1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Admissions Insider

7 Options to Consider if You Didn’t Receive Enough Financial Aid

Posted on by Transy Pioneer

Blog from U.S. Department of Education, http://blog.ed.gov. –  The reality of college costs is that many families find themselves struggling to pay the entire college bill, despite having already filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and receiving federal, state, and institutional financial aid resources. If you find yourself in this position, here are some ideas to consider to help fill the gap between what your financial aid covers and what you owe the institution. Outside Scholarships Read: Scholarship Basics and Tips For those heading to college this fall, most scholarship decisions for the academic year have already been made. However, we recommend you begin a routine of searching and applying for scholarships regularly. You should first consider scholarships local to where you graduated from high school or live; try community, religious, and fraternal organizations. You may also consider businesses in your community or those that employ your parent(s). Then, look for scholarship resources available statewide, especially from organizations with which you may have been involved or companies in your state that are in the field for which you plan to study. National scholarships can be very competitive, but don’t let that keep you from applying. Ask your financial aid office or academic unit about institutional or departmental scholarships (decisions may have been made for this year, but ask how to make sure you don’t miss deadlines for next year!). With scholarship opportunities, it’s always important to be

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You are more than a test score at Transy

Posted on by Transy Pioneer

By President Seamus Carey –  In her recent column, DuPont Manual High School student Allison Tu provides valuable insight into the challenges many students face as they prepare to apply for college. She clearly relays the cultural biases frequently reflected in students’ ACT scores. It is no surprise that students who can afford to take ACT prep courses or hire tutors will score better. And that gives wealthier applicants an unfair advantage over equally motivated, equally capable, equally curious students who simply don’t test well. As Tu concludes: “… for too many students, the ACT has become a barrier to college. For these students, the test is more a reflection of access to resources rather than ability or potential to succeed in college.” We at Transylvania University couldn’t agree more. In 2016, we took a major step toward eliminating this obstacle for our applicants. After conducting extensive research, Transylvania implemented a test-optional admissions policy. Applicants decide for themselves whether or not their test results accurately reflect their academic ability and potential. They can instead submit an essay and, in most cases, come to campus for a personal interview. The admissions staff will then carefully review evidence of the individual applicant’s performance and drive in the classroom and involvement with high school and community activities. Our experience shows that the rigor of the student’s coursework and overall academic achievement best illustrate the commitment, motivation and willingness to take on challenges. And

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Such Promise

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

Casey McBride ’14 Imagine your first day of school as a brand new teacher fresh out of teacher-training boot camp led by Teach for America. Now imagine that day in Walnut Park, not far from Ferguson, Mo., on the day after Michael Brown was killed. The cure for cancer? A new fuel source? An end to war? Sermons to open hearts? Art that redefines humanity? It’s all ready to be discovered by McBride’s class. If given the chance. Picture the blocks around the school: houses without roofs, walls crumbling, a few solitary figures roaming the streets, drug deals and gangs catching kids in the crossfire. Now walk into your fifth-grade classroom and meet 26 inquisitive, heart-breakingly bright, buzzing children. You don’t yet realize that so much of your energy in your first year will be given to keeping these young lives safe. You’ll be reaching deeply into their beings to draw out so much more than standardized tests demand or what this neighborhood—largely abandoned by the world—would seem to expect. Casey McBride ’14 says that people in St. Louis open their eyes wide when she tells them she teaches at Walnut Park Confluence Academy. But she wouldn’t be anywhere else. As a student at Transylvania McBride was known for getting involved. She was president of the Student Activities Board, active with her sorority and manager of the annual phone-a-thon that raises money for the university. When she graduated in 2013,

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From the hard court to hardware

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

Tari Young ’03 Tari Young ’03 was never your stereotypical “computer nerd.” While earning her computer science degree, she was also becoming one of Transylvania’s most prolific basketball players in school history. Over 1,500 points later, Young’s achievements in athletics translated to a discipline that still drives her today. “Discipline and pressure are two things I had to encounter and deal with daily,” Young remembers. “From practices to games, there was always an intentional focus on being the best you could be on the court. This easily translated into other aspects of my life, including my career.” That career got off to a quick start. During her sophomore year, Young’s computer science professor asked if she would be interested in an internship. An interview at Lexmark led to a part-time job as a software tester. Upon graduating, she stepped right into the position of software engineer. She worked as a “team lead” for the scanner mechanism firmware team, transferring her leadership skills from the court to the office. In 2010, Lexmark sent her on assignment to the Philippines, giving Young good work experience, and a new world perspective. “I built strong relationships while there that had a positive impact on getting work done when I returned to Lexington and had to interface with Cebu (Philippines),” she says. “It was a very humbling experience, and I am so glad I was given the chance to not only interact with fellow employees

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Taking Wing

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

Research with Biology Professor Becky Fox If you live in Lexington, you may have noticed a chameleon-haired professor leading gaggles of bird-watching students around. But you may not be aware of the scope of her research on house sparrows or the level of student involvement in the process. “I like birds,” Professor Becky Fox admits with a smile. A first-generation college grad who grew up in a household with backyard birdwatchers and pet parrots, she finished her undergraduate degree uncertain about continuing in molecular biology. She let her love of birds guide her to the University of California, Davis, and a master’s in avian sciences. Taking classes in animal behavior and behavioral ecology, she became fascinated by some of the ecological questions and decided to stay for a Ph.D. Why are individuals different? That’s the fundamental question. Dr. Fox is interested in individual personality in animals. Through a collaboration with the University of Kentucky’s Dave Westneat (whose son Michael Westneat ’11 attended Transy), and a grant they received from the National Science Foundation, Prof. Fox has been able to take her research on house sparrows from the indoor lab into the natural environment at Maine Chance Farm, UK’s research farm. The grant also pays her students to assist in gathering a large data set from 100-200 nest boxes. “One of the things we’re asking in our research on house sparrows is the same question you might ask about people,” Dr. Fox

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