College Admission on WGN Midday News on Monday

College Admission will be a guest on WGN Midday News on Monday! Christine VanDeVelde will be talking about strategies for students and parents to keep calm and carry on in college application season, as well as the college essay, applying early, and why it's important to read the fine print in the application form.

Madeline Levine on Courageous Parenting

Don't miss the wonderful post from psychologist Madeline Levine on the Challenge Success blog: Six Things That Matter More Than Perfect Grades. One of the many gems in this piece: #4 Interests/Passions -- I’ve had moms call me worried that their four-year-old child doesn’t have a “passion.” Life is their passion. Depending on temperament, for many kids, interest is enough... Real interests and passions grow out of talent, time and practice. They make life rich. Read the whole thing here.

 

Madeline Levine is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience as a clinician, consultant, and educator, and author of the New York Times best-selling book, The Price of Privilege.

Challenge Success, began life as the highly successful SOS (Stressed-Out Students) Project at Stanford University. Today, the research-based organization develops curriculum, conferences and other programs for parents, schools, and kids looking for a healthier and more effective path to success in the 21st century.

Congratulations to the Winners of our Anniversary Book Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who wished us "Happy Anniversary" in the last week! And congratulations to the winners of our Anniversary Book Giveaway: Christopher Dearth, Debbie Paparella, Janet Carson, Anya Puri Brunnick, Kristin Wasserzug, and Ruth Greenlee Micheletti! Your books are on the way!

Daniel Gin, Niles West High School

Dan Gin had been a generalist high school counselor for four years when he boarded the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) Bus O' Fun Tour. Road tripping for a week through ten college campuses in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, Gin realized he had found his calling. "I could be the one who helps students find the right college," he said. And for the past eight years, Gin has, as the College and Career Counselor at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois.

Set in a suburb eight miles north of Chicago, Niles West is a culturally diverse public high school serving more than 2,600 students. Among those students, there are 96 different spoken languages, with the most common being Urdu, Spanish and Assyrian. Thirty per cent of the students are English language learners. Another 30% are on free and reduced lunch. And since Skokie is in the first ring of suburbs on the borders of Chicago, one in four students are transfers. So as the only college counselor on staff -- though he's assisted by 11 generalist counselors -- Gin faces some special challenges.

Christopher Gruber, Dean of Admission at Davidson College, Answers Five Questions

"Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from cheating (including plagiarism). Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from stealing. Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from lying about College business. Every student shall be honor bound to report immediately all violations of the Honor Code …”  -- Davidson College Honor Code

 

The Davidson College Honor Code is central to the life of this private liberal arts college founded in 1837 by Presbyterians. Under the Davidson Honor Code, for example, students take unproctored, self-scheduled exams, permitting them to tackle tests with the timing they choose during exam periods. But its influence extends beyond take-home exams and test-taking so that as you walk the Davidson campus, you may see a note on a bulletin board or taped to a brick walkway describing an item, along with the finder's contact information so that the lost item can be recovered.

Friday Links for your Delight and Elevation

Enjoy...

Awesome People Reading, a Tumblr, featuring Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, Loki, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Woody Woodpecker... among others.

From DePaul University's Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management via the Facebook page of College Admissions Counselors: Time for the annual reminder of why we do what we do. John Ciardi's 1950–ish address to freshmen at Rutgers: Another School Year: Why? So many wonderful thoughts in this piece we couldn't pick one to excerpt. Read it in its entirety.