Growing up and living in midcoast Maine, you learn pretty early that you need to go elsewhere to encounter folks who originate from different racial backgrounds and cultural traditions. Maine narrowly edges out Vermont as the whitest state in the nation with New Hampshire at number five, making not just Maine but all of northern New England as white as the snow capped peak of Katahdin in winter. Gen Xers like me never had high school courses like AP African American Studies (which will debut at CHILLS this fall!) or our homegrown Race and Identity class. In fact–if it weren’t for Sesame Street–we might never have known that different kinds of people even existed.
This strategy of going to where the diversity is was very much on my mind when arranging college visits in DC April Break of 2022. Howard University was my top priority but unfortunately they were still observing COVID protocols and not doing campus tours. So I toured Gallaudet instead and learned a great deal about deaf and hard of hearing culture. One of the coolest things I learned was that deaf/hoh people don’t get to pick the sign for themselves–it must be created and gifted by another person who knows you well. That and if you are a hearing person who wants to be an ASL interpreter, there is no better place to train.
My next chance to get to Howard came when my younger son moved to DC after graduating from UMaine last July. The only other priority for me besides getting him settled into his new life was getting to Howard. And I did. And it was an extraordinarily impactful experience. Here are my reflections: Howard
MCST’s “Frozen Snot Rockets” hit the National Toboggan Championships
MCSTs Marine Composites program doesn’t just build boats. As of this year, they also build super cool customized toboggans as well!
MCST is also in the process of bringing a ski press online for next year, which would enable Composites students to fabricate and repair their own skis and snowboards.
If you are interested, you must first apply. Go to mcst8.org. Apply tab is in the upper lefthand corner.
Please do not be thrown by the ID number field. We can fill that in after you submit your application.
After you apply, Ms. Tracey will contact you to arrange for an interview and a shadow/visit to MCST to check out the programs that you are interested in.
Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back Into the Applications…
MUCH to my surprise, I woke up to the news that Dartmouth is reinstating the SAT/ACT as an essential component of their application process.
This wouldn’t matter all that much were it not for the super-sized impact of Ivy League schools on the collective American consciousness. Other schools will surely follow in Dartmouth’s wake.
It gets pretty interesting, however, when you think back to Columbia’s May decision to go test free indefinitely.
If the Ivies don’t agree, what does that mean for the postsecondary landscape moving forward? I guess we’ll all find out together…
“A week after the Education Department announced that colleges and universities would not receive student financial aid information until mid-March, institutions are beginning to adjust their own timelines accordingly.
The vast majority of colleges use May 1—traditionally known as National College Decision Day—as the deadline for accepted students to commit. But since financial aid offers aren’t likely to go out until April, thanks to the latest and most disruptive delay in a rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid riddled with such hiccups, a growing number of institutions have pushed their commitment deadlines to June or suspended them indefinitely. They hope to give students—and their own beleaguered financial aid and admissions offices—some time and flexibility.
Only a handful of colleges have announced extensions so far, but the list kept growing throughout last week and into the weekend. A few hours after the delay was announced Tuesday, the University of Illinois at Chicago became the first institution to push its commitment deadline to June 1; Oregon State University followed close behind on Wednesday.
Several private institutions also pushed their deadlines to June 1, including Monmouth College in Illinois, Kalamazoo College in Michigan and Lewis & Clark College in Oregon. Widener University in Pennsylvania suspended its May 1 commitment deadline but has yet to replace it with a new date.
Some institutions are extending application deadlines as well. The University of New Hampshire, for one, switched to rolling admissions last week; executive director of public relations Tania deLuzuriaga wrote in an email that officials wouldn’t establish a new deadline “until the FAFSA information is more solidified.”
Other colleges are loosening their deadlines for making formal financial aid offers to accepted students. Officials fear that sending offers out before they receive students’ FAFSA information could result in serious inaccuracies—a possibility exacerbated by the new form’s significantly altered student aid calculations.” Read on…
Problems with the FAFSA Revamp Are Hitting Those Who Need It Most
“The situation is stoking anxiety among the nation’s mixed-status families, who’ve been hit the hardest, but complications with the form have been tripping up other applicants, too. One month after the new application went live, the form is available 24/7, but families making their way through it continue to encounter an array of error messages and unexplained snags. Submissions of signatures that won’t link to the student’s account. The disappearance of the “submit” button once users fill out the form. Pages that refresh and automatically submit the FAFSA before it’s complete, leaving applicants unable to make corrections until a later date. The list goes on.” Read on…
Black Ivy League Students Seek Greater Representation
“Altogether, 7% of all Ivy League undergrads are Black. As these colleges begin the process of building the first freshman class this fall in a post-affirmative action world, African American students expressed concern that admissions offices will continue to ignore the concerns — and applications — of descendants of American slaves, regardless of whether they are doing so consciously.” Read on…
Colleges Should Push Enrollment Deadline to June 1
“The FAFSA delays this cycle have abbreviated colleges’ timeline for making financial aid offers.
The higher education groups raised concerns Wednesday that students and their families will ultimately be the ones put at a disadvantage.
“We all want students and families to have the time they need to consider their financial options before making enrollment decisions,” their statement said.”
Summer Early College Registration Opens Friday (2/9/24)
If THIS is any indication, there’s going to be some pretty cool offerings this summer!
Everything You Need to Know About Merit Scholarships
And last but not least…
