education

Selasa, 12 April 2011

Mistrial in sanity phase of Calif. bombing case

– Sat Apr 9, 8:35 pm ET

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – A judge has declared a mistrial in the sanity phase of the trial for a California teenager accused of setting off two pipe bombs at his former high school.
Alex Youshock was convicted last month of attempted murder and weapons charges, but jurors had to also decide whether the 18-year-old was sane during the 2009 attack at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo.
Jurors told the judge Friday that they were deadlocked. Eleven jurors apparently believed Youshock was legally sane, while one disagreed.
Authorities say Youshock showed brought homemade bombs, a sword and a chain saw to the school in a plot to kill three teachers who gave him bad grades. His attorney says he was suffering from schizophrenia.
Prosecutors must now decide whether to retry the sanity phase.

Q&A: Aid Guru Mark Kantrowitz

– Fri Apr 8, 8:08 am ET

When it comes time to finance a college education, students and families often bypass scholarships in favor of student loans. That can be a mistake because unlike loans, scholarships are essentially "free money for your college education," says Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert and author of the new book Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, published in February. The typical student is eligible for anywhere between 50 and 100 scholarships, and every year more than 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.5 billion are given to students by donors, philanthropists, and corporations, according to Kantrowitz, who is also publisher of Fastweb.com, a free scholarship-matching website, and FinAid.org, an online provider of student aid information.
Only a small percentage of college-bound students receive enough scholarship money and need-based aid to pay for the entire cost of college, but that shouldn't discourage students from applying, Kantrowitz said. The vast majority of full-time college students using scholarships at four-year colleges, or 69 percent, used less than $2,500 in scholarship funds to pay for a year of school, according to the book. That may seem like a small amount, but as Kantrowitz writes, "every dollar you win in scholarships is a dollar less you have to borrow."
Bloomberg Businessweek's Alison Damast recently spoke with Kantrowitz, who shared tips on how students can maximize their chances of winning a scholarship. Here is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Alison Damast: The title of your book is Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, so students and families who pick it up will be looking for some inside tips. What do you think is one of the best-kept secrets about the scholarship world?
Mark Kantrowitz: One of the best tips in the book tells you how to double the scholarships you match on scholarship search sites, which in turn doubles your chances of winning a scholarship. Students who answer all of the optional questions, in addition to the required questions, on the personal profile form on these sites get double the number of awards as students who just do the bare minimum. For example, it takes half an hour to fill out the full personal profile on the Fastweb scholarship site, but not everyone does it because there is a long laundry list of questions. It is important to answer all of them because each question triggers the inclusion of a specific award on a scholarship database. For example, the search engine is not going to show you a scholarship oriented toward single parents, for example, unless you tell us you're a single parent. It can be a little tedious to answer all the questions, but it doesn't take that much time and it doubles your chances.
Students are often overwhelmed during the college application process and don't get around to applying for scholarships until later in the academic year, a tactic you don't recommend. How early should students and their families start investigating and applying for scholarships?
A lot of families start trying to figure out how to pay for school after they get their letters of admission. That is a mistake. Some of the scholarship deadlines can be as early as August or September of a student's senior year, and half of them are in January. Even if they start applying for scholarships their spring semester, they've still missed half of the scholarship deadlines for their senior year of high school. Another thing people tend to forget is that scholarships are available not just for high school seniors, but juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. There are even scholarships for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade, like the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich and the National Spelling Bee. You're not going to find scholarships for younger children on online free scholarship databases like Fastweb because of federal privacy law, but you can see a list of them on FinAid.org.
Contrary to popular belief, minority students are less likely to win scholarships than white students enrolled at four-year universities. As you note in your book, minority students represent 33.8 percent of applicants, but only 28.5 percent of scholarship recipients. Why do you think this is the case?
My educated guess is when someone establishes a new private scholarship, they are establishing it for people to participate in activities that they have an interest in. Wealthy Caucasian individuals are going to create scholarships that match their interests, which in turn will have a greater affinity for Caucasian students. For example, there are a number of equestrian scholarships out there. Minority students don't participate in equestrian sports to the same extent as Caucasian students. I don't think there is any explicit discrimination going on. It is just how it tends to (work out). The reality is even with high-profile organizations, the share of scholarships that minority students get is disproportionately low.
Many of the scholarships today are fiercely competitive, especially the larger, more lucrative ones. What are the odds that a student will actually win a scholarship?
People overestimate their ability to win merit-based awards and underestimate their eligibility for need-based aid. The odds of winning a private scholarship are slim. About one in 10 students receives a private scholarship, and the average amount received is $2,800 per year. But students have this impression that private scholarships are much more abundant than they really are, and when they don't win, they feel they are being cheated. The reality is that every scholarship sponsor is trying to find the students that best match their criteria. If you happen to have a B average, no interesting hobbies or extracurriculars other than watching TV or video games, well, you are probably not going to win a scholarship.
If the odds are really so slim, is it worth a student's effort to apply?
I recommend to every applicant that they apply for every scholarship they are eligible for. For some, it might be a half dozen; for other students, it might be 200. Typically, a high school senior matches for between 50 and 100 awards on scholarship-matching services. That does sound daunting and a lot of students think it is too much work to apply for scholarships. The things students don't even realize is that after you've entered your first half-dozen scholarships, it becomes much, much easier because you can start to reuse your previous essays. You'll probably have to tailor them to each scholarship application, but it doesn't take all that much time and you could easily churn out all of your scholarship applications in a few weekends. For every scholarship you win, you will probably get eight or nine denials. Some of the time, students just won't understand why they didn't win because they may think they have a really outstanding application. It is not just a matter of skill. There is an element of luck there. It is a bit of a roll of the dice.
In the book, you list a number of common myths about people who win scholarships. What is the most commonly held one?
One that is pernicious is that smaller scholarships are not worth the effort. I often hear from students who say a $500 or $1,000 scholarship is too small to be worth their time. That makes the scholarship easier to win because probably fewer students are going to be applying. The scholarships you get do add up and they add lines to your resume that can help you win other scholarships. Winning a scholarship is a stamp of excellence. It tells the other scholarship providers that someone thought highly enough of you to invest their money in your future. If they have two students -- one with a lot of little scholarships and one who has won nothing -- the scholarship committee will probably go with the one who won a lot of little scholarships because that is the more proven student.

Senin, 11 April 2011

Avoid 4 Medical School Admissions Myths

By Veritas Prep – Mon Apr 11, 12:01 pm ET

When you decide to apply to medical school, it seems that everybody has tips on how to succeed in the application process. It can be very difficult to know if you're putting your best foot forward in a process riddled with multiple forms, deadlines, requirements, and--the most nebulous of them all--myths.
So, what is truth, and what is fiction?
Most pre-meds have done enough legwork to know the basic realities of the application process. Everyone has to fill out the AMCAS application, get at least three letters of recommendation, and complete as many or as few of the essay-heavy secondary applications that each school likes to create.
[See U.S. News's rankings of Best Medical Schools.]
These are among the most common myths about the process floating around college campuses:
1. I need more extracurricular activities / clinical experience in order to apply. Not necessarily! While medical schools want to make sure that you are aware of what you're signing up for (which you demonstrate through a clinical experience), they don't expect you to publish or perform brain surgery beforehand. Schools would prefer to see an applicant who is committed to a handful of activities over a couple of years than one who dabbles in 15 with little staying power.
2. The application may include essays, but it's ultimately only about the grades. This widely held myth has sabotaged many an application. Though strong grades and MCAT scores are important, most top applicants will have similar scores, grades, and extracurricular experiences. The AMCAS personal statement is your way of securing an interview. Given most, if not all, medical schools only admit those they interview, it would be wise to spend quality time reflecting on your experiences and aspirations to highlight what differentiates you from the pack.
3. Secondary applications must be submitted within two weeks of receipt. Many think that medical schools believe those who submit most quickly are the most interested. In terms of rolling admissions, the advantage of submitting early ends up being marginal; it is much better to spend an extra week polishing your application than rushing to submit one that is less stellar.
4. Not knowing the answer to a question during an interview can make or break an application. You've probably heard stories of applicants being asked "stumper" questions during an interview, such as "Tell me about protein folding," or "Name the five areas of the world that have a Mediterranean climate." These questions are used to see how you handle yourself under pressure, rather than to check if you actually know the answer. It's okay to say, "I'm sorry; I don't know the answer to that." Don't forget to add, "I'd be happy to research that and get back to you." And you actually do need to get back to them!
[See 10 medical schools with the lowest acceptance rates.]
Of course, there are plenty more myths about the smaller aspects of this often complex admissions process. Some easy tips to keep in mind:
-- Be yourself: Sounds simple--yet, it's probably the least followed piece of advice. Forget about what you think medical schools want to hear. Write about the essence of you, why you want to go to medical school, and why medical schools would want you. This can take a lot of introspection, so it's best to start now.
-- Be polite: When you're making phone calls, asking for letters, or going through your interview day, a simple, thoughtful thank you note to your recommenders, interviewers, and even the secretaries at each of the schools you visit can go a long way. You'd be surprised who talks to whom and what might make an applicant stand out--in a good way, or in a terrible way.
You should approach the admissions process as an opportunity to highlight your unique and differentiating qualities. Focusing on how your experiences influenced your desire to pursue medicine, and honing how you present yourself, is the best way to succeed.
Ibrahim Busnaina, M.D. is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and coauthor of "Examkrackers' How To Get Into Medical School." He has been consulting with prospective medical school applicants, with a special focus on minority and other nontraditional candidates, since 2006.

50 Most Stressed Colleges

The Daily Beast – Sun Apr 10, 11:35 pm ET

NEW YORK – 50 Most Stressed Colleges

As high school seniors across America choose their college, The Daily Beast again pores through the data to determine the 50 biggest higher-education pressure cookers.
For high school students applying to top colleges in the nation, the stress of higher education doesn’t end with an admission or rejection notice, or the decision many of now grappling with—which school to attend.
High academic expectations can result in a high-stress college environment, with young women, it turns out, even more prone than men to freshman stress. But colleges and students aren’t powerless. Sports teams and fraternal groups can reduce stress, and some pressure cooker schools are using out-of-the-box thinking to help students relax—Yale University, for instance, recently completed a trial program that allowed students to spend time with a therapy dog by appointment.
Last year, when we ranked the most stressful colleges in the country, the national focus was on the six suicides at Cornell University that had occurred during the academic year. We consulted with national experts on college stress, including Keith Anderson, chairman of best practices at the American College Health Association, to find the factors most likely to contribute to a stressful college campus—tuition costs, overall competitiveness, crime, acceptance rate, and the difficulty of the school’s engineering program. While suicides are no longer making national headlines, college stress is an annual concern come April. The criteria and weighting remain the same for this year, but the results vary. We started with the top 50 colleges in the country according to the most recent U.S. News & World Report ranking. We then ranked for stress based on:

Gallery: America’s 50 Biggest Pressure Cooker Colleges

• The cost: Financial pressure is a huge stress-inducer. Tuition plus room and board, weighted at 35 percent, since financial pressure is one the top stress drivers, with 2010-2011 data from the National Center on Education Statistics. For state universities, in-state tuition figures were used.• Competitiveness: How academically rigorous is the school? Weighted at 35 percent, with 2011 data from U.S. News & World Report. • Acceptance rate: More competitive schools generally produce a more competitive student body. Weighted at 10 percent, with Fall 2010 data from the National Center on Education Statistics. • Engineering: Is the school known for its particularly rigorous graduate engineering program? (If so, there’s a high stress correlation.) Weighted at 10 percent, with 2011 data from U.S. News & World Report. • Crime on campus: Adapted from The Daily Beast’s analysis of college crime, weighted at 10 percent and ranked relative to this particular group of colleges. With data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Ranking within each category is relative to the 50 schools—Washington University in St. Louis, for instance, ranks 12th in the nation for crime, but among this cohort it ranks third. Three schools—California Institute of Technology, Rice University, and Brandeis University—were too small to meet our crime ranking criteria. For these three, weighting for the four other data categories was increased by 2.5 percent.
Are you waiting for an acceptance letter from one of the most stressful colleges in the country? Click here to find out.

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Campus guns bill delayed again in Texas Senate

By JIM VERTUNO, Associated Press – 1 hr 51 mins ago

AUSTIN, Texas – Efforts to allow concealed handguns in college classrooms stalled in the Texas Senate for a second time Monday, leaving a measure that seemed headed for approval now struggling to survive.
The measure's Republican sponsor, Sen. Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio, said he didn't have the necessary support to call the bill for a vote. Wentworth would not predict if or when he would try again.
"I'm hopeful this is a bump in the road," Wentworth said. "I don't have a very clear crystal ball."
The Senate had passed a similar bill in 2009 and Wentworth had assumed he would get it through the chamber again. With more than 80 lawmakers in the 150-member House already signed as co-authors and Gov. Rick Perry supporting it as well, many expected the bill would sail into law.
Supporters of allowing Texas concealed handgun license holders, who must be 21 and pass a training course, to carry their weapons into classrooms call it a critical self-defense measure and gun rights issue. Critics worry adding guns to campus life will lead to more violence and suicides.
The bill first ran into problems last week when it came up one vote shy of the 21 needed for a floor vote. Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, who originally supported the bill, changed his mind after college administrators in his district complained about the potentially high cost of liability insurance and adding security.
Gallegos also asked teachers he knows to poll their students.
"(They) overwhelmingly wanted me to vote against the bill," he said Monday.
Opponents said the bill may now be doomed.
"I hope so," said Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. "It's a bad idea."
Supporters of the legislation argue the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois in 2008, and other campus violence such as rape and assault, show the best defense against a gunman is students who can shoot back.
"I want to give law-abiding citizens a reasonable means of defense beyond duck and hide," Wentworth said.
But similar measures have failed in about two dozen states since 2007. Texas became a prime battleground for the issue because of its gun culture and its size, with more than 500,000 students at 38 public universities.
Texas higher education officials have opposed the bill and legislative hearings have been dominated by testimony from students and professors on both sides of the issue.
"There's still a lot of support out there," said Daniel Crocker, spokesman for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. "There is a human cost. That human cost is going to be borne by those who are unable to defend themselves."
Several former University of Texas students who survived the 1966 campus shootings by sniper Charles Whitman have testified against the bill. Jim Bryce was a 25-year-old Texas student when he was pinned down by Whitman's gunfire and saw three friend shots.
"I don't think we're on the frontier like my great-grandmother was," Bryce said.

Obama surprises Colorado students during DC trip

Associated Press – Mon Apr 11, 2:52 pm ET

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama surprised a group of eighth graders from a Colorado middle school on Monday, just days after they feared a government shutdown would scuttle their trip to Washington.
"Now that things worked out, we figured we'd give you a little bonus," Obama told the students from Altona Middle School in Longmont, Colo. He greeted them on the South Lawn as they toured the White House.
Obama had mentioned the students and their trip in a speech he delivered late Friday night after lawmakers reached a deal to keep the government running. He spoke about a letter he received from Shalini Schane, whose son was among the students planning to come to Washington. Schane wrote to the president about the fundraisers and projects the students did to prepare for the trip, and their appointment to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
"She asked those of us in Washington to get past our petty grievances and make things right," Obama said Friday.
With more budget battles in store, Obama told the students and their teachers that education remains a priority and is an area where he wants to increase investments, not make cuts.

Get Kids Off to a Smart Start: Essential Computer Tips For Parents and Teachers

About the Author

Tibor Schiemann is co-founder of TuneUp Software GmbH, makers of TuneUp Utilities PC maintenance and optimization software suites. Tibor has been developing software for a variety of computers and operating systems for 20 years, and is in charge of company management and development at TuneUp. Located in Darmstadt, Germany, TuneUp manufactures software that allows Windows users to fine-tune their PCs for optimum performance. For more information, visit TuneUp.com.

In addition to the standard school supplies -- pens, pencils, erasers and notebooks -- computers are a big consideration for many students, teachers, and parents. Particularly for students at the middle-school age or older, a computer can be a huge asset -- even a necessity.
While useful, and indeed necessary for many students, computers are still quite expensive, and can't be treated like a set-it-and-forget-it appliance. Rather, a computer is more like a tooth that requires regular cleaning and expert care to keep it healthy and happy. Here are a few things every student, parent, and teacher can do to protect their new Windows-based investment.
Defragment the hard drive(s) regularly. Disk fragmentation is one of the primary causes of performance degradation for a computer. Fragmentation occurs when the operating system cannot find a single area on the hard disk large enough to store a file in one piece, so it is broken into smaller pieces and stored in the nearest suitable places.
Disk fragmentation causes slower computer performance because the hard disk is a moving object, and to access data that has been fragmented to various locations, the disk must physically spin itself into the correct position to align the disk reader with each piece of a file; sort of like an old-fashioned label maker. For computers that are older or have less free hard drive space remaining, fragmentation can have an exponentially negative effect on performance.
Windows operating systems include a disk defragmenter. It is recommended that all other programs be closed during disk defragmentation. The process takes about one hour and should be done at least every two to three months.
A host of software applications that include disk defragmentation programs also are available, and those can be programmed to run automatically on a schedule specified by the user. Good ones come at a small price, and can be very useful, as they are able to perform several other important tasks simultaneously to maintain and optimize a computer.
Remove unused files and programs. Even though a new computer's intended purpose might be work and not play, digital media (music, movies, pictures, and so on) and program files -- not documents -- take up a majority of a hard drive's free space. Computers also come with programs that never get used, but still take up lots of space; and installing new programs will take up even more space.
No one really enjoys cleaning their room, but once all the clutter is gone, theres no arguing that its easier to find things and move around. The same goes for computers. In general, the less clutter there is on a computer, the faster it can access files and programs, as there is simply less stuff to sort through and fewer background tasks are wasting processing power and memory. Cleaning out unused files and programs on a regular basis will keep a computer running more smoothly, make it easier to find files you're looking for and even reduce disk fragmentation.
To remove unused programs, use the Add/Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel, accessed through the Start menu. Do not remove programs by locating them on the hard drive and deleting them. That will not fully remove the programs and can result in registry errors.
A disk cleaner program is the best way to remove unnecessary files, as it will identify and remove those files automatically, relieving you of manual searching and guesswork. Windows includes a Disk Cleanup tool.
Also available are third-party software programs with disk cleanup and defragmentation tools that automatically run as a single process -- some with just one click.
Use a Windows-certified utility to keep your registry in shape. The registry is the heart of your PC -- a central database of the Windows operating system. All settings and installed programs are filed here -- information relied on for just about every operation a computer performs. That means any registry discrepancies can impair the speed of the computer and cause programs to stop functioning correctly.
In basic terms, registry complications come from leftover or unnecessary junk from programs. Often, programs create extra -- unnecessary -- registry entries during installation, and uninstalling those programs doesn't clean the bits of code from the registry. Many programs even manipulate the registry so they automatically run when Windows starts up -- without ever asking users if they want to use the program. Additionally, many other programs also have dozens of hidden settings that sap speed from the computer, and can only be tweaked by directly accessing the registry.
So, you'll want to clean all that up. But how?
Unfortunately, manual registry optimization is a bit like dentistry; youll need to know a whole set of new terminology just to know what's what. And because incorrect editing of the registry can cause irreversible damage to the operating system, it's a job you should really only trust a professional to do properly.
Don't think, however, that you have to spend money on an expensive, in-house visit from some Techies R Us outfit. For reliable registry optimization, the best -- and least expensive -- option is to use an expert-developed, Windows-certified optimization utility to clean your registry of unnecessary junk and solve performance problems. Windows-certified products have passed rigorous testing program requirements for reliability, security, compatibility with Windows operating systems, and installation and removal. Certified products are marked with a logo describing which Windows operating system they are certified for. Registry optimization takes less time than disk defragmentation and should be performed every one to two weeks.
A couple of final things to consider: Other things that can have a big impact on a computer's performance include Internet connection settings, visual appearance settings and system settings. Nearly all those settings require new vocabulary, and in many cases, optimal manual adjustments can be as difficult and time-consuming as getting your degree in orthodonture.
To minimize effort, use maintenance and optimization utilities that have passed certification standards for your operating system. Most utilities suites can be set easily to automatically run optimization and maintenance tasks at regular intervals, which is really the key for keeping your whole system healthy. Good ones even can help explain which programs are safe to turn off or remove without negatively affecting performance.
The most important lesson is to treat computer maintenance like oral hygiene -- make it a regular routine, and you'll make your life easier.
Article by Tibor Schiemann
Education World®
Copyright © Education World

Updated 08/20/2010