In This Issue:

Major National Scholarship Competition
Tutoring and Help Sessions

Whitman Smith, Director of Orientation Programs

Hello mom and dad,

Well, we’re coming to the end of the semester, and this is our final e-newsletter to send before fall. I’ve been encouraging my students to study and begin preparing for exams for about three weeks now, and some of them have actually been listening! Of course, the whole semester is actually a preparation for the final exam and we are striving to get that message across to our students every day. To that end, we have some information that may be of interest to you in regard to the payoff for all that hard work.

Ole Miss has a wonderful tradition of scholastic excellence, and it has paid off big for some of our students in terms of large scholarships for the end of their undergraduate tenure or for graduate study. Many of you may know that Ole Miss is tied for 7th among public universities for the production of Rhodes Scholars (24, and we brag about it a lot!), but there are other very prestigious scholarships for which our students also compete. Our assistant director of the Honors College, Deborah Young, chronicles some of these scholarships and talks about the path to get to them. For many of your students, this path is available. And, even if a Truman, Goldwater, etc., is out of their reach, many smaller scholarships may be offered by their school or other entity for which they may compete. Encourage them to ask about them.

This semester, we have focused on making sure that you are aware of the many opportunities that are here for your student. We have also tried to show you some of the many people here who are dedicated to student success in and out of the classroom. As the semester winds down, we hope to continue to do so, to continue our partnership with you in helping your student achieve.

It’s not too late to make the semester better than it is right now in terms of grades. Encourage your students to make their grades their No. 1 focus right now (as if you needed that advice), and then do what you have been doing all along—let them make the choice. Ultimately, the decision rests with them, and they are learning that.

Talk to you again soon,

Whitman

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Is your UM student interested in competing for a major national scholarship?

Dr. Debra Young

Assistant Dean, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College

Once students have decided where to go to college and begun to settle into their majors, it may seem their paths are set. Not so. For students seeking the toughest challenges within and outside the classroom, and using their skills and intellect to meet those challenges, options are just beginning to appear. 

UM’s Office of National Scholarship Advisement (202 Honors Building) works with students (they need not be in Honors) who apply for the world’s most prestigious scholarships, such as the Marshall, the Rhodes and the Truman. These scholarships support world-class education and opportunities in the United States or abroad. Understandably, the odds are long; the Rhodes, for example, will receive roughly 900 applications for 32 scholarships. The Office of National Scholarship Advisement can help lower the odds, assisting in self-assessment, revisions of essays and preparing for interviews. More importantly, the office poses questions to help students make early choices that will take them toward those toughest challenges. 

Students who have charted an ambitious course for their undergraduate years have the best chance in these vigorous competitions. Rising sophomores and juniors are particularly urged to think creatively and courageously when they select coursework and decide how to spend their summers. The choices students make in their early undergrad years shape the record they present at the next level; for major national scholarships, that record must show skillful and profound engagement with the world.  If your student would like to know more about these scholarships, please have him or her contact me (dbyoung@olemiss.edu) or check the announcements in the Daily Mississippian and attend one of the numerous workshops scheduled throughout the year. 

It is not an easy route, but UM has a proud history of success in these competitions (see accompanying article), and the Office of National Scholarship Advisement is designed to enhance the application experience for all outstanding students in every major on campus.

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Tutoring and Help Sessions

As final papers and final exams draw near, help is available for students! See the Web site below for information on the different tutoring options available for students in the classes listed below: http://www.olemiss.edu/academics/tutors.html

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