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Florida Virtual School (FLVS) Clubs

July 31st, 2011

Online education isn’t just a solitary pursuit anymore. Now students enrolled full-time or part-time in Florida Virtual School (FLVS) have many opportunities to explore interests outside their classes, meet other students, and experience “school” life.

FLVS offers virtual “clubs”
Hundreds of Florida Virtual School students have the opportunity to “virtually” participate in clubs and other extracurricular activities. Florida’s range of activities outside the online classroom includes Future Business Leaders of America, Science Club, Spanish Honor Society, Model UN Club, Newspaper Club and more.

As a member of the FLVS Science Club, for example, students have participated in Earth Day activities, attended local science fairs, written articles about environmental issues, and participated in field trips and competitions like the Florida State Science Olympiad.

Online clubs and groups are only open to FLVS middle school and high school students who are active in at least one course. Students in grades 6-12 are eligible for part-time virtual school enrollment.

This means if a club is very important to your student and it is not offered at his or her school, your student can enroll in a virtual class and join.

For those unfamiliar with virtual schools, in short, virtual schools are distance education schools run by the public school system. They offer instruction through web-based applications that students complete at home. They are responsible for any state testing requirements and the virtual school keeps regular records of academic achievement.

Florida Virtual School offers education for students in grades K-12. This school is funded by the state, and does not charge tuition.

Virtual schools are held to the same high standard as regular public schools. Instructors are certified teachers who work only for the virtual school, or work for the virtual school as part of their contract with the school district.

To allay any confusion, virtual schools are not homeschools. Virtual schools consider students to be public school students and get state money for their enrollment.

For more information on FLVS clubs, click here.

For more information on Florida Virtual School, click here.

International College Counselors
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ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each student. Our college advising company works with domestic and international students. Let us help you make the best decisions in choosing, getting into, and paying for college

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THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP OF ALL: The Rhodes Scholarship

July 19th, 2011

International College Counselors now has a sister website specializing in graduate school admissions www.iccgrad.com. Please pass this email along to anyone you know who may be headed down this route.

THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP OF ALL
The Rhodes Scholarship

There are few scholarships that can surpass a Rhodes Scholarship in prestige. One of the world’s oldest scholarships, the Rhodes has world-wide recognition. Recipients have gone on to become presidents, prime ministers, senators, Supreme Court justices, poets, university presidents, astronomers Nobel Prize recipients, and more. Famous American Rhodes Scholars include former US President Bill Clinton, former head of CIA James Woolsey, astronomer Edwin Hubble and Olympic gold medalist Bill Bradley.

Rhodes scholars have virtually any job open to them.

Each year, 32 Rhodes scholars are selected from the United States from a pool of approximately 1,000 applicants. Rhodes Scholarships are distributed according to a system of geographical districts. Annually, there are 80 Rhodes scholars worldwide.

Those selected have the opportunity to study at Oxford University for one to three years, with all tuition fees paid and a living allowance provided. Students pursue a course of study of their own choosing at Oxford and may work toward a master’s degree, a doctorate degree or a second bachelor’s degree.

The Rhodes Scholarships were established after the death of Cecil Rhodes, founder of the De Beers diamond company, and the selection criteria has remained unchanged since Rhodes’s will laid them out in 1902.

Recipients are selected based on

1. Literary and scholastic attainments.
The selection committees want to see candidates with very strong academic records. There is no official minimum GPA for the Rhodes, but a GPA of lower than 3.7 is not competitive. Applicants should be broadly educated and should have chosen challenging courses outside their major as well as within it. Students must also have excelled in their chosen field.

2. Energy to use one’s talents to the full, as exemplified by fondness for and success in sports.
Intramurals or independent activity is acceptable. A significant extracurricular record is necessary to be competitive.

3. Truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship.

You must show the committee you arevery committed to making a difference in the world, however you choose to do this. Really think about want to do make the world a better place, how your unique skills can help you accomplish this, and how Oxford will help you realize your goals.

4. Moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow beings.

The selection committees understand the prestige of the award, and one thing they’re really tuned into is whether students are after that prestige, or after the full experience. So really understand who you are and why you want this opportunity.

Not written into the selection criteria is that a true Rhodes candidate also needs to posses competence around people and the right mix of self-confidence and humility. The candidate also needs superb relationships with faculty and/or mentors.

If you decide to apply for a Rhodes scholarship, the best time to act is in the spring of your junior year of college. The online application is available in July and due in October.

This is not something you can wait until the last minute to act on. The application is very time consuming. Five to eight letters are requested, but you should submit eight letters. And these must be detailed, insightful, and strong. You also need an extraordinary personal statement and you need to be nominated by your university.

To apply, students must be ages 18 to 24, and must have a completed bachelor’s degree prior to entering Oxford.

For more information go to RhodesScholar.org

If you are a citizen of certain countries including, but not limited to, Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica and Zimbabwe, you may apply through your own country. But do your research. Not all of these countries are willing to accept applicants who live permanently or attend school outside of their country. Most applications are due earlier than for the US competition.

International College Counselors
954-414-9986

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Florida Virtual School (FLVS) Clubs

THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP OF ALL: The Rhodes Scholarship