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by Suada Kolovic

Giving back to your alma mater is a tradition deeply rooted in the inner workings of any university. Once your status has shifted from “student” to “alumni,” you can bet there is an expectation for you to give back. And while some go out of their way to avoid the financial strains of contributing (we are technically still in a recession), Michael Bloomberg isn’t one of them: The New York City mayor’s latest $350 million pledge has pushed his lifetime donations to his alma mater past the $1 billion mark. Yup, that’s billions. With a b.

Johns Hopkins announced the donation late Saturday, saying it believed Bloomberg – who amassed his fortune creating the global financial services firm Bloomberg LP – is now the first person to give more than $1 billion to a single American university. (This assertion, however, is hard to verify since many donors tend to give anonymously.) About $250 million of Bloomberg’s latest contribution will be part of a larger effort to raise $1 billion to foster cross-disciplinary work at Johns Hopkins; the remaining $100 million will be devoted to need-based financial aid for undergraduate students in the form of 2,600 Bloomberg scholarships in the next 10 years. "Johns Hopkins University has been an important part of my life since I first set foot on campus more than five decades ago," Bloomberg said in the statement issued by the university. "Each dollar I have given has been well-spent improving the institution and, just as importantly, making its education available to students who might otherwise not be able to afford it."

What do you think of Bloomberg’s generosity? Do you plan to donate to your college after you graduate?

by Suada Kolovic

It wasn’t too long ago that the majority of American’s agreed that one had to earn a college degree in order to succeed in the workforce. Unfortunately for millennials, the rate of success after obtaining said degree is no longer so intrinsically tied: According to a report, millions of college graduates suffer a mismatch between education and employment and hold jobs that don’t require costly degrees.

The study from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity says that nearly half of all American college graduates in 2010 – nearly three years after the recession began – were underemployed, holding relatively low-paying and low-skilled jobs. Of the 41.7 million working 2010 college graduates, about 48 percent work jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree and 38 percent of those polled didn’t even need a high school diploma. Authors Richard Vedder, Jonathan Robe and Christopher Denhart agreed that the country could be overeducating its citizens and questioned if too many public dollars were being spent on producing graduates that the nation’s economy doesn’t need. "Maybe we should incentivize colleges to more accurately counsel students," Vedder told the Chronicle of Higher Education. "If you get a degree in business administration, you may not necessarily walk into a middle-class life. There's a good chance you may end up being a bartender." (For more on this study, click here.)

Do you think that a college degree is necessary for gainful employment and upward mobility? Let us know what you think.

by Suada Kolovic

What better way is there to kick off spring semester than an additional $1,000 to put towards your college education? Zinch’s Weekly Essay Contest will help you do just that and all you have to do is write a two to three sentence essay on the following prompt: Chance meetings can make for very interesting experiences. Describe a time when you bumped into someone, and it led to a memorable conversation or event.

All high school and college students (including international students) are eligible to participate so go ahead and check out the prompt, think about it some and submit a concise yet thoughtful answer worthy of $1,000 by midnight tonight. For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

Being expelled from school after discovering a flaw in the computer system – one that compromised the personal information of more than 250,000 students – seems highly unlikely. In fact, one would assume that the student who sought to notify the school in order to amend the vulnerability in the college’s data security system would be commended and touted as the school genius...but that wasn’t the case for Ahmed Al-Khabaz.

The 20-year-old Dawson College student and his computer science colleague Ovidiu Mija discovered an oversight in the Omnivox software while working on a mobile app that would simplify student access to their college accounts. Al-Khabaz took the findings to the director of information services and technology Francois Paradis on October 24th, where Paradis congratulated him and Mija on their work and promised the he and Skytech (the maker of Omnivox) would fix the problem immediately. Two days later, Al-Khabaz decided to take it upon himself to confirm just that by running a software program designed to test for website vulnerabilities but within minutes, he received a phone call from Skytech president Edouard Taza, who declared his actions a cyberattack. He was then called before the computer science department, where 14 of the 15 professors present voted in favor of Al-Khabaz’s expulsion.

Following the decision to reject his appeal, Al-Khabaz said, “My academic career is completely ruined. In the wrong hands, this breach could have caused a disaster. Students could have been stalked, had their identities stolen, their lockers opened and who knows what else. I found a serious problem, and tried to help fix it. For that I was expelled.” How do you think Dawson College handled the situation? Let us know in the comments section.

The Best Buy Scholarship Program provides students who demonstrate an excellence in academic achievement, volunteer efforts and/or work experience an opportunity to receive a $1,000 scholarship to use towards their college education. Scholarships are available to current high school students in grades 9-12 who plan to enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two or four-year college or university or vocational-technical school in the United States.

Up to 1,100 students will each receive a $1,000 scholarship. If you're a 9-12 grade student who plans to attend post-secondary education, have solid grades and are involved in community service or work experience, you'll want to check out this opportunity! For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

With college just around the corner for high school seniors, preparing for your first year can be daunting. And while you’re going through your mental checklist of what you’ll need, don’t forget to add an iPad mini if you’re headed to Lynn University: Beginning this fall, all incoming students will be required to purchase one.

Lynn’s devices will come loaded with students’ summer reading and core curriculum texts and will cost about half as much as their print counterparts at $475. Why the shift? After meeting with Apple representatives and learning more about iTunes U and the iPad, Lynn officials experimented with the technology and were pleased with the initial outcome. During the January term, one section of the course was taught on iPads and utilized “challenge-based learning” – a method developed by Apple that focuses on using technology to apply course content to real-world problems – while the other section covered the same content through traditional methods. At the end of the term, students from both sections were surveyed about their experiences and those using challenge-based learning and the iPads were not only happier with the class but learned more! (For more on Lynn University’s switch to an Apple centered curriculum, click here.)

Do you agree with Lynn University’s decision to require an iPad mini based on one course evaluation? Let us know in the comments section.

by Suada Kolovic

Established in 1987, the National Peace Essay Contest is an annual contest open to high school students that provides the opportunity to do valuable research, writing and thinking on a topic of importance to international peace and conflict resolution. This year’s topic is Gender, War and Peacebuilding. To participate, students are asked to answer the question: What does it mean to have a gendered approach to war and peace issues?

For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

Chances are if you’re a college student, you have a Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and/or Reddit account and with all that social media at your fingertips, you have a few options: 1. Repost a someecard that your friends have seen no less than 20 times (it’s still hilarious to you!) 2. Spend some time analyzing Taylor Swift’s latest breakup 3. Catch up on Grumpy Cat memes or 4. Tweet billionaire oil tycoons for some financial assistance. Well, you wouldn’t be the first to partake in the latter pastime.

Seth Samuelson, a current freshman at Oklahoma State University, had been hounding billionaire T. Boone Pickens on Twitter since September asking for help in paying for his college education. Last week, he finally got a response...though not one that he was hoping for. The social media-savvy billionaire tweeted back, “Give me 10 good reasons why I should do it,” following up a day later with, “Admire your guts but unless your [grade point average] is 3.0 or better, don’t worry about the 10 reasons.” Although getting a response at all was quite a shock, we should mention that Samuelson had tweeted Pickens a total of 68 times. “He’s a generous man, so why not ask?” Samuelson, an 18-year-old sports media major, told FORBES on Monday. Alas, Samuelson did not reply because he does not meet the GPA requirements. Jay Rosser, a spokesman for Pickens, wrote in an email that the billionaire “appreciated Samuelson’s persistence and wished him the best.”

Do you agree with Samuelson’s attempt to coax a billionaire into paying for his college education? Let us know in the comments section. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a different route in financing your college degree, Scholarships.com is a great place to start!

by Suada Kolovic

The Buick Achievers Scholarship Program, funded by the GM Foundation, is designed to help students who are leaders in both the classroom and their communities, but who may not have the financial means to attend college. The scholarship program will award 100 renewable scholarships for up to $25,000 per year and 1,000 one-time scholarships for $2,000. The Buick Achievers Scholarship Program is open to high school seniors or college undergraduate students who plan to major in a specified course of study that focuses on Engineering/Technology or select Design and Business-related programs at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States or Puerto Rico.

Scholarships will be awarded based on participation and leadership in community and school activities, interest in the automotive industry, academic achievement, and financial need. Special consideration will be given to those who are a first-generation college student, female, minority, military veteran or a dependent of military personnel.

Buick is accepting entries through February 28th. If you are interested in learning more about this or other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

In what seems to be a growing trend across the country, a California state legislator is the latest elected official to push for a bachelor’s degree that costs no more than $10,000 total (yes, total!). And while last year’s college graduates left school with an average of $25,000 in debt, the possibility of a $10,000 degree to incoming college freshman is encouraging.

Assemblyman Dan Logue (R) introduced the bill following similar initiatives in Florida and Texas: In the proposed California legislation, students would start to earn college credit in high school through Advanced Placement courses and would then enroll full-time at a community college. The state university would in turn accept up to 60 credits for transfer. The problem? There’s the possibility that the state itself could be responsible for much of the cost since the bill requires that schools and colleges be reimbursed for any mandated expenses. As of right now, the legislation has only one sponsor while the speaker of the California Assembly, a democrat, reportedly has alternative plans for higher education reform.

Given California’s current budget woes, do you think the proposed legislation is the right option for the state? Let us know what you think.