Volunteering, outreach, public service

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni examines “Turning the Tide,” a new report that recommends changes to the college admissions process. Bruni says the report - which Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions, contributed to – “sagely reflects on what’s wrong with admissions and rightly calls for a revolution, including specific suggestions.”

In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Leslie Brody speaks with Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions, about a report that recommends new guidelines for the college admissions process. “We want students to lead balanced lives,” says Schmill of the impetus for updating the admissions process. 

Students from MIT and Harvard are biking across the country, stopping in rural communities along the way in an effort to get kids excited about science, the AP reports. "We can't teach them programming in a day, but we can get them excited about programming," says MIT freshman Drew Bent.

Middle school students from Lincoln County, Maine spent February vacation creating electronics as part of an educational program developed by the Edgerton Center, reports Rob Nesbitt for WCSH-TV. "Normally kids would not be exposed to this level of electronics until, maybe at the earliest, junior year of high school," explains Edgerton instructor Bob Vieth.

Washington Post reporter Nia-Malika Henderson highlights several projects being presented at this year’s White House Science Fair, including the search-and-rescue vehicle developed by Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam students Katelyn Sweeney and Olivia Van Amsterdam.