may want to consider:
Sigma Phi Beta, America's First Gay Fraternity
While Greek life may be an amazing experience for many students, it can also be an unwelcoming and unsafe one for gay students on some college campuses. Sigma Phi Beta, which claims to be America's first gay fraternity, aims to change at least a small part of that.
Started at Arizona State University, the fraternity's mission is to "[promote] equality and respect by providing Queer and Allied men in college with a uniquely diverse safe space within the traditional Greek fraternity system. [They] strive for integrity and professionalism, and uphold high standards of scholarship and excellence." The State Press is also reporting that at least one other chapter of the fraternity is being chartered. For more information, you can check out their website or contact them directly.
Worried About Tuition? Take a Look at These Ten Colleges
As the economy makes things financially tougher and tougher for many students (and their families), the rising costs of tuition, room, and board only complicate the situation. Luckily, collegestats.org just put together a list of "10 truly free colleges" that offer tuition deals for their students. Of course, before you transfer to a tuition-free school, make sure you've spoken with your financial aid office and explored all of your options ... but do keep in mind that if you can't afford your current institution, your best option may be attending somewhere else instead of dropping out altogether.
A Fantastic Find for Pre-Med Majors
In the November-December 2009 Harvard Magazine, Melanie E. Long reflects on her experience at Harvard as a pre-med student. While she came in completely determined to take a pre-med track, she ended up changing her mind along the way -- and her article on that experience is worth a read. It's not too long and provides some great insight for any student about academic and intellectual curiosity and exploration during college, regardless of major. Check it out!
Additional, Last-Minute Halloween Resources
Just in case you've totally missed the boat over the past few days: Halloween is this Saturday, October 31. Still need some help in pulling everything together? Make sure to check out the following articles from around the About.com network:
- Top Halloween Chemistry Projects -- everything from glow-in-the-dark pumpkins to green flames coming out of a jack-o-lantern.
- Creepy Halloween Cupcakes
- Scary Halloween Cocktails
- 10 Tips for Applying Face and Body Paint
Has Your College Been in the Movies?
InsideCollege.com has published a list of "Campuses Where Movies Were Filmed" that is quite a kick to read; the list itself is pretty extensive and it's fun to scroll through and see not only all the places that have had movies filmed on campus but also all of the movies that have used a campus setting for at least one scene.
On a personal note, my own undergraduate alma mater, Occidental College, has had many movies and TV shows filmed on campus. Imagine my surprise one evening when, while watching TV, I noticed that The West Wing television series had shot a few scenes at Occidental (how exciting!) but was pretending it was Georgetown instead (what?!).
Happy Campus Sustainability Day!
October 21 is Campus Sustainability Day on many campuses; to celebrate, I wanted to include some resources -- and congratulations! -- for those of you working to improve sustainability initiatives at your schools.
- Ways to Improve Your Campus Sustainability
- Profile: Simmons College Sustainability Committee
- Where Does Your College Rank? The College Sustainability Report Card
- Campus Sustainability Planning Network
(In my own neck of the woods, mandatory composting begins today in San Francisco. Way to go!)
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Keeping Things in Perspective
The news this morning from Islamabad, Pakistan is not good: two suicide bombers seemingly working in tandem killed two people and injured over a dozen others at International Islamic University.
This time of the semester may be stressful with midterms, papers, lab reports, and research projects all coming due, and yet news like this often helps put things in perspective. Being in college is a privilege and, as stressful as it may be sometimes, it's not something that should be taken for granted. Take a moment today to enjoy and appreciate everything about your college experience, no matter how stressed out and busy you are! What a gift it truly is to have access to higher education without the fear and threat of violence.
Thinking About Heading Home for Thanksgiving?
Even though Halloween hasn't even arrived yet, it still might be a smart idea to start getting your Thanksgiving plans in order. From the increasing costs of airline tickets to finding a place to go if you can't (or don't want to) head home, things can become more complicated the longer you wait. (And who needs more complications in their daily college life, right?)
To make things easier, I put together a quick list of resources that you can use for planning your Thanksgiving holiday. Good luck!
Oaksterdam University: America's First Cannabis College
In a recent article by Newsweek that reported on California's growing marijuana industry (since medical marijuana is legal in the state), something interesting caught my eye: Oaksterdam University. Calling itself "America's first cannabis college," Oaksterdam "was founded in 2007 to provide students with the highest quality training for the cannabis industry."
Who knew?!