Education USA Weekly Update
No. 63 January 7, 2008
I. Scholarships and Fellowships
Pilot Scholarship Program at Five Boarding Schools: Davis International Scholar Program
Undergraduate and Graduate: Washington Internship Institute
Post Doctorate: The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) Research Grants
ESL Program Highlight: Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC), Fordham University, New York, NY
II. News you can use
Financial Aid News: Harvard announces sweeping middle-income initiative
CSM Article: The College Tour Goes Online
Test Prep Online: MyTestPrep.com from Peterson’s
I. Scholarships and Fellowships
Pilot Scholarship Program at Five Boarding Schools: Davis International Scholar Program
Believing that education is the pathway to true global understanding, the Shelby Cullom Davis family has selected five U.S. boarding schools to participate in an international student pilot program.
The goal of the program is to attract highly motivated, potential future leaders who will benefit from the educational opportunities of select American boarding schools. Initial grants will be awarded in the 2008-2009 academic year.
The Davis family will award grants of up to $20,000 per student, per year based on demonstrated need. Students may enroll in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades as well as during the postgraduate year. Upon graduation from one of these five schools, Davis Scholars will be eligible for continued scholarship support should they enroll at any of the 89 Davis United World Scholars colleges and universities which now support more than 1400 students from 126 countries.
The five boarding schools selected to participate are Andover (MA), Emma Willard (NY), Lawrenceville (NJ), Taft (CT), and Westminster (CT). The Heads of all five schools point to the fact that the Davis family will extend their support through the undergraduate years as an especially powerful aspect of the program.
In supporting highly motivated and talented students from around the world, the Davis family looks to create a cadre of future leaders, Americans and non-Americans alike, whose shared perspectives and experiences will prepare them to collaborate effectively in a demanding, complex global universe
Further Information:
Kimberly Pope
E-mail: kpope@westminster-school.org
Tel: +860-408-3026
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Undergraduate and Graduate: Washington Internship Institute
The Washington Internship Institute (http://www.wiidc.org/) is pleased to invite applications from qualified international students to participate in its Washington, DC-focused program of experiential education. With three terms per year—convening September, January, and June—WII provides innovative, individualized, and academically-based internship programs within the metropolitan Washington, DC area for undergraduate and graduate students of any academic specialty.
WII’s students are placed with businesses, government agencies, international organizations, or nonprofit organizations and are with these organizations four days per week. Their responsibilities have included creating marketing plans for technology companies, writing background memoranda for White House staff, preparing guests for appearances on national television, representing embassies at congressional hearings, and designing web pages for nonprofit organizations. One day per week students attend two academic seminars, taught by WII faculty, where they reflect upon their experiences and work collaboratively with their classmates.
As the premier internship program in Washington, DC, WII is dedicated to providing future leaders with a rigorous, substantive internship experience that will prepare them for success in the workplace and active engagement in their communities. WII's programs combine the principles of experiential learning, academic rigor, and personal and career development to create a memorable and challenging semester for students. Further by fully integrating U.S. and international students in its academic prgrams and housing, WII fosters a lively exchange between U.S. and international students. This interaction enhances students' knowledge and understanding of different cultures and prepares them for life in a global society.
WII is a designated J Exchange Visitor Program sponsor, and has worked with international students since its creation over 15 years ago. The program fee includes internship placements, academic instruction, program orientation and on-program support, housing, and selected cultural and enrichment activities. Students must cover the transportation and meal costs on their own.
WII welcomes inquiries from EducationUSA advising centers, institutions of higher education, and individual students and faculty. For more information about the program, including fees, consult the WII website at http://www.wiidc.org/, or send an inquiry to info@wiidc.org. WII’s Washington, DC, address is 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 201, Washington, D.C. 20036; tel: +1 (202) 833-8580; fax: +1 (202) 833-8581.
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Post Doctorate: The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) Research Grants
Program Description:
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence, aggression, and dominance in the modern world.
Particular questions that interest HFG concern violence, aggression, and dominance in relation to social change, the socialization of children, intergroup conflict, interstate warfare, crime, family relationships, and investigations of the control of aggression and violence. Research with no useful relevance to understanding human problems will not be supported, nor will proposals to investigate urgent social problems where the foundation cannot be assured that useful, sound research can be done. Priority will also be given to areas and methodologies not receiving adequate attention and support from other funding sources.
HFG awards research grants to individuals for individual projects and does not award grants to institutions for institutional programs.
Website: http://www.hfg.org/rg/guidelines.htm
Levels of Study: postdoctorate
Average Award Amount: $15,000 to $30,000 a year
Award Duration: 1 to 2 years
Award Deadline: New applications must be received by August 1, for a decision in December.
Contact:
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, 527 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022-4304
Phone #: (212) 644-4907 Fax #:(212) 644-5110
(212) 644-5110 ***********************************************************************************************
ESL Program Highlight: Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC), Fordham University, New York, NY
Description:
Fordham University's Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC) offers English as a Second Language classes at six levels of English proficiency - from beginning to the university preparatory level. (Levels 1 -6) The core curriculum consists of traditional ESL classes in reading, writing and grammar; speaking, listening and vocabulary; and classes that combine all skills. Content-based courses, covering topics such as Business English, Modern Short Fiction, and American Culture through the Arts, are also available to students at the advanced levels.
For working students at the high-intermediate and advanced levels, evening and Saturday classes are available. To meet the needs of matriculated Fordham students and students who test into Level 6, the IALC offers both credit and non-credit university preparatory classes.
The institute offers special programs like field trips in New York City, The Language Exchange Program with the students of Fordham University, academic workshops and the institute has a well-equipped language laboratory as well.
Admission requirements:
High school graduates age 18 or older are eligible to apply. All students must complete a placement exam in the IALC office prior to registration. For international students who intend to enter the intensive full-time program, the Institute issues I-20 forms (the application for an F-1 student visa) through the Office of International Services (in this case a $100 tuition deposit is needed). See details on website.
Tuition and fees:
- Full-time study: $4,200/semester; summer session: $3,900
- OIS fee for full-time students: $40/semester (no OIS fee for summer session)
- Part-time study: $1,400/course/semester; summer session: $650/course
- $100 tuition deposit for foreign students (non-refundable)
- Tuition may be refunded if certain conditions meet, see website for details.
- Additional cost may be the health insurance ($945/semester) and living expenses (estimated $7,200/semester)
Application:
Application forms are available on the website
Further information and contact:
Irene Badaracco
E-mail: esl@fordham.edu
LINCOLN CENTER CAMPUS 33 West 60th Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10023 Phone (212) 636-6353 Fax (212) 636-7045
http://www.fordham.edu/esl
II. News you can use
Harvard announces sweeping middle-income initiative
Harvard University Gazette Online
Cambridge, Mass. – Harvard President Drew Faust and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith today (Dec. 10) announced a sweeping overhaul of financial aid policies designed to make Harvard College more affordable for families across the income spectrum. The new initiative focuses on ensuring greater affordability for middle- and upper-middle-income families through major enhancements to grant aid, the elimination of student loans, and the removal of home equity from financial aid calculations.
This initiative builds on Harvard’s recent pathbreaking policies to ensure that families with incomes below $60,000 are not asked to contribute to the cost of sending their children to Harvard.
"We want all students who might dream of a Harvard education to know that it is a realistic and affordable option," said Faust. "Education is fundamental to the future of individuals and the nation, and we are determined to do our part to restore its place as an engine of opportunity, rather than a source of financial stress. With no loans, no consideration of home equity, and a dramatic increase in grant aid, we are not tinkering at the margins, we are rebuilding the engine.
"This is a huge investment for Harvard," Faust continued, "but there is no more important commitment we could make. Excellence and opportunity must go hand in hand."
For more information read full article online at:
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/12.13/99-finaid.html *****************************************************************************************
CSM Article: The College Tour Goes Online
Article contributed by Debbie Hefferon, Consultant, College Board
New websites paint a portrait of college and university life, providing one-stop shopping for prospective students.
For those parents and students whose New Year's resolution is to start the search for the right college, some new - and free - tools are coming online to make that task a little bit easier.
The websites - College Portrait (www.voluntarysystem.org) and U-CAN (www.ucan-network.org) - offer essential information to make it easy to compare participating schools. Interested in the professor-student ratio? The racial breakdown on campus? A detailed picture of costs and financial aid? Here's where you can get a glimpse or follow the links to dig deeper.
These sites are one answer to the mounting pressure to make the often-frustrating system of admissions and financial aid easier for families to navigate. Some education advocates hope they will prove to be the first step toward building an even more comprehensive website that would include guidance-counseling components. Students should be empowered to choose for themselves what matters most, they say. And they hope these nonprofit alternatives will help reverse the brand-name frenzy fed by popular rankings such as the annual guide by U.S. News & World Report.
Full article available online at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1227/p14s01-legn.html
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Test Prep Online: MyTestPrep.com from Peterson’s
Peterson's is excited to announce that next month they will launch MyTestPrep.com, a fast and convenient way to purchase keys for all of their online practice tests and test prep courses.
MyTestPrep.com makes it simple to provide Peterson's award-winning test preparation to students.
Peterson's robust list of test prep products available at MyTestPrep.com includes online courses for the SAT, ACT, PSAT and ASVAB as well as practice tests for:
- Undergraduate college entrance exams
- Advanced Placement exams
- Graduate admission exams
- College credit by examination (CLEP, DSST)
- High school entrance exams
- Professional licensure exams
- Military exams
- Civil service exams
- English language (TOEFL)
Great features of Peterson's test prep include:
- Important information about the real exam, including relevant dates, contact information and helpful hints
- Scoring information such as the number of questions omitted, answered correctly, answered incorrectly and percent correct
- The ability for students to stop, save their work and then resume their test whenever they want
- Timed practice tests just like the real test
- A full review of the student's successes and needs for improvement at the completion of the practice test
MyTestPrep.com offers convenience and special pricing:
One-stop shopping for all test prep needs. The comprehensive list of Peterson's online test prep products includes over 120 practice tests and four online courses that will meet the needs of students.
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