Education Madness #4 – Zinch.com

After so much negativity on the college admissions process, I’m going to show what I think is a great solution (or at least an improvement) to the current situation.

Zinch.com offers online profile spaces where high school students from around the world can showcase their work and their wacky side to college admissions.  Over 600 colleges have signed up for the service, matching the students’ interests with what the colleges have to offer.  Some colleges have also considered using Zinch in the admissions process, given that students can show their artwork/multimedia productions/creative writing/sample work on an online portfolio section of the website as well.

At this time, Zinch seems to be offering a one-of-a-kind process, fostering a holistic approach that allows colleges to view “the other side” of students that may not have astonishing standardized test scores, GPA, or extracurricular activities.  What Zinch resembles is the applicant’s social side: how s/he decides to present him/herself to the college admissions officers via this profile.  The language and question on Zinch borderlines slang vernacular, so students should not feel intimidated to show how they think and write when with their friends for the colleges to see.

The public aspect makes it seem almost non-academic.  The annual $20,000 scholarship Zinch.com awards is judged by popular vote.  Applicants must create the largest Facebook group supporting Zinch or invite as many people into Zinch to enter the Final rounds.  After that, its even more intense 1-on-1 public profile voting to get into the next rounds.  Hopefully, the person that emerges as the winner won’t turn out to be some dumb blond who has won by sheer popularity alone.

Aside from that little qualm, this service should be of most help to students of fine arts: those who need to let the world see the beauty of their musical recitals or their photography.  The online portfolio, although rather clumsy and lacking an organized interface, is nevertheless a great place to start—to at least give colleges a taste of what caliber of an art student they are dealing with, as not to let lower SATs cloud the picture.

It is by this model that colleges should strive to identify and evaluate students.  Although certainly unfitting and at a disadvantage for those who are true academic nerds (the next Bill Gates, say), the program should benefit the majority of those with not so strong academics but with a passion to live and learn outside the classroom.

I can only hope that more colleges stumble onto this website and join the revolution.

Education Madness #3 – oh em gee…Ivy Leagues

1. Huge increase in application numbers.
2. Huge decrease in admission rates.
3. Mega failures.
4. Few smiles.

DENIED

Four facts that characterize the Class of 2013’s application season.  With an unequivocal rise in applications for all the major universities–with Princeton being the least at a mere 6% to a meager 21,869 applicants.  Well, they try to trick you, saying “there’s some 8% chance that you’ll get IN…I mean IN–to one of the world’s most prestigious universities.”  The reality: you’ll most likely end up being that 92%, failing miserably at the attempt.  But people always have hope, which undoubtedly fills the competitive application pool with even more poor souls…looking for Heaven?

Only a few years back, it was the norm for high school seniors to apply to 3-5 colleges–max.  Now, 26 colleges on a single student’s list is normal.  The heinous cycle pushes seniors to apply to more colleges, in turn lowering admission rates, and again pushes even more applications.  To me, it sounds like a loss of faith on the students’ part; they are at loss for a confidence to get in to a big-name college, fearing that 4 years at a community college would become the defning failure of their lives (which they probably envision ending with being an executive 70-year-old barista in Starbucks).  The (anal) fixation on brand names have driven both parents and students on a maddened frenzy to mail off AMAAP (As Many Applications as Possible) to incerase their chances.

What they do not realize is that this very mindset is not necessarily increasing the intellectual vitality of seniors or preparing them with the skills for success.  It is drawing away from what high school used to be: a time of recklessness, when you tried all the things that you either regretted doing or felt great for having done it back then.  Perhaps, this is my little moment of nostalgia shining through, but the fact remains: 15-18 year olds are not designed to break their backs trying to earn a 4.0+ GPA, retaking SATs for the perfect score, or joining as many clubs as possible, vying for leadership positions.  These things may pave the way to college–to success, maybe–but the damage they do to adolescents should not be overseen.  By pushing personal limits to the same mold (great academics, stellar extracurriculars), students are becoming the stereotypical HBS (Hardworking, Boring Students).  Certainly, a few Picassos and Steve Jobs, patches of weed, shoot up somewhere amidst the forest of HBS, but the future seems bleak for those who want to express their originality within the HBS defintion of success.

So, the problem: Ivies are looking for the Picassos and Steve Jobs of the future, but the ten thousands of HBS deploying AMAAP make life a lot harder for the college admissions officers.  How Ivy Leagues strive to maintain their goals–for next time.

Image Courtesy: Reader’s Digest

a revival of sorts

Having sorted my time out, I’ve decided to revive this little blog.

Will be posting periodically from now on, so check in often!

ima back online

Moleskine

Moleskine hype never dies.  When I thought that people were over all of that Hemingway and leather notebook…in the end it still pops up in conversation.

Here are the repeated things that I always hear:

1. The notebook’s cool. – This, I must admit.  There is no greater pride than writing with a black moleskine journal while on a subway.  I don’t know why or how, but the luxurious look just captures people’s eyes.
2. Build quality’s great. – Again, I must concede.  I’ve never “torn apart” the binding of any Moleskine journal or notebook that I’ve had before, and that’s an impressive feat, coming from a heavy user.
3. You’re rich. – Haha.  Yep.  If you have enough money to spend 10 bucks on a journal, then you’re pretty much covered for the rest of your life.

And even though these arguments are cliche, they have withstood the test of time.  The Moleskine is the perennial champion for artists, writers, and the like.

Education Madness #2 – standard[s]ized testing

Harvard, Yale, and the many elite schools in the US turned down applicants with full SAT scores of 2400 – that’s zero wrong on nearly 200 critical reading, math, and writing questions.  Yet that improbable statistic is still what students around the world are looking for.

Many have spent over $500 on an intensive SAT preparation course at schools like The Princeton Review or Kaplan for modest gains of maybe 50 points on the SAT.  But that is all they need, because all eyes are on this one test.

If the kid has a low GPA but a high SAT score, he’s a lazy but clever bum; conversely, with a high GPA and a low SAT, the damn girl’s just a nerdy freak who really doesn’t have brains.  Seems that the SAT has been commonly taken as the equivalent of a child’s raw brainpower–measuring writing and reading abilities in a matter of a few hours, seeing how well the child writes by looking at his/her first draft essay, and testing math skills with questions on elementary algebra.

Seems that the SAT is not a measure of intelligence after all.  It’s just how well a child reads, writes, and solve simple mathematics; those skills can be learned, especially by rich kids whose parents are willing to spend time and money on improving their children’s score.  Which–if you haven’t noticed–puts the typical poor African American kid from Bronx at a heavy disadvantage.  The black boy might be quick and witty, but his scores are nothing to the Asian nerd.  Sorry if I’m being racist here, but that is the reality we’re facing; the SAT inevitably discriminates between those who are well prepared and those who are not; and surely, it’s not an accurate measure of intelligence.

Kids with a full 800 on the math portion of the SAT is not guaranteed to better on competitions like the AMC (American Mathematics Competition) than kids with a score in the 600 range.  Why?  Because the SAT measures how well one handles simple questions with accuracy in a limited amount of time.  And the result: students with full math scores usually have lower grades than those with lower scores in undergraduate level calculus courses.

The question remains: why do colleges (well, not quite true, but society in general) still give a very high priority for SAT scores, even when they are far from good indicators of academic performance?

Answer: Because it’s the best we’ve got.  Although a personalized account of each applicant’s capabilities, financial and family history may be the best way to go in offering the most objective evaluation, the reality is: college admission officers are already overwhelmed by the increasing number of applications (more people get rejected, more people decide to send more applications), so the prospect of delving much deeper into each applicant’s history becomes infeasible..if not impossible after all.

Looking on the bright side, some colleges now leave the SAT as “optional”.  Many institutions–whose professors have published findings against the SAT as indicative of college performance–have opted for a more comprehensive evaluation of each application.  Hopefully, this school of thought will be more widely adopted in the future, so that students who may be prodigies in other categories–and not necessarily well-organized, well prepared, quick, or brilliant–will have a chance to shine above the others.

[Image courtesy: College On the Record.com, Cartoonstock.com]

Education Madness #1 – million things to do before university

As much as my title sounds like Listmania’s “1000 Books to Read Before You Die” or “1000 Movies to Watch Before Apocalypse”, this entry is certainly not about the fun, wacky, and wild things you can only do during your high school life.  It’s rather what you must do before you can get into university.

Our full course starts off with a little hors d’oeuvre (am I spelling this correctly?): honors, APs, and IBs.  These so-called “advanced” courses are the option for those looking to excell.  According to modern standards, that means getting into a competitive university.

But advanced programs are not enough, as colleges are looking for complete packages–perfect children.  So, there’s surely more to come about: SAT/ACT tests, team sports, varsity athletics, extra-curricular activities, and the other 999,999 things.

Things are getting out of hand at the local high school.  Gone are the days of enjoying painting or textiles class….actually letting children have fun choosing their courses.  Nowadays, HS students and their counselors care for academic excellence.  Why take a normal textiles course when you can take IB Art HL; why choose a simple class like honors history over AP World HIstory?  The simplest answer is: to impress college admissions.

There are more and more students getting HS level education, which automatically translates to more of them applying for college.  Surely, there must be some traffic congestion.  That is why students try hard to become the sought out Porche or Mercedez; but apparently, that’s not even enough; they must be a custom made sports car with all the “bling” that shows how much passion they have for their subject of study.  This is happening today: with admission rates of lower than 10% in the recent years and also record breaking application numbers, Ivy League schools expect their applicants to be the cream of the crop.  If the wannabe doctor wants to go to pre-med at Harvard, then she’s probably going to have to think hard about taking a general subject she likes over the gruesome IB Diploma program.

This is not much of an academic problem, because students are surely pushing to challenge themselves.  The problem is pushing too hard.  Instead of having the chance to follow their dreams, HS students will rather strive for that long awaited seat in a prestigious college, which at least gives them a guarantee that they’ll get some kind of job in the future.  There’s still following passion, but no longer the wild, artistic fantasy that allow them to expand horizons, to break out of the box.  Instead, the box is getting smaller and smaller, forcing students into a racetrack–warranting them to walk the same path to what society calls “success”.

[Image courtesy: http://community.livejournal.com/ibscrewed/tag/humour]

no more future

This whole episode seems totally unfortunate for me.  After posting about the digital pen yesterday, I went off to the Livescribe website to find out details about ordering the Livescribe Pulse Pen.  According to their blog, the product is supposed to already be available since last week.  But to my surprise, it is still only open for “pre-order” and even worse, they won’t ship internationally.  That just quelled my high hopes for finding a replacement for my good old Logitech io2 pen for my next busy period in August.  Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until some kind soul decides to pick one up for me from the states…or–if I’m hopelessly optimistic–wait for Livescribe to decide to market internationally.

If any of you know how to get products that ship only in the USA to be shipped internationally, then please tell me!  I’m in desperate need of high-tech toys that aren’t available elsewhere =)

Star Tech #1 – futuristic notetaking

I’ve always wanted something portable to write on or type on when in meetings.  That certainly does not mean the conventional 14.1″ laptop, which is hell to carry if you spend many hours on feet each day like I do; that also does not include a tablet pc, which costs a fortune to buy and doesn’t really replicate the feeling of writing on paper; and certainly, since I’m trying to be tech-savvy here, no traditional ballpoint pen and moleskin journal–that just lacks the sexy appeal.

What I’d like to share are two inventions that I’m quite sure will help everyone be a better–if not more efficient–note taker, whether if you’re a doctor, manager, or high school student.  The perfect combination is the netbook + digital pen.

Those are relatively short words, but are quite a mouthful to take, because both of them haven’t really taken off just until recently.  The netbook is simply a laptop in an ultra-small form factor, with screen sizes ranging from 7 to 10 inches and the most impressive feat that manufacturers of these “toys” have produced is the low price tag.  Sony’s 11″ $1,600 laptops just got busted; these little wonders are just perfect for the stingy businessman.

Although netbooks are not intended to replace a powerful workhorse like the desktop, I actually find myself spending more time on my netboook.  I can carry my EEE 701 around in one hand, typing in the other, and it becomes a breeze-free process when commuting, as I can just stuff the 701 in my bag without the need to carry another full blown laptop bag.  The only caveat here is the small keyboard size, but since I have long, thin fingers, I’m still happily and snappily typing at 65 wpm on this baby.

The digital pen, on the other hand is a cheaper and more useful replacement for the tablet pc.  The typical digital pen costs less than $200 and offer similar functionality of being able to transcribe handwriting into digital format; some of them go further in OCR-ing the writing–meaning that the scribbles get translated into neat, formatted computerized text, ready to be copied and pasted elsewhere.  The newest feature in the industry probably comes from Livescribe; its new Pule pen allows synchronized recording of each line the user draws on the paper to live audio recorded through the pen’s microphones.

So, the netbook offers fast typing, instant email checking, and some Facebook amusement when I’m in a meeting room or at the local Starbucks.  On the other hand, the digital pen is fit for use on-the-go, walking and writing at the same time, or taking notes during an interview.  The audio functionality should be really useful in the future, as I often cannot read my own handwriting; in the future, I’ll just tap on the text and I’ll get to hear whatever the guy, gay, or girl is saying at that time.

Now that’s what I call the perfect match.

[Image courtesy: Asus EEE PC, Livescribe Pulse]

Time Management #6 – i want sandy!

I WANT SANDY!!!!

Goddamit…that sounds very much like a 5 year-old crying for her doll, but that’s the advice I’d like to give to professionals.

That’s Sandy if you’re curious.  If you don’t like her looks or don’t like the fact that she writes in ugly writing, don’t fret, because you’ll never have to see her in person.  She’s your personal assistant 24/7 who you won’t ever see face-to-face.  Ironic it sounds, but true.

She has been keeping me posted about meetings, lunches, shopping lists, and all the things that I must fit into my daily schedule.  Simply visit IWantSandy.com, create and account, and off you go.

There are a few things that you need to know before talking to Sandy.  It’s like a secret (well, not exactly) language you use to communicate with her–how romantic.  In fact, you can just write normally, but that takes too much time, especially if you’re telling Sandy to remind you of something while on-the-go–as in sending an email to her from a Blackberry or an iPhone.  But to get the most out of her, I hope that you’ll spare a few minutes to learn the necessary abbreviations to write to her shorthand, so that you can spend time focusing on doing what you are supposed to do rather than writing superfluous love letters to Sandy.

As for real world usage: I’ve recommended Sandy to my close friends and the overall feedback has been very positive.  Sandy is a great addition to the scheduling system they already have in place; she’s the one who calls in (sick) to remind them of their jobs.  Sandy has helped them cut the time needed to flip through a planner or to click through Outlook in early mornings; instead, they just check their emails (some of them do this every 5 minutes anyways) in order to get the reminders.  Also, with easy integration with iGoogle–which is set as my homepage–you just cannot escape the evil clutches of the evil stepsister Sandy.  Well, that may be great for sadists, but that’s not all…

The best thing about Sandy is her ability to be snoozed.  Just bang her head once and she’s off my ass for some time…only to come back again.  This is great when I have to postpone an appointment.  It’s much easier to let Sandy do the job rather than go through my organizer to erase or white-out the colored block and then color it in at another time.  In a few words–and a few seconds–I can tell Sandy to get back to me later.

And unlike hiring a secretary who’s willing to work 24/7, Sandy offers unconditional love for free.  No matter how much I’ve used or abused her, she’s been faithful at all times, keeping me on track with lesser distractions.

If I am to write a recommendation for Sandy, I’m going to put down only one sentence: “She’s the best.”

Goals, Values, and Dreams #2 – reiterate

Sorry for not posting anything for such a long time…have been busy lately.  I’m back to continue whatever work I have here…as infinitesimally unimportant as they are…

Repeat it.  I think to myself, write it down, do whatever it takes to make the idea stick: and the best way to achieve that is repeat.

I keep in mind every day that this is my goal.  I dream of being a journalist, so I use this header to start off every entry in my diary: “Greetings, best journalist in the whole wide world.”  When I’m down, it might be “Hey, fuck the rest, remember you’re still a world class journalist.”  Whatever line helps highlight the goal, use it; sometimes, the crazier the better.

It’s hubris, I guess…well if others get to read my diary.  But the point is to keep it to yourself; there is no need for a million people to know about your dreams, because only one of them will actually care to help (you can try, but I don’t think it’s worthwhile use of time).  So, I just keep myself focus, because it is I–me, myself–who will strive towards that goal.  No worries about what others will think about my overly conceited, bloated ego; it’s just my way of pushing myself foward.