There鈥檚 little disagreement that the past year-plus has had its share of challenges and obstacles brought on by the pandemic. While few demographics were spared, student were hit especially hard by the demands of virtual school and the almost complete lack of campus and outside activities and socialization with friends and classmates. Until very recently, this year鈥檚 graduating class of high school seniors were pretty much 鈥渇lying blind鈥� to quote a CDB Scholar when it came to visiting any college and university. And those rare campuses that did allow visitors on site offered no campus tours, in person interviews or informational sessions outside of Zoom webinars, with their student community attending virtual classes.

High school seniors also faced the reality that many of the nation鈥檚 highly selective colleges and universities dealt with a surge in applications, as the previously mandated SAT and ACT tests were optional for the 2021 application year. This resulted in applicants who previously would not have met test standards stipulated at certain universities and colleges took the attitude of 鈥渨hat do I have to lose?鈥� and applied to schools that in another year might have been out of reach by virtue of their test scores.

In spite of this changing college application landscape, the CDB high school seniors鈥攖he class of 2021鈥攑ersevered and figured out alternative ways to conduct their college research. As a class, they applied to over sixty colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Many of the senior Scholars reached out to CDB alumni who currently attend the colleges and universities they were interested in learning more about from insiders at the various schools. I was delighted to hear back from many CDB seniors that the CDB alumni not only responded to their inquiries by phone, email and Zoom sessions, but also reached out to them to let the seniors know who they were and what particular schools they attend to start a dialogue. As more schools opened up in April and May, some of the seniors were able to visit the colleges where they were admitted and meet with CDB alums in person鈥攎asked and safely socially distanced.

This year鈥檚 CDB seniors will matriculate to colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad, schools that match their academic interests and offer them the opportunity to pursue ongoing areas of interest as well as many course possibilities to explore. One CDB  Scholar will be taking a gap year and plans to pursue advanced educational and service projects before starting college in 2022. Another CDB Scholar will be attending Oxford University in England.

CDB Scholars from the class of 2021 have been recognized with multiple academic, service and achievement awards and recognition including Presidential Scholars, National Merit Scholar Finalists, Valedictorians and Saluditorians of their class as well as matriculating to honors programs at their upcoming colleges and universities.

CDB welcomed ten new schools and programs to our international list of colleges and universities attended by CDB Scholars since the inaugural class of 2002 Scholars. Here is a list of the schools and programs the CDB class of 2021 will attend this coming fall. Several Scholars are still deciding among their admission options:

• Brown University
• Brown University鈥檚 PLME program (an eight year program for students who are committed to a career in medicine and who also want a broad liberal arts education)
• Bryn Mawr College
• Columbia University
• California University of Technology
• Columbia University
• Georgetown University
• George Washington University
• Harvard College
• Macalister College
• Oxford University
• Stanford University
• University of Florida Stamps Scholar Program
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Pennsylvania Management and Technology Program
• University of Texas  Agriculture and Mechanical Honors Program
• Washington and Lee University
• Webb Institute
• Wellesley College
• Whitman College

The 优蜜视频 and CDB communities wish our graduating high School seniors a successful and engaging next chapter of their lives and look forward to staying in contact with them as they continue to thrive.

The current best-selling book, , chronicles the thrilling story of a group of groundbreaking scientists whose string of discoveries launched a scientific revolution that will make possible medical miracles including the ability to fight off viruses, cure diseases and have healthier babies.  We are grateful for one of those miracles as we receive our COVID-19 vaccine shots and see hope for an end to the pandemic.  It is not surprising that the importance of gifted and talented education is noted in the book. 

Feng Shang, who immigrated from China to America with his mother at the age of 10, began his path to biology in the 1990s with his Des Moines, Iowa middle school鈥檚 Gifted and Talented Program.  He recalls that initially through his regular school science classes he thought biology was uninteresting.  He found activities such as dissecting a frog on a tray to identify its heart unchallenging and the curriculum was focused on memorization.  In contrast, his gifted and talented program featured a regular Saturday enrichment class in molecular biology that focused on DNA and how RNA carried out its instructions with an emphasis on the important role of enzymes in the process. He was able to do many hands-on experiments including one that transformed bacteria to make them resistant to antibiotics.  This class inspired his eagerness to learn and discover in the field of biology.  For high schoolers, Des Moines had a gifted and talented program called STING (Science/Technology Investigations: The Next Generation), which allowed talented students to work at local hospitals and research institutions.  Zhang鈥檚 Saturday teacher helped him get selected to work at the gene therapy lab of Methodist Hospital.  He had the opportunity to work with a molecular biologist who assigned Zhang progressively sophisticated experiments.  One of these experiments deconstructed the HIV virus and examined how each of the components worked.  Part of the goal of the Des Moines Gifted and Talented Program was to help students compete in the Intel Science Talent Search, a national competition.  Zhang鈥檚 virus experiment won him third place and $50,000 which he used to help pay tuition for the next step of his education journey at Harvard University.  Today, at only 39 years old, he is considered one of the most transformative biologists of his generation.

Feng Zhang is a prime example of the impact that gifted and talented programs can have on turning American students into world-class scientists.  Gifted children need a much more challenging education than can be offered in the regular classroom.  Gifted and talented programs such as those offered at the Institute for Educational Advancement, provide advanced enrichment classes and workshops that fill a critical gap in our public education curriculum. These challenging and creative programs focus on a wide variety of STEM and other topics taught by experts from such institutions and organizations as Caltech, NASA, Harvard University, Art Center College of Design and Walt Disney Animation. Our high potential youth are the scientists, innovators, engineers and leaders of our nation鈥檚 future and the educational opportunities they receive make a difference in their ability to reach for their full academic and personal potential.  Gifted and talented education programs provide the support and inspiration our brightest students need to thrive and reach for the stars.

My relationship with 优蜜视频 began in 2002 when I was a seventh grader. I grew up the product of 40-student classrooms and overworked teachers in a large California public school system. At age 7, my father passed away and my mother struggled to figure out how to reenter the workforce and maintain some normalcy for her two sons. With so much to handle, she left my brother and me in charge of our own education. For years I struggled between unmotivated teachers who ignored me because I was “doing fine” and amazing teachers who were too shackled by overcrowding and underfunding to provide full academic support. There were times when I felt like leaving school – when it wasn’t聽 worth the boredom of just sitting there or the discipline of detention for distracting other students聽 when I finished work early.

But then 优蜜视频 came into my life. They worked hand-in-hand with me to identify and send me to a highly rigorous and highly creative high school. And from attending the summer camp to discovering a deeper love of architecture through their program, 优蜜视频 fueled an intellectual fire within me that at times had felt like just an ember. They provided me opportunities that I could never have found on my own and that my mother could never pay for. At a time in my life when I needed a mentor, they were there.

There are two areas where I believe 优蜜视频 makes a real difference in students’ lives: enabling them to find an academic area that inspires them to learn, and building the emotional support system that allows them to succeed.

I believe that one of the most important aspects of education is teaching students that what they learn in school is not only applicable to the classroom but also to the situations they encounter every day and to the passions they may one day pursue. However, it is an aspect that is often overlooked and – without the necessary mentors to show them – an aspect that is hard for students to fully understand. 优蜜视频’s and programs introduce this real-world application aspect to the learning environments of young students. By creating exciting alternative-learning environments or matching industry professionals with high颅 achieving children, these programs enable students to directly see their education applied to the world and gain the appreciation for learning necessary to achieve academic excellence. These programs give the required personalized attention that allows students to delve deep where their interests lie and also motivates them to succeed and grow beyond where books and hypotheticals could take them.

But it’s not only intellectual and academic stimulation that these programs provide; it is also a social and emotional foundation necessary to maintain their academic performance. Each and every 优蜜视频 program builds a community of intellectually curious and academically motivated students to form the emotional and social foundation to push students to their full potential. Programs like Yunasa allow students to be surrounded by peers who share a love of learning and create an environment where students can be comfortable with themselves and their minds. I remember attending Yunasa as a 12-year-old – interested in nature and slightly awkward – and for the first time feeling like I could talk about anything with anyone. 优蜜视频 helped build my confidence and made me feel like I could explore what I loved. It connected me to a group of friends that bolstered my curiosity and my belief that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to. That community and that inspiration have been key to my development and I believe that they are key to every child’s development. They are essential to helping young students maintain their motivation for education and ensure that they are excited to continue learning.

The Institute for Educational Advancement has been and continues to be an integral part of my life. They have been there for every major decision from choosing the right high school to deciding to go to Harvard. I know that I am the person I am today because of them.

Since joining 优蜜视频 as a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar in 2002, Byron has participated in multiple programs with 优蜜视频 and for the last four years has served as a selection committee member for the CDB Scholarship. As of 2017, Byron serves on the Board of Directors. Currently, Byron is a Vice President at Insight Venture Partners, a venture capital and growth equity firm based in New York. Prior to Insight, Byron worked at Bain & Company as a management consultant and also at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their Global Health Discovery team. He graduated from Harvard College with degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Economics.

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Each year the Institute for Educational Advancement (优蜜视频) awards the (CDB) to approximately 30 highly-gifted students. The scholarship provides funding to attend a high school best suited to meet their unique intellectual and personal needs as well as individual support, educational advocacy, and access to a network of like-minded peers. The program, which began in 2002 and is generously funded by The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, is the only merit-based, need-blind scholarship of its kind in the U.S. To date, 优蜜视频 has awarded 235 scholarships and our alumni are already making their mark on the world.

Several alumni are currently volunteering their time and talents in support of 优蜜视频:

Byron Lichtenstein

As member of the CDB Class of 2002, Byron was one of the program鈥檚 very first scholars. He attended the Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and then Harvard College. Byron is also an alumni of and .

Byron is presently a Vice President at Insight Venture Partners, a venture capital and growth equity firm based in New York. He focuses his time at Insight on new software investments as well as on strategy and operations within their portfolio of companies. Prior to this position, he worked at Bain & Company as a management consultant and also at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their Global Health Discovery team.

Coming full circle, in January 2017 Byron became a member of the , where he has already made significant contributions as a member of the Audit Committee. Byron says, 鈥淚 owe a lot to the 优蜜视频 community as they have been there at every major step in my life and I am looking forward to the opportunity to give back. 鈥�

Jianna Lieberman

As a 2004 CDB scholar, Jianna attended Riverdale Country School in Bronx, New York for high school, where she thrived in the liberal arts program. She went on to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art, earning a BFA in Graphic Design.聽 Of the CDB program, Jianna says, “Riverdale taught me so much in the way of humanities that I could take the time to cultivate the creative side of my brain, and that wouldn鈥檛 have been the case without the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship.鈥�

Jianna currently works in advertising where she focuses on web and app design, social media content design and calendaring, and overall digital marketing strategies.聽She is also in the process of applying to graduate school where she will pursue an MBA. In wanting to give back to 优蜜视频, she served on the 2017 CDB West Coast Selection Committee and is lending her expertise to further 优蜜视频鈥檚 marketing efforts.

Paul Cresanta

2008 CDB scholar Paul Cresanta is from Colorado, but found that The Thatcher School in Ojai, CA was the best match for his high school experience. After Thatcher, he enrolled in Pomona College where he double majored in Russian and European Studies and Linguistics. In May he earned his B.A. from Pomona and is currently spending the summer interning with 优蜜视频 before he begins his career as a language analyst at the Department of Defense.

At 优蜜视频, Paul is assisting in the 2017 CDB finalists鈥� interviews. Since he has been on the other end of the process, he helps put the students at ease and is able to answer questions from the point of view of a program scholar. He is also lending support to the Yunasa program as a coordinator and counselor. Paul says the CDB scholarship was 鈥淟ife Changing- with a capital L,鈥� and that is why he wanted to do his part to give back to 优蜜视频. 鈥淚, like so many of my fellow alumni, want to use what I have been given to make a positive impact.鈥�

优蜜视频 is so thankful for Byron, Jianna, and Paul as well as all of our alumni who are making contributions to their communities and the world!

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March Madness in almost here, making college basketball top-of-mind. And so I perked up at last week鈥檚 California Association for the Gifted Conference when Dr. Sandra Kaplan mentioned that UCLA鈥檚 basketball team takes ballet classes. This caused me to sit up and think. Any young woman or man playing on a Division I basketball team is a gifted athlete. But ballet?

Well, yes, ballet. There is a lot of fancy footwork going on down below while basketball players are busy dribbling, passing, shooting and dunking.聽 Watching the Lehigh versus Bucknell Patriot League Conference Tournament Championship game, and looking only below the knees, I saw dance. Pirouettes, jet茅s, leaps, and the occasional third and fourth position were all there. Lehigh鈥檚 Tim Kempton (6鈥�10鈥�, 245 pounds, 20.4 PPG) would make a wonderful Rat King in The Nutcracker.

This all begs a few questions. Can an art inform a sport? Can sport inform an art? Can students advance in one field because they explored another? By combining unrelated fields, will our gifted scholar-athletes create a greater exceptionality? And what does this mean for us?

I am an independent college counselor, often working with gifted students as they apply for college. (I am also an 优蜜视频 mother and consultant.) Some families consult with me when their students are just entering high school, so I see exciteabilities develop over the course of four years. Before taking on Dr. Kaplan鈥檚 question, I knew, but I didn鈥檛 comprehend, how ballet made for better basketball. My happiest students have been telling me for years that they like it when they mix things up, when obvious skills and interests become companion to less obvious skills and interests. Reflecting back, I see that those students who intellectualize their giftedness were among my most joyful.聽 Here are some first hand examples.

My first inkling this was happening came fifteen years ago, from a Mentor supervising five high-school-aged 优蜜视频 Apprentices in a material science research lab. (优蜜视频鈥檚 Apprenticeship Program has evolved into the , both outstanding.) These Apprentices were similar in lab skills and science understanding. One stood out, however, because of his English skills. Specifically, he could more quickly tease out ideas shared in conversation, read manuals and reports in and out of context, and clearly stated questions that moved ideas forward. Early on, he became the student leader because everyone in the lab understood him. He is now a very successful computer scientist. (And an aside: research labs are often home to scientists from around the world and of many languages, so clarity of communication makes for better science.)

I鈥檝e had many students with exceptional mathematical abilities, and their stories speak directly to drawing energy from unusual sources. Four of them were quite upfront that their love of math was fueled outside of math classes. One, a Berkeley graduate, said that creative writing relaxed her into a feeling of bliss, and then, without any notes, she would imagine the answers to her problem sets. Another, now a math major at Reed, described how her remarkable sophomore year English teacher inspired her, through close textual reading, to consider multiple approaches to any problem. A UC San Diego math major told me he feels strongly that poetry and math are the same subject–economy of ideas鈥攁nd so he approaches them in tandem. And another student, bound for college in 2018, craves playing golf every day because it is so much fun to watch parabolas on the fairway.

And it鈥檚 not just my mathematicians. One student, a Harvard graduate, became a better Russian language student when she started playing the piano every day. A current Berkeley undergraduate understands literature more deeply on days when she sees poor immigrants walk into traffic to sell flowers. One of my favorite students this year keeps finding ideas for prosthetic designs watching movies that are not about prosthetics. One young man, Cal Tech bound, described how ideas come while he paints. If he didn鈥檛 paint, would he have these ideas?

Lastly, and saluting March Madness, I have worked with both a semi-professional dancer, and a winning basketball player. My dancer, on History: 鈥淵ep, the world has always been all about ebb and flow.鈥� And my basketball player thinks his internship in a research university鈥檚 chemistry lab is less akin to science classes and more like passing just outside the paint: 鈥淭he graduate students throw ideas around faster than a good offense, so I鈥檓 still hustling to keep my eye on the ball.鈥�

Our students give us their giftedness; our efforts should include enabling their intellectualism. The UCLA coach who first enrolled the basketball team in ballet is now a personal role model. Dr. Kaplan鈥檚 workshop, 鈥淕iftedness versus Intellectualism,鈥� has prompted me to think of ways to help my students identify and encourage the productive combinations in their lives.

For me, as an independent college counselor, that means more time listening and waiting for the student to share enough so that I can ask more direct questions. For a gifted student, who feels his or her exciteabilities more strongly, working at this intersection is key. Within my niche in their lives, answers to those questions make for powerful application essays.

Sometimes we talk about nurturing a gifted student鈥檚 spirituality. For me, the mere though was daunting, so I stayed away. It is easy to get tripped up here because many of us equate 鈥渟pirituality鈥� with 鈥渞eligion.鈥� But that was never gifted educators鈥� intention鈥攊nstead, it is something wholly interior, unseen, and a powerful animator. Perhaps a mathematician鈥檚 spirituality lies in poetry.

Kate Duey is a private college counselor serving gifted students. She has worked with students who are age-mates with their graduating high school class, home schooled students, community college students, and students seeking accelerated or early college entrance. Kate is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA. She also has three incredible daughters.

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I take it as true that a high percentage of American optimists out there still believe social and economic upward mobility is possible. The American Dream. The belief that if you start at the bottom, you can 鈥� through hard work and a can-do attitude 鈥� make a vertical leap and change your life significantly.

But is this true of the country we live in today? Over the past century, researchers and academics have attempted to understand upward mobility in America, to make sense of what seems like a stasis of migration between classes and a real lack of resources for those who might need them most. In a 2014 article, James Surowiecki, staff writer at The New Yorker, wrote about . Surowiecki references a study co-conducted by researchers at Berkeley and Harvard that revealed: 鈥淪ocial mobility is low and has been for at least thirty or forty years鈥� Seventy percent of people born into the bottom quintile of income distribution never make it into the middle class鈥�.

This question of mobility becomes more complex when you consider the gifted kids at the bottom of the ladder. There is a myth alive and well in American culture that individuals with a natural intellectual ability and prowess somehow have a 鈥渓eg up鈥� in life. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e smart; they鈥檒l be fine.鈥� As though gifted kids are somehow invulnerable to the ordinary woes of childhood and adolescence, not to mention the difficulties most gifted children experience with regards to social and emotional development, anxiety, fear of failure, perfectionism, and depression 鈥� to name a few.

Another point worth considering is the fundamental relationship between learning and challenge. All children deserve to be challenged 鈥� even gifted kids. The foundation of learning is growth, a measurable change in behavior and comprehension through challenge and experience. For gifted kids, the process of learning is often an atypical feature of their everyday classroom experience. And for these kids, learning is crucial to their sense of well-being and place in the world.

Maybe this is why the dropout rate among gifted students is estimated at almost 25 percent. Because the myth that says, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e smart; you鈥檒l make it鈥� fails to take these facts into consideration. Add to this the disappointing truth that , and we鈥檝e got a problem worth talking about.

This is what Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author of books like Blink and The Tipping Point, discusses in his new podcast, , a podcast dedicated to going back and reinterpreting something from the past which was overlooked or misunderstood. In a recent three-part installment on the American education system, Gladwell asks important questions about the system as it stands and how, if at all, it supports this idea of upward mobility. Can those at the bottom really rise to the top? Is the system set up to help students succeed – even the 鈥渟mart鈥� kids?

The first episode of the series tells the story of a kid named Carlos. A math-loving kid from a small, disadvantaged enclave of West Los Angeles, Carlos was identified for his exceptional ability by a local nonprofit organization, the ,聽a group dedicated to maintaining America鈥檚 promise of equal opportunity for equal talent. Supported by YES, Carlos is able to attend an elite private school with challenging curriculum and advanced learning opportunities. But even with the support and advocacy of YES, life isn鈥檛 easy. As Gladwell probes beneath the surface, the listener is confronted with hard truths about the experience of kids like Carlos in America.

I should qualify: I am definitely not saying that gifted聽kids born into money don鈥檛 also deserve to be challenged, receive a transformative聽education, or be encouraged to reach their fullest potential. Every child deserves to be challenged. Every gifted child deserves (and needs) to be challenged.聽 The point of Gladwell鈥檚 podcast and this blog is not to shame those with more resources 鈥� like time or money 鈥撀� or imply that gifted kids from wealthy backgrounds have things easier. The focus of this conversation is whether upward mobility is as common as we would like to believe. Being smart doesn鈥檛 guarantee success, especially if you are a kid like Carlos. The greater the gap, the greater the need for resources to leverage the playing field and help these brilliant students tap into their academic and personal potential.

To hear this episode of Malcolm Gladwell鈥檚 podcast,聽Revisionist History,聽visit their website at: . You can also access all three episodes of Gladwell鈥檚 inquiry into the American education system (which I highly recommend) directly on their site.聽

Like the Institute for Educational Advancement (优蜜视频), YES is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing advocacy, support, and resources for our nation鈥檚 most promising students. For more information about Young Eisner Scholars and the incredible work they are doing in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Appalachia, visit them online at: .

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Gifted students and their families face special challenges during the college search and application process. 优蜜视频 parent and supporter Kate Duey recently spoke to a group of parents and students about these challenges during an 优蜜视频 Gifted Child Parent Support Group Meeting.

Below聽are some of the resources Kate聽recommends聽on college selection and admissions聽for gifted students.

Online Comprehensive Resources

Books for Gifted Applicants聽

Interesting Webpages for Gifted Applicants

Books for All College Applicants

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Every gifted person has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts depicting the many faces of gifted by highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through 优蜜视频 programs. The program 鈥� mentioned in this story 鈥� awards highly gifted applicants with a four-year scholarship to a high school that fits their individual, intellectual and personal needs.

Manning Ding
2003 CDB Scholar
Business Analyst, McKinsey and Company, Minneapolis

Before Manning Ding graduated with highest honors from Harvard in 2012, and before she worked in Kampala, Uganda, and Beijing, China, she was a junior high school student in Iowa who was awarded the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship. The merit-based scholarship let her attend any high school of her choice, and she chose Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

鈥淚t was Exeter鈥檚 鈥楬arkness鈥� method that did it for me. At Exeter, every class is conducted in discussion format, with 12 students and a teacher sitting around an oval table trading questions for answers on subjects from author Jhumpa Lahiri鈥檚 short stories to how to prove the Pythagorean Theorem.

鈥淚 remember visiting Exeter in 8th grade and sitting in on an Existentialism course. I think I said one thing the entire time, but it was still exhilarating to listen in on the richness of dialogue across the Harkness Table by 14- and 15-year-olds,鈥� Manning explained.

In addition to covering the cost of tuition for four years of high school, the Institute for Educational Advancement invites the CDB Scholars to an annual weekend gathering, called the , that includes discussions on a global and personal scale.

鈥淢y favorite memory was returning as an alumna to the Bradley Seminar with four other Scholars in my class and realizing that we were closer than ever before, sharing college updates and CDB recollections and endless laughter. Seeing Bonnie [Bonnie Raskin, CDB Program Coordinator] and Betsy [Elizabeth Jones, 优蜜视频 President] and the younger classes of Scholars at the Seminar really cemented for me the realization that being a CDB Scholar has been a part of who I am since the age of 13, and it鈥檒l always be a part of who I am. We, the Scholars, may grow up, but we won鈥檛 grow apart from the CDB community.鈥�

Manning graduated Harvard with a degree in Economics, but didn鈥檛 start off majoring in Econ. 鈥淚 actually went into Harvard thinking I would be a China correspondent at some international news agency. During my first two years in college, I vacillated between Economics (which addressed some of the world鈥檚 toughest development questions in an intellectually honest way) and Philosophy (for its rigor of thinking).

鈥淥f course, the great thing about Harvard is the breadth and depth of opportunities available. So while I was able to delve into fascinating topics in Economics (by taking grad-level courses and working as a research assistant for professors), I was also able to try out a range of potential careers through extracurricular activities (I reported news for The Crimson and headed Harvard Yearbook Publication), internships (at various investment banks and the Beijing bureau of Thomson Reuters) and fellowships and research opportunities (which funded my summers in China, Tanzania, and Uganda).鈥�

Prior to graduation, Manning applied for, and received a Fulbright Award. The Fulbright Award is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, and is known as America’s flagship international exchange program. It is a competitive, merit-based grant that facilitates the exchange of students, scholars, and teachers between the United States and over 155 countries worldwide.

鈥淚 applied for the Fulbright during senior year of college and was fortunate to receive the grant, allowing me to spend 10 months after graduation researching Chinese social enterprises and economic development. The Fulbright is very flexible – while they provide you with a support network of local researchers and resources, I had complete ownership of my project and was solely responsible for driving the project forward. It has definitely been a challenging but rewarding opportunity both in terms of cultural exchange and career development.鈥�

Manning explained more about the China Fulbright application process, saying, 鈥淭he applicants determine the location and scope of the research project and are responsible for securing a host academic institution and a local advisor. They then submit a project proposal explaining the motivation behind their project and the methods by which they intend to carry out the project.

鈥淎s part of my research, I interviewed Beijing- and Shanghai-based social entrepreneurs, worked with both a foreign-run and a government-backed social enterprise incubator, organized dinners for female social entrepreneurs in Beijing, helped professors at some of China鈥檚 top universities put together a white paper (one of the first of its kind) outlining the state of Chinese social enterprises, and spent four months at a social enterprise aiming to revolutionize Chinese rural education with digital tablets.鈥�

I asked Manning for the definition of a 鈥渟ocial enterprise.鈥� She explained, 鈥淪ocial enterprises are an exciting new model that is currently receiving increasing attention in China (and across the world) for its ability to solve social and environmental issues that the government and the market are not necessarily in a position to address. The legal and academic definition of 鈥榮ocial enterprise鈥� is still being heatedly debated, particularly in China. There are, however, a couple of commonly accepted definitions of social enterprises.

鈥淪ocial enterprises are essentially businesses whose primary purpose is to do social good. They鈥檙e different from non-profit NGOs in that social enterprises are financially self-sustaining and do not rely primarily on donations. They鈥檙e different from businesses (even socially responsible businesses) in their impact-first (versus finance-first) approach.鈥�

This summer, Manning began work as a Business Analyst at global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company in Minneapolis. Since she鈥檚 a recent college grad, I asked her for any advice to incoming college freshman. I think her words of wisdom are perfect for any student or adult in a new situation:

鈥淏e present. Half of achieving anything in college is simply showing up. Show up to lectures, extracurriculars, events. Show up on time, and stay the whole time. Put away your cell phones and laptops and tablets and actually engage that professor or speaker or new acquaintance — ask questions, remember names, take notes. You鈥檒l be amazed at how much you鈥檒l learn and grow if you are simply fully present. And of course, take risks, have adventures, try not to pull too many all-nighters and always remember to laugh.鈥�

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Kate Duey is a private college counselor serving gifted students. She has worked with students on traditional schooling paths, home schooled students, community college students, and students seeking accelerated or early college entrance. Kate is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA.

Is an aspiring Ph.D. in the sciences better served by an undergraduate education at a liberal arts college or a research university? The vast majority (83%) of Ph.D.鈥檚 in science are awarded to students who graduated from research universities. The top ten research universities graduating undergraduates who go on to earn the most Ph.D.鈥檚 in the sciences are:

1. 1. UC Berkeley
   2. University of Michigan
   3. Cornell University
   4. M.I.T.
   5. University of Wisconsin, Madison
   6. Penn State
   7. UCLA
   8. Harvard
   9. University of Minnesota
   10. University of Washington

Liberal arts schools, however, educate roughly 8% of American college students, and from those 8% come 17% of Ph.D.鈥檚 in science. Thought of another way, the per capita distribution of science Ph.D.鈥檚 is twice as high in a liberal arts college as in a research university. Among the National Academy of Science members, 19% received their undergraduate education at liberal arts schools. The top ten liberal arts colleges graduating undergraduates who per capita go on to earn the most Ph.D.鈥檚 in the sciences are:

1. Swarthmore
2. Carleton
3. Haverford
4. Grinnell
5. Oberlin
6. Pomona
7. Bryn Mawr
8. Williams
9. Amherst
10. Wesleyan

Why are liberal arts colleges more productive at preparing science Ph.D.鈥檚?

Thomas R. Cech, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry who led breakthroughs in the catalytic properties of RNA, discusses this in 鈥溾��.

Dr. Cech offers several explanations for the imbalance, including:

As Dr. Cech illustrates, it is worth exploring all options available to you when looking for a university science program, including liberal arts universities.

What has your experience been with science programs at liberal arts or research universities? Please share in the comment section below!

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Kate Duey is a private college counselor serving gifted students. She has worked with students on traditional schooling paths, home schooled students, community college students, and students seeking accelerated or early college entrance. Kate is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA.

What happens if a student graduates from high school exhausted? AP classes, standardized testing, extracurricular activities, sports, music, community service, research projects…and all of those college essays! What if they worked so hard they can鈥檛 remember what they like? Are they ready for four or five or six more years?

Among gifted high school students, it is especially important to remember that giftedness is innate to a person, and we should embrace the whole student by supporting their intellectual, social, spiritual, emotional and physical growth. When a gifted student鈥檚 high school years disproportionately emphasize intellectual development, the whole person is neglected. Refreshing all parts of a gifted student鈥檚 self helps to focus his or her intensities in ways that work with and for the student.

For graduating high school students who find themselves exhausted, an intentional pause to decompress and plan their next steps 鈥� a 鈥済ap year鈥� between high school and college 鈥揷ould be a viable option. They often enter college with better perspective, more maturity, chronological alignment with his or her class, and enthusiasm for an old or new interest elevates the student鈥檚 whole experience.

Taking a gap year does not mean the student does not apply to college as a high school senior; they absolutely should. As a high school student, he or she has access to the teachers and counselors who will write letters of recommendation, grades and test scores are in hand, and good reference materials to search for college are easier to access. Definitely apply! Then, defer.

As a college counselor working with gifted high school students, I鈥檝e twice seriously advised a gap year. One student considered extreme mountaineering, the other living in Europe with extended family. (Admittedly, neither did it.) I鈥檝e talked about it with every student who has an interest in studying foreign languages. Among our tabloid friends, Prince William and Kate Middleton took gap years. Kate spent much of hers studying Italian. Every year, fifty to seventy students defer entrance into Harvard College for a gap year. In 2006, Harvard reported some of the focuses of those gap years:

• Backpacking
• Caring for grandparents
• Writing the Next Great American Novel
• e-commerce startup
• Figure skating
• Kibbutz life
• Language study
• Military service
• Mineralogy
• 听惭耻蝉颈肠
• Political campaigns
• Reading
• Special needs education
• Sports
• Steel drumming
• Storytelling
• Swing dancing
• Working to save money for college

Parents often worry that, by detaching from a year-to-year academic progression, their child will fall behind. Colleges seldom see it that way, and many letters of admission come with the option of deferring for a year. Once in college, students are often encouraged to take a year off, and college student counseling centers freely offer advice about opportunities. Splitting the difference, some colleges offer mid-year entrance, allowing the student a 鈥済ap semester.鈥� American University and Brandeis University have formal off-campus programs for first-year fall semester.

A year off can center around any endeavor. Now that average student indebtedness at graduation is $25,200, saving for a year before college can create more flexibility after college. Another opportunity is more family time, especially with grandparents, which may have been sacrificed for academic achievement.

Some parents and students prefer a structured year. There are many services which will match a student with a gap year program, and a quick internet search will yield many. Also, think outside of the box; my personal favorite was a year at Austin Community College studying blacksmithing.

A gap year can make for a more interesting student, capable of adding more to the academic community. Best of all, students can discover their passions and capture their zeitgeist before they begin college.

Has your child considered taking a gap year? Please share your experience in the comment section below.

Kate will be discussing college admissions at our next . The talk will take place at 6:30 pm on February 13, 2013, at the 优蜜视频 Learning Center, located at 625 Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 288, South Pasadena, CA 91030 (across the hall from the 优蜜视频 main office). Please RSVP to reception@educationaladvancement.org. We hope to see you there!

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