College Search
Now there’s a new way for high school students to get some of the best colleges and universities in the country to notice them.

Launched in 2007, Zinch is a social-networking site that lets college-bound students build personal profiles that show admissions officers the full picture of who they are and what makes them different.
 
> “Zinch is the first Web site to allow students and colleges online interaction, as both parties seek the right fit,” says Mick Hagen, Zinch’s cofounder (and current Princeton student).      
 > More than 375,000 students use Zinch nationwide, and approximately 300 from Orange County have signed up for the free service.
 > More than 500 colleges and universities use Zinch to recruit students, such as Yale, the University of Arizona, Indiana University, Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, UC Berkeley and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

For more information, or to find the college of your teen’s dreams, visit zinch.com.


School’s out for summer
When we were teenagers, the lazy days of summer were spent working menial jobs and hanging out at the beach or local pool. But for a growing number of college-bound students, summer has become a time of academic classes or camps, time-consuming community service projects and other resume-building pursuits. With college admissions so competitive these days, college counselors encourage students to remain busy year-round.
   
Although this works for many students who are seeking to attend selective colleges, it does not work for all students. “The No. 1 source of stress for many teens is the college admissions process,” notes Mimi Doe, author of “Don’t Worry, You’ll Get In: 100 Winning Tips for Stress-Free College Admissions” (Marlow & Co., 2005). “Parents should reassure their teens that they don’t have to do every single activity in the summer in order to be good candidates for college,” she says.
   
Doe adds that one of the best things parents can do is to help their teenager discover who they are as individuals. A sports camp, part-time job, internship, art class, family vacation or volunteer activity often helps a teen discover their true passions. 


Tech-savvy girls
DigiGirlz Day opens doors for young women

Women have made great strides in what used to be male-oriented careers, such as law, medicine and finance. But one field that remains largely a male domain is technology. Among female college-bound high school seniors taking the SAT in 2006, only 1% (fewer than 5,000 students) indicated computer and information science as an intended major. This is a nearly 50% decline from 1996, when women comprised one-quarter of all students intending to major in computer and information sciences. Not only is there a dearth of women in the computer science and software engineering fields, there are very few women in executive technology positions.
   
But Microsoft hopes to change this by offering community outreach programs that educate girls about the enormous growth potential of this vibrant field. One program, called DigiGirlz Day, took place recently at Microsoft’s Irvine campus. More than 100 teenage girls from Orange County and Los Angeles attended this free one-day conference designed to expose young women to career opportunities in technology.
   
“We’re showing girls that technology isn’t boring and difficult,” says Celeste Alleyne, West Regional citizenship director for Microsoft. “Much of the problem stems from girls lacking awareness and an understanding of the field.” Studies have shown that many female students worry that a computer-related degree will not allow them to work with people, and that computer science is a demanding discipline.
    
The teenage girls attending DigiGirlz Day learned that there’s a lot more to a tech job than sitting behind a computer or solving math problems. In addition to meeting Microsoft execs, they explored some of the company’s new products, such as Windows Movie Maker, Silverlight and Windows cell phones. The girls received hands-on training in HTML, Visual Basic, product design, graphic design and resume building. They ended the day by holding a video conference with girls in other cities.
   
According to Microsoft reps, parents can help teenage girls pursue interests in computer science and information services by encouraging them to enroll in summer computer camps and after-school computer clubs. Parents can also serve as role models by using technology daily and sharing with daughters how science, math and computer skills are important in their jobs.

Carol Daus is an award-winning contributor.